Owners have filed 474 complaints on the Volkswagen Touareg, covering 2004–2017. The system named most often is Engine (65 reports). Worst years by volume: 2004, 2005, 2016; cleanest: 2007, 2011, 2015. 12 reports describe a crash, 8 a fire. On average the car was 5.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Volkswagen Touareg
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 474 Touareg complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine 65 Read
Water was found in the air filter and engine. Service adviser stated that the vehicle was in water. I replied that the vehicle has be driven in heavy rain and sits outside in the weather. According to the service adviser the engine need to be replaced. I have researched online and found several more similar…
The touareg has a design flaw that have the engine air intake under neath the front headlight, which, under heavy rain, will let water flow though to the intake pipe and get into the engine. I have personally validated this as my air filter gets soaking wet after a heavy rain. There have also been numerous…
Air intake system lets water into the engine which can cause destruction of the engine, loss of power, loss of power steering, and loss of power brakes while driving. I inspected the air filter on my car to evaluate it for this issue and the bottom of the filter was soaked after a car wash. It was completely dry…
Electrical System 52 Read
I attempted to start the vehicle and the starter button clicked followed by a strong ozone electrical smell and copious smoke from under the hood. We called the local fire department but canceled the call as the smoke seemed to be clearing. VW dealer says the starter, alternator, battery and two wiring harnesses need…
The contact owns a 2014 Volkswagen Touareg. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle a burning odor was present inside the cabin of the vehicle and smoke was seen coming from the front console. After stopping the vehicle to inspect the cause it was discovered that the front passenger side seat heater had…
I am an automobile insurance adjuster. A 2006 vw touareg belonging to one of my customers caught fire at his work. He had taken the car to lunch, then back to work. 30 minutes after his return to work, the engine caught fire. The fire department put it out. Both a volkswagen representative and a forensics engineer…
Fuel/propulsion System 50 Read
2013 tdi -high pressure fuel pump failure. Have never put gasoline in the tank. Vw has rejected cost of repairs
I was driving to lunch one day when my 2016 Volkswagen Touareg TDI stalled in the middle of the road and was not able to be restarted due to a failed CP4 HPFP (High Pressure Fuel Pump) this repair was major and everything that the diesel fuel touches was replaced such as fuel pump, lift pump, all fuel lines, fuel…
After driving on a short trip. I smelled and noticed diesel leaking from driver side front wheel well. Looking more closely noticed diesel had been leaking while driving splattering on underside and side of vehicle
Power Train 47 Read
While driving the power train was seriously impacted, it is no longer operational and available for inspection at the dealer now. This is absolutely a safety risk as there was power loss and inconsistency which could have been very dangerous depending on the level of control required by the traffic conditions. The…
After vw emission repair the car stalls in shifting gears at low speed. I took at the dealership repair shop 3 times everytime the kept the car for about 2-3 weeks and couldn't resolve the issue. It appears like there is no fuel coming to the engine or the car computer do not allow the car to shift to the next gear…
Vibration in drive train. Local dealer put in a new drive train, this did not work, then they put in a new torque converter, this did not work. All under warranty (23,000 miles on a 20124 vw touareg) now I am going directly to vwof america to file a case. Vw says this is normal in all new touaregs. This is not true.…
Steering 37 Read
Takata I was driving perfectly fine and I came upon a turning to make the left and out of no where my car start sliding out of control I tried to control it because there was a ditch close by where I was it was sliding to the right tried to spin the steering to the left but the car was just doing what it felt like I…
Since I purchased my 2016 touareg tdi in september 2015. The steering wheel vibration has become quite an issue as it is getting worse the longer I drive it. I have had it road tested, wheels balance tires rotated on three different occasions and it continues to vibrate at the steering. I have only 4000 miles on the…
Vehicle exhibits excessive vibration and steering wheel shake between 60-75mph. It does not feel stable or safe at highway speeds. It has been to the dealer multiple times with no fix remedied
Air Bags 32 Read
The contact owns a 2014 volkswagen touareg. The contact's vehicle was rear ended by another vehicle at approximately 60 mph. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact was injured and required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The…
While traveling on highway 24 airbag spontaneously deployed and I was involved in mva. Front end of vw toureg smashed into concrete center post. Traveling about 65 mph
In a front-on collision that caused $22,000 of damage to the front of my vehicle, neither of the front airbags deployed
Vehicle Speed Control 22 Read
Random engine hesitancy reducing acceleration while driving. Vehicle maintained by the dealer for all scheduled maintenance and service visits. Within 30 days of a manufacture's repair that dealt with the HVAC and air filter AND a service visit to change oil and rotate tires, the hesitancy during driving was more…
After less than four years of ownership, and outside of the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty, the adaptive cruise control module(s) failed for no apparent reason, rendering the entire cruise control system inactive. The nature of the safety systems in volkswagens is such that if one system is not working, none will - thus,…
The contact owns a 2014 volkswagen touareg. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle did not accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 132,000. *tt
Engine And Engine Cooling 20 Read
Multiple engine light failures for over 4 years. Engine light came on and engine shut down immediately while wife was on the freeway. Very dangerous...essentially no warning. Have replaced wiring harness in the vehicle and have had it in the shop for electrical issues many times. Unsafe handling and acceleration...car…
I was driving a short distance from my house (2 miles) when I noticed my car not driving normally. I had driven it the 3 previous days with no problem. I finished my errand, then proceeded to head home. It was noticeably getting worse. I smelled something at a stoplight, not sure if it was my car, or car alongside of…
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Touareg. The contact stated while her husband was stopped at a traffic light, he started to hear an abnormal sound. The driver stated no warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to continue driving to his destination. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where…
Touareg years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Electrical System,unknown Or Other,engine | — | — | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2015 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 1 | 2 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2007 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | — | 1 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 8 | 5 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 248 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.9 |
| Worst single series | 9 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.4 years |
A model average of 1.9 hides a worst series at 9. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Touareg?
By complaint volume, 2004, 2005, 2016 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Touareg years are the cleanest?
2007, 2011, 2015 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Volkswagen Touareg have?
474 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2004–2017. Of those, 12 describe a crash and 8 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.