There are 6 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2010 Volkswagen Tiguanin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
THIS MODEL HAS A PUSH TO ACTIVATE EMERGENCY BRAKE. THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WILL ENGAGE WITHOUT TOUCHING IT WHENEVER IT WANTS. IT HAS HAPPENED A FEW TIMES WHILE I WAS GOING IN REVERSE WITH NO NOTICE NOR DOES THE LIGHT INDICATOR GO ON. I HAVE TOOK IT TO MOHEGAN VW DEALER AND THEY DID FIND ANY PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE . I TRIED TO EXPLAIN TO THEM THAT IT ENGAGES AT ANY GIVEN TIME BUT THEY INFORMED ME THAT WITHOUT A BRAKE INDICATOR ON THERE WAS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. I NEED HELP WITH THIS ISSUE BEFORE IT ENGAGES WHILE I'M DRIVING AND KILLS ME OR ANYONE ON THE ROAD.
WAS WAITING AT A RED LIGHT, ON AN INCLINE, CAR STOPPED, WITH MULTIPLE CARS AHEAD. KNEW I WOULD BE WAITING FOR A WHILE FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE, SO GENTLY RELEASED SOME PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE. CAR LUNGED FORWARD HITTING CAR AHEAD OF ME AND EACH TIME I DEPRESSED THE BRAKE THE CAR LUNGED, HITTING THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME THREE TIMES. STOPPED THE FRIGHTENING ORDEAL BY DEPRESSING THE BRAKE AND TURNING OFF THE IGNITION. CAUSED NECK AND BACK INJURY, (REPORTED BY THE INJURED, BUT NOT CONFIRMED) OF SHERYL BROWN, DRIVER OF CAR I HIT. GOOGLED SEARCHED THIS PROBLEM AND APPARENTLY OTHERS HAVE REPORTED LUNGING AFTER BRAKING IN BOTH TIGUAN AND TOUREG.
BRAKE SYSTEM I BRAKE, BUT THE PEDAL WAS REALLY STIFF, HARDLY MOVED AND THE CAR DID NOT BRAKE. ONLY LONG HARD PUSHING FINALLY SUCCEEDED. (AUTO HOLD SWITCH WAS OFF) MY OTHER ISSUE IS WHEN I'M DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND PUT ON THE BRAKES LIGHTLY, IT FEELS LIKE I SLAMMED THEM ON! BOTH ISSUES KEEP HAPPENING INTERMITTENTLY AND IS VERY DANGEROUS! I HAVE ALMOST REAR-ENDED PEOPLE! I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE LAST YEAR AND HAVE HAD THE PROBLEM SINCE THEN. *TR
I PURCHASED A NEW 2010 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN I'VE HAD IT IN THE SHOP 3 TIMES GOING ON THE 4TH TOMORROW DUE TO THE BRAKING SYSTEM. IN REVERSE THE BRAKES SQUEAL SO BAD, HOW SAFE IS THIS TO DRIVE? THE AUTOMOBILE SHOP IS BASICALLY TELLING ME THERE IS NOT THING THEY CAN DO. WHILE I DRIVE THE CALL AND HAVE TO APPLY BRAKES SOMETIMES I HAVE TO PUNCH THE BRAKE PEDAL ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE FLOOR FOR THE CAR TO STOP. *TR
PROBLEM STARTED WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF LEASING-GOING ON NINE MONTHS NOW. AFTER FIRST TIME, I IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO KEEP TREMENDOUS SPACE BETWEEN ME AND THE CAR AHEAD OF ME. HIGHLY UNPREDICTABLE UNDETECTABLE PROBLEM..BRAKES LOSE POWER BRAKES FEATURE AS NOTED BY DRIVING DONE BY MYSELF (MORE THAN 20 TIMES), MY CAR SALESMAN (MORE THAN 3 TIMES) AND A BBB TEST DRIVE. BRAKES GET STIFF, MUST PUSH HARDER TO GET VEHICLE TO STOP CREATING GREATER STOPPING DISTANCE. VW TECH TICKET TECHNOLOGY SHOWS NO PROBLEM..SO NO REPAIR DONE, BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM. SINCE UNDETECTABLE, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT A TOTAL BRAKE FAILURE. MY BBB RESOLUTION..GIVE BACK MY DOWN PAYMENT, PAYMENTS MADE-TO-DATE SO I CAN GET OUT OF THE UNSAFE CAR. BBB RULING..VW IS TO FIX THE BRAKES, THEN I DRIVE IT 30 DAYS TO SEE IF PROBLEM IS CORRECTED. THAT RULING IS UNSAFE, UNREALISTIC AND IRRATIONAL-KEEPS ME AND OTHERS AT RISK. AT THE BBB HEARING, VW REP STATED THAT BRAKES WILL BE REPAIRED ONCE A PROBLEM IS DUPLICATED AND RECOGNIZED AS A PROBLEM. THEIR TECHNOLOGY CAN'T DO THAT AND YET DRIVING SHOWS A PROBLEM. NOW VW WANTS AUDI TO INSPECT VEHICLE AND DO A REPAIR. AUDI IS A VW DIVISION AND MOST LIKELY WOULD USE THE SAME TEST EQUIPMENT. HOW CAN VW FIX A PROBLEM ABOUT WHICH THEY KNOW NOTHING? THIS PROBLEM COULD ALSO BE COMPUTER RELATED. VW OFFERED ME A 10% OFF ANY VW VEHICLE USING MY CAR AS A TRADE-IN. MY DEALERSHIP DOESN'T WANT THE CAR DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. TO MY SHOCK, VW SAID THE OFFER IS GOOD AT ANY VW DEALERSHIP..BASICALLY TELLING ME TO LIE ABOUT THE PROBLEM. I WON'T DO THAT TO ANY DEALERSHIP. THE CAR PUTS LIVES AT RISK. AT THIS TIME, NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. VW HAS YET TO DUPLICATE/RECOGNIZE IT AS A PROBLEM AND IS UNABLE TO FIX IT. SO WRONG ON A HUMANISTIC LEVEL. VW SHOULD BUY BACK THIS CAR AT FULL PURCHASE PRICE WITH ALL MY MONEY REFUNDED TO ME. THE CONSEQUENCE OF THIS IS I AM STUCK WITH A CAR I CAN'T TRADE-IN AND VW CAN'T FIX. VW DOESN'T CARE ABOUT SAFEY AS THEY SAY THEY DO, THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT MONEY. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING SHE TRIED TO ENGAGE THE BRAKES AND THEY FAILED. SHE ALSO MENTIONED THAT WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT HER BRAKES FAILED AND CAUSED HER TO CRASH INTO THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF HER. THE CONTACT DIDN'T MENTION IF A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSED THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE BUT DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 25 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 5,600.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026