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Air bagsPart report

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Air bags Problems

Complaints
15about this part
Share
5%of 288 total for the year
Median mileage
8,836miles
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 15 complaints about the air bags of the 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan, 5% of the 288 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 8,836 miles. 2 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 2 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

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

“Since november 2018 of this year the seat belt on the driver's side does not feel right it seems loose and the light illuminates red and comes on randomly and chimes. The seat belts looks and feels cheaply made. It has only gotten worse since the airbag module was replaced by dealership. Dealership says the looseness of the belt is normal.they claim when they drive it the red symbol never comes on or chimes. It is never picked up as a code on the vw car net or on their machine. What am I supposed to do? I want these seat belts to be replaced. …”

NHTSA complaint #11163067, filed 2018-12, 5,671 miles

“Leaking sunroof drain causes the computer to mulfunction and report multiple car issues, like: fault: electronic parking brake error: ABS/electronic stabilization control (ESC) error: airbag this happens every time there is a heavy rain”

NHTSA complaint #11269068, filed 2019-10, 12,000 miles

“I was involved in a head-on collision going 35mph. The airbags failed to deploy. Due to this fact, my leg arms, and shoulder took all the force of the accident causing edema and bursitis to my left shoulder. The car was towed to one of State Farm’s Collison centers where it was inspected. There were no warnings or symptoms prior to total failure of the system.”

NHTSA complaint #11432150, filed 2021-09

“One time the car Just Lost power on the freeway and the e-card engine light came on and the cat Ran rugh and stalled and jerked hard almost causing me to cause a serious accident...I took it to vw and explained the severity and they bypassed that And installed a new water pump..2months later the same thing happened exactly to where I was very lucky and very upset...and took it to them once again and explained more issues where I'm urging . …”

NHTSA complaint #11704422, filed 2025-12

“My 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan experienced a failure of the airbag control module caused by water intrusion through the HVAC access area and failed seam seal tape at the cowl support. The dealership confirmed that water leaked through a factory seam, accumulated at the airbag module, and caused the module to fail. The airbag warning light is illuminated, and the system is inoperable. This failure matches the same defect pattern covered under Volkswagen’s recall campaigns for the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport (water intrusion leading to airbag control module failure), but my VIN is not included. …”

NHTSA complaint #11726578, filed 2026-03

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Air bags: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202613%
202559%
202411%
202323%
202252%
202121%
202011%
201974%
2018155%
20173039%
20163738%
20152845%
20144655%
20136345%
20123322%
20113019%
201033%
2009106%

Other parts of the 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan

Engine
82 complaints
Other or unknown
53 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
49 complaints
Electrical system
46 complaints
Fuel system
41 complaints
Body and structure
39 complaints
Brakes
21 complaints
Vehicle speed control
21 complaints
Exterior lighting
17 complaints
Seat belts
16 complaints
Steering
15 complaints
Forward collision avoidance
12 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2018 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