2013 Volkswagen Touareg Volkswagen Touareg 2013

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2013 Volkswagen Touareg repairs by problem area

Engine (54%)

Transmission and Drivetrain (1%)

Brakes and Traction Control (6%)

Suspension and Steering (2%)

Electrical and Air Conditioning (29%)

Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (4%)

Other (4%)

Chart based on 101 repairs.
See TSBs and recalls for the 2013 Volkswagen Touareg.

2013 Volkswagen Touareg repair cost distribution

$2500+ (0%)

$1000 - $2499 (3%)

$500 - $999 (6%)

$100 - $499 (25%)

< $100 (67%)

Worried about potential repair costs? An extended warranty can provide peace of mind.

Chart based on 69 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.

2013 Volkswagen Touareg 4dr SUV

turbocharged 340hp 4.1L V8 Diesel 8-speed shiftable automatic AWD

Volkswagen Touareg in Chile
Jan 2016 - Dec 2016
Jun 2016

35960 mi

$115
Left rear TPMS failure, replaced with OEM sensor 

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2013 Volkswagen Touareg 4dr SUV

turbocharged 245hp 3.0L V6 Diesel 8-speed shiftable automatic AWD w/low range

Volkswagen Touareg in British Columbia, Canada
Nov 2020 - Jul 2022
Jul 2022

93000 mi
Check engine light illuminated due to leak in exhaust. Catalytic converter is back ordered and indeterminate time to get replacement. Loaner car provided and all costs covered by extended warranty (Diesel engine that VW cheated emissions testing) 

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2013 Volkswagen Touareg 4dr SUV

turbocharged 240hp 3.0L V6 Diesel 8-speed shiftable automatic AWD

Volkswagen Touareg in Alaska, United States
Feb 2015 - Mar 2018
Jul 2016

67500 mi
Replaced ad blue heater. Warranty covered. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Alabama, United States
May 2015 - Jun 2018
Oct 2015

50800 mi

US $25
Driver's door lock switch replacement 
Oct 2017

93000 mi

US $175
The turbo damper was also replaced during this visit because of a slight oil leak. Rear main seal / crankshaft seal replacement. Repaired under power train warranty. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Minnesota, United States
Nov 2014 - Jun 2018
Aug 2015

20800 mi
egr temp sensor. replaced under warrenty 
Aug 2017

46000 mi
bad adblue heater, under warranty 
Volkswagen Touareg in Tennessee, United States
Sep 2012 - Sep 2018
Mar 2013

8000 mi
loose connector 
May 2017

72000 mi

US $100
replaced AC head unit. covered by extended warranty 
Mar 2018

83000 mi
Bad EGR Valve 
May 2018

89000 mi

US $100
bad window motor 
Volkswagen Touareg in New York, United States
Feb 2014 - Nov 2015
Feb 2014

10000 mi
wheel arch trim piece was not seated properly 
Volkswagen Touareg in Minnesota, United States
Sep 2013 - Sep 2014
Jun 2014

26000 mi
Seat heater malfunction. Replaced seat. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Indiana, United States
Apr 2016 - Apr 2017
Jan 2017

89303 mi

US $1200
Adblue heater faulted. Replaced. Door handle shorted. Replaced 
Volkswagen Touareg in Washington, United States
Jan 2021 - Jul 2022
Jan 2022

132000 mi
Coolant leak from the EGR heat exchanger base gasket and also another nearby gasket leak. (2 separate repairs). Repair covered by EPA settlement warranty. repair def heater 
Feb 2022

133000 mi
same coolant leak, apparently this visit was to order parts first leak was said to have been repaired.  Now there is a second leak. Parts ordered again 
Jun 2022

133000 mi
supposed to be second coolant leak 
Jul 2022

133000 mi
Car has been in the shop for 5 days and counting. Apparently dealer has only 1 VW tech. Dealer offered loaner and is scheduled for repairs... again 
Volkswagen Touareg in Maryland, United States
Jun 2021 - Jul 2022
Sep 2021

85000 mi

US $500
Speed sensor went out causing many other electronic systems (ABS, ESC) to give out. Sensor needed to be replaced. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Ontario, Canada
Jan 2021 - Jan 2022
Jan 2022

91624 mi
Started losing coolant. Based on a pressure test dealer diagnosed a bad EGR cooler. When they took it apart they determined the EGR cooler was ok but replaced the EGR diverter valve. They also identified an additional coolant leak at the oil cooler as well as an oil leak from the oil filter housing and the oil cooler. This is an additional $5000 work out of warranty. I'm challenging them on this as others have had this covered under the extended TDI emmisson warranty. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Florida, United States
Mar 2018 - Sep 2018
May 2018

