2015 Volkswagen Tiguan Owner Complaints

Epc light is on

NHTSA ID

11684071

Incident

Aug 30, 2025

We are experiencing a recurring safety issue with our 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan. Upon startup, the power steering warning light consistently illuminates and remains on for 5 to 30 minutes. During this time, the vehicle has no functional power steering, making it extremely difficult and unsafe to drive—particularly in residential areas or parking lots where maneuverability is essential. Once the light goes out, steering returns to normal. This occurs regardless of outside temperature or driving conditions and is now happening daily. This presents a serious safety concern, especially if immediate vehicle use is required or if it occurs in traffic.

NHTSA ID

11659481

Incident

May 7, 2025

Car was recently repaired from a deer related accident. Within a week of getting car back I heard an unwinding like sound from steering wheel area while making a left hand turn into parking lot. My airbag light came on and all steering wheel functions like buttons and horn ceased to operate. I did see that this year Tiguan did have an airbag recall.

NHTSA ID

11627405

Incident

Aug 12, 2024

Premature timing chain failure (at 70,000 miles). Regularly maintenanced. Confirmed by mechanic. Check engine light notified 2 months prior to failure.

NHTSA ID

11617789

Incident

Nov 29, 2023

Our 2015 Tiguan has consistently had issues with the clock spring. We are now needing a third clock spring only 6 months from the last warranty repair. Yes the vehicle is available for inspection. This issue is serious due to the airbag being non operational until we get this fixed. Additionally, the horn ceases to work as well, which although its not as serious as our airbag not working, its still nice to have it as a safety tool to indicate your presence to other drivers on the road. I'm not sure if the component has been inspected by the manufacturer or anyone else. We have had a warranty repair on it through the dealership so they verified this was an issue that needed replacing. Until the issue occurs there are no warning lights or anything to notify you from the cars system. There is however an audible "clicking" sound as you turn the steering wheel. The sound usually occurs sporadically for a short while before the clock spring breaks again. Upon breaking, you can hear a slightly louder click or pop and a notification/indicator comes up on the dash to indicate that the airbag is not operational.

NHTSA ID

11587904

Incident

May 9, 2024

Car stalled while driving on the highway. No warning codes and mechanics cannot find a reason. This has happened twice before in past year with warning codes but all have been addressed yet it has stalled again with no code now. This has been costly, very dangerous and cannot feel safe driving.

NHTSA ID

11573834

Incident

Feb 19, 2024

Airbag light comes on indicating that the airbags are not functioning properly per the instrument panel. A recall item on this particular model not listed under my VIN number, however, it is, I didn’t quote the complaints from other VW Tiguan who have experienced the same thing. Apparently this was a recall item that happened in November 2019. The first time my instrument Dental started indicating any issues was after it was serviced July 2021 although it was intermittent. Eventually it became an everyday thing. The airbags are always an indicator and every third start up will trigger intermittent signals that clear once the vehicle is turned off and turned back on yet airbag warnings are still adamant. Be present anytime the vehicle is in the on position.

NHTSA ID

11549993

Incident

Apr 1, 2023

Repeated failure of EPS system causing highway breakdowns - detail in attachment

NHTSA ID

11546152

Incident

Jun 30, 2023

The manufactured rear camera and lock. Have been having water leaking in do to improper placing of lock and camera. It has stop working.

NHTSA ID

11538865

Incident

Aug 1, 2023

Eagle valley motors sold me an unsafe car I kept telling them that the brakes were bad the transmission fluid was dark and the engine oil was black the tires were bad it was in real bad need of a tuneup I wrote and told the bbb about it and they did absolutely nothing I told Carlos he will lie about it just like how they lied to the bbb about getting in touch with me these people need to be out of business they put profits over people and they’re safety and I’m not the only one they’ve done this to I want all my money back I put close to $2000 dollars in this car 600 For the tires 703.76 for the brakes and tuneup 247.82 for the transmission 117.00 for the oil change they lied and said all that was taken care of bologna it wasn’t I have pictures of all that they said they did and did not I’m out a lot of money because of them I’m a senior on a super fixed income and they took total advantage of me a senior and they put profits over my safety as well as my Family and Friends and my Service Animal i want to pursue this these people need to be held accountable for doing this not only to me but others as well and if You can’t help me please get me someone who can Thank You for your help time and service I really appreciate it I wanted to upload more photos the brake photos and tires it wouldn’t let me I have them and I want You all to have them

