2016 Volkswagen Touareg owner complaints

Faulty air intake system allows water to be ingested. Air filter becomes soaked with water, and will ultimately fail if left unchecked. Bits of soggy filter media will damage turbocharger and possibly reciprocating components requiring engine replacement. Engine can fail at any time without warning, causing an unsafe condition. Water ingestion can occur with vehicle stationary or being driven in wet conditions. This is occuring in light rain, and vehicle has not been driven through standing water.

While reading a vw forum I became aware of a known problem with the air filter housing drain becoming clogged and the air filter becoming wet and water being ingested into the engine, hydrolocking the engine and requiring the installation of a new engine. I then checked my air filter and found the bottom 3" - 4" of the air filter completely soaked, to the point that water was dripping from the foam portion of the filter. I contacted vw and they have noted my concerns but there is currently no recall for this problem. I am now hesitant to drive the vehicle at all. As this has been a known problem for a number of years with this vehicle I am surprised that there is no recall in place.

When changing air filter, the filter was soaked with water at the bottom. The air intake tube was filled with water and wasn't draining. I'm lucky the water wasn't sucked into the engine. The little drain at the bottom of the intake tube was clogged not allowing the water to drain but why was water allowed to get in there in the first place. This is a very poor design and can lead to catastrophic engine failure.

Engine air filter compartment fills with water under normal, in-motion operating conditions, leaving a spongy, moldy mess of the air filter and extremely poor engine performance as well as engine overheating during summer months. Have replaced the filter repeatedlly. This is a serious and dangerous design flaw.

At 18,293 miles the vehicle entered "limp mode" while under normal driving conditions. The problem was diagnosed as the engine air filter being saturated with water due to a clogged air box drain holding water. At 26,054 miles, the filter was again found to be saturated with water. This required replacement of the air filter a second time. Normal air filter replacement is recommended at 60,000 miles. At last replacement, vw dealer "modified" the air box drain to improve drainage

When it rains heavily, my touareg air filter is very easy to get into the water. I checked the information on the internet, it said in other countries, there are lots of reports that the same model of imported touareg has lost the power on free way because of the water filter entering the water.

The vehicle was left parked on my driveway for 4 days, during so heavy rainstorms passed over my area. When I went to go start the car after 4 days, a sunny dry day finally, its sputtered and suffocated when starting up. Having heard these vehicles have water problems with the air intake for the engine I immediately shut off the car. When I opened the air filter housing there were about 2 inches of water in the housing that undoubtedly got sucked into my engine when it was started. With the vehicle, not being driven at all during the rain, heavy spray from the road or other cars can be ruled out as a cause and I figure there must be a defect in the seal or design of the air intake. Especially, since vw china recalled these vehicles for the exact same issue earlier this year. Additionally,

My engine was damaged and brought to the dealership. The dealer is suggesting I have gotten water in the intake box and the drain was clogged resulting in engine damage. They are asking that I pay for the damages and I believe it is a design flaw. This was a reclass by vw globally but not in america.

Constant issues with water entering the airbox from faulty design. This can enable parts of the filter to enter the engine and cause catastrophic damage (hydro lock). This vehicle has only sat outside in the rain or has been driven in the rain; all normal conditions for the operation of this vehicle (current mileage is 9000).

Drove in rainstorm and car shut off and came to a complete stop. Could not start back up. After service inspection, I was told that the engine ingested a substantial amount of water and the engine would need replaced.

Engine light came on after driving three miles in dry weather. After seeing recalls in china about water entering the air filter box and saw that the bottom .25% was soaked. Saw many other touareg owners on forums with same problem. Dealer towed vehicle in and falsely claimed car was sitting in water. Reset the engine code and charged me $50+ for a new air filter and delivered the car back to me, with the engine light still on. I've called the service manager and waiting on a call back.

After driving on a short trip. I smelled and noticed diesel leaking from driver side front wheel well. Looking more closely noticed diesel had been leaking while driving splattering on underside and side of vehicle.

I was driving to lunch one day when my 2016 Volkswagen Touareg TDI stalled in the middle of the road and was not able to be restarted due to a failed CP4 HPFP (High Pressure Fuel Pump) this repair was major and everything that the diesel fuel touches was replaced such as fuel pump, lift pump, all fuel lines, fuel filter canister, injectors, fuel rails, etc…

car has a design flaw. If car sits in the sun the emergency stop braking system will fail due to heat. The camera/computer board is mounted in the ceiling behind the rearview mirror. when the sun is out the system will fail do to heat. This problem is in Volkswagons, Audi's and Porche's with various models. The issue is described in detail in multiple blogs and car clubs. I bought the car used. I think this system is as important for safety as airbags. As a 2 stage safety feature to avoid an accident. This failure also affects the Adaptable Cruise Control. Car color and climate affect this system. Volkswagon has an AEB recall but refuses to acknowledge the design flaw. Problem keeps occurring.

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 functioning? I have contact Volkswagen Corporate Customer Care without any avail as well.

Electronic Parking Brake lever light was flashing and dashboard showed parking brake error message. Drove car to VW Dealership, which diagnosed problem as likely bad Parking Brake Control Module (Part J540). Dealership ordered part, and stated I could drive car home. Within 1 mile of dealership, parking brake engaged automatically abruptly slowing car and error flashed on dash stating "Disengage Parking Brake." Pulled over, turned car off and back on, which disengaged parking brake. Returned to dealership and left car until it could be repaired. Had I been on the interstate traveling at a higher rate of speed, this may have caused an accident.

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 Corporation has known about this manufacturing defect since 2016 but has “hidden” these manufacturing

Brake pedal goes all the way to floor, vehicle will not stop. Has fluid, no warning lights, no damaged cable

NTHSA folks, Two months ago, I began getting an "Error Airbag" amber warning in the Touareg's driver-information display. I visited the dealer and was told "the airbag module" (volkswagen-2016-volkswagen-touareg-control-module-7p0959655g08p) was the issue. I was told they'd order the part, only to hear back later: "There are none in the U.S. and it'll take 5-8 weeks to get one from. Europe." This has since been updated with "We have no idea if or when this part will be available." As a consequence, it appears I must simply wonder whether the airbags will deploy if needed, which strikes me (no pun intended) as irresponsible on VW's end, particularly since it concerns a safety-related failure. Indeed, if this part is so unavailable, it would seem that either many owners are experiencing t

Sunroof leaks and water accumulates in the spare tire well plus grows mold making the vehicle unsafe to drive