Volkswagen Tiguan Years to Avoid and the Best Years

Years to avoid: 2018 and 2022 At least twice the 42.5 complaints of a typical Tiguan year. Most described: hesitation (2018), excessive oil consumption (2022).
Best years: 2016 and 2017 Under three quarters of the 42.5 complaints of a typical Tiguan year since 2016, with no open NHTSA investigation or do-not-drive or park-outside recall.

Based on owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, not adjusted for sales. The 2024 to 2026 models are too new to judge. See every year ranked

Data: US EPA and NHTSAUpdated Nov 12, 2026

Every model year since 2010 in one place: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash test ratings. The best fuel economy rating, 29 mpg combined, arrived in 2025 and has held since. Includes the 2018 Tiguan Limited, the previous generation sold alongside the new Tiguan.

Tiguan problems by year, ranked by owner complaints

How the years are ranked

Model years ranked by owner complaints filed with NHTSA in their first three years (model year Y: filed by the end of Y+2), so every year is measured over the same time on the road. Years without three full years of data, and launch or final years with very few sold, are left out. Counts are not adjusted for how many were sold.

A typical Tiguan year drew 42.5 complaints in its first three years: the median of its years since 2016, higher than the median of all its ranked years (33.5). Years to avoid drew at least twice that, and at least 50. Best years are up to three years since 2016 with the fewest complaints, each under three quarters of a typical year since 2016 (42.5), with no open NHTSA investigation and no do-not-drive or park-outside recall that covers all versions; the 2020 is never picked, as its first three years fell in the pandemic. How the verdict works.

Model year	First 3 years	All complaints	Recalls
2018 Tiguan Avoid Most described: hesitation or slow acceleration	179	296	14
2022 Tiguan Avoid Most described: excessive oil consumption	139	281	5
2019 Tiguan Most described: hesitation or slow acceleration	70	196	5
2023 Tiguan Most described: excessive oil consumption	47	72	1
2011 Tiguan Most described: timing chain or belt problems	40	162	3
2020 Tiguan Most described: excessive oil consumption	38	141	3
2021 Tiguan Most described: excessive oil consumption	35	146	5
2012 Tiguan Most described: stalling or shutting off	32	153	3
2013 Tiguan Most described: the airbag warning light or an airbag fault	22	140	3
2017 Tiguan Best Most described: the airbag warning light or an airbag fault	15	77	4
2016 Tiguan Best Most described: the airbag warning light or an airbag fault	13	97	2
2010 Tiguan Most described: timing chain or belt problems	12	110	2
2015 Tiguan Most described: the airbag warning light or an airbag fault	11	62	4
2014 Tiguan Most described: the airbag warning light or an airbag fault	8	84	3

Compare other models' worst years in the worst model years guide.

Check your Tiguan for open recalls

Opens NHTSA's lookup in a new tab; your VIN goes to NHTSA, not to us. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard, the door jamb and your registration. Safety recall repairs are free at Volkswagen dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

How to check a car for recalls, step by step

Get a vehicle history report from EpicVIN (opens in a new tab): a paid report with the car's title, odometer and salvage records, from an approved NMVTIS data provider. Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy. If you typed a full VIN above, the link sends it to EpicVIN and opens its checkout page for that VIN. Check the price before you pay: EpicVIN's $1 trial lasts 3 days, then becomes a monthly subscription until you cancel ($49.99 to $99.99 a month on its pages as of Oct 2, 2026). Disclosure

Year by year

Model year	Best rating	Recalls	Complaints	Crash test
2026 MPG · Recalls and problems	29 mpg Gas	0	38
2025 MPG · Recalls and problems	29 mpg Gas	3	58
2024 MPG · Recalls and problems	27 mpg Gas	2	80
2023 MPG · Recalls and problems	27 mpg Gas	1	72
2022 MPG · Recalls and problems	26 mpg Gas	5	281	Not rated
2021 MPG · Recalls and problems	25 mpg Gas	5	146
2020 MPG · Recalls and problems	25 mpg Gas	3	141
2019 MPG · Recalls and problems	25 mpg Gas	5	196
2018 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	14	296	4 to 5 stars
2017 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Gas	4	77
2016 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	2	97
2015 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	4	62
2014 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	3	84
2013 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	3	140
2012 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	3	153	Not rated
2011 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Gas	3	162	Not rated
2010 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Gas	2	110	Not rated

Owner complaints by model year

All complaints filed so far. Counts rise with sales volume and with time on the road, so recent years look better than they may turn out. The highlighted bar is the model year with the most complaints in its first three years.

2018: 296 complaints

Show as a table

Owner complaints by model year, Volkswagen Tiguan
Model year	Complaints
2010	110
2011	162
2012	153
2013	140
2014	84
2015	62
2016	97
2017	77
2018	296
2019	196
2020	141
2021	146
2022	281
2023	72
2024	80
2025	58
2026	38

Best combined rating by model year

The best-rated version in each model year. Gas: 21 to 29 mpg (every year from 2010 to 2026); 29 since 2025.

2026: gas 29 mpg

Show as a table

Volkswagen Tiguan best combined mpg by model year
Model year	Best gas version
2010	21
2011	22
2012	24
2013	23
2014	23
2015	23
2016	23
2017	22
2018	24
2019	25
2020	25
2021	25
2022	26
2023	27
2024	27
2025	29
2026	29

Every Tiguan year's ratings in one table

Questions

Which Volkswagen Tiguan years should you avoid?

The 2018 and 2022 Tiguan are the years to avoid: each drew at least twice the 42.5 owner complaints of a typical Tiguan year in its first three years. Owners of the 2018 most often describe hesitation. Complaints can't tell you whether a particular car is sound, so whatever the year, check its open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy. Safety recall repairs are free at Volkswagen dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

What are the best Volkswagen Tiguan years?

The 2016 and 2017 Tiguan are the best years: they drew 13 and 15 owner complaints in their first three years, each under three quarters of the 42.5 complaints of a typical Tiguan year since 2016, and none has an open NHTSA investigation or recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside. Only years since 2016 are considered, since owners filed fewer complaints in the early 2010s. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 are not ranked yet: they have had fewer than three full years on the road.

Which Volkswagen Tiguan years have the most problems?

Counting owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, the 2018 (179) drew the most, then the 2022 (139). Owners of the 2018 most often describe hesitation or slow acceleration.

Which Volkswagen Tiguan years have the most recalls?

The 2018 has the most safety recalls in NHTSA's file (14), then the 2022 (5). A recall can cover a problem that affects only a few cars, so open a year's page to see what each one covers. One recall tells owners not to drive the car or to park it outside until it is repaired: NHTSA 18V-324 (2018 models).

What are the most common Volkswagen Tiguan problems?

In the 2,193 owner complaints NHTSA lists for 2010 to 2026 models, owners most often describe the airbag warning light or an airbag fault (184 complaints); stalling or shutting off (173 complaints); and hesitation or slow acceleration (127 complaints, most of them for the 2018 and 2022). One complaint can describe several problems. Each year's recalls and problems page lists what owners describe for that year.

Which Volkswagen Tiguan year has the best MPG?

The best EPA fuel economy is 29 mpg combined, first reached by the 2025 gas version and matched by every year since.

Sources and method

US EPA fuel economy data (fueleconomy.gov), file dated Nov 4, 2026.
NHTSA recall file dated Nov 12, 2026 and owner complaint file dated Nov 11, 2026; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.