Used 2010 Volkswagen Tiguan SUV Consumer Reviews
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Among the best cars I've owned.
Maria Vale, 12/04/2015
updated 12/05/2017
2010 Volkswagen Tiguan Wolfsburg Edition 4Motion 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
62 of 63 people found this review helpful
I've driven and owned a numerous amount of cars in my life, given my constant travels and former business assignments, so I can say with certainty, that this Tiguan is turning out to be an excellent decision to purchase. I grew up seeing many VWs, Mercedes, Volvos and Datsun/Nissans, as well as Fords, that were decades-old, still on the road, so I knew those brands were the way to go when it came to ownership. Volkswagen has hit a nice mark with the Tiguan since it's a small SUV, completely manageable for someone who's below 5'3" tall. The car has a peppy pick up when on the highway, especially if you shift it into Sports mode. This little car can run! It takes a couple of seconds longer to pick up highway speed on the regular Drive shift as compared to the Sports mode, but in both gears it responds fast. It runs smoothly and it has come thru for me in important situations such as quick/sudden braking, even in the most hazardous conditions such as slippery roads, poor visibility and heavy (almost blinding) rain. I consider this car the way I'd consider a loyal friend, who's always there for you, no matter what. This car is no diva despite its beautiful exterior and interior. It has leather beige seats, beige interior, panoramic sunroof, 40/60 back seats, front bucket seats, computerized diagnostics, amazing sound system, noiseless and totally gorgeous and comfortable inside. The only things were I'd improve would be in the gas mileage. I get a range of 11-18 MPG in city (11-13 in NYC) (18 in Florida) to 21-24 on the highway. I was not careful to learn before purchasing that this car requires premium gas. Thankfully the price of gas is much more affordable where I live now, so a full tank nowadays (about 16 gallons) requires anywhere between $40-45. I always use Shell Premium. Also, since this is my first SUV (always driven sedans), it's not as smooth as a sedan ride. But the service guy tells me all trucks and SUVs have that feel. My Tiguan does have a bit of engine hum, very, very low, but again, I've been told is normal in an SUV. I also watch the RPMs and when in idle mode, they always remain at below 1000 RPMs, and that's a positive sign of a healthy engine. The minor engine hum doesn't really bother me since I always have my radio on anyway, so I don't really hear it. Regarding repairs, I've only had to take it in for repair once when I gave someone a boost and not sure why but one of the electronic computer boards burnt. Since it's under Warranty, the dealership (VW Schumacher) took care of it and put me on a nice loaner (the CC). The service is always fast and friendly at the dealer. Also, I've kept the car under warranty extensions. A good investment. I'm very happy with my Tiguan. I've been warned that perhaps problems may come at over 100,000 miles, like in all cars, where parts need to be changed, but I believe in good German engineering. After all, this model was completely built in the Germany plant. UPDATE: At the end of the 3rd year, once my Tiguan went past the 50K mile mark, it was time to change parts, fans, filters and it got expensive. The engine began to respond with a delay, so I was told at the dealer it needed a change of fuel injectors. I only used Shell Premium! It was going to cost me about $700+. At this point, another German competitor offered to put me in one of their leases in exchange for the car, including what was still owed. I took it. BMW offered to cover everything for the lease payment, including the car wash. My gas bill, insurance rate and car expenses dropped dramatically. Lesson learned, German cars are great to lease, not to own long term. The next time I look to buy a car for long term it'll likely be Japanese.
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Great fun to drive, agile, but problems
Edward Becker, Jr., 03/28/2015
updated 03/30/2018
2010 Volkswagen Tiguan Wolfsburg Edition 4Motion 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
35 of 36 people found this review helpful
This compact SUV drives like a small European sports car. Adequate passenger space, high quality interior, 4 motion AWD tracks well through some of the worst winter snow and ice (except moderately high snow drifts). My complaints are with below average reliability. Problems began at around 70,000 miles. I've had 3 water pumps, trouble with emissions system, replaced turbo, clogged injectors, replaced virtually every motor seal, and other issues. Total cost of dealer completed repairs and maintenance to date (with 108k miles)- $13,600.(ridiculous). If you buy one of these, keep it until around 60k, then get rid of it! I traded in the car in 2016 for a Mazda CX-5. I got $8,500. on the Tiguan trade in. I am very pleased with the Mazda CX-5. It's not as quick as the Tiguan, but so far no problems with the CX-5 (now 38k miles on it). My neighbor is an airplane mechanic and has a VW with the same 2.0 liter motor as I had in the Tiguan. He also has had much the same problems with it, and in fact was putting in the third water pump this week (3/18), but he is able to do all repairs himself, saving thousands of dollars. He has around 200k miles on his VW 2.0 liter, but again has had lots of problems with it. I looked at the new 2018 Tiguan with the 2.0 liter engine when at my dealer for an oil change on the CX-5 recently. It's very impressive, larger, redesigned, and they have extended the powertrain warranty to 6 yrs./72k miles (i think). I'm tempted, but my inner self tells me - no way, don't want those expensive problems again! Sorry VW!
