Hi,
I am looking for some honest real world advice about the MK3 tiguan from UK owners.
I went to buy a used (340 miles) mk3 Tiguan Elegance 1.5eTSI in October from a VW main dealer in Yorkshire (United Kingdom.) On the test drive the car failed to start and it got the standard software error messages. Not the most positive experience but I did end up test driving the demonstrator which I did like driving. I was told by the dealer the car needed a software update which would be available in a couple of weeks. Fast forward 6 weeks and was told they were waiting for an update in December.
From looking at this forum I see there was an update on 12th December. I have been waiting to see what happens with that and if it magically fixes all of the many issues members on here have reported.
I have dismissed the original tiguan I went to look at but I need to change my car by the end of Jan and have been looking at other models. I am toying between the idea of buying a used 24 plate mk2 1.5 tsi rline or a 24 plate mk3 1.5eTSI match. Usually when I buy a new car I go for the latest model with most up to date tech. In this case I don't know if this is the best idea?
I wanted to ask has anyone had the latest software update with a tiguan in match trim if that resolve the issues you were having ?
I also wanted to ask about real world mpg. Could anyone advise what they are getting on short urban commutes and longer runs with the 1.5eTSI engine.
Many thanks for your time!
Matthew
Real World MPG & Tiguan Software Update 12-Dec-2024 Questions
Honest Advise Please!!!
It sounds like its luck of the draw ,we have had our R Line 1.5 Since September and the only faults we have had is a few error messages when its cold weather but nothing drastic , we had the software update done last week and so far so good. We get about 35-40 round town and 40-50 on a run
I think I would echo the advice above!
My Mk.3 eTSI Elegance has been off the road since 28 October waiting for a replacement passenger seat belt which apparently is the cause of the airbag error warning light/messages.
I wish to God I’d held on to my 20 plate Mk.2 1.5 TSi EVO SEL which was a well sorted far superior car in my opinion!
2024 Mk.3 Tiguan Elegance 1.5 eTSI 150 Persimmon Red
I’m generally enjoying my Tiguan. It’s very nice to drive particularly in E-mode, and some of the features such as remote air con are very convenient especially in this UK weather.
The main issues I am having are related to charging but I can’t work out if these are car or charger related. It was pretty reliable charging at work and on public chargers so I’m inclined to think it’s just my home charger. Issues tend to be charger faults/saying it’s charging when it isn’t. Often get the red light on the car charger port with very little help from anything to diagnose it.
I’ve had the errors on startup such as front assist/light assist being unavailable but these have been temporary and I think may be due to ice/condensation obstructing the sensor.
The main issues I am having are related to charging but I can’t work out if these are car or charger related. It was pretty reliable charging at work and on public chargers so I’m inclined to think it’s just my home charger. Issues tend to be charger faults/saying it’s charging when it isn’t. Often get the red light on the car charger port with very little help from anything to diagnose it.
I’ve had the errors on startup such as front assist/light assist being unavailable but these have been temporary and I think may be due to ice/condensation obstructing the sensor.
2024 Tiguan Mk III | Match Trim | 1.5 TSI eHybrid | Napoli Alloys | Pure White
Despite being without my Tiguan for 4 weeks now waiting on a new camera control unit I do not regret my purchase and would happily buy another. There are without doubt software issues with the car and hopefully the 90PV software update released on 12th December will address most if not all of the known issues. That said it was installing that update that caused the camera control unit fault that has seen my car off the road for the last month! For whatever reason VW seems to have a major issue in getting parts allocated for repair rather going into production of new cars, but again this seems to be an industry wide issue - just look at Jaguar Land Rover.
With my statistics hat on, if you assume every critical component in the car is built to be 99.999% reliable (ie 1 in 10000 will have a problem) which is at the upper end of reliability - only the most critical computer systems are built to this level of reliability - and you assume there are 1000 component in the car that need to have this level of reliability, then 1 in 100 cars could fail due to an issue with any one of those components (0.99999^1000). If the design reliability drops to 99.99 then 1 in 10 vehicles can be expected to fail. I'm in no way making excuses, VW should be doing better and they definitely should be doing a lot better when a customer encounters a problem that needs fixing when to comes to sourcing parts to get cars back on the road and also communicating with the customer and the dealer about progress.
Back to the original question, I am left wondering (as I did this time last year) what I would buy instead of the Tiguan (similar size, petrol, sub £40k). All of the VAG alternatives will have the same software issues so would be no better than the Tiguan, I might look again at the BMW X1 but lead times of 5-6 months look no better than this time last year which is why I did not go that route. I also have a very good relationship with my dealer (used them for over 12 years) and that really helps when things go wrong as they go above and beyond to minimise the pain.