61000 mi

US $50
The gasket on one side of the valve cover had a small leak. The dealer had it in the shop for a couple of weeks just to make sure as I'm friendly with them and have gone to them for 17 years and VW also had to order special Parts because they make them use all new bolts washers from VW it's very specific. So 4 days to wait for parts. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Virginia, United States
Jan 2013 - Jun 2018
Aug 2017

61000 mi
Diesel exhaust fluid heater failed. DEF tank assembly replaced under extended warranty. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Arizona, United States
Jan 2014 - Feb 2020
Jun 2015

25000 mi
Power lock switch on driver's side. Replaced. 
Jul 2015

25500 mi
Adblue sensor and heater unit failed, causing engine light. There is some discussion as to whether Adblue fluid should be in high temperatures such as Phoenix. 
Sep 2016

39000 mi

US $50
Adblue sensor/heater assembly failure 
Mar 2017

40000 mi
Replace driver's side sun visor, vanity mirror retainer broken. 
Sep 2017

47450 mi

US $50
Power steering unit replaced. 
Volkswagen Touareg in California, United States
Jul 2014 - Aug 2018
Aug 2014

10800 mi
This new engine,3.0L TDI Version 2 in 2013 with 2 chains, with less oil control ring tension in the bore, seems to consume too much oil, to the point of excessive. Consumed 1.75 liters of 507.00 oil in 10,000 miles. Worried about DPF cloging 
Jul 2015

20500 mi
25,000 miles and CNRB motor 240hp tdi still consumes motor oil at an excessive rate. 2012 Touareg tdi also owned does not consume a bit of oil in 10k miles. 
Aug 2018

43000 mi

US $150
Key Fob would not release from the dash, car would not lock. In dash kept telling me to put the shifter in "Park" so that key could be removed from dash. Transmission selector already was in "Park", and would not release the Key Fob. Ran a VCDS scan and it told me "intermittent or no ground connection at Park selector" Cleared code. Took it to dealership, where I told them the scan and that it needed a new shifter mechanism, the park switch inside the shifter mechanism was defective, at 42 k miles, in a car that spent 99% of it's days garaged, inside. They charged me $150 to tell me what I already knew. Wrote a ridiculous estimate for 7 hours of labor and a $770 part to be replaced, about $1800 before taxes on parts. (9.5% here). I called VW Touareg Customer Care, and after much deliberation, they allowed it to be covered under "Customer Goodwill", which is a fancy way of saying it's covered, begrudgingly, under warranty work, by VW of America. This part is failing, regularly. It took a MONTH, with a vehicle that would not lock up, and was vulnerable to theft at any moment, by any passerby, before the car was finally fixed. It's an actual 2 to 2.5 hour job, maximum, service writer made up some BS story about how long it takes. VW, under warranty, pays book time. A dealership in Texas in 2016, whose invoice I saw, charged $940 for the part, and $248 for 2 hours of labor, to the customer, on a 2014, with the exact same part and problem. VW's vendor that builds these shifter boxes, are putting out a defective crap, prone to failure part that the magnets or switch breaks, and since VW has gone to modularaized parts with many switches on the shift box, the whole box needs to be changed out, where as previously, in earlier models, like a 2012 or 2011, the switch could just be changed out. Report this to NHSTA as a defective recall item. Part took 3 WEEKS to get from Germany to the warehouse, to the dealership, because VW of America doesn't keep the part in stock in any of it's 5 warehouses. This part seems to be very prone to fail in summer time, due to hot, or dry weather causing the plastic to dry out, crack, and failure to maintain the switch in a functioning manner. Defective materials or defective engineering in play here, part is not structurally sound. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Colorado, United States
Apr 2013 - Aug 2014
May 2014

29600 mi
The Ad Blue warning light came on right after 30000 mi service (where they re-filled the tank). Took back the next week, they repaired the sensor. Seats occasionally move back after parking. Upon return have to reset the seats using the memory. Dealer could not find the problem and of course it didn't happen while they had the vehicle. The Ad Blue warning light came on right after 30000 mi service (where they re-filled the tank). Took back the next week, they repaired the sensor. Seats occasionally move back after parking. Upon return have to reset the seats using the memory. Dealer could not find the problem and of course it didn't happen while they had the vehicle. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Michigan, United States
Jul 2013 - Jun 2022
Mar 2015

22000 mi
Slight oil leak from engine. Dealer did not use new crush ring on oil drain plug during previous routine oil change resulting in small leak. Replaced with new crush ring. Dealer also forgot to refill Diesel exhaust fluid tank. 
Dec 2017

54000 mi
Diesel AdBlue heater failed, replaced under warranty 
Mar 2019

68000 mi
Check Engine Light came on, Dealer found bad NOx sensor, replaced under warranty 
Apr 2019

