Volkswagen TAOS Reliability by Year
Best & Worst Years, Problems & Recalls — NHTSA Data

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

I rented this car from Enterprise. When I pulled out of the rental car facility, the car lurched forward. I applied the brakes. The car slowed down but did not stop and I rolled out into the street to the right. Enterprise is on the top of the hill and Pacific Coast Highway is at the bottom. The trolley and train tracks are close by. It is my habit to tap the brakes before any tracks even when there are no warning signals. When I tapped the brakes on the Taos, there was no response. Once I was over the tracks, I applied the brakes again and again, with no response. The car was rolling faster and faster down the hill. I determined it would be dangerous to attempt a right turn on Pacific Coast Highway with oncoming traffic and likely against the traffic light, or to cross the highway. I decided the safest course of action was to drive into a fenced, but empty, lot on the corner. I tried shoving the gear into park but it had no effect. The car stopped when it hit a fence post on the corner lot. Interestingly, the vehicle did not warn of any impending collision. The air bags did not deploy.

My 2025 Volkswagen Taos is exhibiting active symptoms of a known safety recall involving electrical system malfunctions. The vehicle experienced multiple failures including the instrument cluster going blank, screens shutting off, and a false start condition where the dashboard illuminated with multiple warning lights. The vehicle became inoperable and required towing to a Volkswagen dealership. The dealership confirmed that the symptoms are consistent with the current recall but stated there is no available remedy at this time. They insist the vehicle be returned to me after only charging the battery, without any repair addressing the recall condition. I refused. I do not consider the vehicle safe to operate given the ongoing electrical failures and lack of an available fix. This complaint is being filed because a recalled vehicle is actively experiencing the defect, and the manufacturer is unable to provide a repair or safe interim solution.

Driving south on [XXX] and was hit on the front driver side by a vehicle that jumped lanes while traveling north bound on [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Incident 1: Noticed hard starting one morning. After stopping for gas various engine warning lights illuminated (including EPC light). Took to VW dealer few days later, found trouble codes stored (P0148). Fuel pump replaced few days after diagnosis. Incident 2: Driving on highway for ~10 mins. Experienced total power loss, warning lights came on (including EPC). Had to pull over on left shoulder creating hazard. Engine died and would not restart after stopping. Required police intervention to move vehicle safely to right side of road. Returned to dealer for diagnosis. After 7 calendar days only found 'bad fuel line clamp causing pressure drop.' Claimed fuel line clamp replaced and road tested to validate repair. Incident 3: Driving on highway for ~10 mins again; experienced total power loss, EPC light illuminated along with other warnings. Warning appeared that engine limited to 4000 RPM. Was able to cut across 3 lanes of traffic, creating safety hazard, to safely stop in parking lot. Once speed dropped below ~20 mph engine died completely and would not restarted. Towed to dealer for 2nd time now waiting on diagnosis.

While driving with my ACC activated to 71MPH, I was pulled over by Mass state police and told that my speed was between 76-81MPH. I've since confirmed the statement of the officer to be accurate by comparing the displayed vehicle speed is lower than what's displayed on apps such as Waze and google maps. Citation [XXX] was issued by the officer INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

While driving down the interstate I noticed that the speed in my Taos was not matching what google maps or apple maps was showing. It is very difficult to figure out. I noticed this more than once. Even If I am going below the speed limit that is only shows me not speeding. The interstate I was on was a speed of 70. Normally I am at 75 both map systems were showing 78-80. I would adjust to below 70 and everything matched then. Something in the taos is not accurate and is off. I am always fearful that I am going to get pulled over being to under/over the speed. Even using the digital speedometer in the vehicle, it is not showing the correct speed. This causes me to be at risk for tickets and unnecessary fines. My 2021 Hyundai Elantra did not have this issue. It was digital and alway accurate. The taos is not. From my understanding Volkswagen is aware and don't care. I plan on to sell it before anymore issue come up like my grinding front brakes under 5,000 miles. I am done.

