There are 5 owner-reported visibility & wipers complaints for the 2004 Volkswagen Touaregin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I WAS DRIVING ON 101 SOUTH FROM SANTA ROSA TOWARDS SAN FRANCISCO AND WHEN IN THE NOVATO AREA THE REARVIEW MIRROR CAME OFF DANGLING FROM THE HEADLINER BY THE WIRING HARNESS RIGHT ON MY FACE. THE DANGLING REARVIEW MIRROR BLOCKED MY VIEW OF THE ROAD AND THIS BIG DISTRACTION NEARLY CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. THIS IS CLEARLY A SAFETY ISSUE, REARVIEW MIRRORS SHOULD NOT JUST RANDOMLY FALL OFF. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT VOLKSWAGEN OUGHT TO HAVE A RECALL FOR THIS DEFECTIVE MIRROR AND PERFORM A REPAIR AT VW'S EXPENSE. MY AAA CERTIFIED MECHANIC QUOTED ME IN EXCESS OF $700.00 TO RE-GLUE THE REARVIEW MIRROR TO THE WINDSHIELD. *TR
2004 VW TOUAREG WINDSHIELD WIPER SYSTEM. WHEN WIPER IS SET TO WIPE CONTINUOUSLY, WIPER STOPS WHEN VEHICLE COMES TO A FULL STOP, AND WILL NOT BEGIN TO WIPE UNTIL VEHICLE EXCEEDS 5 MPH. DURING HEAVY RAINS, IT IS UNSAFE TO PROCEED TOO 5 MPH WHEN WINDSHIELD WIPER IS NOT WIPING. NO VISIBILITY IN HEAVY DOWNPOUR CONDITIONS, MUST PUT VEHICLE IN FORWARD MOTION TO WIPE AND SEE. ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. MANUFACTURER INDICATES THIS IS A "FEATURE" NOT DEFECT! *NM
THE TOUAREG HAS TWO DEFCTS THAT WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO IF THEY HAVE NOT CAUSED DAMGE. FOR MONTHS I HAVE TRIED TO GET VW TO FIX THE DEFECTIVE TAIL LIGHT FAULTS AND WARNINGS DUE TO THE INSTALLATION OF THE TOW HITCH. VW CLAIMS THESE ISSUES ARE RELATED TO ALL TRAILERS. ADDITIONALLY, THIS VEHICLE HAS A DEFECTIVE DRIVERS WINDSGHIELD WIPER THAT CAUSES OBSCURED VISABILITY. BOTH ARE DANGEROUS AND VW CLAIMS NORAML OPERATION. I AM FRUSTERATED AND IN DISBELIEF THAT VW WILL NOT CORRECT THE VEHICLES ISSUES. I AM WRITTING IN AN ATTEMPT TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE AGAINST THIS VEHICLE MANUFACTURE
THIS HEADLIGHT WASHER(S) THAT POP UP FROM FRONT BUMPER CAME OFF DURING DRIVE FROM CA TO MD. DURING THE DRIVE BACK TEMPERATURE WENT INTO THE FREESING RANGE. WAS NOT AWARE THAT WHEN WASH THE WINDSHIELD THESE OTHER WASHERS POP UP TO WASHER THE HEADLIGHT. ANYWAYS, THEY DO AND DUE TO COLD IT GOT STUCK IN UP POSITION AND EVENTUALLY CAME OFF. DEALER INITIALLY SAID COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND NOW SAYS THAT SINCE HAVE A SCRATCH ON SIDE BUMPER SOMEONE TEMPERED WITH THE WASHER. HOWEVER MORE IMPORTANTLY THEY SAID THAT IT HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ANYONE BEFORE. I SAID MAYBE NOT YET OR IN DIFFERENT REGION SINCE THIS WAS WHEN DRIVING IN MUCH COLDER WEATHER. ALSO, THEY ALSO CONFIRMED THAT IT STUCKS IN THE DOWN POSITION WHEN THEY PUT IN A NEW ONE.
THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEFOGGER DID NOT DEFROST THE WINDSHIELD EFFICIENTLY. THIS CAUSED POOR VISIBILITY TO THE DRIVER. THE CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND DROVE IT TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION TWICE. THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *JB *NM
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