2013 Volkswagen Tiguan Brakes Problems

“Problem with accidental deployment of electronic parking brake: this is a major design problem with an inexpensive fix. The way the Tiguan has been designed, it parking level is flush to the cup holder. Last week, I spilt my coffee on my charging cluster (in first cup holder) and accidentally deployed the park brake at 70mph and it locked up the wheels...on the freeway 🛣!!! This defect covers model years 2009-2017 1st gen tiguans. The fix is cheap & easy. …”

“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. …”

“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.”

“I am a state trooper who investigated a crash. The vehicle in question was involved in the crash. The vehicle that caused the crash was a 2013 vw Tiguan. This vehicle has an electrically actuated parking brake. The switch, very similar to a power window switch, is located between the front seats adjacent to the cup holder. The driver, reaching for the cup accidentally hit the parking brake switch activating it. The car came to an immediate stop in a traffic lane of an interstate and the vehicle following struck it in the rear causing extensive damage to both vehicles. …”

“The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the accelerator failed to engage. Also, the emergency brake failed to release when in park. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 28,300 and the current mileage was 29,000.”