Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the headlights unexpectedly failed to illuminate until the vehicle passed over a bump in the road, and shortly afterwards the headlights became illuminated again. Additionally, the engine oil and TPMS warning lights remained illuminated after the vehicle had an oil change and the tires were properly inflated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the vehicle was purchased, but the dealer provided no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact discovered that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V815000 (Tires). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced rough starts. Additionally, the vehicle drove rough and there was an oil odor present while driving. Upon inspection, it was discovered that there was no oil on the dip stick. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the turbo was faulty and needed to be replaced. The turbo was replaced but the failure persisted. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 35,000.
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. Since the initial failure, the failure occurred intermittently and the vehicle would restart soon after failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer however, the mechanic was unable to diagnose or duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000.
The car stopped at a light on a busy street in [redacted] (in the middle lane), then the engine stopped, and my wife could not restart it. I went as fast as possible and met her. I was eventually able to get it started. This is the third time we have had problems like this. I did the same thing for me and another time for my wife. I believe it is the stop-start capability, but I can't say for sure. We have also had bad engine oil burning problems and electrical problems. All of these (I now know, but did not before) are recurring problems for 2019 Tiguans. The cylinder head was rebuilt last year, associated with a similar instance. I am now fully aware that the 2019 Tiguans are known to experience all of these problems, but when I brought my car in on previous occasions, that never got mentioned. I am told XYZ is an issue, then billed for repairs. …
My problem does not involve a crash but involves frequent DELAYED ACCELERATION in warm and cold weather, due to Drive-by-Wire technology or software. My VW service department does not acknowledge the problem and considers this delayed acceleration as turbo lag! Really, turbo lag at idle and no forward movement! Example sitting in parking lot at idle, auto trans in D drive. I stopped to let out my wife of car and I depressed accelerator pedal and nothing happened for six second delay, the motor continued at idle, 1000 rpm, than after approx., full six seconds (i was counting) then car raced off and I had to brake. This issue occurs from full stop warm or cold and from idle to 1800 rpm and up to 25mph and from first week of ownership beginning in October 2019. This had been reported up to eight times and only serviced by the selling VW dealership. …
The car, a 2019 VW Tiguan, had a "check engine" light come on, and the resulting diagnosis and repairs - using VW's specific engine fault codes - led to the replacement of both water pumps at 72,000 miles. An investigation of the water pump problem on such cars revealed that Volkswagon previously settled a major nationwide class-action lawsuit (apparently kept secret) covering certain 2014-2021 models with 1.8L and 2.0L engines. This resulted in an extended warranty covering the repair or replacement of failed water pumps. For some reason our car was not covered by the extended warranty, even though the engines in the 2017 Tiguans are all the same. Why weren't we, as the owners of a 2019 Tiguan, notified of the results of the class-action lawsuit, and given the extended warranty? I want to know the difference between the water pumps in the affected vehicles, and the one in our car. …
Automatic start/stop feature malfunctioned while vehicle was at a complete stop in a left hand turn lane at the front of an intersection. Caused major traffic jam because vehicle would not restart. No warning signals were given prior to failure, car engine simply turned completely off and dashboard message then read to "manually restart engine". Attempted to do so but it did not work. After that, I randomly started turning the car off and on, switching from park to drive in whatever order to try to get the engine to restart since manually restarting the "normal" way did not seem to work. While the car was not restarting, the yellow engine light did appear, I am not sure exactly when. No one's safety was at risk in this particular instance, however it could have been depending on when this problem occurs. …
Me and my family were driving to Los Angeles on a freeway. All of a sudden the car showed a warning saying something like "Limited to 4,000 RPM", and we felt strong vibration under the hood. We decided to pull over at a first available gas station. While turning into the gas station, the car refused to go and refused to start, making a loud clicking sounds. We had to tow the car to the nearest VW dealership (Galpin VW). Later they informed us that they have to replace fuel injectors and harness and it will cost us approximately $2,600. After paying the amount, I found that VW issued a recall/bulletin for this very problem - VWP-23-03 for my model year (VW Tiguan 2019). I contacted VW but they refused to honor the warranty claiming that the warranty does not apply to my VIN. It seem obvious to me that this is the same exact problem as described in the bulletin VWP-23-03. …
When I turned the car on to leave work, the Check Engine and EPC lights came on, the car went into "Limp Home" mode and a warning came on the dash saying "Max Speed 4000 RPMs". Immediately, I could smell fuel, so I turned the vehicle off and exited. I noticed the ground under the car was wet. My husband came to check it out and the same thing happened. We saw that fuel was flooding out from underneath the engine. As he drove the vehicle to an adjacent lot to be able to be towed, fuel spewed out from underneath the engine. We had the vehicle towed to a VW Dealership in Grand Rapids who was able to diagnose a broken fuel rail bolt inside the intake manifold after they had the same experience with a massive fuel leak. Per the service advisor, this was not the first time they've seen something like this. …
I was driving on a hot day and all of the instrument panel, air conditioning, all controllers, like signaling, windshield wipers, radio and all electronic gear turned off. Without the equipment and tools available, I could not change lanes or come to a stop safely. It would be difficult for me to say if other systems were affected. I was luckily not going very fast at the time and was able to navigate to the shoulder and stop my car without incident but it was a very stressful situation that I had never experienced in a vehicle before that time. Yes, my vehicle is available for inspection. This happened for the first time today so I have not tried to reproduce the issue. However, many others have complained about it on forums. Here is one of many examples: [redacted] A car's electronic systems should not completely turn off because of changes in the weather.
Engine complaints in other Tiguan years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan?
NHTSA has 43 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan, 22% of the model year's 193 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan, though it has 5 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 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 2,000 miles, and 88% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries to engine & cooling problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.