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Great Performance but worried about reliability
Jeff, 11/16/2017
2010 Volkswagen Tiguan Wolfsburg Edition 4Motion 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
58 of 61 people found this review helpful
Being a multiple VW owner I picked up this car for my wife used, 3 years old with 28K miles. I enjoy driving it but I am somewhat worried about future problems. I do most work on my cars and the Tiguan is a challenge. At 78k the water pump started leaking. I saw the cost to replace the pump is about $1,200.00 and found out why. Since the pump is not on the timing chain or serpentine belt it is buried deep in the engine on the front the of engine block. Many parts have to be removed and the placement of the bracket holding up the throttle body was completely idiotic. I think the book time to change the pump is 8 hours plus the part at $360 and you are at $1,200.00. There is also an issue with the VW 2.0 TSi engine of this year having carbon build up on the intake valves. When I pulled the intake I found the carbon build up (due to the engine design) and believe that all engines will have this problem. Burning premium does not prevent this but is recommend because of the turbo. I clean the port separators but will do the ports and valves later. Too much carbon build up with cause problems with cold starts, engine idle and eventually throw a check engine light but I have not experienced this. The other issue that I have is with the turbo. Check engine light came on and code indicated a boost problem. I replaced the appropriate valve but still had the problem. After doing some research it seems that the problem is with the turbo waste gate. The issue here is that VW used a turbo with the waste gate built into the turbo and this is why some who have posted had to replace the turbo. Mine only occurs in the summer when the temperatures are mid 90's plus and with AC on so most of the year there is no problem. The other common problem is the timing chain tensioner. A design flaw allows for the tensioner to pop loose, the chains skip and the valves hit the pistons and motor is dead. There is a kit that you can buy for about $250 (tensioner and cover) that will replace the stock with an updated tensioner. It is about a 2 hour job to replace. I change the oil every 5k miles with full synthetic and this probably helps but I plan on upgrading the tensioner. The only real repairs that I have had to do besides the water pump and turbo pressure relief valve is two control arms for the suspension. I probably didn't need to do this put the shop where I take the car for alignments talked me into it. The car itself drives and handles great. Good handling in the snow even without snow tires and is fun to drive. Controls are easily laid out and logical and the seats are comfortable even for long drives. Good space to a compact SUV. Gas mileage is a bit less than you might expect from a 2.0 liter but nothing terrible. About 24.5 mpg on highway (70-75 mph) and around 18 mpg town and suburban. Paint job is good and still nice after 7+ years. Only fault with interior is that drivers seat base has cracked on one bolster side (was like this when I bought it). It is the synthetic leather and maybe the previous owner did something to it ? I will acknowledge that the VW is not as reliable as its Japanese counterparts but is way better handling, quicker and loads more fun to drive. Maintain it properly and it shouldn't be too bad.
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Great car until the turbo blows out the engine
CB, 05/31/2017
2010 Volkswagen Tiguan Wolfsburg Edition 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
10 of 10 people found this review helpful
My 2010 Tiguan looks brand new. I loved the car. I've driven it about 97k highway miles. Took it to mechanic after check engine light kept coming on. The car became noisy and ran rough. The mechanic (who I've had for years and has advised me regarding all of my vehicles & never failed me yet) said it might be just plugs or such. He went through my engine & said it looked like the turbo was blowing out 2 of the cylinders. The check engine light continued to come back on after replacing the plugs and working on whatever else could cause such a problem. (I don't know much about engines) & he said I should get rid of the vehicle as quickly as possible as a repair to fix the problem would be extremely expensive and not worth it. I looked for a recall notice and saw that many folks are having this same problem. I've actually kept the vehicle rather than trading it in. I was offered $3500 trade in and I don't think the dealership where I purchased my new vehicle even realized it had a problem. They looked at the vehicle and did not road test it. I would hate to see someone else purchase my old car and get stuck with really big problem. I have 2 other vehicles. One with 89k miles and one with close to 200k miles. I take good care of my cars.
