Software failure can turn off Volkswagen Tiguan’s engine; recall hits 49,958 SUVs

Volkswagen has recalled 49,958 units of the 2025 Tiguan for recall in the United States for a software failure capable of turning off the ignition while the car is moving. The campaign, registered with the NHTSA, the American highway safety agency, affects SUVs manufactured between March 24 and August 30, 2025.

The problem is in the program that commands the Body Control Module (BCM), the central that manages the vehicle’s electrical functions. According to the report sent to the agency, the software can cause the module to restart and, with that, cut off the ignition. The engine dies and some systems stop working, including lighting and the reversing camera.

The NHTSA assesses that the simultaneous loss of power and controls increases the risk of accidents with victims. The Tiguan is the only model of the brand affected because it uses a specific version of the BCM software .

Failure appeared outside the United States

The chronology described in the report shows that the defect was not detected on American soil. In January 2025, during tests, the ignition of an evaluation vehicle turned off on its own, which led the automaker to open an internal investigation. In the following months, engineers arrived at the BCM software as the origin of the failure — recorded, however, only in other markets.

Even without occurrences in the United States, Volkswagen of America decided to recall it because it could not rule out the risk in the units sold in the country. The correction is quick: owners will be summoned to take the car to a dealership, where the module’s software will be updated free of charge.

Tiguan situation in Brazil

The third generation of the Tiguan arrived on the Brazilian market in March 2026, also imported from Mexico, in a single R-Line version. The SUV is sold for R$ 299.990, with a 2.0 TSI engine with 272 hp and 35,7 kgfm, eight-speed automatic transmission and 4Motion all-wheel drive. The first deliveries began on May 7.

The American recall only covers vehicles produced between March and August 2025, a batch prior to the one that supplies the Brazilian operation, and Volkswagen do Brasil has not announced a similar campaign in the country.

The recall interrupts a relatively quiet sequence of the brand in the United States. The previous recall had been opened in July, when about 58 units of the Atlas and Atlas Sport SUVs had a failure in the reversing camera, which sometimes did not display the image when activated.

In that case, the automaker did not identify a single cause and cited possible low voltage or influence of environmental factors.