23 complaints reported

2020 Volkswagen Tiguan UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
23
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Dec 2025

The overhead console on the VW Tiguan fell out of the ceiling. This is actually the second time this has happened (was originally replaced by the dealership at time of purchase). It so far has only fallen out a little bit and I taped it a bit, but it's still coming out. It blocks visibility and exposes electrical wires of the car. If it should fall out during a sudden stop, the whole thing could hit me in the head and cause an accident as I am a shorter driver and closer to the windshield. VW extended the warranty coverage given this known defect, but completely dependent on miles driven versus age of car-so mine is unable to be fixed without a costly repair, that I still cannot trust will not happen again since this is a repeated issue. Many VW owners have the same problem and this is a safety hazard VW needs to address immediately.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2025
Aug 2025

Overhead console fell out of ceiling. Hanging by wires. This poses a danger especially when it falls during driving. It is a known vw issue. The plastic tabs at each of the 4 mounting points of the panel had cracked, and snapped causing the entire panel to fall down, dangling by the wires. Whether the mounting points failed due to heat or whether it was the mounting screws being over-tightened causing the plastic to crack is indeterminable, but it failed at each of the 4 mounting screw points.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2025
Jun 2025

The overhead console came loose while parked during a heat wave and over the course of a day, it ended up hanging by the wires needing to be held up while driving. It blocks the rearview mirror, has exposing wires and swings around. This occurred during a heat wave. It seems that the plastic holding the screws melted, causing it to fall off. There are no warning lights or sounds and were none prior. Warranty states they do not cover this damage. Many others online say this happened to them with the same vehicle.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2025
May 2025

The overhead console is falling off due to weak plastic brackets in the housing. This overhead console failed over time with no contact and seems to be a big issue for many 2020 Tiguan owners. The console hanging down creating a driving hazard. There are many forum discussions laying out the issue and VW will not repair.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2025
Mar 2025

Car-Net module that connects with emergency services keeps failing. This part has failed 2x on my vehicle and it is not even 5 years old yet. A simple internet search shows that this is a known issue and is experienced across models and production years for Volkswagen vehicles.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2025
Sep 2024

The GPS in this vehicle constantly gives wrong information and directions. It has consistently shown wrong directions and has tried to make me turn around on the freeway and has sent me down one way streets. This is much more serious at night when a person can’t see road signs and depends on the built in GPS.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2024
Sep 2024

Passenger door (front) will not open with fob or door lock/unlock button. You can not open the door from the outside. Driver has to reach across to use the door latch. Won’t unlock with app either.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2024
Jul 2024

The interior overhead panel fell down when the car was parked in the garage. There have already been a lot of owners complaining the same issue on VW's forum: [XXX] There was no any incident that may cause this prior to this. It looks to be the bolts attaching the console were over-torqued. If this happened during the drive, it posted hazard to the driver because there will be a hanging panel blocking the driver's vision. We went to the VW yearly maintenance and nothing was done to fix the issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2024
Jun 2024

There is an overhead controls console for the interior light, emergency phone and sunroof. This console is above the interior rearview mirror. This console broke away on its own and is dangling by three wires. It blocks the rearview mirror. I can see that the bracket which you bolt to secure it in place is very flimsy plastic and has broken. The console is rather heavy and I was surprised that it would even be attached with a plastic bracket. It's a safety hazard because you can't use the rearview mirror and your vision out the passenger side window is obstructed. My local VW honored the warranty but it still should be addressed with a better fix for this.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2024
May 2024

We purchased car two weeks ago. Twice the engine has shut off while driving down a hill. The warnings say "Check the starter system" and "Ignition Switched Off". There was one warning about the starter system being deactivated or something like that. After the first time we brought it back to dealership. They couldn't diagnose. They found something with AC and took care of that. The car drove for a week and then it happened again. Both times it has happened after being parked for a couple of hours and both times it happened while driving down a hill. 2020 Volkewagen Tiguan with about 56k miles.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2024
May 2024

