RoadVitals

2004 Volkswagen Touareg Visibility Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the visibility system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Visibility reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
11
Latest Feb 4, 2015
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
5%
of 231 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
1
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming windshields, glass, wipers, defrosters and mirrors. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2004 Volkswagen Touareg submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 11 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming visibility

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

AirbagsPowertrain (other)Visibility
Filed Feb 4, 2015

AIRBAG MODULE DEFECTIVE WITH ONLY 54,496 MILES AND A $1200 COST TO FIX. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE! DASH LIGHTING HAS WENT ON AND OFF FOR AIRBAG. A WASHER PUMP DEFECTIVE, POWER TRAIN TRANSMISSION JUMPS AND HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM AND KNOWN PROBLEM BY VOLKSWAGEN BUT NOBODY WANTS TO ADMIT THE DEFECT PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ID
10681122
Incident
Feb 4, 2015
Mileage
54,496 mi
Visibility
Filed Aug 28, 2014

I WAS DRIVING ON 101 SOUTH FROM SANTA ROSA TOWARDS SAN FRANCISCO AND WHEN IN THE NOVATO AREA THE REARVIEW MIRROR CAME OFF DANGLING FROM THE HEADLINER BY THE WIRING HARNESS RIGHT ON MY FACE. THE DANGLING REARVIEW MIRROR BLOCKED MY VIEW OF THE ROAD AND THIS BIG DISTRACTION NEARLY CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. THIS IS CLEARLY A SAFETY ISSUE, REARVIEW MIRRORS SHOULD NOT JUST RANDOMLY FALL OFF. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT VOLKSWAGEN OUGHT TO HAVE A RECALL FOR THIS DEFECTIVE MIRROR AND PERFORM A REPAIR AT VW'S EXPENSE. MY AAA CERTIFIED MECHANIC QUOTED ME IN EXCESS OF $700.00 TO RE-GLUE THE REARVIEW MIRROR TO THE WINDSHIELD. *TR

NHTSA ID
10629233
Incident
Aug 26, 2014
Mileage
67,000 mi
BrakesElectricalFuel system+3 more
Filed Jun 5, 2006

VOLKSWAGEN 2004 TOUAREG SPORT UTILITY 4D HAS SERIOUS ALIGNMENT PROBLEMS RESULTING IN PREMATURE TIRE WEAR ON ALL 4 TIRES! FRONT 2 TIRES ARE DOWN TO METAL SHOWING WITH ONLY 19,880 MILES. CAR HAS BEEN IN FOR ALL SCHEDULED SERVICES AND ROTATIONS. ALMOST LOST CONTROL OF CAR WHILE DRIVING! ALSO, PRE-MATURE WEAR OF FRONT & BACK BRAKES & PADS DUE TO THE ALIGNMENT/TIRE PROBLEMS! CONDENSATION ON FRONT WINDSHIELD THAT DEFOGGER DOES NOT REMOVE. FUEL INJECTION RECALL THAT ON SERVICE BULLETIN STATED IT COULD RESULT IN A FIRE IF NOT FIXED! TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM FAILURE, ESP FAILURE, COMPUTER SOFTWARE FAILURE! *NM

NHTSA ID
10158963
Incident
Jun 2, 2006
Mileage
19,880 mi
BrakesEngineTransmission+1 more
Filed Apr 9, 2006
Crash reported

I BROUGHT A VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG. THIS VEHICLE HAS A LOT PROBLEMS WITH THE BRAKE AND ENGINE. SO I FILED A LEMON REQUEST. LAST MONTH, VW ASKED ME TO DROP THIS VEHICLE TO VW DEALER TO INVESTIGATE THE BRAKE PROBLEM. ON MARCH 23, THE VW EXPERT TEST DROVE MY TOUAREG AND HAD AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE THE BRAKES FAILED. THERE IS A POLICE REPORT. *NM THE REAR WIPER MADE A CLICKING NOISE. UPDATED 05/04/06. *JB THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER REPLACED THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE. THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE WAS UPDATED. UPDATED 06/01/06. *JB

NHTSA ID
10154917
Incident
Mar 23, 2006
Mileage
300 mi
EngineTires & wheelsVisibility
Filed Jan 9, 2006

2004 VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG LOSS POWER OWN 3 OCCASIONS AT 780 MILES. WINDSHIELD WIPERS DID NOT WORK IN THE INTERMITTENT MODE, TIRE PRESSURING MONITORING SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED. *TS ***NO ANSWER REQUIRED*** THE TIRE PRESSURING MONITORING SYSTEM WAS GIVING A FALSE READING AS IF THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE TIRES. *JB

NHTSA ID
10148659
Incident
Apr 18, 2005
Visibility
Filed Oct 27, 2005

2004 VW TOUAREG WINDSHIELD WIPER SYSTEM. WHEN WIPER IS SET TO WIPE CONTINUOUSLY, WIPER STOPS WHEN VEHICLE COMES TO A FULL STOP, AND WILL NOT BEGIN TO WIPE UNTIL VEHICLE EXCEEDS 5 MPH. DURING HEAVY RAINS, IT IS UNSAFE TO PROCEED TOO 5 MPH WHEN WINDSHIELD WIPER IS NOT WIPING. NO VISIBILITY IN HEAVY DOWNPOUR CONDITIONS, MUST PUT VEHICLE IN FORWARD MOTION TO WIPE AND SEE. ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. MANUFACTURER INDICATES THIS IS A "FEATURE" NOT DEFECT! *NM

