2016 Volkswagen Tiguan Engine Problems

* Purchase Date: January 23, 2016 * Current Mileage: Approximately 71,500 miles For the past several months, my vehicle has experienced continuous engine oil loss. The oil level drops approximately one gallon every two months, and the engine oil warning light has illuminated on multiple occasions. Because of this recurring problem, I brought my vehicle to Volkswagen Glendale on April 23, 2026. After inspecting the vehicle at the Glendale dealership, I was informed that loose oil pan bolts were the cause of the oil loss. Based on this diagnosis, I took the vehicle to three different local auto repair shops for additional inspections. All three repair shops independently diagnosed the issue as being related to the engine and stated that if the engine is not replaced, the engine oil loss problem will not be resolved. I returned to Volkswagen Glendale on June 27, 2026. During this second visit, I was informed that the oil leak was coming from the oil pan area and that components including the oil pan, bolts, sealant, oil level sensor, and gaskets required repair. The technicians raised the vehicle and carefully inspected the entire underside. They reported that there was no visible engine oil leak and no evidence of oil escaping from the oil pan. I took the picture that there is no visible engine oil leak at the repair shop. I am deeply concerned that: * I am concerned about having to continuously add engine oil (1 gallon every two months) because the vehicle keeps losing oil. *I am concerned that the engine may seize due to low oil levels, which could cause the vehicle to break down while I am driving. Specifically, I request: Due to this engine problem and the ongoing engine oil loss issue, I respectfully request that the engine be replaced to resolve the problem and prevent potential safety risks. After reviewing the information above, could you please provide me with the claim number? I would appreciate your assistance. Thank you.

NHTSA ID

11749882

Incident

Feb 19, 2026

The contact's friend owns a 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist failed with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and a diagnostic test was performed. The diagnostic test showed that the vehicle and determined that the steering rack, wheel speed sensors, and engine cooling fans needed to be replaced. The contact's friend declined the repair, and the warning lights remained illuminated. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic who discovered that coolant was leaking into the engine and discovered various engine leaks. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000. The VIN was invalid.

NHTSA ID

11697115

Incident

Sep 28, 2023

Mileage

88,000 mi

I bought a 2016 VW Tiguan in 2019 from the Audi Rockville dealership. Recently I had an oil leak issue that requires a substantial repair. I first took it to a certified VW mechanic, Ourisman VW of Rockville, and they diagnosed the issue to be a 4,109.19 dollar repair. Following this, I took it to get a second look at an independent mechanic shop, Wilniq Auto Body & Mechanical Repairs, and the mechanic came to the conclusion that the engine head gasket needs to be replaced and that it should be covered under the manufacturers power train warranty. Unfortunately my car is out of warranty by just 241 miles (Warranty is up until 60,000 miles and my car is at 60,241). Based on what the mechanic saw while diagnosing the issue (The color and consistency of the leaked oil and where it was located), he alluded to this oil leak issue definitely starting prior to my car hitting 60,000 miles and that the other mechanics who worked on my car prior should have noticed this issue. They also mentioned that from what they can tell this issue has nothing to do with how I maintained the car but an issue with the car itself. I regularly maintained the car with all scheduled oil changes on time. The last three oil changes I had were at 51, 256 mi, 54,404 mi, and lastly at 58,075 mi (The recommendation is every 10,000 mi). When I brought all this up to a Volkswagen of America representative via chat they mentioned that because I brought the car to an independent shop the warranty would not be applicable anyway. My independent mechanic told me that this is not the case and in fact illegal. I bought this car in good faith with my hard earned money expecting it to be a durable and reliable product for years to come. Now I am getting hit with serious repairs at just over 60,000 miles and I do not trust that there won't be more in the future. Attached are documents, receipts, transcripts, other customer complaints similar to mine and the answers to the general guideline questions above.

NHTSA ID

11566020

Incident

Jan 10, 2024

I had a coolant leak and needed to replace the water pump. My control arms were corroded out at 67k miles and needed to be replaced.