VW needs to handle this situation or I will be hiring a lawyer for a class action lawsuit. There are tons of people who are or have experienced what I’m experiencing with my Tiguan. White mold all through the middle seat carpet due to the floor air vents pushing air directly under the heavy mats that have no way for air to circulate out of. Heavy condensation has built up and there is a heavy presence of white mold through both sides. This is the 2nd time I have sent in a complaint regarding this HUGE health issue and design flaw. It is a huge risk to my health, my children’s health, and every other person who is dealing with this as well. I have found an abundance of people who have posted photos and shared their white mold flooring issue online. I have supplied photos to show the extensive damage it has done to my car.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2024
May 2024

I came out of the Walmart and got into my car and the Overhead Console was Detached hanging by electrical cords in front of the rear view mirror. Drove to the Antwerpen delership before they closed and was informed it detached due to HEAT????? Seriously, heat! Have an appointment on 08/07/2024. It appears this is happening alot around the US. Google it

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2024
May 2024

Tiguan overhead sunroof/bluetooth control console detached and fell down on its own and was hanging by wires. No one was in the car. Very dangerous if it had happened when driving. Had to drive it to dealer by rigging a bungee cord and paper clips to hold it up at least a few inches. Another problem is an ongoing moldy smell in the car especially when rainy or humid. I do not see any leaking of water.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2024
Feb 2024

We bought the vehicle one year ago from Carvana. There are air vents under the front two seats which blows cold air underneath the 2nd row floor mats. This creates condensation and produces a bunch of mold and mildew. My flooring/carpet is now covered in mildew and mold with a very bad odor. We could not figure out where it was coming from until I finally lifted the floor mats. This is a very poor design and will make people sick which will lead to lawsuits.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2024
Feb 2024

I am unaware of how to properly name the problem on this vehicle, but it is the panel that controls the sunroof/moon roof. It has fallen out of place on two occasions. The second time and the major cause for concern is because it happened while I was driving. And that is a safety hazard because it startled me and it easily could have cause me to swerve and wreck into someone or something. Also, if you aren’t able to get this issue fixed immediately it is dangling, wires/cords exposed and causes an unclear view of the rear view mirror. It constantly swings when you’re driving and can be a great distraction if you’re trying to keep it from swinging so much from hitting the driver, or just coming detached period and possible causing some electrical issues and possible injury. This problem has been taken to my local dealership twice and addressed, and dealership has stated that it will only repair as a courtesy twice. This isn’t a consumer wear and tear issue, it is clearly a defect from the manufacturer and poor construction of this component in the vehicle. This defect has only been inspected and repaired by the local dealership, I do not believe it has been escalated to the manufacturer for review. There was no prior warning to this panel falling, it just fell suddenly, without warning. After researching other online forums on this specific vehicle and the problem there are many consumers online with this same issue and some has had the issue occur more than others. This is not something that the consumer should have to constantly deal with or be responsible for due to poor quality of construction. There are vehicles that are of older date and age that do not have this issue, and for this to be happening to a daily new modeled vehicle in roughy 3 years or less is a problem. This needs to be seriously inspected and recalled for a better way to assemble this so that consumers do not have this issue, and it does cause injury or even death.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2024
Dec 2023

Center console fell from headliner. Thankfully it did not happen while I was driving which may have caused an accident. Safety would have created a visual hazard that would have impaired driving. Many other VW owners of the similar year, make and model have taken to the internet to share the exact same issue. The service dept at the dealership I go to said they have seen quite a few of these issues for this vehicle. There was no warning for this. The garage door opener component had become less responsive over the past few months but did not relate this to being a connected issue until today.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Nov 2023
Nov 2023

Fuel door gets stuck intermittently. Have to bang on the side of the car to have it released

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Nov 2023
Aug 2023

While I was driving the overhead center console that houses the driver and passenger interior lights, sunroof control, and mobile device microphone fell out of the ceiling. This was due to heat melting the plastic. The screws used to hold the console are metal and the summer heat melted the plastic causing the console to fall. This happened once in 2021 and was replaced with the same console. In 2022 the same issue happened. The dealer inspected it but does not have the parts to repair it. The item has been on back order for a year with no resolve. This item falling out of the ceiling while driving was a major safety issue and could have caused an incident. I had to try and hold it up while getting safely to my destination. The dealer said this has been a common issue with my VW vehicles and I was out on a waitlist for repair.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2022
Jul 2023

