The 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan is one of the newer SUVs from Volkswagen. It’s a small SUV that manages to feel bigger than it is, all while delivering decent visibility and pretty good fuel economy. Yet the 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan is having some reliability problems. What makes it unreliable, and should you consider it anyway?

Is the 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan a good car?

The 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan has a lot going for it, but its reliability is a big red flag. It’s one of the larger small SUVs, and there’s an optional third row, which makes it attractive to families who occasionally need more seating space but still want a smaller SUV. However, the 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan gets only did poorly on Consumer Reports‘ predicted reliability.

The reliability of the 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan was determined, in part, by the combined reliability scores of the 2019, 2020, and 2021 Volkswagen Tiguans. Major problem areas in previous Volkswagen Tiguan models include brake issues in the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan, body integrity problems in the 2019 and 2021, and power equipment for the 2020 model.

Volkswagen Tiguan models prior to 2019 also didn’t score well

The 2019-2021 Volkswagen Tiguan models aren’t the only ones that didn’t receive high marks. The 2016 and 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan also struggled with reliability. Only the 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan has a decent reliability rating.

In addition, there’s been one recall on the 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan. That’s for “a loose brake pipe nut may allow brake fluid to leak, extending the distance required to stop and increasing the risk of a crash.” If this recall affects you, you can have your Volkswagen fixed at a dealership or contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for more information.

Consumer Reports uses a lot of data to come up with its reliability ratings

Consumer Reports doesn’t just guess at how reliable an SUV like the Volkswagen Tiguan will be. To determine the most and least reliable vehicles, Consumer Reports sends out surveys to current owners of vehicles. They ask questions about any major repairs that have needed to be done in the last 12 months. They also ask about how serious those problems have been. Then Consumer Reports considers their mechanical knowledge. From these two sources, Consumer Reports assigns each vehicle a reliability rating. Consumer Reports must have at least two years worth of vehicle data to evaluate it.

Consumer Reports uses more than 300,000 survey results to come up with their ratings. The surveys that Consumer Reports sends are very comprehensive. Each vehicle surveyed typically has 200 to 300 survey responses, giving a good idea of how that particular model is holding up. This increases the chances that the reliability rating will be accurate.

The 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan may have a low-reliability rating, but the 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan was an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Pick, so you may be interested in buying this compact SUV anyway. If you do, you may want to be prepared for some unexpected repairs during the life of your Volkswagen Tiguan.