With my statistics hat on, if you assume every critical component in the car is built to be 99.999% reliable (ie 1 in 10000 will have a problem) which is at the upper end of reliability - only the most critical computer systems are built to this level of reliability - and you assume there are 1000 component in the car that need to have this level of reliability, then 1 in 100 cars could fail due to an issue with any one of those components (0.99999^1000). If the design reliability drops to 99.99 then 1 in 10 vehicles can be expected to fail. I'm in no way making excuses, VW should be doing better and they definitely should be doing a lot better when a customer encounters a problem that needs fixing when to comes to sourcing parts to get cars back on the road and also communicating with the customer and the dealer about progress.
Back to the original question, I am left wondering (as I did this time last year) what I would buy instead of the Tiguan (similar size, petrol, sub £40k). All of the VAG alternatives will have the same software issues so would be no better than the Tiguan, I might look again at the BMW X1 but lead times of 5-6 months look no better than this time last year which is why I did not go that route. I also have a very good relationship with my dealer (used them for over 12 years) and that really helps when things go wrong as they go above and beyond to minimise the pain.
Whilst my Tiguan Elegance has been off the road waiting for a replacement seat belt, since 28 October, I’ve had a 24 plate Cupra Formentor PHEV as a loan replacement. Still have it. I think it’s the pre-facelift model.
My observation is that the tech on it seems to be more settled/sorted than what I’ve experienced with my Mk.3 Tiguan…..a bit like my previous Mk.2 Tiguan in fact. Yes, you get the odd over-sensitive front collision warning but only very occasionally, unlike my Mk.3 where you can virtually guarantee that it’ll happen every trip. Also, on the Cupra, the braking does not appear to suffer from the sort of vague variation in brake pedal travel/firmness experienced with Mk. 3 Tiguans which I am informed is due to the recuperation process for the hybrid battery. I find this strange because whilst my Mk.3 is a mild hybrid, the Cupra is a PHEV - so a bigger battery.
2024 Mk.3 Tiguan Elegance 1.5 eTSI 150 Persimmon Red
Like you I am currently driving a 24 plate Cupra Formentor PHEV (not sorry to no longer have the MultiBus!). These cars are using the MIB-3 system (the Tiguan III uses the newer MIB-4) as used in the pre-facelift Golf 8, ID.3 etc. My Formentor (vz2 spec) looks to have the equivalent of the upgrade option from the Golf as it has the larger screen and supports gesture control. From a reliability perspective it seems no better or worse than our current or previous Golf 8. It did however throw the brakes on yesterday when I was reversing and it does not even have the rear cross traffic radar option we have on the Tiguan, so all is by no means perfect.Bertieb wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 12:28 amWhilst my Tiguan Elegance has been off the road waiting for a replacement seat belt, since 28 October, I’ve had a 24 plate Cupra Formentor PHEV as a loan replacement. Still have it. I think it’s the pre-facelift model.
My observation is that the tech on it seems to be more settled/sorted than what I’ve experienced with my Mk.3 Tiguan…..a bit like my previous Mk.2 Tiguan in fact. Yes, you get the odd over-sensitive front collision warning but only very occasionally, unlike my Mk.3 where you can virtually guarantee that it’ll happen every trip. Also, on the Cupra, the braking does not appear to suffer from the sort of vague variation in brake pedal travel/firmness experienced with Mk. 3 Tiguans which I am informed is due to the recuperation process for the hybrid battery. I find this strange because whilst my Mk.3 is a mild hybrid, the Cupra is a PHEV - so a bigger battery.
From what I understand a key part of the new software released just before Christmas of the Tiguan and Passat is to address issues with the front facing camera and presumably this is a key source of the over enthusiastic collision alert. However both my last Audi A6s, one MIB-2 and the other MIB-3, had similar issues with false warnings for collision alerts. I don't fully recognise the brake issue you describe, although there are times when first getting in the car that it is very hard to press the brake pedal to start the car. Indeed this was one of the questions from VW Assist person when the car failed to start so is a known issue and again something I believe the software update will address.
Worth remembering that both you car and mine are off the road due to a hardware fault and lack of availability of the replacement part rather than software. My new part is expected in the next week or so, hopefully it will arrive and I can get my car back
[i[/i]Elan2s wrote
Like you I am currently driving a 24 plate Cupra Formentor PHEV (not sorry to no longer have the MultiBus!). These cars are using the MIB-3 system (the Tiguan III uses the newer MIB-4) as used in the pre-facelift Golf 8, ID.3 etc. My Formentor (vz2 spec) looks to have the equivalent of the upgrade option from the Golf as it has the larger screen and supports gesture control. From a reliability perspective it seems no better or worse than our current or previous Golf 8. It did however throw the brakes on yesterday when I was reversing and it does not even have the rear cross traffic radar option we have on the Tiguan, so all is by no means perfect.