70000 mi

US $166
A/C weak, determined to be leaking condensor and O ring seals. Condensor and O rings replaced 
Aug 2019

74000 mi
Check Engine light came on, dealer diagnosed EGR Change Over Valve failure and EGR Cooler failure. Both replaced after waiting 13 days for parts 
Mar 2020

80000 mi
Rear main seal leaking heavily 
Volkswagen Touareg in Indiana, United States
Dec 2013 - Sep 2020
Jun 2014

16000 mi
AC blower motor would shut off. Replaced blower motor. 
Mar 2016

36000 mi
O2 sensor was bad. Replaced O2 sensor under warranty. 
Jun 2017

50000 mi
AD Blue heater was replaced under extended warranty. Check engine light came on because of defective AD Blue heater. 
Volkswagen Touareg in North Carolina, United States
May 2013 - Jul 2018
May 2014

29600 mi
Drivers door lock switch 
Aug 2014

36000 mi
Check engine light, Faulty Particulate sensor replaced. 
Feb 2016

81600 mi

US $100
AdBlue heater 
Sep 2016

100000 mi

US $100
High pressure fuel pump caused engine light to com on. Replaced pump. The engine had to be removed from the car and the exhaust manifold was removed during that process.  
Jul 2017

124000 mi
Replaced exhaust manifold gasket. The car was in for a repair 6 months earlier that required the removal of the exhaust manifold. So I believe that either the new gasket was defective or improperly installed. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Oregon, United States
Dec 2012 - Jun 2018
Nov 2015

29900 mi
Heat intermittent (would not come on 2 times). Two fault codes found, no time to explore at the time. Will return the car for further diagnosis. 
Apr 2016

32300 mi
Same problem as reported in Nov.2015: intermittent heating. Diagnostics now complete, part ordered and has arrived. Will be fixed in a few days. 
May 2017

42000 mi

US $700
AdBlue inoperable. Repaired under warranty 
Dec 2017

48000 mi
Court-mandated emissions changes 
Apr 2018

49000 mi
Faulty EGR cooler 
Volkswagen Touareg in Washington, United States
Apr 2013 - Nov 2018
May 2014

18800 mi
Sun roof had been creaking during operation and finally failed to close. Dealer replaced the frame. Sun roof operation is now smooth and quiet. No cost to me as car is under warranty. 
Jun 2014

20000 mi
Bluetooth phone connection problem. Will occur infrequently for several days, but on 2 separate trips to dealer would not occur. No evidence in onboard computer. Problem not solved as yet,but not happening currently. 
Sep 2014

23000 mi
Car's bluetooth/ phone integration not fixed. Dealer has ordered bluetooth replacement. 
Oct 2014

23700 mi
Bluetooth module replaced due to intermittent problem. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Pennsylvania, United States
Oct 2012 - Sep 2017
Nov 2013

13000 mi
oil level seemed to be dropping to quickly during oil change frequency 
Oct 2015

37200 mi

US $150
Indicated system problem. 
Volkswagen Touareg in California, United States
May 2013 - Jan 2018
Aug 2013

3700 mi
faulty ABS control module. Set off the ABS light and other lights.rnBrought it in Saturday. The faulty module diagnosed Monday. Part ordered though service thought there would be delay. Came Wednesday and installed same day. 
Aug 2016

88000 mi
Fuel Pump failure while on the freeway. Car went on shutdown. Warranty covered repairs but dealer had to submit request via lab test of fuel sample to get approval of repairs. 
Sep 2017

122000 mi
Tailgate will close w/o push of button on the tailgate door or on the key fob. Dealer diagnosed that the shocks were faulty. Estimate of parts & labor = $1650. Decided just to live with it. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Arkansas, United States
Dec 2013 - Mar 2014
Feb 2014

18800 mi
The dealer said it was a bad clip. Failed to resolve issue and subsequently failed to resolve. It was a terrible body creak. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Washington, United States
Aug 2013 - Apr 2022
Jun 2015

33000 mi
02 sensor 
Aug 2016

48000 mi

US $761
Ad blue heater failed and a new Adblue heater was installed 
Apr 2018

71000 mi
Car went into limp mode on interstate I-5 could not drive over 35 mph, slower up a small grade. Replaced the ( EGR ) Valve, car was in the shop for 2 days and repair took 6.5 hours. Because I had the Diesel Fix there was no charge to me. 
Aug 2021

111000 mi
Fault code P2459 Replacement of dpf 
Apr 2022

118000 mi

US $281
Replaced cylinder 2 glow plug with pressure sensor 
Volkswagen Touareg in Pennsylvania, United States
Sep 2013 - Jun 2022
Apr 2015

