2017 Volkswagen Touareg: problems, recalls and reliability

“When coming to a stop with the AutoHold activated, sometimes it comes to an abrupt stop instead of a smooth stop. Also when you have Autohold engaged, when you come to a stop and put the car in park, disconnect the seatbelt the parking brake engages(expected), however when you turn the car off (after you've already removed your foot from the break pedal) it slightly releases and reengages the brake causing a slight movement of the vehicle.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Sep 2022

“Power seat reclining function on passenger and driver side. Due to the top of the adjustment lever being positioned too close to the top of the set cushion, if you sit on the edge of the seat, the seat back will continue to recline until you get up if you notice it or it hits the back seat bottom cushion. if there is a child in the back seat it could cause injury. My daughter almost had her legs crushed when my mom delayed exiting the vehicle with the passenger door open and sitting partially on the seat. She did not even notice the seat reclining until it hit my daughters knees.”Owner report · Seats · Aug 2022

“While driving the power train was seriously impacted, it is no longer operational and available for inspection at the dealer now. This is absolutely a safety risk as there was power loss and inconsistency which could have been very dangerous depending on the level of control required by the traffic conditions. The dealer has diagnosed and insurance is scheduled to inspect. the manufacturer has been requested by us to do a root cause but no response from them - this is apparently a known issue (class action lawsuit) that has not been official recognized as a recall. a transmission warning came on prior to the failure.”Owner report · Power Train · Aug 2021

“In a non-driving environment rain water drains off the hood of the vehicle, down the right headlight and drains directly into the vehicle's intake pipe. In turn, this rain water collects in the intake air filter box, destroys the air filter and allows water to enter the combustion chamber causing erratic engine performance and untold engine damage due to the violent shuddering and erratic idle. This is a safety issue when driving in rain because the condition can be exaggerated causing the engine to lose power at highway speeds. This is a known safety issue and has been addressed via recall in China and Europe.”Owner report · Engine · Jun 2021

“Waterlogged airfilter - car was serviced exactly one week prior to issue, and service director accused me of driving through a puddle of water. While I have driven through progressively bad weather in fl for years, I explained that I didn't that week and asked if this could be due to accumulation which was overseen prior, but he denied. $1000.00 later, I am unclear how this occurred and how to prevent it. This seems to be an issue that is identified by multiple customers in various countries and remains unaddressed by vw north america.”Owner report · Engine · Sep 2020

“The air intake is collecting water and getting into the air filter housing. This can cause the engine to suck in water, destroying the engine. This is a design flaw and there is a recall at vw china but vw north america refuses to address the problem.”Owner report · Engine · Aug 2020

“My car engine transmission/fault lights came on and I brought it into dealer, who identified a wet, moldy air filter and water in the bottom of the chamber. This was the first time I brought the vehicle into the shop, but I checked air filter again today after a steady rain while vehicle was parked, and the box had water in the bottom of it. Additional symptoms I noticed were condensation on inside of windshield and dank smell.”Owner report · Engine · Dec 2019