NHTSA ID

11527281

Incident

Feb 20, 2023

I have a 2015 VW Tiguan, VIN: [XXX]. The Steering Wheel Clock Spring has gone bad causing multiple failure lights to come on and has also caused the car to be difficult to drive. Especially the steering. Most of the systems themselves are not failing, it is just the Clock Spring giving faulty readings to the car's computer. The lights that are on are the Green Break light, the Yellow Airbag and safety belt pretensioner system malfunction, and the Yellow Steering Wheel System light. The cause of this Clock Spring failure was because the car battery died. After we replaced the battery, the warning lights came on. The dealer had said it was the Steering Wheel Clock Spring that is causing all the system lights to come on. The dealer made me pay for the replacement ahead of time because he said that there was a long waiting list for the part that was being manufactured in Ukraine (?). [XXX]i is the service manager that made me pay for the future warranty repair. The local VW dealership in Waipio has made it extremely difficult to get this repaired under warranty or by a recall. I did get a notice for a class action lawsuit opened against VW and this issue. There is also an extended warranty repair, except my VW had too many miles (88K), and they said this year was skipped over for some reason. The Lawsuit is Water Pump Settlement 7577, PO Box 2636, Faribault, MN, 55021-9636. The attorney handling the case is [XXX]. I did not sign up for this lawsuit because again the year 2015 Tiguan was excluded for some reason that I do not understand. Please note that in Europe the very same part on this year VW Tiguan has been recalled. Why haven't they recalled the it here in the United States? INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ID

11490073

Incident

Jan 1, 2022

The clock spring went out on my car. This is a known defect at VW. My horn and airbags do not work now. Both are essential to safe driving. The part is backordered and people have been waiting for months. VW is letting people drive in death traps vehicles and recklessly allowing people to put themselves in danger because they cannot afford new vehicles nor will VW provide rental cars while the part is on backorder. We need help. VW has a reputation for taking advantage of these situations and doing nothing. Please help us. VW won't.

NHTSA ID

11480853

Incident

Apr 26, 2022

The airbag clock spring on my 2015 Tiguan broke in June. The car has a warranty extension for this failure, but no parts are in stock. It has now been 2 months and neither the dealer (Hendrick VW in Frisco, TX) nor VW Customer "Care" can help. There is not even a date for the replacement part available. My daughter is (was) the main driver and I don't want her driving an unsafe vehicle without horn / airbag. Worse, the registration has now expired, as the car can't pass the State Safety inspection required to renew the sticker. Car is now just parked until further notice.

NHTSA ID

11480670

Incident

Jun 7, 2022

My 2015 VW Tiguan has a broken clock spring. The clock spring functions to control the airbag deployment, horn and dashboard screen controls. This is a significant safety risk, as the steering wheel airbag will not deploy in a crash. A certified Volkswagen technician diagnosed the issue at a VW dealership. The airbag dashboard light is on, indicating that the airbag will not deploy in a crash. No warnings prior to failure, car operated well, with no issues before this was reported. Volkswagen is aware of the issue. They will be able to fix it, under warranty, but the parts are on backorder with no ETA as parts are manufactured in the Ukraine. This is a widespread issue across many VW models and model years. My car is not identified in the recall and there are thousands of cars waiting for the same repair. A recall should be issued. Having a safety issue like this, with no proposed time for resolution is unacceptable.

NHTSA ID

11475088

Incident

Jul 15, 2022

Broken clock spring affecting all collision safety systems such as airbag deployment and collision avoidance like horn and cruise control along wiht computer functions controlled exclusivley through the steering wheel.

