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38K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  AWDrivah 
#1 ·
2009 Tiguan SEL, 4Motion, 2.0T... loaded.

I have had this problem three times. All three times it has been in the morning after sitting in the garage all night. Temps are mild in the 60-70F. Fair conditions.

I start the car and the engine runs for 30 seconds or so while I put on glasses, stow briefcase, tune radio...etc. The car sputters briefly and stalls. It is almost as if the key were turned off. During attempted restart, the starter cranks and the engine sputters but it does not start.

The first time it happened, I must have tried restarting 10 times in 10 minutes before giving up. I pushed it out of the garage and waited for tow truck to haul to VW dealer. When I got in to try (one last time) for truck driver it started.

Dealer had it for 6 days and couldnt' figure out problem. It ran for them. They replaced fuel filter and fuel pump on advice from VW Germany tech engineers.

A month later. Same conditions. Stalled aftter 30 seconds. It did start again.

Yestereday, same conditions as before. Flatbed hauled to dealer. When they got it there, it started. VW techs at my shop are good. They are scratching their heads on this one, though.

I think this particular serial number is a lemon. I've had other puzzling problems with radio/nav system that they never figured out.

Any other suggestions or ideas?

Anyone experience this?
 
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#6 ·
So did VW give you allot problems about giving you a new car? I know when I had my Land Rover we where only days from going to court. And then they did a buy back at the last minute. After all the problems they gave my wife. I told them I did not want another Rover. That is why I did the buy back. Look at the bright side. You get another new car!!
 
#7 ·
I know that it has been a while since this post, however, I am going through the exact same thing with my 09 Tiguan. The Tiguan will be going back to the shop for the third time in three weeks because it is unable to start. Like you, it will start at the dealership, and they are "unable to replicate the problem." The updated the computer on the first visit, changed the switch in the alternator on the second, and now they are going to replace the fuel pump. I can't trust this car anymore! Can I ask you the steps you took to get VW to replace your Tiguan? Thanks for your time...
 
#8 ·
Bringing this back from the dead. Did the replacement fuel pump work??

Having similar issue - It's happened five times to me already. It starts up initially, then dies. Then it won't start for about 15 minutes. First one I found strange but didn't think too much of it because after 10 minutes it started right up and worked fine. Then it happened again few months later. Talked to dealer and got same "can't diagnose if we can't replicate it" answer. Happened again a few months later while out of town, in Manhattan no less. Each time it starts up again after about 15 minutes.

THEN, three weeks ago, while 250 miles away for the holidays, the Tiguan blew a fuel injector?!?! Anybody have issues with that?? We were getting on highway, heard a pop, lost a ton of power and had smoke billowing out of the exhaust. When it finally got towed to the dealer they said the "fuel injector was stuck wide open, leaking fuel". Took a week and a 500 mile return trip to get it fixed. All under warranty of course...

Thought the new injector would have fixed the "won't start" problem but it didn't. It's happened twice this week. Dealer ran it through all the diagnostic tests and claimed that it checked out fine, nothing shows as faulty. Guy there did notice "a small amount of melted plastic" near the fuse panel - the one under the hood, not inside the car.... the one that controls the fuel pump. He called VW and they are replacing that as we speak.

Not sure if anybody has had similar issues, or if replacing the fuel pump worked for you all, but if you're still out there i'd love to hear how yours was resolved.
 
#9 ·
the fuel pump module is a black box ontop of the fuel pump. This will frequently cause your symptoms. There is an updated part for the TSI engine and that most likely need to be replaced.
 
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#10 ·
After four visits to two different VW shops, a solution was found for my '09 Tiguan that failed to start as mentioned previously. Turns out that the ground screw for the fuel pump was loose. This explains why the vehicle would start sometimes (when there was a connection, and fuel was sent by the pump) and wouldn't start on other occassions (when a connection was not being made). Might be worth having your dealer/service tech take a look. Hope this helps!
 
#11 ·
Glad the cause if the issue was found. Sometimes it's the smallest things that cause the biggest headaches.
 
#12 ·
The dealer said that he noticed some melted plastic on the fuse panel, the one under the hood that controls the fuel pump. He thought it might be an electric issue with one of the connections to that fuse panel so he called VW and they replaced that.

I'll mention the fuel pump module and the ground screw to the mechanic at the dealer since, well, he and I have become pretty close over the past few months!!

Thanks for the help!!
 
#13 ·
I have a 2011. Just before 30K miles it started to stall. Always after it was shut off (overnight, in a parking lot while shopping). It stalled going from stop to second and sometimes in reverse. It always started up right after though. VW replaced the fuel pump. 3K miles later it stalled again, this time it was really rough at idle, the check engine light was on. It also reved up and down 100 - 150 and back down in idle, park and neutral. VW fixed leaking intake manifold gaskets. Just the other day it stalled again like the first time.....
 
#14 ·
This just started happening with my 2010 Tiguan. They replaced the intake manifold yesterday, but the same stalling happened this morning. Turn on the car, shift into drive, and start coasting out of garage (I back in). Engine just quits. Able to restart immediately, though. Same thing happened before "repair," as well as stalling after shifting from reverse to drive in a parking lot after backing out of a space.

How did your issue get resolved? I bet I will need the same.
 
#15 ·
I did not do any more to the car. I still experience the occasional stall or almost stalling behavior but not near as often as before the intake manifold was replaced. I have noticed it is almost always in the winter/cold when it happens.

VW sent out a recall letter a while back about this issue. Since I had already had the work done, I never brought my car in.
 
#17 ·
Well, the technicians found out that the Engine Control Unit (ECU) was full of water and most connectors had traces of rust on them. They are flying it out of Vancouver and should receive and install it by tomorrow. The ECU is covered by the powerterain warranty, so there is no cost on this one, otherwise it would have been a $1200 plus installation.
I asked then what happens to the 2 parts that they replaced, in which they replied that those were defective too as the fault code indicated!!!!

Anyway, hope that this would resolve the issue. I will report back on how much the whole ordeal will cost.
 
#18 ·
Hi- I found this thread after having my 2011 Tiguan SEL 4 Motion stall while driving (making a U-turn to park my car). I brought it to a VW independent shop and they tried to fix it. They replaced the battery, got no "faults" on anything else and could replicate the problem of the car stalling on them. They would wait, the car would start and then die again. They thought the immobilizer might be problem and suggested I take it to the dealer. I did that and the dealer reset the immobilizer and re-keyed both keys. One week later after taking my car out and letting it sit for about an hour an a half it wouldn't start. It would turn over but it wouldn't keep going. It's been back at the dealer for over a month, (I'm driving their loaner). But after having talked to the Svc Mgr who talked to VW USA they say since they can replicate the problem (the can get the car to start and they haven't been able to duplicate the stalling) they say to return the car to me. Now I've got a car that hasn't been fixed and I feel it's bound to happen again, I'm just not sure where or when.
 
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