2016 Volkswagen Touareg problems
Owners have filed 68 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Volkswagen Touareg. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 32% of complaints. After that come forward collision avoidance (19%) and brakes (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 68 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 32% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 21,000 miles 27 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 13 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 9 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 1 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 27 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 21,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 22,000 miles (19 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 3 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 92% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2016 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Volkswagen Touareg with enough data (42 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Driving on the highway as a cold front approached, outside temperature dropped to 17 degrees. All of a sudden we heard a loud sound, like a gunshot and immediately glass fell on our heads. The sunroof had exploded for no apparent reason as there were no other vehicles around us. It was a scary incident with my family onboard. Only minor glass cuts were suffered, mostly on the hands and we wiped the glass pieces off ourselves.
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.
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 odometer. The vibration begins around 45-50 MPH. It does not matter what type of surface. I called VW of america they set up another appointment with my local dealership.
Since the tdi fix I have experienced two incidents of power loss and then the activation of the check engine light. The 1st incident occurred in my driveway at a slow speed. The loss of power was for a short period of time. VW called it a glitch not related to the tdi fix, and reset the check engine light. The 2nd incident occurred 33 days later on a surface street. I was in traffic at 40 MPH and the car had a rapid drop in speed. I pushed the accelerator to the floor which resulted in a slow acceleration.
During a rain storm and with my wife driving on a busy neighborhood throughway our 2016 VW touareg lost all power from the engine and power steering. She was forced to stop on the side of the road and push the car to safety. Upon research we learned about a problem with water getting into the air filter and subsequently into the motor.