NHTSA ID

11471439

Incident

Feb 1, 2022

While driving steering became very stiff and I could not turn the car. The red steering icon lit up on the dashboard and a gurgling sound was coming out from underneath the dash. The car only has 50,000 miles and I have never experienced a steering problem the car was nearly underivable. I took it to the dealer and they stated there was a 50851 Fault Torque Sensor Reading out of range and the steering rack had to be replaced with updated harness tierods and related hardware

NHTSA ID

11470899

Incident

Jun 16, 2022

The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the horn became inoperable. The air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the clockspring needed to be replaced; however, the part was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.

NHTSA ID

11467212

Incident

May 9, 2022

Mileage

67,000 mi

Airbag light comes on. There has been no accident to cause this

NHTSA ID

11464195

Incident

May 10, 2022

Airbag error light has been on since February 2022, clockspring malfunctioned and is covered under warranty. There are no loaner cars available forcing me to drive an unsafe vehicle with no airbags. The part has been on back order with no estimated date of arrival.

NHTSA ID

11463179

Incident

Feb 21, 2022

While driving in a congested area of Jacksonville, FL a small child pulled bike from behind another vehicle, I attempted to sound my horn in an attempt to get the child’s attention or that of the other driver. The horn failed. I continued to try and nothing. I noticed the airbag light on. I called the VW dealership and was told this is a problem with the clock spring in the steering wheel behind the airbag. This part controls all the functions of the steering wheel. He also mentioned NHTSA has several complaints and the warranty was extended to 120,000 miles. This is relatively a low threshold as more and more people are keeping cars longer with cost. I have 121,190 miles on my Tiguan and am told this is an $800 fix. It is only a miracle this child was not killed. I would be curious how many have been injured, or killed, and the faulty spring has not been pinpointed. I believe this is and immediate threat to safety as one cannot be sure if the airbag will work nor can you summons help with the panic feature as the horn does not work. I believe an immediate recall should be issued regardless of mileage.

NHTSA ID

11461165

Incident

Apr 18, 2022

The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the horn was inoperable. The air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel clock spring needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the parts for repair were on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide further assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

NHTSA ID

11455033

Incident

Jan 19, 2022

Mileage

74,000 mi

The clock spring broke very suddenly over two months ago. The airbag light came on and the steering wheel started to make a twisting noise when I turned it. My steering wheel controls and horn stopped working. The VW dealer diagnosed the problem as the clock spring, and stated that they would order the part and it would be replaced for free since it was part of a recall. The dealer has been unable to get the part for two months with no delivery date in sight. The inconvenience of not being able to access bluetooth and steering wheel controls is an annoyance, but not having a functioning horn has been a huge liability. In that time, I have nearly been hit by other drivers twice, and was unable to alert them with my horn. One of those events was almost a head on collision...the oncoming car drifted into my lane because the driver was looking at her phone. I was able to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid an accident. I was lucky that there were no obstructions or pedestrians. My car is unsafe to drive and yet I have no other option.

NHTSA ID

11449797

Incident

Dec 1, 2021

This morning I realized that my spring clock isn’t working. My air bag light is on saying error air bag. I have no controls on my steering wheel.

NHTSA ID

11447753

Incident

Jan 17, 2022

When I press the unlock button on the remote fob, all the doors unlock except the drivers door. I then have to open the rear door, reach the handle on the drivers door and open it. The VW Dealer want $245.00 just to find the problem.

NHTSA ID

11441740

Incident

Nov 22, 2021

VW panoramic roof was leaking behind plastic and roof covering without visible signs to the floor . We only figure it out after 3 years . Electric failure noticed after a year of ownership . Keyless entry , stop / start engine and what most dangerous car stoped in the middle of the street /fortunately not busy street . And it took a while to start engine again. Also fire hazard because electric damaged by the water . There was recall because of fire hazard in VW Tiguan 2015 and panoramic roof issue but notes was sent only a few customers . At least 10 lawsuits was filed already . VW refuse to fix the problem . And we don't have money to fix it because its not just about roof leak but electric , carpet fool of mold and other water damage and cost of fixing it will exceed the cost of this car . Technically it's flooded car because of manufacturer defect . Car has only 58000 miles.

NHTSA ID

11433591

Incident

Sep 7, 2016