The Used Car Index

2012 Volkswagen Touareg problems

NHTSA lists 28 complaints for the 2012 Volkswagen Touareg, 1 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 2 complaints mention an injury, with 3 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-09.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG.

At a glance

Complaints
28
With crash
1
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
2
Injuries
3
Deaths
0
Recalls
2
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
46,574
Investigations
1
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
972

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM621.4%
ENGINE517.9%
STEERING517.9%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM414.3%
POWER TRAIN310.7%
AIR BAGS27.1%
SEAT BELTS27.1%
SERVICE BRAKES27.1%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)13.6%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING13.6%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
AIR BAGSFRONTAL1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMIGNITION1

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
mechanical failure522.7%0.67
electrical electronic418.2%0.79
loss of control418.2%0.81
noise or comfort418.2%0.72
restraint or airbag313.6%0.86
fluid or fuel leak14.5%0.57
visibility or lighting14.5%1.00
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate1463.6%0.76
low627.3%0.94
high29.1%0.99

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 22 tagged complaints of 28 complaints (78.6%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

2 recalls.

18V329000

Date: 2018-05-16. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Eos, 2012 Passat, 2012-2016 CC, 2015-2016 e-Golf, 2011-2015 Touareg, 2012-2015 and 2017 Tiguan, and 2011-2016 Golf and 2011-2013 GTI vehicles. Modifications made while the vehicles were in an internal evaluation period may cause the affected vehicles to not comply with all of the applicable regulatory requirements.

Consequence: If the vehicles do not meet all regulatory requirements, there could be an increased risk of a crash, fire, or injury.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles to make them fully compliant or Volkswagen will repurchase them if necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

16V170000

Date: 2016-03-24. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC.

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.

Consequence: If the brake pedal dislodges, the driver may not be able to apply the brakes, increasing the risk of a crash.

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.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

1 investigations; 0 open.

EA11003

Opened: 2011-02-07. Closed: 2015-03-27.

High-Pressure Fuel Pump Failure

The Office of Defects Investgation (ODI) opened EA11-003 on February 7, 2011, based on 160 complaints to ODI and Volkswagen involving high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) failures in model year (MY) 2009 through 2010 Volkswagen Jetta and Golf and Audi A3 TDI vehicles and questions regarding fuel sample results provided by Volkswagen as part of its response to PE10-034.During EA11-003, ODI analyzed desig

Systems: FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL, FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

Manufacturer communications

972 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT364
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM215
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING160
ENGINE93
POWER TRAIN77
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE51
UNKNOWN OR OTHER48
VISIBILITY40

11038146

Date: 2026-09-17. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Suggested fuel additive

11038143

Date: 2026-09-09. Type: Other. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.

11036868

Date: 2026-08-06. Type: Other. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Permission to change Daily Order upgraded to RED Order

11036870

Date: 2026-08-04. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Differences between a leak and seepage

11035772

Date: 2026-07-15. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A software fix is needed to correct the issue: DA 0019 - Hotfix 12-V battery test(s) a No battery diagnosis - Inconclusive test result.

11035762

Date: 2026-07-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Oil Consumption Measurement and Electronic Oil Consumption Measurement

11034613

Date: 2026-06-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Lubricating engine components before reassembly.

11034614

Date: 2026-06-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Instruction, how to lubicate engine before initial start.

11034621

Date: 2026-06-11. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Inquiries

11034617

Date: 2026-06-04. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Volkswagen Engine Oil Standards

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
TOUAREG28

Same model, other years

All model years | All Volkswagen models

Other Volkswagen models, 2012

Sources

Get this record as JSON

The free rate-limited demo needs no key.

curl "https://api.theusedcarindex.com/v1/demo/vehicle_risk?make=Volkswagen&model=Touareg&year=2012"

Paid endpoint: https://api.theusedcarindex.com/v1/vehicle_risk. MCP endpoint: https://api.theusedcarindex.com/mcp.