1. One turbo failed. This required dropping the entire drivetrain out of the bottom of the vehicle. ~30 hours and special equipment and a ~$1400 turbo later, it didn’t work right. And that was the dealer master mechanic “fixing” it. I won’t get into things like the dealer breaking and then re-installing the broken driveshaft, as I blame that on the dealer.
( So the dealer was incompetent??....most modern turbo's with electronic actuators cost around the same so.....fault of the touareg??)
2. One battery failed. The one under the driver seat. The driver seat that requires a 17mm triple square socket to remove. Because one battery failed, a complex and untraceable decision-making process was performed by the vehicle and it decided it wouldn’t start with either battery but it WOULD continue to allow battery drain from various accessories. I had to replace both batteries ($250/per battery at walmart rates believe it or not). One battery was under that seat, the other required 18 10mm bolts to be removed. EIGHTEEN.
(Fair to assume that any vehicle will need to have the batteries replaced at some point. touareg's fault? Also the story of EIGHTEEN 10mm bolts is patently false. The rear luggage tray is removed, spare tire is removed which require 1x13mm bolt. 4x10mm bolts hold down the battery. Job done.)
Mine has close to 300,000kms and has all the factory suspension, bearings, exhaust...you name it. How many other 12 year old vehicles can say that. It drives like a new car, can tow whatever the truck boys would hitch up to and get the mileage of a family sedan....oh and go offroad wherever most people would dare take a jeep. There really is nothing out there that can combine all that. After all that I do agree there are cheaper vehicles to DD but if you want to have it all it doesnt come cheap. Rant over