NHTSA Complaint #11228837 — 2019 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN

I BOUGHT THE TIGUAN BRAND NEW FROM THE DEALERSHIP WITH HIGH HOPES FOR OUR FAMILY SUV. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY I NOTICED THAT THE VEHICLE HESITATED TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOPPED POSITION A FEW TIMES, BUT COULDN'T BELIEVE I WAS HAVING A PROBLEM SO SOON AFTER BUYING THE CAR. WHEN I REALIZED THAT THIS WAS A RECURRING CAR ISSUE AND NOT USER ERROR, WE HAD ONLY OWNED THE CAR FOR 3 WEEKS AND THE CAR HAD ROUGHLY 1200 MILES. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING WHEN I WAS TURNING LEFT DURING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC WITH MY 12 MONTH OLD SON IN THE BACK SEAT AND MY CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE BEYOND ABOUT 5 MILES PER HOUR. LUCKILY THE DRIVER COMING TOWARDS ME ON THE MAIN ROAD SLOWED DOWN WITH ENOUGH TIME FOR ME TO MAKE MY LEFT TURN AND COAST RIGHT INTO A NEARBY SUBDIVISION. I PRESSED MY FOOT ONTO THE ACCELERATOR TO THE FLOOR AND IT TOOK ABOUT 20 SECONDS FOR IT TO KICK INTO SPEED. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I ASSUMED IT WOULD BE FIXED. AFTER 9 DAYS IN THE SHOP, THEY CLAIM THEY DROVE THE VEHICLE 80 MILES AND COULDN'T DUPLICATE THE ISSUE. THEREFORE, THEY WANT ME TO PUT MY FAMILY BACK INTO THE CAR THAT IS COMPLETELY UNSAFE TO DRIVE. THEY TRIED TO TELL ME THAT IT WAS THE "TURBO LAG" THAT I AM EXPERIENCING WHICH, IN THE LONG RUN, A MANAGER ADMITTED TO MY FIANCE AND I IS UNTRUE ISN'T EVEN WHAT WE ARE EXPRESSING AS THE PROBLEM. AFTER TALKING TO 3 MANAGERS, WE FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE WHO IS HEAD OF THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT THE DEALERSHIP WHO SYMPATHIZED WITH OUR ISSUE AND IS LETTING US USE A LOANER UNTIL VOLKSWAGEN CALLS US BACK, BUT THIS IS ONLY AFTER I SHOWED THEM ALL OF THE OTHER REVIEWS ON THIS WEBSITE THAT STATE OUR EXACT ISSUE. NOW WE WAIT TO SEE IF VOLKSWAGEN WILL DO THE RIGHT THING OR IF THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS AS TERRIBLE AS THE DEALERSHIP WHERE WE BOUGHT IT WHEN WE WENT IN WITH A REAL AND TERRIFYING ISSUE. THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF WHAT WILL BE A RECALL. UNSAFE AND SCARY.