The speedometer on the new 2025 Volkswagen Taos undervalues the speed by 5%. For example, if the SUV speedometer says 40 mph the actual speed of the vehicle is 42 mph. This seems to be a known problem on new Taos vehicles but is not being addressed by Volkswagen. They are saying legally a 10% variance is allowed and the vehicle passes electrical tests. This problem has been reported to corporate and two dealerships and has a case number. Speed was noticed by driver after going the speed limit on a street near a baseball field with a sign and flashing speedometer. Waze and Google Maps gps also confirm the 5% variance. This problem causes unintentional speeding, reduced reaction time and stopping distance, difficulty matching traffic flow and misjudgment of vehicle control.

I added a post last year at my 10k service stating my rear brake pads needed to be replaced. Update with my 20k service: rear brake pads AND rotors need to be replaced again. Rear brake pads down to 2 mm, front pads (original) still at 12 mm. This is a safety issues with financial consequences.

I own a 2024 Volkswagen Taos with 20,600 miles. At my scheduled 20,000-mile service on June 6, 2026, the dealership measured my rear driver side brake pad at 3mm while my front pads measured 10mm. This extreme difference in wear is consistent with the known premature rear brake pad wear issue VW acknowledged on 2022–2023 Taos vehicles and addressed with a warranty extension bulletin. My 2024 Taos was not included in that bulletin despite showing the identical problem. At only 20,600 miles, rear pads should not be at 3mm while front pads remain at 10mm — this is not normal wear and indicates a manufacturing defect in the brake pad material or an electronic parking brake calibration issue causing rear brake bias. Brakes are a critical safety system. I am requesting NHTSA investigate whether the 2024 Taos is affected by the same defect, and whether the warranty extension should be expanded to include 2024 model year vehicles.

The odometer does not read correctly upon fill up. Typically the fill up states I have 325 miles per tank but I can drive about 100 miles and it still reads 325 miles until empty, after which time the odometer drops extremely fast and isn't consistent with miles driven. Additionally, twice now, while driving the instrument cluster on both the radio and speedometer have blacked out and I have been unable to view my current speed or general information. I know there is a recall on select taos models facing this same issue and wanted to make sure that my vehicle is documented as having this same issue and may need a software update. My Taos was produced in [XXX] in February of 2024. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The vehicle suffered a recurring mechanical failure of the fuel injectors and a flooded EVAP charcoal canister, causing the engine to run lean (Fault P2177) and lose power. This defect creates an unreasonable safety risk as it can cause the engine to stall or lose motive power unexpectedly at highway speeds. Furthermore, the fuel system defect led to a flooded EVAP system, which poses a potential fire hazard and fuel vapor accumulation. Volkswagen Technical Assistance confirmed the mechanical failure of all four injectors . The defect was initially misdiagnosed as 'fuel contamination,' which delayed the critical safety repair for over 25 days and resulted in a total electrical system failure (battery death) while the vehicle was inoperable.

At my 20,000 mile maintenance oil change, I was told my rear brakes and rotors were needing to be replaced. The car is a 2024 vw taos with 19,600k miles. I have never had to replace brakes anywhere near this early on any other car so it is not due to driving habits. The windshield wipers will also spontaneously go off even with no rain or precipitation hitting the windshield.

The speedometer is off 3%. When the speedometer indicates 65mph The vehicle is actually traveling at 68mph. At 55mph Indicated the vehicle is actually traveling at 57mph. The faster you go the more off the speedometer is. This was verified using GPS on two separate smart phones. After doing some research I've discovered that all mid to late 2024 VW Taos 4-motion vehicles are the same as my vehicle. VW made a mid-year production change from 215/50R18 to 215/55R18 tires and did not code/calibrate the speedometer for the different tire size. Many many other 2024 Taos 4-motion owners on vehicle forums like VW vortex and others are,like myself, complaining of the slow reading speedometer. This raises safety and legal questions such as owners receiving speeding tickets or other infractions. Also the vehicle is traveling faster than Indicated could potentially pose a safety concern.

The windshield wipers regularly come on automatically when it is not raining, sometimes at a very rapid speed. I have unselected in the settings the option for them to come on automatically but the problem still persists. When the windshield is dry the wipers make a very loud dragging noise and since this comes at random unexpected times it is quite startling as well as an annoyance. I have taken the vehicle in to have the censor assessed that is incorrectly detecting the rain and told that everything appeared correctly but that it was a known issue for this make and model vehicle.

