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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2009 Volkswagen Tiguan Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
20about this part
Share
12%of 168 total for the year
Median mileage
71,500miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 20 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan, 12% of the 168 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 71,500 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“While driving on road aprox. 40mph the vehicle suddenly stopped running-had to coast to side and tow it.when towed to vw dealer -they said timing chain tensioner failed and it's common problem.they even had TSB for that.why they don't recall this since they are aware of it.if I was at higher speed on interstate,I would be in big trouble.”

NHTSA complaint #10760009, filed 2015-08, 96,000 miles

“I was in downtown denver, colorado on 2/14/2017. I started the car, pulled into traffic and the car started jumping, all warning lights went on and I turned off the engine. It wouldn't start, was towed to a garage where the mechanic reported that the timing mechanism had slipped and damaged the engine. When he examined it further he realized it was beyond repair and that I needed a new engine.”

NHTSA complaint #10983831, filed 2017-05, 80,600 miles

“The rear main seal on my 09 Tiguan 2.0 tsi blew at 709k miles from pcv valve defect. I have heard of several cases of the pcv clogging on the tsi engine cars sending boost pressure into crankcase and blowing the seal.”

NHTSA complaint #11063456, filed 2018-01, 70,000 miles

“While driving the rear oil seal failed causing sudden loss of oil pressure that required an immediate trip to the mechanic. No warning lights ever came on to indicate a problem. Had our vehicle stalled or engine failed due to loss of oil while we were driving at high speed we could have caused an accident. Almost a year later while parked the engine failed to turn over and had to be towed to mechanic. Timing tensioner had failed causing damage to engine requiring replacement. There was no indication that there was a problem leading up to this incident. …”

NHTSA complaint #10926784, filed 2016-11, 90,000 miles

“While driving with my four year old in the backseat of the car, the car suddenly misfired and the engine rough idled. The car stalled at intersections and in the middle of the road. We almost got into an accident as we were driving down a city street, as cars behind us had to swerve out the way when our engine stalled. We took it to the mechanic immediately, as it was clearly hazardous to have on the road, and found that a piston had misfired and stretched the timing chain. The car, a vw Tiguan from 2009, was only 6 years old when this event occurred.”

NHTSA complaint #10811243, filed 2015-12, 73,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026616%
2025916%
202456%
2023811%
20224215%
2021118%
202054%
2019189%
20184917%
201757%
201633%
201523%
201411%
201364%
201275%
201185%
201065%
20092012%

Other parts of the 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan

Engine
80 complaints
Electrical system
40 complaints
Exterior lighting
15 complaints
Steering
15 complaints
Fuel system
14 complaints
Air bags
10 complaints
Engine cooling
10 complaints
Other or unknown
10 complaints
Brakes
8 complaints
Vehicle speed control
8 complaints
Electronic stability control
5 complaints
Seats
4 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology