3.3

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
40,000 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Volkswagen Touareg engine problems

engine problem

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2012 Volkswagen Touareg Owner Comments

problem #5

Sep 152019

Touareg

  • 90,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The catalytic converter completely separated from its own flange where it connects to the exhaust header. Ultimately causing an exhaust leak and a check engine light. This occurred while driving and under normal operating conditions. Driving on a local highway with a speed limit of 55 mph, which does not have excessive amount of pot holes).

- Glen Allen, VA, USA

problem #4

Apr 252018

Touareg

  • miles
There has been a substantial change/decrease in the performance of my 2012 Touareg tdi resulting in significantly reduced fuel economy: Previous avg fuel economy was approx 27mpg and is now barely averaging 16 mpg. Noticed continual decrease in car performance after taking my car in for general maintenance to garcia VW dealership in Santa Fe, nm on the following dates: 3/6/18: General maintenance (air/cabin/fuel/adblue maintenance/ and tire change) 4/17/18: Replace a faulty radio which suddenly failed (dealership had car for 8 days) 6/7/18: Clean up ad blue fuel spill in the rear spare tire compartment the engine now runs significantly louder and is revving up and surging at intervals. In addition to the substantial drop in fuel economy, the average speed/mph has been locked at 13mph and dropped to 12mph on June 1, 2018. Change in engine behaviour: -engine runs louder and is revving up when idling, accelerating, breaking, downshifting -sounds like the fuel injection is sluggish when accelerating -steering wheel feels sluggish when turning right and accelerating through turns. Vibrating sound when turning. -starting ignition: Longer pause for ignition to start after turning the key and foot is on brake. -suspension: Suspension of the car rocks back and forth when braking and sounds like there's a tank sliding/ shifting in the rear when coming to a stop. When I initially heard this sound I opened the trunk/cargo area for the spare tire and found dried ad blue spilled all over the cargo area including dirty rags which had been used to wipe up adblue and stuffed in the bottom of the trunk. -air conditioner is emitting a very strong nauseating yeast odor that will not go away and isn't cooling efficiently. I havent authorized or approved any updates modifications to the vehicle re: The 3.0 liter gen epa/carb modifications: I suspect vehicle tampering.

- Santa Fe, NM, USA

problem #3

Feb 052018

Touareg

  • 40,000 miles
This happened to this my 2012 Touareg. The engine randomly died, even on freeway, which is too dangerous. The previous time in in Jan,2018 and this time was on Feb, 5th, 2018. I went to VW dealership, they couldn't find out anything. Saying everything is normal and they couldn't suggest anything. But it is extreme unsafe for me to drive this car. The issue randomly happens. Per forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4965979-car-randomly-dies-while-driving-on-freeway, seems this is a common issue among VW vehicles, and people thought it is high pressure fuel pump problem or other relevant parts. VW should take it seriously and find out the root cause and fix it. Thanks, liang

- Belmont, CA, USA

problem #2

Nov 012016

Touareg

  • 70,000 miles
Check engine light came on at 70,000 miles and was due to the ad blue tank heater.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #1

Sep 022014

Touareg

  • miles
My 2012 tdi lux just went in for a check engine light and the diagnosis was the adblue heater has gone bad. I had 55,000 miles at the time. I was informed by the dealership that this part is not covered under the powertrain or emissions warranties. I was informed that this fix would be around $700 with labor. It is very surprising that even though this piece is necessary to the car meet emissions that it's not covered by the emissions warranty and that further driving the vehicle would cause the whole system to fail which would render the car in-driveable.

- Seattle, WA, USA

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