NHTSA ID

11494260

Incident

Nov 17, 2022

I have taken my 2016 VW Tiguan to a VW service center, and they have notified me of a faulty water pump in my car that is leaking coolant. This is endangering the engine of the car and its safety. There has been a class action lawsuit regarding this exact issue with VW in the case Zhao, et al. v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 2:21-cv-11251. I have contacted the manufacturer VW several times regarding this issue, but they refuse to cover the costs of my repair as the mileage on my car is above their current warranty period. However, if this is a known issue with a faulty part, the manufacturer VW should be responsible for the costs of repairing the issue and maintaining the drivability of my car.

NHTSA ID

11478192

Incident

Jul 25, 2022

My 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan has only 49,000 and the water pumps went bad already never heard of this I brought many cars and never had any problems with water pumps especially so soon. I couldn’t drive for days because water pumps are so expensive and my is more than 30 mile away which causes my car to over heat and the antifreeze was leaking so much I didn’t want to get stranded out there so I didn’t drive much until I was able to replace the water pumps. It’s to my knowledge Volkswagens had water pumps defects issues and I feel Volkswagen needs to recall 2016 models because water pumps should last for over 100,000 miles or more. I brought this car used in good condition with only 34,000 on the car and now water pumps goes bad. I hope someone looks into this matter because this parts are very expensive on consumers and Volkswagen needs to pick up the bill not consumers..Thanks for your time.

NHTSA ID

11458965

Incident

Mar 21, 2022

2016 volkswagen tiguan 2.0 L combination timing chain and timing chain tensioner failure as diagnosed by the Volkswagen dealership. Caused the car to lose power immediately and misfire

NHTSA ID

11438297

Incident

Oct 8, 2021

MY VEHICLE EXPERIENCED AN INTAKE MANIFOLD FAILURE AND REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. THIS IS A WIDELY KNOWN AND DOCUMENTED ISSUE WITH OLDER VERSION VW INTAKE MANIFOLDS. THERE IS ALSO AN EXTENDED WARRANTY APPLIED TO VW INTAKE MANIFOLDS WHICH I HAVE ADDED AS A DOCUMENT BELOW. VW CLAIMS THAT MY INTAKE MANIFOLD IS NOT COVERED BY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH MY CAR HAS THE SAME CCTA ENGINE AND SAME INTAKE MANIFOLD AS THE ONES DESCRIBED IN THE NOTICE. THE WARRANTY EXTENSION SHOULD APPLY TO ANY OF THE VW VEHICLES THAT HAVE AFFECTED INTAKE MANIFOLDS. THE INTAKE MANIFOLD WAS COMPLETELY REDESIGNED BY VW IN 2017 TO ADDRESS SPECIFIC ISSUES WITH THE OLDER VERSION OF THE INTAKE MANIFOLD AS DESCRIBED IN THIS VIDEO DONE BY A VW EXPERT AND DOCUMENTED UNIVERSALLY. AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE DATE AND RECORDS, THIS UPDATE WAS RELEASED AFTER MY 2016 VW TIGUAN WAS BUILT, SO MY CAR HAS THE OLD VERSION OF THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. THE OLD VERSION SKU IS 06J133201BD AND THE NEW VERSION SKU IS 06J133201BH WHICH I HAVE LINKED BELOW WHICH ADDITIONALLY SUPPORTS MY CLAIM. THE WARRANTY EXTENSION ON THE INTAKE MANIFOLD BY VW WAS TOO NARROWLY APPLIED SINCE THERE ARE MORE VEHICLES WITH THE SAME ENGINE AND SAME INTAKE MANIFOLD THAT ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE. PLEASE ADVISE VW TO EXTEND THE WARRANTY TO ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES INCLUDING THE 2016 VW TIGUAN. VIDEO OF INTAKE MANIFOLD UPDATE - HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=5IVXPQRIZKK&T VIDEO DETAILING ISSUES OF VW INTAKE MANIFOLD - HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=YVFVUKUPY0K&T OLD VERSION INTAKE MANIFOLD - HTTPS://PARTS.VW.COM/P/VOLKSWAGEN__/MANIFOLD/54564237/06J133201BD.HTML NEW VERSION INTAKE MANIFOLD - HTTPS://PARTS.VW.COM/P/VOLKSWAGEN__/ENGINE-INTAKE-MANIFOLD/67801038/06J133201BH.HTML

NHTSA ID

11397026

Incident

Feb 16, 2021

Mileage

80,800 mi

CODE P2015 PROBLEM IN INTAKE MANIFOLD. REQUIRES REPLACEMENT OF THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. VOLKSWAGEN HAS EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR PREVIOUS YEAR MODELS WITH THIS EXACT PROBLEM AND ARE REFUSING TO EXTEND THE WARRANTY FOR THE 2016 TIGUAN.