23500 mi
Fuel pump and fuel pump control module were replaced. 
Mar 2016

32000 mi
Glow plug warning light flashes intermittently. Fault for fuel transfer pump G6 short circuit. Electric fuel pump (20661900) was removed and a new one was installed. Module (7P6-919-088-B) and Washer (8E0-919-133-B) were also replaced. 
May 2017

42000 mi
The armature in the starter went bad, so the starter was replaced. The car was out of warranty, a 2013 with 42K miles, at the time of the defect. I initially was told I was beyond the warranty for the repair. I contacted VM Customer Service to state a bad starter after such a short period of time was crazy. After the first person had no resolution, I asked to speak with his supervisor who called the local VW service. They agreed to replace the starter under warranty. I am also a 5 time VW owner which helped. All is well. 
Dec 2017

47000 mi
The AdBlue Heater was defective. The car had a check engine light (yellow) and the scanner produced a P202A code. The part that was replaced has a part# 7P6-198-970-B. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Illinois, United States
Oct 2012 - Jan 2022
May 2013

12000 mi
Drivers side window motor had to be replaced when the original became faulty. 
Dec 2014

38000 mi

US $400
Glow plug light came on requiring 3 separate visits to the dealer. 
Mar 2015

41000 mi

US $50
Driver side lower cushion seat heater element. 
Sep 2015

44000 mi

US $50
AdBlue heater failure. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Iowa, United States
Nov 2012 - Jan 2018
Apr 2016

43500 mi

US $100
DEF tank heater shorted out. 

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2013 Volkswagen Touareg 4dr SUV

turbocharged 204hp 3.0L V6 Diesel 8-speed shiftable automatic AWD

Volkswagen Touareg in Great Britain
Dec 2012 - May 2020
Jun 2017

20000 mi
Blocked washer jets on rear wash wipe. A persistent problem the dealer has failed to resolve 
Feb 2018

22000 mi

£350
Sensor failure on rear offside wheel disabled ABS and put car in 'limp dick' mode. 
Apr 2018

22000 mi

£600
Out of the country for five week, came back to flat tyre. Too much rough off roading... Tyres failed 
May 2018

22000 mi

£350
Sensor failure on rear wheel put car into speed limited 'drive hme' mode whilst out in the sticks. Collected on low loader, part replaced 

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2013 Volkswagen Touareg 4dr SUV

280-horsepower 3.6L V6 8-speed shiftable automatic AWD

Volkswagen Touareg in Washington, United States
Sep 2012 - Oct 2013
Sep 2013

17000 mi
Window would go up and down 
Oct 2013

17000 mi
Vehicle would shake on freeway. No resolution...Car was lemoned and bought back 
Volkswagen Touareg in Florida, United States
Aug 2016 - Jun 2022
Sep 2016

31000 mi

US $300
Multiple warnings on dash display. Dealer found faulty left rear ABS wheel sensor. Replaced. 
Sep 2017

51000 mi

US $100
AC ventilation system failed. Shop took 20 days to diagnose and repair. Involved pulling the entire dash, replacing several servos and motors, as well as the main control module. Repairs completed under CPO warranty. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Wyoming, United States
May 2014 - Jul 2020
Jun 2014

31000 mi
Vinegar smell from AC system. Dealer cleaned system, no longer smells. 
Oct 2014

35300 mi
Sirius couldn't be activated when car was purchased. Dealer replaced audio head unit under warranty. Now dash computer and new unit are not "talking" so have another appt. scheduled. 
Dec 2014

37000 mi
Dash display not communicating with head unit. Dealer corrected relatively quickly without parts. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Alberta, Canada
Sep 2014 - Sep 2015
Mar 2015

24180 mi
KESSY system was not working due to a faulty door handle, repalced door handle under warranty 
Volkswagen Touareg in Pennsylvania, United States
Jan 2014 - Jan 2022
Jun 2015

41000 mi
Catalytic converter came apart, causing bad sound like open exhaust and throwing a CEL. Replace under warranty 
Apr 2017

70000 mi

US $640
Replaced leaking water pump 
Volkswagen Touareg in Minnesota, United States
Oct 2017 - Jan 2020
Dec 2017

70000 mi
engine cooling fans were on max speed while the car was cold or warm. It would start on max when I turn it on, and stay on for a while after car turned off. We thought it might be the thermostat, but dealer said that the ECU had to be re-flashed after a TSB, and that did the trick. 
Feb 2018

74000 mi

US $350
Passenger xenon headlight bulb went out and needed to be replaced. 
Volkswagen Touareg in Florida, United States
Mar 2016 - Mar 2018
Mar 2018

96000 mi

US $1150
Catalytic Converter Brakes 

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2013 Volkswagen Touareg Repair Histories

See our lemon odds and nada odds page to see vehicles with no repairs or vehicles with more than three repairs. To see how frequently 2013 Volkswagen Touareg problems occur, check out our car reliability stats.