Your vehicleHome›Volkswagen› Tiguan

Volkswagen · Compact SUV

Volkswagen Tiguan

Every model year 2016–2027: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

12 Model years 2016–2027

44 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years

1,453 Complaints owner reports, all years

A Newest grade 2027 Safety Signal

2016 Best on record cleanest filed year

The 2027 Tiguan →Which years to avoid Compare it

Volkswagen Tiguan — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Volkswagen Tiguan (2007 generation) · Photo: Alexander-93 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Active NHTSA advisory on 1 model year of the Tiguan — park outside or do not drive. The year rows below carry it.

Every Volkswagen Tiguan model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year

Year	Powertrains	Safety	Recalls	Complaints	Crash	Best efficiency
2027	Gas	A	0	0	—	29 mpg
2026	Gas	A	0	37	★★★★★	29 mpg
2025	Gas	C	3	53	★★★★★	29 mpg
2024	Gas	B	2	76	★★★★☆	27 mpg
2023	Gas	A	1	70	★★★★☆	27 mpg
2022	Gas	C	5	272	—	26 mpg
2021	Gas	C	5	144	★★★★★	25 mpg
2020	Gas	C	3	141	★★★★★	25 mpg
2019	Gas	B	5	194	★★★★★	25 mpg
2018	Gas	F	14	293	★★★★★	24 mpg
2017	Gas	C	4	76	★★★★☆	22 mpg
2016	Gas	B	2	97	★★★★☆	23 mpg

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road

Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2016

On the filed record so far, the 2016 is the cleanest Tiguan year we hold, and the 2018 the one to check hardest. The 2018 carries a standing park-outside or do-not-drive advisory, which outranks every other number on this page.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

Year	Safety Signal	Recalls /yr	Complaints /yr
2016	B	0.2	10
2023	A	0.3	23
2017	C	0.4	8
2020	C	0.5	24
2019	B	0.7	28
2021	C	1	29
2022	C	1.2	68
2018	F	1.8	37	Advisory

Which Volkswagen Tiguan years reported which system early

Source: NHTSA complaints, odometer at report

Earliest on the record: 2019 engine complaints at 0.1× the mileage of same-age vehicles (median 4,000 miles). Latest: 2016 electrical system at 1.08× (48,500 miles).

Year	Engine	Electrical System	Service Brakes
2019	0.1×	—	0.3×
2018	0.18×	0.58×	0.35×
2016	—	1.08×	—

Each cell is that model year’s median odometer when owners reported the system, divided by the median for the same system across every make’s complaints on the same model year. under 0.67× reported early; 1.5× or more late; a dash means too few readings. When problems get reported, not how often — complaint counts are in the table above. Across the whole fleet: which systems go first.

What owners filed about the Volkswagen Tiguan, by system

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsEvery system, every year →

The systems the federal record is deep on for this nameplate: the complaints per model year, the mileage owners reported them at, and every recall, investigation and manufacturer bulletin filed under the heading — each one linked, none a failure rate.

engine problems 438 complaints, every model year electrical problems 333 complaints, every model year

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record

2026: 3 → 4 EPA configurations
2025: best combined mpg 27 → 29; 4 → 3 EPA configurations
2023: best combined mpg 26 → 27; 3 → 4 EPA configurations
2022: best combined mpg 25 → 26; 2 → 3 EPA configurations
2019: best combined mpg 24 → 25; 4 → 2 EPA configurations
2018: best combined mpg 22 → 24; 2 → 4 EPA configurations
2017: best combined mpg 23 → 22

Compare

All Tiguan head-to-heads →Which is better for you? →

Head-to-head	Verdict
2027 Tiguan vs Kia Sportage · Compact SUV	Sportage +18.3
2027 Tiguan vs Jeep Wrangler · Compact SUV	Tiguan +11.8
2027 Tiguan vs Honda CR-V · Compact SUV	CR-V +15.8
2027 Tiguan vs Chevrolet Equinox · Compact SUV	Equinox +6.7
2027 Tiguan vs Tesla Model Y · Compact SUV	Model Y +30.6
2027 Tiguan vs Kia Sorento · Compact SUV	Sorento +9.3

In the studies

Source: computed from the same record, method on each page

Odometer at first complaint · rank 4 of 79 0.29× the mileage of same-age vehicles Volkswagen Tiguan owners reported problems to NHTSA at a median 7,200 miles across 2018–2019 (fleet 23,512), earlier than vehicles of the same model year. 195 readings.Same trim, next model year · 2025 → 2026 +4.3% at the median across 6 matched trims The manufacturer’s announced MSRP for the 2026 Volkswagen Tiguan against the same trim in 2025; the fleet moved +1.8% on 394 matched trims. Base trim $29,495 → $30,805. MSRP excludes destination; not a transaction price.

Common questions about the Volkswagen Tiguan

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which Volkswagen Tiguan year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2016 Tiguan comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade B (85/100), 2 recalls and 97 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What Volkswagen Tiguan years should I avoid?

2018 has the weakest recall record in this range — one carries an active park-outside or do-not-drive advisory. The year pages list every campaign, its severity and whether a repair exists yet. Every Tiguan model year ranked, with the reasons.

How many recalls does the Volkswagen Tiguan have?

Across model years 2016–2027, NHTSA has posted 44 recall campaigns for the Volkswagen Tiguan. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.