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Most unreliable car ever!!
usavp1, 09/08/2015
2010 Volkswagen Tiguan S 4Motion 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
50 of 57 people found this review helpful
We have owned more than 5 cars over the last 10 years - a mix of German and Japanese makes. This 2010 vw Tiguan has been the most unreliable car we have ever owned or driven. This includes the notoriously unreliable Italian cars I grew up driving in the 1980s. We bought this car new. Over the last 6 months (out of warranty of course), we have had the following issues 1. Water pump failure 2. Fuel pump failure 3. Turbo repair 4. A variety of electrical faults 5. Turbo replacement, costing a total $5000 in repairs. Now the 6. EPC light and check engine light just came on - headed to dealer. LAST VW WE EVER BUY. WOULD HIGHLY DISCOURAGE ANYONE FROM PURCHASING THIS CAR. We were helping some friends with car shopping this weekend. Steered them clear of the vw Tiguan, their top choice before we talked to them.
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Repairs started at 30,000
Disappointed, 12/10/2016
2010 Volkswagen Tiguan Wolfsburg Edition 4Motion 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
I have always had a vw but this was my last. At 30,000 engine coils failed on the highway and it went downhill from there. By 70,000 miles I had: 3 intake manifolds, a new turbo, turbo taken apart and cleaned once for $750, broken suspension coil in rear, struts went bad, 2 sets of spark plugs and towed twice. This was on top of routine maintenance like new brakes and tires. It caused me so much stress and was not dependable at all. When I bought the car the plan was to give it to my 20 year old daughter when I got a new one, but I didnt trust that it was dependable enough for her. Traded it in and for the first time I no longer drive a volkswagen.
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Be Warned - Tiguan TSI Engine Major Failure
R Spurzem, 01/11/2017
updated 01/11/2018
2010 Volkswagen Tiguan S 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
16 of 18 people found this review helpful
Be warned! The 4-cylinder TSI engine in the Tiguan is known for failure due to timing belt issues. The fix is a "new engine". If you are shopping for a used Tiguan in the 2009 and 2010 years, ask if the engine has been replaced. I am telling you this from experience. My Tiguan is at the mechanic now getting a new engine. The mechanic said, "I see these TSI motors used in the VW Tiguan and other VW models all the time". Update: engine is replaced for approx. $5,000.
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The worst car I've ever owned/leased, 2010 Tiguan!
BobVilla, 12/20/2016
updated 12/20/2018
2010 Volkswagen Tiguan S 4Motion 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
12 of 14 people found this review helpful
I leased this car for three years, then financed it for three and a half years. I figured that it hadn't had any issues and why not just own it since I only drive it to and from the train station everyday (average about 7k miles a year). I took care of the car. Made all scheduled oil changes and check ups at the dealership @ Curran in Stratford CT. This past year has been a complete nightmare. I looked forward to finally having no payments which was going to end in July 2016. In May the waterpump went ($1200). Of course the warranty ended in Jan. I only had 44,000 miles, but the 5 years was up. About a month later the light popped on again. This time I was told it was the turbo. So I just replaced the sensor ($350) and more recently got a new turbo installed ($2700). Meanwhile, I'm now told there is oil leaking in 3 places. Each of these replacements will cost about $400 each (another $1200). I don't have the money to fix the leaks. So I have to hold off for now. So now I don't have any car payments. But I have already spent $4250 this year, with another $1200 for the leaks starting in 2017!
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First VW may be my Last
tg3, 05/26/2011
2010 Volkswagen Tiguan S 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Owned a chevy and honda previously, went with the Tiguan b/c the manual trans and looks... have had the car just over a year and it's been in the dealer for fixes 3 times (my chevy and honda needed nothing but routine maintenance). People warned me with buying a VW, but I was like 'how can it be so bad if so many people have them?'. Well sadly I am finding out. I love the car but never imagined having probs with a car that's only a year old. How can VW shoot for achieving #1 car sales if they make junk? Well, this is definitely my last VW, thinking of trading it for a Rav4 before I have to start paying for the repairs. Sorry to say, I did have hopes of 6 years with this car.
Great, but what's with the gas mileage?
Funkyzeit, 11/14/2010
2010 Volkswagen Tiguan Wolfsburg Edition 4Motion 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Love this car. Handles well, fun to drive, easy to park (especially with rear view camera). But the fuel economy is atrocious. How can such a small car, with a 4 cyl engine only get 24 MPG highway? And want premium fuel? An Audi A8, with a 372 hp V-8 gets 27 MPG highway! In Germany the Tiguan is sold with a choice of 5 engines, of course only the least efficient engine is offered in the US. If VW put a TDI in the Tiguan, they would have the most fuel- efficient cross-over sold in the US, getting probably 40 MPG highway.
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