Puts key in ignition stays on and suddenly shuts off and says check starter system

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2023
Feb 2023

There is a malfunction with the emergency SOS system. I have an error message.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2023
Feb 2023

On the panoramic sunroof, the back portion (moonroof) exploded on its own. Car was parked outside in parking lot and when came back to car after couple of hours, the whole back panel had been cracked and entire moonroof shattered (with glass fragments also inside car). The break was caving out (glass curved upwards) as if broken from inside. Unknown how this happened but temperature wasn’t too hot either to cause explosion from extreme heat.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2023
Feb 2023

I noticed a stinky smell in my car a few months ago but didn't think anything of it, I thought maybe one of my sons left gym shoes way in back and it left a stench. My husband was cleaning my car out and noticed that there was white stuff on the floor behind the driver side. He instantly takes the car to get detailed but the smell still lingered. Two months later the white stuff is on the carpet again he removed the matts and knew it was the exact same problem that it was growing mold! Disgusting! He tried keeping the car clean, the carpet clean and fresh but the smell isn't going away. We eventually took the car to a VW dealership near us where they said they couldn't find a leak or anything that would cause this issue. They didn't clean the floor or even try to resolve the issue, so we then reached out to the VW dealership where we purchased the car. We took the car in only for them to tell us they couldn't find a problem, therefore they can't honor our warranty. After searching through the internet to my surprise this is an ongoing problem with this vehicle and it's obvious that VW would know about this problem after so many complaints. I'm furious and frustrated with this issue because mold is extremely serious and I ride in this vehicle every day and no telling what health issues could come from this. Instead of VW pretending there isn't a problem they can just fix the issue and replace the carpet, however they want to be difficult.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2022
Mar 2021

BOUGHT A NEW 2020 VW TIGUAN IN JULY OF 2020 IN MARYLAND AND IN OCT 2020 MY CAR STARTED TO STINK LIKE MILDEW FROM THE BAD MOONROOF DRAINS THAT DRAINED RAINWATER INTO MY CAR. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALERSHIP 2 TIMES TO HAVE THE CARPETS AND FLOOR MATS REPLACED AND IT STILL STINKS. I TOOK IT TO A PREMIER DETAILING COMPANY TO DO AN EXTREME OZONE AND INTERIOR DETAILING, STILL STINKS (STILL OWED REIMBURSEMENT FOR THIS FROM VW). THE DETAILING PROFESSIONAL OF 20 YEARS AT THE PREMIER DETAILING SHOP SAYS THIS KIND OF MILDEW ODOR CANNOT BE REMOVED. I AM TRYING TO GET THIS LOOKED AT FOR A THIRD TIME AT A VW DEALER BUT AM GETTING THE RUNAROUND FROM THE SERVICE MANAGER WHO SAYS THEY WILL NOT LOOK AT IT UNLESS VW PREAUTHORIZES IT. THIS FALL UNDER MARYLAND LEMON LAW AND I GUESS VW IS TRYING TO AVOID ME TAKING THEM TO COURT. I AM LOOKING FOR MY MONEY BACK FROM VW OR FOR THEM TO PUT ME INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE AND THEY ARE JUST GIVING ME THE RUNAROUND. VW KNEW OF THIS ISSUE ON MY MODEL WHEN THEY SOLD THIS CAR TO ME BUT VW REFUSES TO PUT A RECALL OUT ON THIS THOUGH HUNDREDS OF TIGUAN'S WITH MOONROOFS ARE AFFECTED. MY BEST FRIEND HAS A SEVERE MOLD/MILDEW ALLERGY AND SHE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET INTO MY CAR, A FRIEND HAS ALREADY HAD AN ASTHMA ATTACK IN THE CAR, AND I AM CONCERNED OF THE LONG TERM AFFECTS THE MILDEW IN THE CAR IS HAVING ON MY HUSBAND AND I SINCE THIS IS THE ONLY VEHICLE WE HAVE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Nov 2020

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Quick Summary

The 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan has 23 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.