Used 2013 Volkswagen Touareg Diesel Consumer Reviews
Used Touareg for sale
2...
See Edmunds pricing data
Has Your Car's Value Changed?
Used car values are constantly changing. Edmunds lets you track your vehicle's value over time so you can decide when to sell or trade in.
Mixed Bag (II)
cpmariner, 02/06/2014
updated 08/07/2016
2013 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Lux 4dr SUV AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbodiesel 8A)
14 of 15 people found this review helpful
Overall, this excellent car is very comfortable (plenty of room for a 6' 4" man), amazingly powerful, highly maneuverable, great fuel economy, and really fun to drive. My wife fell in love with it, and her Lexus 350 GS is rapidly gathering dust in the garage. However, at 3,000 miles I'm beginning to worry about reliability. The first to go was the power seat memory -recently fixed. More serious, though, is an intermittent "roaring" noise from under the hood. To me, it seems to be the engine cooling fan running at 100% for no apparent reason. But the dealer's techies are sure that it's power steering-related and requires no "fix". Sounds like code for "we don't know" to me. We'll see. (Later, after 10,000 miles) Obviously, the thing most on my mind is the resolution of VW's emissions cheat. Apparently settlements are in progress for the 2.0 liter diesel models, but for the 3.0 liters - like mine - the jury's still out. I hate this, because the more I drive the car, the more I like it. But I fear that any "fix" VW might come up with will affect performance, mileage, or both. (If not to improve performance/mileage, why else would they have done it?) Likewise, I can't reasonably imagine that any cash compensation will really cover the loss of value, no matter what VW says. In any event, I'd hate to give up the car... unless a "fix" results in a poor performance, low mileage Panzer. Otherwise, that roaring noise I previously reported turned out to be exactly what a commenter on my previous review pointed out: a normal and necessary filter cleaning apparatus. I'm just surprised that none of those "VW Certified" technicians at the dealership were ignorant of it. Minor electronic glitches persist. The most annoying - although it sometimes makes me laugh when it happens - is that the automatic driver's seat retraction (the seat's supposed to move backward automatically when the engine is shut down and the driver's door opened, to allow for easier exit) sometimes gets "confused", and moves forward instead of backward. It's comical, really... like the car is annoyed with me and wants to crush me up against the steering wheel. (It's easily stopped by hitting #1 setting on the pre-set seat positions panel.) I've also come to be less pleased with steering performance. It's not quite as stable as I'd originally thought, particularly during long, sweeping curves at medium speeds. I do have to "saw" the steering wheel a little bit during such curves to stay on track. Some have said that the Touareg is a "Cayenne in drag", and that's true in many respects. But I recently had occasion to drive a Cayenne, and the better steering performance was noticeable. However, I don't think an extra $5K to $10K for better steering through sweeping curves would be approved by my wallet. In city driving, the Touareg's steering is fine, with an especially tight steering radius for getting in and out of parking spots. (All that said, my wife recently bought a 2016 Mercedes GLC but still "steals" my Touareg whenever she can :-) So overall, I still enjoy the Touareg enormously and look forward to driving it. The highway gas mileage is "as advertised" (close to 30mpg, as measured) and it's a very, very comfortable vehicle for long distance driving, particularly if you're tall. Occasional back seat passengers often comment about the extra leg room as opposed to the competition. The passenger seat back goes down almost to a sleeping position (almost flat), and that's a bonus for shared long distance driving. All-around visibility is very good. Stability in windy conditions is very good. Pick-up is very, VERY good... particularly helpful for passing, highway entrance ramps, and for a short burst to escape those "awkward" high speed traffic situations created by the crazy zoomies we all know about. If I were the "protestor" sort, I might put on a sandwich board saying "Please Don't Take My Touareg Away!" and march outside the EPA headquarters.
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
Still a great SUV choice for those who tow.
toolmanjohn, 11/23/2013
2013 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Sport 4dr SUV AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbodiesel 8A)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
Just around 8300 miles on my Touareg TDI, and I haven't had any real problems with the vehicle. It handles like a sedan, plenty of power, and the brakes are fantastic. Mileage is better than I was hoping. THe 20mpg city would have been great, but I get 22-23 mpg consistently with a 20 mile round trip commute each day. It's VERY quiet, and this may be because the transmission shifts around 2250rpm, so the diesel nevers really works hard. This past Summer it towed my small travel trailer like it wasn't there. Easily pulls on the highway and back roads.
Steering Wheel Shake
shakytouareg, 08/27/2013
2013 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Lux 4dr SUV AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbodiesel 8A)
28 of 32 people found this review helpful
I bought a 2013 Touareg TDI Lux a month ago and it has been in the shop for 17 days with an irreparable steering wheel oscillation. It is still in the shop. So far VWoA has advised the local dealer to try the following: road force balance all wheels, swap wheels from another car, change all four tire to Michelin Latitudes, replaced front drive shafts and replace steering rack. None have remedied the problem. Other owners have reported the exact same issue and have had difficulty getting satisfactory resolution. Search for "Touareg steering problem" to find more. Or go to ww.touaregsteeringshake.com. I don't any more hassle, I just want a new car.
The Curious Case Of Diminishing Milage
claudestouareg, 01/26/2014
2013 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Lux 4dr SUV AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbodiesel 8A)
12 of 13 people found this review helpful
Our bran new 2013 Lux TDI gave us astonishing 33 mpg trips on secondary highways at around 60mph. Now with 7,000 miles on the odo we can't get even 28mpg under the same conditions. When we started noticing the loss of mpg we started taking extra precautions not to waste diesel but to no avail. This car is getting at least 10% less mileage at 7,000 miles than it did bran new. Anybody else experience this??
German Tank
sammy12000, 01/28/2013
2013 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Sport 4dr SUV AWD w/Navigation (3.0L 6cyl Turbodiesel 8A)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
I have about 2500 miles on my TDI. The mpg rating is pretty accurate on this suv. I live in L.A. and i was able to drive round trip to Vegas and still had over a 1/4 tank of gas left! And no i was not driving like a granny to save gas, this was under normal-to-semi-aggresive driving. The car has a VERY quiet interior. This car feels very planted and solid thank to the all wheel drive. You cannot tell this car is a diesel as it is very quiet although when you punch the gas the diesel makes an awesome aggresive note. The power steering is a little stiff but has an impressive turning radius. The steering wheel does have the typical vibration known to VW's.
2...