Selling a junk Volkswagen Tiguan
Any Tiguan sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
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What owners report about the Volkswagen Tiguan
NHTSA has 3,232 owner complaints on file for the Volkswagen Tiguan, model years 2009 to 2022, the 135th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are engine (631, 20%), electrical system (482, 15%), other (366, 11%). 99 complaints involved a crash, 30 a fire, and 94 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 48,000 miles. The 2022 model year has the most complaints (485). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is engine, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car with a blown engine: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Volkswagen Tiguan by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 248 | Engine | 8 | 9 | 3 | 72,000 |
| 2010 | 159 | Engine | 7 | 5 | 2 | 70,000 |
| 2011 | 242 | Engine | 6 | 2 | 3 | 57,418 |
| 2012 | 215 | Engine | 15 | 0 | 3 | 50,000 |
| 2013 | 227 | Air bags | 4 | 1 | 3 | 53,000 |
| 2014 | 131 | Air bags | 3 | 0 | 3 | 50,000 |
| 2015 | 106 | Air bags | 1 | 3 | 4 | 54,000 |
| 2016 | 146 | Air bags | 6 | 2 | 2 | 48,750 |
| 2017 | 105 | Air bags | 11 | 0 | 4 | 27,874 |
| 2018 | 461 | Engine | 8 | 3 | 14 | 9,497 |
| 2019 | 295 | Electrical system | 11 | 2 | 5 | 6,000 |
| 2020 | 214 | Other | 8 | 0 | 3 | 30,399 |
| 2021 | 198 | Engine | 6 | 0 | 5 | 20,000 |
| 2022 | 485 | Engine | 5 | 3 | 5 | — |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Volkswagen Tiguan recalls
NHTSA lists 35 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for air bags (5), suspension (4), other (3). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 2018 model year, steering (campaign 26V590000, Sep 2026): Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Tiguan, 2018-2019 Atlas, and 2019-2021 Audi Q3 vehicles. One of the bolts that attaches the steering rack to the subframe may corrode and break. If…
- 2022 model year, driver assistance (campaign 25V082000, Feb 2025): Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022-2024 Tiguan, 2023 Arteon, and 2024-2025 Audi Q3 vehicles. An error may occur in the camera control unit at vehicle startup, resulting in the rearvi…
- 2019 model year, tires (campaign 22V815000, Oct 2022): Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan LWB, Golf Sportswagen A7, Golf Alltrack, Golf R GP, Audi Q3, Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas, G…
- 2021 model year, driver assistance (campaign 22V514000, Jul 2022): Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manuf…
- 2018 model year, body and structure (campaign 22V226000, Apr 2022): Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Tiguan and 2018-2021 Tiguan long wheel base (LWB) vehicles. Due to incorrect installation instructions, the accessory rear hatch spoiler may be ins…
What a Volkswagen Tiguan is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk Tiguan on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
How to sell a car with a blown engine 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
Junk car scams and how to avoid them Other Volkswagen models
- Volkswagen Jetta 13,332
- Volkswagen Passat 10,083
- Volkswagen Beetle 3,615
- Volkswagen Atlas 2,515
- Volkswagen GTI 1,892
- Volkswagen Golf 1,808
- Volkswagen CC 1,359
- Volkswagen Routan 1,250
All Volkswagen models · All makes · Cash for junk cars by state
Questions people ask
- What is a junk Volkswagen Tiguan worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Tiguan gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Volkswagen Tiguan that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Volkswagen Tiguan?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Volkswagen Tiguan numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.