NHTSA ID

11180601

Incident

Feb 6, 2019

Mileage

79,260 mi

I BOUGHT MY CAR JULY 6TH, 2018, GOT THE OIL CHANGED IN AUGUST 2018, AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE UNTIL OCTOBER 1,2018 WHEN THE EPC LIGHT CAME ON AND ABOUT 1MINUTE LATER THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS TURNING ONTO MY STREET IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WHEN IT HAPPENED AND IMMEDIATELY CALLED THE AUTO SHOP WHERE I'D RECENTLY GOTTEN MY OIL CHANGED. THEY TOLD ME TO BRING IT THE NEXT DAY BUT I LOOKED IN THE USERS MANUAL AND IT SAID TO DRIVE TO MY NEAREST DEALERSHIP. SO I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID TO BRING IT AT 8:15 ON OCTOBER 3RD. I TOOK IT AND DROPPED IT OFF. I CALLED BEFORE THEY CLOSED TO GET AN UPDATE ON THE DIAGNOSIS AND THEY TOLD ME THEY SUGGESTED A 100K MAINTENANCE SERVICE AND NEW BATTERY. THEY SAID THE BATTERY CAUSED THE SLOW START AND THEY CHECKED THE CODES AND IT SAID FAULT IN TIMING CORRELATION' WHICH WAS CAUSED BY LOW OIL PRESSURE AND THEY DIDN'T SEE OIL ON THE DIPSTICK. SO, I ASKED IF THE SUGGESTED MAINTENANCE WOULD FIX THE ISSUES AND IF THAT'S WHY THE SERVICE LIGHTS CAME ON AND SHE TOLD ME YES! I THEN WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP TO GET FINAL CLARIFICATION OF WHAT WAS GOING ON AND SHE TOLD ME AFTER THE MAINTENANCE EVERYTHING WAS FINE AND HE JUST NEEDED TO TEST DRIVE IT AND I COULD COME BACK IN AN HOUR. SO SHE CALLED AFTER AN HOUR AND SAID THEY FINISHED AND I COULD GET MY CAR. I PAID THEM AND SHE TOLD ME THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS AND I WOULD PROBABLY NEED REAR TIRES AND BRAKES AND AN OIL CHANGE AND THE 110K MILE SERVICE IN A YEAR OR 10K MILES- WHICHEVER COMES FIRST. I GOT IN THE CAR AND BEFORE I LEFT THE DEALERSHIP THE EPC LIGHT CAME ON. I GOT OUT, WENT BACK INSIDE AND TOLD HER AND SHE TOLD ME THEY NEEDED TO PULL IT BACK AROUND AND I LEFT WITH MY MOM AND SHE CALLED HOURS LATER AND SAID I NEEDED A TIMING CHAIN AND TENSIONER. I ASKED WHY THEY DIDN'T SEE THAT BEFORE AND SHE SAID THEY HADN'T LOOKED AT IT CLOSELY ENOUGH. THEN SAID SHE'LL CALL BACK TOMORROW

NHTSA ID

11133401

Incident

Oct 3, 2018

Mileage

94,000 mi

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON FOR NO APPARENT REASON. HAD TAKEN MY CAR FOR A BATTERY RECALL ISSUE AND WAS TOLD BY VW SERVICE PROVIDER THAT THEY WOULD NOT COVER THE PROBLEM. NEXT DAY CHECK ENGINE SIGN POPPED UP. I HAVE NEVER DRIVEN A WORSE CAR IN MY ENTIRE 20 YEARS.

NHTSA ID

11112066

Incident

Jul 17, 2018

Mileage

53,200 mi