From what I understand a key part of the new software released just before Christmas of the Tiguan and Passat is to address issues with the front facing camera and presumably this is a key source of the over enthusiastic collision alert. However both my last Audi A6s, one MIB-2 and the other MIB-3, had similar issues with false warnings for collision alerts. I don't fully recognise the brake issue you describe, although there are times when first getting in the car that it is very hard to press the brake pedal to start the car. Indeed this was one of the questions from VW Assist person when the car failed to start so is a known issue and again something I believe the software update will address.
Worth remembering that both you car and mine are off the road due to a hardware fault and lack of availability of the replacement part rather than software. My new part is expected in the next week or so, hopefully it will arrive and I can get my car back
[/quote]
You are right in a number of respects, of course the Cupra Formentor is not perfect and neither was my previous Mk.2 Tiguan, as I have already indicated, but both are easier and more relaxing to drive than my Mk.3 due to perhaps fewer or less aggressive tech interventions. That’s my feeling.
You are also right in that my car is apparently off the road due to a hardware fault, like yours.
Until late October, when the fault kicked in with my Tiguan, I counted myself relatively lucky that I had more or less been free from most all of the horrendous software issues reported by some in this forum. The car was just 3 months old then and I was relatively happy!
Now, after a totally unacceptable 2 1/2 months off the road waiting for a part, with two ETAs missed and a third extended ETA by no means certain, add to that an appalling VW Customer Service response, I find myself having had to issue a notice of intent to reject! Otherwise this could drag on indefinitely!
I’d rather they fix it without further delay because I like the car and also because, like you, I find it difficult to imagine what alternative I might go for, once you discount all other Audi/VW brands!
BMW X1, yes perhaps. I did have a first generation Mazda CX-5 which was very good and also very reliable!! I like the second generation CX-5 very much but presently there is no mild hybrid availability, I believe, and whilst it’s automatic box is sweet it is a conventional torque converter setup so, unlike the Tiguan’s dual clutch arrangement, there is quite a penalty in terms of mpg, in going automatic.
Like you I am currently driving a 24 plate Cupra Formentor PHEV (not sorry to no longer have the MultiBus!). These cars are using the MIB-3 system (the Tiguan III uses the newer MIB-4) as used in the pre-facelift Golf 8, ID.3 etc. My Formentor (vz2 spec) looks to have the equivalent of the upgrade option from the Golf as it has the larger screen and supports gesture control. From a reliability perspective it seems no better or worse than our current or previous Golf 8. It did however throw the brakes on yesterday when I was reversing and it does not even have the rear cross traffic radar option we have on the Tiguan, so all is by no means perfect.
From what I understand a key part of the new software released just before Christmas of the Tiguan and Passat is to address issues with the front facing camera and presumably this is a key source of the over enthusiastic collision alert. However both my last Audi A6s, one MIB-2 and the other MIB-3, had similar issues with false warnings for collision alerts. I don't fully recognise the brake issue you describe, although there are times when first getting in the car that it is very hard to press the brake pedal to start the car. Indeed this was one of the questions from VW Assist person when the car failed to start so is a known issue and again something I believe the software update will address.
Worth remembering that both you car and mine are off the road due to a hardware fault and lack of availability of the replacement part rather than software. My new part is expected in the next week or so, hopefully it will arrive and I can get my car back
[/quote]
You are right in a number of respects, of course the Cupra Formentor is not perfect and neither was my previous Mk.2 Tiguan, as I have already indicated, but both are easier and more relaxing to drive than my Mk.3 due to perhaps fewer or less aggressive tech interventions. That’s my feeling.
You are also right in that my car is apparently off the road due to a hardware fault, like yours.
Until late October, when the fault kicked in with my Tiguan, I counted myself relatively lucky that I had more or less been free from most all of the horrendous software issues reported by some in this forum. The car was just 3 months old then and I was relatively happy!
Now, after a totally unacceptable 2 1/2 months off the road waiting for a part, with two ETAs missed and a third extended ETA by no means certain, add to that an appalling VW Customer Service response, I find myself having had to issue a notice of intent to reject! Otherwise this could drag on indefinitely!
I’d rather they fix it without further delay because I like the car and also because, like you, I find it difficult to imagine what alternative I might go for, once you discount all other Audi/VW brands!
BMW X1, yes perhaps. I did have a first generation Mazda CX-5 which was very good and also very reliable!! I like the second generation CX-5 very much but presently there is no mild hybrid availability, I believe, and whilst it’s automatic box is sweet it is a conventional torque converter setup so, unlike the Tiguan’s dual clutch arrangement, there is quite a penalty in terms of mpg, in going automatic.
2024 Mk.3 Tiguan Elegance 1.5 eTSI 150 Persimmon Red
