There are 5 stored owner reports matching the electrical system leading-label group for the 2016 Volkswagen Touareg in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 5 of 5 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)Rear viewing camera does not display when vehicle is placed in reverse.
The car will stop (while driving) for no apparent reason. “Phantom Braking”. This is without any known objects/people approaching our vehicle. It’s a part of the electronic automatic braking system but obviously it is not programmed correctly. It is DANGEROUS. A brief review on internet shows these sudden stops have caused accidents (people rear ending vehicle after sudden stops). Cars have also had to move quickly off highway to avoid collision. Another issue: the Panoramic Sunroof has had frequent issues with water leaks. We’ve already had to pay for one such leak ($1000) and now face payment for a second serious leak which they can’t seem to fix. Internet searches show that VW Corporation has known about this manufacturing defect since 2016 but has “hidden” these manufacturing defects from customers. These leaks have caused pools of water to form in the trunk (under spare tire). The pool of water inside vehicle can range up to 1.5 feet and more! We’ve heard issues that if not caught sooner, these leaks case severe damage to electrical systems (battery, etc…) due to excess water in vehicle. It burns out electrical systems. To our knowledge, VW will take NO RESPONSIBILITY. People who own these cars have to pay for the fixes. Very expensive fixes which are not working. We no longer feel safe driving this car. VW will not offer us a solution.
There was a big rain last week locally. I drove through a couple big puddles but nothing that's super uncommon for the area. Almost immediately, my car's electric components started going crazy. ACC stopped working completely. Lane assists aren't working. There was an error that I think was shift lock, but it was red, and the car was driving really weird.
Electronic Parking Brake lever light was flashing and dashboard showed parking brake error message. Drove car to VW Dealership, which diagnosed problem as likely bad Parking Brake Control Module (Part J540). Dealership ordered part, and stated I could drive car home. Within 1 mile of dealership, parking brake engaged automatically abruptly slowing car and error flashed on dash stating "Disengage Parking Brake." Pulled over, turned car off and back on, which disengaged parking brake. Returned to dealership and left car until it could be repaired. Had I been on the interstate traveling at a higher rate of speed, this may have caused an accident.
2016 VOLKSWAGEN TOUREG (VIN # XXXXXX) PURCHASED 5/25/2019. VROOM ASSURED ALL VEHICLES UNDERGO RIGOROUS INSPECTION AND WRITTEN GUARANTEE OF A CLEAN TITLE / NO FLOOD DAMAGE. THE VEHICLE WAS DELIVERED ON 6/17/2019. ON 6/18/2019 THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A MECHANIC FOR A STANDARD PREPURCHASE INSPECTION. I PAID $150.64 FOR THIS SERVICE. THE INSPECTION REPORT RETURNED SEVERAL AREAS OF INTERNAL RUST IN THE VEHICLE THAT WOULD ONLY BE CAUSED BY SITTING IN WATER FOR EXTENDED AMOUNT OF TIME, AS WELL AS OTHER CONDITIONS CLEARLY INDICATIVE OF FLOOD DAMAGE. THE VEHICLE ALSO HAD VISIBLE RUST ON THE INTERIOR OF ALL FOUR WHEELS, WHICH IS OBVIOUS INDICATOR OF A FLOODED VEHICLE. WE CONTACTED THE COMPANY ON 6/19/2019 TO LET THEM OUR INTENTION TO RETURN THE VEHICLE AND PROVIDED A COPY OF THE INSPECTION REPORT. WE HAD NO ISSUE RETURNING THE VEHICLE AS WE WERE WELL WITHIN THE 7 DAY RETURN POLICY (CAN RETURN THE VEHICLE WITHIN 7 DAYS FOR ANY REASON). WE SPOKE TO MULTIPLE INDIVIDUALS DURING THE RETURN PROCESS, AS EACH STEP REQUIRED A DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT. ULTIMATELY, THE VEHICLE WAS PICKED UP BY VROOM AND WE SPOKE TO AN INDIVIDUAL OVER THE PHONE TO GO OVER THE RETURN PROCESS AND ISSUE OUR REFUND. THE CONTACT WE SPOKE TO INDICATED THAT THEY DID NOT FIND THE VEHICLE DAMAGED, AND STATED THEY WOULD LIST THE REASON FOR THE RETURN AS 'PREFERENCE' (ALLOWING THEM TO SELL THIS DAMAGED VEHICLE TO SOMEONE ELSE). THE REASON FOR THIS COMPLAINT IS TO HAVE A RECORD OF THAT THIS VEHICLE, VIN # (XXXXXX) HAS BEEN DAMAGED BY WATER AND IS NOW BEING ATTEMPTED TO BE SOLD AS A CLEAN TITLED CAR TO AN UNSUSPECTING CONSUMER. AS OF 7/15/2019, THIS VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY LISTED FOR SALE BY VROOM IN STAFFORD, TX. REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.