In November 2025, I was told by Volkswagen that I needed to get my brakes and rotors replaced. At that time I only had around 19,000 miles on my vehicle. This was covered by Volkswagen‘s extended warranty as Volkswagen is aware that there are issues with the rear brakes in January 2026 I needed to get my car serviced for the 20,000 mile check which was to include an oil change. At that time, the Volkswagen dealership told me that the brakes that they had just replaced the brake pads were completely gone the brake pads that they had replaced less than two months prior and a little more than 1000 miles has been put on them. These rear brake systems. Have a very unsafe reliability on them. There is no reason why brake pads should last merely 1000 miles after speaking with Volkswagen today. I was told that this is normal wear and tear and not covered. This is a safety issue that Volkswagen refuses to fix. I am not the only person to deal with this issue. This is a well-known issue in the Volkswagen community. The photo provided is of the rear brake pads that had just been replaced in November that were then again needed to be replaced in January.

The contact owns a 2024 Volkswagen Taos. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 - 60 MPH, the rear driver's side window exploded, causing pieces of glass to land on the contact's child, seated inside the vehicle. There were no injuries sustained. The contact used a blanket to cover the window and prevent more glass from entering the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not made the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.

THE WINDSSHIELD WIPER BLADES HAVE A NOISE AS SOON I PURCHSED, TREE MONTH OF USED THE CARD. I WENT TO THE PURCHASED OFFICE TO CHANGE DE BLADES BUT THEY SAID THAT NO HAVE WARRANTY. THE OTHERS TAO THAT I HAVED HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS. WHAT I CANT DO .

1. At my recent 20'000 mile service, I was informed that my rear brakes and rotors failed. We purchased the car in Jan 2025 with about 10,000 miles on it. The rear brakes and rotors failed with the car having 18574 miles at time of service. 2. We had no idea the rear brakes and rotors had issues. I did not receive any notice in the mail. The dealership informed me that the vehicle had an extended warranty on this issue. Either 2yrs or 20,000 miles, apparently the car was leased on Nov 15, 2023 as a result the 2yr warranty did not apply. My [XXX] daughter drives this car, and her safety was put at risk. 3. Yes, see the attached report. 4. No, it was confirmed through the dealership. 5. No warnings were displayed only discovered the problem because of the service. Overall, no cars rear brakes and rotors should fail on a car with less than 19,000 miles on it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Brake System Failures (Multiple Occurrences): The vehicle has experienced repeated brake-related failures requiring multiple repairs. Brakes are a critical safety system, and repeated failures pose a serious risk to occupant and public safety. Despite repairs, the brake issues have reoccurred. 2.Fuel System Failures (Two Occurrences): The fuel system has failed on multiple occasions, requiring repeated service visits. Fuel system defects affect drivability, reliability, and safety, including the risk of stalling or fuel-related hazards. 3.Head Gasket Failure and Repeated Repairs: The vehicle required a head gasket repair along with a timing belt replacement, followed by additional head gasket-related repairs days later. A head gasket failure on a nearly new vehicle is a catastrophic engine defect and significantly diminishes the vehicle’s reliability, longevity, and resale value.

Vehicle: 2024 Volkswagen Taos Mileage: ~20,000 miles Issue: Sudden unintended acceleration + Automatic Emergency Braking failure Crash: Yes Total Injuries: None VIN: 3VVVX7B29RM028089 Complaint Description: On [date], at approximately 6:00 PM, I was driving my 2024 Volkswagen Taos (about 20K miles) on Highway 92 East in heavy traffic. I had just merged into the right lane and was preparing to merge left. I looked over my shoulder to check the adjacent lane. At that moment, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward without my input. I attempted to steer left to avoid the vehicle in front of me, but there was no time or braking response. The car continued to surge forward and the right-front quarter of my Taos struck the rear-left corner of the vehicle ahead. The Automatic Emergency Braking system did not activate at any point, despite a clear forward-collision situation. The impact totaled my vehicle. This was unexpected behavior for a modern vehicle equipped with driver-assist safety systems, and the sudden acceleration combined with complete failure of AEB created a dangerous and unavoidable crash. I am reporting this incident because it appears to be a serious safety defect involving unintended acceleration and failure of a critical safety system.