The Lemon Index
Transmission complaints owners filed with the U.S. government (NHTSA) for each model year, per 100,000 cars sold. A complaint counts when it's filed under the transmission, or under the power train and the owner describes the transmission (shifting, slipping, gears, CVT). It's an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and older years have had longer to collect complaints.
What owners describe
Share of this model's transmission complaints that mention each symptom. One complaint can mention several.
In owners' words
I was driving through neighbor and noticed car was running rough and shifting hard. I got it to 70 mph and red exclamation point and epc light came on. The message was 'engine reached max rpm of 4,000'. I lost all power and could not get the car to go over 50 mph
2018 Volkswagen Tiguan owner · NHTSA complaint
Car bucks forward when coming to a stop from motion.( down shifts hard) and shifts into first gear really hard. This happens when stop/start is turned off. Its even worse when more than two people are in car. Vehicle also accelerates too fast in first gear. Turbo kicks in too early.
2018 Volkswagen Tiguan owner · NHTSA complaint
Quick answers
Which Volkswagen Tiguan years have transmission problems?
By transmission complaints filed with NHTSA per car sold, the worst Volkswagen Tiguan years are 2022, 2018, 2013.
What are common Volkswagen Tiguan transmission problems?
Owners most often describe delay or hesitation, hard or jerky shifting, lost power while driving.
Which Volkswagen Tiguan years have the fewest transmission complaints?
Since 2010, the Volkswagen Tiguan years with the fewest transmission complaints per car sold are 2020, 2016, 2023.
See every problem, not just the transmission: Volkswagen Tiguan reliability by year. How we count