2010 Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 turbo

Summary:

Great car, horrible engineering mistakes in some places

Faults:

Injectors replaced.

Moonroof replaced.

Headliner replaced.

Seat replaced, moonroof leaking damage.

Timing chain gasket.

General Comments:

Less than 80,000 miles and that thing leaks from all 4 corners. The drain pipes are not attached to drain of the moonroof and they detached or got melted from the sun. Engineers should have attached the drain pipes directly to the moonroof with a clamp; no, they put a dumb adapter in between. The sun deformed the drain pipes a little and it leaks all in the car. I had to carry a tarp with me all the time with 4 bricks and put that over my car every time it rained; you know how annoying it is to ask your boss to go cover your car from the rain. Garbage luxury, put metal on the roof. I hate the sunroof, it's too hot in California and I almost never use it. The car is good, but a middle schooler designed the roof.

Also the moonroof shade I only used it a couple of times and it completely fell apart; I was trying to cover the big glass hole in my roof (moonroof) from the sun and two springs popped out of the roof and that shade fell to the floor, I was only pushing a button for that thing to close, I didn't pull it or obstruct it with anything. You will hate yourself for that roof.

Also the engine has oil leak from the timing cover and 2 injectors quit working. And it is very hard to replace them; lazy engineers made it hard to work on this engine.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 26th February, 2019

3rd Mar 2019, 03:50

Serviceability is often an afterthought to European manufacturers, which can often be an issue given the reliability of their products.

26th Mar 2020, 18:17

I'm also not a big fan of sunroofs/panoramic roofs. For one, they don't benefit the front passenger/driver as the moonroof opening usually sits mostly behind them. So you see very little through it. It's more for the rear passengers. One benefit is to crack it open when parking the car at a mall on hot summer days, so the cabin doesn't overheat from the Sun. Is that enough to justify the cost?

In reply to 26th Mar 2020, 18:17

28th Mar 2020, 00:43

Modern sunroofs in general - I had two Audis in the past, '80s cars - which were how I expect sunroofs to be. Metal for starters, when you open it, you can actually see the opening from the driving position. With modern cars that have swept-back windscreens, the front-most edge of the open sunroof is often so far back that there is no benefit in having it for the driver. And I prefer metal sunroofs, after watching the British video of an offset frontal crash between a '90s Volvo wagon and a more modern Renault Modus. During the impact, although the Renault fared much better than the Volvo, I noticed the glass sunroof broke. I feel that in a real accident, should the car roll over and the sunroof glass breaks, if you happen to have an arm thrown up towards the (now open) sunroof, you could get very badly injured, whereas a metal sunroof, if closed, would keep any body part from going through the aperture.

2014 Volkswagen Tiguan R-line 2.0 TSI

Faults:

After 4 years of no issues, had to fix broken coil spring and stabilizer link.

Rear brakes need replacement due to general wear and tear. All other service items done on time.

General Comments:

Pretty good car; used to be a Subaru driver and the 4-motion in this SUV is pretty good in deep snow.

Great power and response. Premium gas can get expensive.

Repairs and parts are more expensive than Japanese cars, but not by much.

Dealer tried to convince me to get oil changes every 7,500km... don't listen to them! Just follow the maintenance manual of 20000km.

Also, some air filters you can change yourself in 5 minutes. Be careful of unnecessary dealer suggest service. Brake flushing is every 3 years only.

Only annoying thing is the struts and shocks make a hissing sound when going over bumps. Don't hear it inside the car, but can't understand why it would happen.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 11th June, 2018

12th Jun 2018, 11:17

Re: oil change - maybe not necessarily 7,500 km, but do not leave oil changes for 20,000 km! In the UK, a fair few cars with chain drive engines are having problems because of the extended service intervals. Two mechanics I know, one an ex-BMW one, said that when oil changes are changed at long intervals, say 20-25K km, the oil filter element can crumble when they try to get it out of its housing. Conservatively, with good quality oil, 10-15K km or one year, whichever comes first.

As for the brake fluid, check the manual - almost all cars I know of need brake fluid flushed at 2 years regardless of mileage, as it is hygroscopic, and moisture absorbed can corrode brake lines from the inside.

17th Jun 2018, 03:08

Oil changes are cheap insurance against engine failure.

Given the fact that modern engines work much harder than older engines, the engines oil tends to bear the brunt of the burden of higher heat rejection.

Additionally, some repair shops use budget/substandard quality oil, compounding the problem.

Frequent oil changes go a long way towards addressing both these issues.

Just do it :)

In reply to 12th Jun 2018, 11:17

17th Apr 2020, 14:34

You do NOT need to flush brake fluid every 2 years, this is another dealer scam.

In reply to 17th Apr 2020, 14:34

17th Apr 2020, 20:45

Depending on where you are, with most cars, YES you do! Only in the very few places or regions where the air is so dry that there is hardly any moisture in the air, does the brake fluid not absorb moisture. This is not a scam - brake fluid is hygroscopic. Get a brake fluid tester.

26th Jun 2021, 16:25

UPDATE:

Hi,

I'm still the original owner of this vehicle and wanted to post an update in case others might find it useful.

I've had the car now for 7ish years. It is at 140,000 km.

There have been some major repairs and unexpected repairs. In particular the failing turbo which was about $3500 to repair, but since it occurred 1 month after my warranty expired, VW Canada was able to work out a deal and I got it done for $500.

You can view the entire history of maintenance here.

https://pastebin.com/i9T8gCQa

The only issue I have currently is a resetting infotainment system. Also a known issue with VW (RNS 510 model).

So after 7 years, I'm torn between the driving 'feel' and the actual cost of owning this vehicle and driving it to a high mileage. Anyways, hoping to keep it till 200k, hope I can do an update then assuming we aren't in another pandemic.

Stay safe everyone :)