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Volkswagen · NHTSA safety record

2016 Volkswagen Touareg

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

44

Complaints

0

Crashes

0

Fires

3

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2016 Volkswagen Touareg have filed 44 safety complaints with NHTSA between November 2015 and November 2025. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 22 of them (50%). The typical failure was reported at 19,647 miles, the median across the 26 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS

16V243000 · April 26, 2016

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2016 Toureg vehicles manufactured July 7, 2015 to March 3, 2016. In the affected vehicles, the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) may be improperly calibrated and, as a result, the TPMS may fail to warn the driver that the tire pressure is low. Additionally, the tire pressures printed on the Safety Certification labels are incorrect. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
The risk
If the vehicle is driven on underinflated tires, the tires may fail suddenly, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will correct the TPMS settings and replace the safety certification label, free of charge. The recall began on May 13, 2016. Volkwagen's number for this recall is 44M9.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 366 vehicles across all model years covered

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:PEDALS AND LINKAGES

16V170000 · March 24, 2016

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2011-2016 Touareg vehicles. The brake pedal pivot pin may be missing a securing clip, allowing the pivot pin to move and the brake pedal to dislodge.
The risk
If the brake pedal dislodges, the driver may not be able to apply the brakes, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake pedal assembly to verify the presence of the securing clip and install any missing securing clips, free of charge. The recall began on April 27, 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 46G4.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 46,574 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 44.

ENGINE 22 50%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 10 23%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 8 18%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 11%
SERVICE BRAKES 5 11%
STRUCTURE 3 7%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 5%
AIR BAGS 1 2%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 2%
LANE DEPARTURE 1 2%
STEERING 1 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2019 at 11.

2015 2019 2025
2015 to 2025

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

STRUCTURE:BODY

3 injured · 300 miles

DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHED, OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO 17 DEGREES. ALL OF A SUDDEN WE HEARD A LOUD SOUND, LIKE A GUNSHOT AND IMMEDIATELY GLASS FELL ON OUR HEADS. THE SUNROOF HAD EXPLODED FOR NO APPARENT REASON AS THERE WERE NO OTHER VEHICLES AROUND US. IT WAS A SCARY INCIDENT WITH MY FAMILY ONBOARD. ONLY MINOR GLASS CUTS WERE SUFFERED, MOSTLY ON THE HANDS AND WE WIPED THE GLASS PIECES OFF OURSELVES. OUR DRIVING SPEED WAS APPROXIMATELY 75 MILES/HOUR, THROUGH OPEN FIELDS (NO BUILDINGS OR CONSTRUCTION NEARBY) ON A STRAIGHT STRETCH OF HIGHWAY.

NHTSA complaint 11396521. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
The car will stop (while driving) for no apparent reason. “Phantom Braking”. This is without any known objects/people approaching our vehicle. It’s a part of the electronic automatic braking system but obviously it is not programmed correctly. It is DANGEROUS. A brief review on internet shows these sudden stops have caused accidents (people rear ending vehicle after sudden stops). Cars have also had to move quickly off highway to avoid collision. Another issue: the Panoramic Sunroof has had frequent issues with water leaks. We’ve already had to pay for one such leak ($1000) and now face payment for a second serious leak which they can’t seem to fix. Internet searches show that VW

NHTSA complaint 11699303, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My lane assist camera is not functioning and Volkswagen is telling me the part is now obsolete and can't be repaired. It is part #7p6907217bxz1y. I took it to Pompano Volkswagen on 4/4/24 and have been waiting for the part which has been out of stock and they (Gunther Volkswagen since Pompano closed) just told me on 8/8/25 the part is no longer available and offer no solution to fix this issue. Seems very odd that a car manufacture would be allowed to not supply a replacement part or be able to fix the problem for a car that is 8 years old. Especially for such an important feature like lane assist and collision avoidance systems - how am I supposed to sell a car without these features

NHTSA complaint 11681082, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
UNKNOWN- simply picking up my kids and various alerts came on the dashboard including the ABS brakes error, Parking brake error, and others that I am not sure of. I just bought this suv on Friday from DCH Acura of Montclair, NJ/ Lithia Motors in Verona, NJ [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11662004. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Rear viewing camera does not display when vehicle is placed in reverse.

NHTSA complaint 11659364. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Vehicle manufacture (Volkswagon) has quit supplying/manufacturing a safety guidence parts for my auto. 7P6-907-217-BX-Z1Y Collision Avoidance Camera NOT AVAILABLE i would like my anti Self collision guidance repaired, but no parts for my 8-9 year old car. part was on order (from 2024) and notified today NOT available and local car dealership order was cancelled. i might understand if I had hit a 10year threshold, but sure hurts now.

NHTSA complaint 11640977. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
My ACC/AEB went out over 2 years ago. At the time this vehicle was out of warranty. The dealer ordered the part (camera) and charged me for it. I waited over a year for the part. During this time VW lost a class action lawsuit regarding this and notified me that this was now going to be covered under warranty. I returned to the dealer to file the warranty claim. Warranty claim is now 6 months old and VW still has no news on getting parts and repairing this safety feature.

NHTSA complaint 11637367. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Volkswagen Touareg

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2017 24 1
2015 24 2
2014 27 2
2013 30 2
2012 28 2
2011 16 2
2010 25 1

Other 2016 Volkswagen models

Every Volkswagen on this site — 152 vehicles, 256 recall campaigns and 2 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

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