| Issue ID | 1229989 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10782823 |
| Manufacurer | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| Brand | VOLKSWAGEN |
| Model | TIGUAN |
| Model Year | 2009 |
| File date | 21/09/15 |
| Component | ENGINE |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | On a cross country road trip, my 2009 vw tiguan was running perfectly. Stopped at a rest stop, and when tried to restart car, it rattled severely and the engine light went on. Vehicle was towed to vw service, and i was told i needed an engine replacement, due to a failed timing chain tensioner. It cost me $5800, along with 5 days of lodging while waiting for repair. The vw dealer supported the fact that i should get reimbursed by vw. My vehicle had a perfect maintenance record. There is nothing in the manual pertaining to maintenance requirement for timing chain/tensioner. All it takes is a quick search on the internet to see the unbelievable amount of cases and complaints, even to vehicles with as low as 10,000 miles. There is apparently a new tensioner service kit available to avoid the catastrophic damage, but vw has not notified customers. This is absolutely a safety issue. My wife or i could have been traveling in a remote area with no cell reception, which is often the case. It is also unacceptable to put the financial burden on customers when it could be avoided. This needs to be a recall. This is a canadian vehicle, but the breakdown occurred in ny state. This should be a north american recall. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 120000 |
| Number of Occurences | |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | LATHAM, NY |
| VIN pattern | WVGBV75N79WXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 0 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |