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Volkswagen Tiguan, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

358,835 Volkswagen Tiguans are licensed in the UK, the 21st most common model on the road. In 2025 they passed 81.4% of initial MOT tests, 9.1 points above the 72.3% UK average.

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Volkswagen Tiguan at the MOT

81.4% of 255,819 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Tiguan 177th of 575 models. Volkswagen Tiguans aged 3 to 5 years passed 88.8% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 66.2%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Volkswagen Tiguan81.4%
  • All Volkswagen modelsThe Tiguan is 8.3 pts ahead73.1%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Volkswagen Tiguan tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years75,599 tests88.8%
  • 6 to 10 years114,132 tests82.1%
  • 11 years and over49,874 tests66.2%

Where Tiguans fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Volkswagen Tiguan tests in 2025.

  • Suspension31.5%
  • Tyres22.7%
  • Brakes13.3%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment12.9%
  • Visibility6.7%

The items testers recorded most often were tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (9.9%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (9.5%) and coil spring fractured or broken (8.5%).

The MOT page lists every common Tiguan MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Volkswagen Tiguan MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Tiguan's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.31.5% of Tiguan failure items

  2. Tyres

    Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear.22.7% of Tiguan failure items

  3. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.13.3% of Tiguan failure items

Volkswagen Tiguans in the UK

358,835 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 301% since the end of 2015.

Change since 2015
+301%from 89,474 licensed
Typical year of first use
2019half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2019 or earlier
First registered in 2025
31,594against 38,064 in 2019
Declared off the road
5,5121.5% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Volkswagen Tiguans since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201469,486
End of 201589,474
End of 2016109,920
End of 2017136,735
End of 2018167,226
End of 2019202,240
End of 2020225,603
End of 2021248,355
End of 2022266,813
End of 2023292,491
End of 2024320,264
End of 2025347,758
End of June 2026358,835

How old they are

Licensed Volkswagen Tiguans by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year

A further 3,356 were first used before 2009.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
202530,49931,594
202431,64632,475
202327,95328,989
202218,79520,026
202123,01424,092
202024,67425,886
201936,20338,064
201829,98531,918
201727,12629,145
201618,83320,301
201520,36221,946
201415,557
201312,358
20128,893
20116,493
20106,120
20095,333

20,362 Tiguans first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 93% of the 21,946 first registered that year.

Tiguan engines and fuel

2.0 litre engines made up 74% of Volkswagen Tiguan MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.5 litre at 22%. Diesel accounts for 54% of licensed Tiguans and petrol for 29%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 255,808 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 2.0 litre73.8%
  • 1.5 litre21.7%
  • 1.4 litre4.5%

Fuel type, licensed Tiguans

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol105,67229%
Diesel194,86054%
Plug-in hybrid30,6419%
Hybrid electric27,6608%
Gas2<0.1%

Volkswagen Tiguan recalls

33 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volkswagen Tiguan. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Tiguan is affected.

  1. Oct 2026 R/2026/375

    48VT - Steering rack bolt replacement

    Tiguans built Jul 2017 to Jun 2018 · 19 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles corrosion can cause a tear of a bolt head on the steering rack. This can result in a loss of steering functionality and increase the risk of injury.
    Remedy
    The steering bolt will be replaced with a more corrosion-resistant one.

  2. Oct 2026 R/2026/360

    48VS - Steering rack bolt replacement

    Tiguans built Nov 2016 to Oct 2022 · 83 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On vehicles of a limited production period corrosion can cause a tear of a bolt head on the steering rack. This can result in a loss of steering functionality.
    Remedy
    On the affected vehicles the affected bolted connection of the steering rack is replaced on the right-hand side of the subframe.

  3. Jun 2025 R/2025/223

    Curtain airbag

    Tiguans built Dec 2018 to Feb 2019 · 144 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On Tiguan Allspace vehicles of a limited production period there is a possibility that one or several faulty curtain airbags may have been fitted in the vehicle.
    Remedy
    On the affected vehicles the left and/or right curtain airbag must be replaced.

  4. Dec 2024 R/2025/004

    Lever for seat height adjustment

    Tiguans built May 2024 · 337 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Volkswagen AG has established that on VW Tiguan vehicles of a limited production period there is the possibility that because of a faulty protective felt in the event of a front crash a tear in the seat belt on the front seats could occur. In the event of an accident the seat belt could get caught in the side lever for seat height adjustment. The faulty protective felt on the lever for the seat height adjustment can cause the seat belt to tear in the event of a front crash. A torn seat belt increases the risk of severe or deadly injuries in the event of accidents.
    Remedy
    For safety reasons the replacement of the faulty protective felt on the lever to the seat height adjustment of your vehicle is necessary. Until the check do not use your vehicle with the front seats in a seat position that is far back and low down. Otherwise there is a risk that the seat belt could tear in the event of a front crash and the risk of severe or deadly injuries is increased.

  5. Mar 2024 R/2024/114

    Curtain Airbag

    Tiguans built Nov 2018 to Feb 2019 · 187 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    In Tiguan Allspace vehicles within a specified range of VINs curtain airbags with a defective gas generator may have been installed due to a manufacturing error. A defective gas generator may cause the airbag not to work correctly and therefore not provide the required level of protection. In the event of an accident where the curtain airbag is deployed components from the gas generator may become detached and injure vehicle passengers
    Remedy
    Replace curtain airbag

  6. Jun 2023 R/2023/178

    Takata Front airbag

    Tiguans built Nov 2014 to Apr 2017 · 287,441 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The function of the driver airbag inflators can degrade due to air and moisture ingress.
    Remedy
    Replace airbag

  7. May 2022 R/2022/166

    Sporadic malfunctions in a pressure casting system caused individual rear wheel bearing housings to be fitted with oxide inclusions

    Tiguans built Jul 2021 to Sep 2021 · 305 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On Tiguan LWB vehicles of a limited production period sporadic malfunctions in a pressure casting system caused individual rear wheel bearing housings to be fitted with oxide inclusions.
    Remedy
    On the affected vehicles the production date of the two rear wheel bearing housings is checked and if necessary replaced.

  8. Apr 2022 R/2022/086

    The fuse in the high-voltage system of plug-in hybrid vehicles was in some cases produced with too little so-called fire sand

    Tiguans built Jan 2019 to Feb 2022 · 1,868 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    An additional protective insulating mat is to be fitted to the switching unit for high-voltage battery.
How to check a specific Tiguan for recalls

Tiguan vs similar cars

Head-to-head comparisons on the same 2025 DVSA data.

Other Volkswagen models

The most-tested Volkswagen models in 2025, against the Tiguan's 81.4% MOT pass rate.

All 31 Volkswagen models

Volkswagen Tiguan FAQs

How many Volkswagen Tiguans are there in the UK?

358,835 Volkswagen Tiguans were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 5,512 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Volkswagen Tiguan reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is an 81.4% first-time pass rate for the Volkswagen Tiguan across 255,819 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Volkswagen Tiguan had any recalls?

33 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volkswagen Tiguan. The most recent was published in October 2026. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Volkswagen Tiguan?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, tyres and brakes. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Volkswagen Tiguan's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found a Tiguan?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Volkswagen history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Volkswagen VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.