Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while reversing, the steering wheel became locked and failed to steer in the left or right direction. No warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact managed to temporarily unlock the steering wheel; however, after driving at approximately 65 MPH, the steering wheel suddenly became difficult to steer. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it remained for further investigation. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 205,000.
The contact's daughter owns a 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power of steering assist. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that this was a common failure with the year, make, and model. The contact was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, while parked, the steering wheel seized. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
driving down the highway at speed, power steering fails and cannot control the vehicle. shut the car down and cannot get the issue to go away. got the car home without power steering. issue was gone next day. took car out to see if issue was gone, while making a turn power steering once again fails on the car. had to limp the car home at a very slow rate of speed. there are many reports of this happening to the VW power steering. the dealer wont even look at the car when i called to see if i can bring it in to be looked at.
One day I noticed that my horn wasn't working. Then a few days later I noticed that I couldn't connect to my phone from the steering wheel. The the airbag light came on. Garage said it is malfunctioning of electrical parts in the steering wheel column.
Airbag light came on. At the same time we lost all of our steering wheel controls as well as our horn. Some vehicles are covered by a recall but supposedly this yr and model isn't covered for some reason
Although vw has had recalls in multiple of its 2010-2014 vehicles with the exact same issue I'm having currently there is no recall on my 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan. I was parallel parking and I turned my wheel one way and heard a "tick-tick-tick" sound in the steering wheel column. When I turned the wheel the opposite way to finish parking it did not tick. After that I had no power in my steering wheel controls, alongside the airbag light turning on notifying me they were no longer working and my horn does not work when attempting to use while driving or inside the car. When outside the car and I hit the lock button the horn works notifying me it has been locked. I was nearly rammed into after another car tried merging into my lane and I wasn't able to honk my horn as warning to them. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan. While driving approximately 35 MPH and making a left turn, a noise was heard coming from the steering wheel and the air bag warning indicator illuminated. The contact also stated that the controls located on the steering wheel for the cruise control, Bluetooth, and horn failed to operate. In addition, the contact was unable to use the rear middle seat because the seat belt failed to extend. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under warranty. No further assistance was offered. The approximate failure mileage was 51,000.
I have a 2014 vw Tiguan with about 53,100 miles. My clock spring just broke. The steering wheel had been making licking sounds during turns for a few weeks, then after a loud click (during a turn at a low speed/in parking lot), my air bag light came on and controls on the steering wheel stopped working. The vw dealership informed me that this issue is not covered under warranty nor a recall. I see that the NHTSA has opened an investigation to determine whether the initial recall included enough vehicles. This just happened the other day, so it is not fixed yet. (I need to save up $800 to fix). I wanted to report this in case the NHTSA needed more incidents for their investigation.
Tl* the contact owns a 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the electronic functions on the steering wheel were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the clock spring failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 15V483000 (air bags). Archer Volkswagen (10400 southwest fwy, houston, tx 77074, [phone]) was contacted and an appointment was made to have the vehicle repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 43,000.
I was driving home on interstate, car suddenly displays steering wheel malfunction indicator and wheel locks. I was barely able to pull off interstate and shut off car. I turned car back on after waiting 5 minutes steering wheel seemed to return to normal, within one block of exiting interstate wheel locked again. This vehicle is not even a year old, purchased brand new 7/12/2014. Very scary. I noticed several incidents of this via vw complaint site. Seems this is unfortunately very common and some kind of defect with this vehicle.
Steering complaints in other Tiguan years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the steering of the 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan, 24% of the model year's 84 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan steering problems?
No. NHTSA lists no steering recall for the 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 47,000 miles, and 15% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.