NHTSA ID
10140942
Incident
Sep 20, 2005
TransmissionVisibility
Filed Aug 24, 2005

DT: THE CONSUMER STATES HIS 2004 VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG WAS HAVING A THROTTLE DELAY PROBLEM. THIS IS ESPECIALLY BAD WHEN PULLING OUT FROM AN INTERSECTION. THIS LASTED FOR ABOUT 2-4 SECONDS AND IT IS INTERMITTENT. AFTER THE VEHICLE HAS A DELAY THE RPMS GO UP T 3,000 TO 4,000. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR ABOUT A YEAR. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR THIS PROBLEM 4 TIMES. A REGIONAL TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE CAME AND EXAMINED THE VEHICLE. HE TRIED TO FLASH THE VEHICLE AND UPGRADED THE COMPUTER SYSTEM. THIS STILL HAS NOT WORKED. THE VEHICLE HAS CONSISTENTLY BECAME WORSE. THE OWNER HAS AN APPOINTMENT WITH VOLKSWAGEN NEXT WEEK TO ASSESS THE PROBLEM AGAIN. ALSO, THE DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED BY THE MANUFACTURER, WHO WANTED MORE DIAGNOSTIC WORK DONE. SPEED WAS NOT A FACTOR. IT IS COMING FROM A STOP TO PULLING OUT THAT THE THROTTLE IS HAVING THE DELAY. THE CONSUMER IS PROVIDING ALL THE INFORMATION THAT HE HAS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. *AK THE DRIVER WINDOW WAS INOPERATIVE AND THE HEATER BLOWER FAN WAS NOISY. *SC *JB

NHTSA ID
10129612
Incident
Aug 1, 2004
Mileage
200 mi
Visibility
Filed Mar 24, 2005

THIS HEADLIGHT WASHER(S) THAT POP UP FROM FRONT BUMPER CAME OFF DURING DRIVE FROM CA TO MD. DURING THE DRIVE BACK TEMPERATURE WENT INTO THE FREESING RANGE. WAS NOT AWARE THAT WHEN WASH THE WINDSHIELD THESE OTHER WASHERS POP UP TO WASHER THE HEADLIGHT. ANYWAYS, THEY DO AND DUE TO COLD IT GOT STUCK IN UP POSITION AND EVENTUALLY CAME OFF. DEALER INITIALLY SAID COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND NOW SAYS THAT SINCE HAVE A SCRATCH ON SIDE BUMPER SOMEONE TEMPERED WITH THE WASHER. HOWEVER MORE IMPORTANTLY THEY SAID THAT IT HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ANYONE BEFORE. I SAID MAYBE NOT YET OR IN DIFFERENT REGION SINCE THIS WAS WHEN DRIVING IN MUCH COLDER WEATHER. ALSO, THEY ALSO CONFIRMED THAT IT STUCKS IN THE DOWN POSITION WHEN THEY PUT IN A NEW ONE.

NHTSA ID
10114658
Incident
Feb 9, 2005
Mileage
19,000 mi
Other / unspecifiedVisibility
Filed Feb 15, 2005

THE TOUAREG HAS TWO DEFCTS THAT WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO IF THEY HAVE NOT CAUSED DAMGE. FOR MONTHS I HAVE TRIED TO GET VW TO FIX THE DEFECTIVE TAIL LIGHT FAULTS AND WARNINGS DUE TO THE INSTALLATION OF THE TOW HITCH. VW CLAIMS THESE ISSUES ARE RELATED TO ALL TRAILERS. ADDITIONALLY, THIS VEHICLE HAS A DEFECTIVE DRIVERS WINDSGHIELD WIPER THAT CAUSES OBSCURED VISABILITY. BOTH ARE DANGEROUS AND VW CLAIMS NORAML OPERATION. I AM FRUSTERATED AND IN DISBELIEF THAT VW WILL NOT CORRECT THE VEHICLES ISSUES. I AM WRITTING IN AN ATTEMPT TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE AGAINST THIS VEHICLE MANUFACTURE

NHTSA ID
10110597
Incident
Feb 12, 2005
Mileage
25,000 mi
Driver assistanceElectricalTires & wheels+1 more
Filed Feb 7, 2005

VEHICLE WOULD JUMP FORWARD WHEN MAKING TURNS, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO CONTROL VEHICLE. OWNER TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER FOR REPAIR OF THE TRANSFER CASE 3 TIMES. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WOULD GET STUCK, WHICH WAS NOT ENABLING THE VEHICLE TO ACCELERATE AND TO CHANGE GEARS. ALSO, WINDSHIELD WIPERS WOULD WORK INTERMITTENTLY, CAUSING VISIBILITY PROBLEMS ON THE ROAD DURING INCLEMENT WEATHER. IN ADDITION, THE BATTERY WOULD DRAIN AND CAUSE THE VEHICLE NOT TO TURN ON. MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED BY OWNER NUMEROUS TIMES.*AK

NHTSA ID
10110955
Incident
Jun 1, 2004
Mileage
48,041 mi
Visibility
Filed Sep 14, 2004

THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEFOGGER DID NOT DEFROST THE WINDSHIELD EFFICIENTLY. THIS CAUSED POOR VISIBILITY TO THE DRIVER. THE CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND DROVE IT TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION TWICE. THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *JB *NM

NHTSA ID
10089315
Incident
Jun 15, 2004

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .