There are 3 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguanin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
NORMALLY VW IS EXTREMELY INTELLIGENTLY DESIGNED BUT THEIR DESIGN OF THE ELECTRONIC BRAKE MODULE LEAVES MUCH TO BE DESIRED. THE MODULE CONSISTS OF A RECESSED ELONGATED TOGGLE SWITCH THAT ALLOWS ONE TO SET THE PARKING BRAKE AT THE FLICK OF A FINGER AS OPPOSED TO THE OLD HANDBRAKE/FOOTBRAKE PEDAL (EFFECTIVE MODEL YEAR 2013). UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS SUPER EASY TO ACTIVE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE/PARKING BRAKE BY CAUSING YOUR COFFEE CUP TO PULL UP ONE THE TOGGLE SWITCH (IF MEMORY SERVES ME RIGHT, THERE HAVE BEEN 8 ACCIDENTAL ACTIVATIONS WHILE ON THE FREEWAY.) MY PROBLEM DE JOUR WAS THE OPPOSITE. I WAS IN MY DRIVEWAY AND LATE FOR WORK AND THE PARKING BRAKE WOULDN'T DISENGAGE. I TRIED EVERYTHING FROM DISCONNECTING THE BATTERY TO WIGGLING IT BACK & FORTH AND NOTHING WORKED. MY DEALER'S QUOTE WAS APPROXIMATELY $1,500.00 WHICH CAUSED ME TO FAINT. I RAN MY BLUE DRIVER OSBD II SCANNER AND IT SHOWED NO PROBLEMS? I THEN STARED HOPELESSLY AT THE SWITCH AND NOTICED IT WASN'T FLUSH WITH THE CONSOLE, MEANING IT WAS A TOP LOADER (THANK GOD). I IMMEDIATELY REMOVED IT BUT COULDN'T UNDO THE WIRE HARNESS WITHOUT TURNING IT UPSIDE DOWN & SHAKING IT. WELL, WHEN I DID THAT...AN AMERICAN D-I-M-E FELL OUT AND UNBLOCKED THE MECHANISM. IF YOU STORE LOOSE CHANGE ON TOP OF THE TWO CUBBY HOLES ABOVE THE CONSOLE---YOU WILL RISK JAMMING THE CAR IN PARK EVEN THOUGH NOTHING ELSE IS WRONG. MY SOLUTIONS: (A) MAKE IT IDIOT PROOF BY SCOTCH TAPING A BUSINESS CARD OVER THE E-BRAKE (ONE PIECE ONLY SO AS TO MAKE IT A REUSEABLE PAPER FLAP (B) BE AS STUPID & CARELESS AS YOU ALWAYS ARE/WERE AND IF YOUR PARKING BRAKE FAILS TO RETRACT, TAKE YER FINGERNAILS AND POP OPEN THE SWITCH, REMOVE THE WIRE HARNESS (PULL THE RED TONGUE OUT FIRST), TURN IT UPSIDE DOWN AND THEN BANG IT VIOLENTLY UNTIL YOUR DIME OR TORTILLA CHIP OR PAPER CLIP OR CHERRY PIT WORKS ITS SELF OUT....OR SEE SOLUTION (A). FYI, CAR WAS STATIONARY.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V441000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE) HAD EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR REPAIR. THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY WERE UNABLE TO PERFORM THE REPAIR BECAUSE THERE WERE NO AVAILABLE APPOINTMENTS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE DELAY. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE JERKED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,798. UPDATED 10/22/14*CN UPDATED 4/8/2015 *JS
BRAKE BECAME STIFF AFTER PUSHING DOWN ON THE BRAKE PEDAL APPROX 1/3 OF THE WAY AND THE CAR DID NOT COME TO A FULL STOP. AT THIS POINT ONLY PRESSING DOWN WITH FULL STRENGTH FORCES THE PEDAL DOWN FURTHER AND STOPS THE CAR. THE USUAL OPERATION IS A SMOOTH BRAKE PEDAL WHICH CAN BE PUSHED ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES AT SEEMINGLY RANDOM INTERVALS, SOMETIMES ONE OR TWO TIMES A DAY, WITH OTHER TIMES GOING A FEW DAYS WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE DEALERSHIP MECHANICS CANNOT FIND A FAULT WITH THEIR USUAL METHOD OF TESTING. *TR
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 25, 2026