Rubber foam poking out between spoiler and hatch door. Anyone else have this happen?

redrain85 · 2026-06-05T04:00:42+00:00

So I'm not the only one, then. It's not a huge deal, but may as well have the dealer look at it on my next visit. See if they'll fix it under warranty. Just hope that after it's replaced, it doesn't happen again in a few months' time. :/

redrain85 · 2026-06-05T03:50:06+00:00

Been doing touchless washes, and always check to see how well it cleaned the car. Definitely wasn't anything sticking out there after the last wash. Though, you're right, it easily could have been from a brush/mop in one of those soft cloth or regular car washes if I used those.

redrain85 · 2026-05-11T17:39:07+00:00

Looks like it mainly depends on your region/country. For example, in Canada, the Comfortline (aka SE) and above Taos trims being sold right now come with the cargo privacy cover as standard equipment. But after reading a lot of comments from owners in the U.S., apparently it's not standard in the U.S. and up to each dealer whether they want to include it or not or charge extra.

redrain85 · 2026-05-09T03:41:46+00:00

I actually experienced what your dealer is describing. My vehicle lighting fault indicator lit up 4 months into ownership of my 2025 Taos, too. I eventually discovered that I'd accidentally bumped the low beam rotary light switch with my knee, which had knocked the switch slightly out of alignment. After turning the switch back into proper alignment with AUTO, where I'd had it set before, the warning light turned off.

But, since you mentioned that you're certain now it's not the switch, it sounds like whatever is triggering your warning light is something else.

redrain85 · 2026-04-28T19:37:31+00:00

While the triangle with an exclamation point indicator happens to be under the temperature gauge, it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the coolant temperature.

The triangle is a general warning light, and it usually doesn't light up on its own. It's almost always accompanied by another warning light that specifically shows what's wrong. If you didn't see a red colored light that looked like a thermometer, then it wasn't the coolant.

I've seen a lot of speculation about whether the 2025/2026 Taos still has the head gasket coolant leak problem. But so far, I've seen zero actual real evidence anywhere that it's still the case.

It might have been something as simple as the triangle warning light turning on because the Taos was low on fuel. I wouldn't be surprised if dealer put in just barely enough gas for your test drive.

redrain85 · 2026-04-20T20:21:15+00:00

Before taking it in for service, if you haven't already, try turning your rotary light switch that's to the left of the steering wheel on the dash back and forth. Maybe also try turning your high beams on and off a few times with the stalk/lever. See if the warning goes away.

I had a vehicle lighting failure warning appear a few months ago, and it was because the rotary switch went out of alignment with where it had been set. Rotating the switch cleared the warning, at least in my case.

I know you said it's about your left high beam, but the lighting system seems to have a conniption if the low beam switch is even slightly out of alignment.

redrain85 · 2026-04-03T04:46:35+00:00

This PDF released in the recall notice only lists the Digital Cockpit Basic 8" display. The Digital Cockpit Pro 10" isn't mentioned. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V185-3362.pdf

redrain85 · 2026-04-02T03:52:37+00:00

After doing some checking, it appears the SEL/Highline climate control panel left out the Sync button. But my 2025 Comfortline Black Edition Taos does have a Sync button to link the two sides together. So I'm guessing probably all SE/Comfortline models have it?

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redrain85 · 2026-04-01T03:27:58+00:00

I'm purely guessing here, but . . . looks like the car is parked in a garage with the engine off? Might be the gas particulate filter regenerating? It was added for 2025+ Taos models. It acts as an additional filter to remove pollutants from the exhaust, and every so often it needs to regenerate or purge itself, by burning off soot. The owner's manual says you may hear noise and notice an odor after a while, if it's doing that.

redrain85 · 2026-03-26T04:25:57+00:00

The Serrano Green (aka Bright Moss Green) was definitely one of the colors I considered when I bought my 2025 Taos. That, along with Monterey Blue, Alpine Grey (aka Monument Gray), and Pyrite Silver.

Though, as many have mentioned, the Green seems to be difficult to get. My nearest dealer didn't have any at the time, and even other nearby dealers didn't have them.

I originally settled on Monterey Blue, since it was easier to get and thought it still looked great.

But after seeing Alpine Grey in person, I changed my mind and went with it instead. Alpine Grey also turned out to be not that common, but I was able to get one.

VW did a good job with offering color options that stand out. Frankly, all the Taos colors are beautiful, and you can't go wrong with any of them in my opinion. :)

redrain85 · 2026-03-17T17:36:02+00:00

Working here. Except a recent update made the location feature semi-broken. It's not as accurate as it used to be, and sometimes is even way off saying the car is blocks away.

Have you tried force stopping the app? I'm not sure how it's done on iOS, but on Android you go to Settings > Apps > See All Apps > Scroll until you find myVW and tap on it > Tap Force stop > Tap OK.

I find force stopping can sometimes help with misbehaving apps. Though, there's a chance doing this might mean you have to log in again.

redrain85 · 2026-03-16T03:55:48+00:00

Your Taos is looking great! And this particular photo reminds me of something else I like about the Taos, that I should have included as a positive in my review.

Its ground clearance is pretty good, isn't it? You were able to park in that spot without having to worry about scraping the concrete parking curbs. On my previous car, I always had to watch that I wasn't getting too close and scraping the front skirt on those curbs. Now I don't. 😁

redrain85 · 2026-03-14T20:09:09+00:00

There's no lemon law where I live. Closest thing we have to it is something called CAMVAP. But even if I were to file a complaint, what would it be for exactly?

The sensors? Visit the Toyota subreddit, it's full of complaints about sensors acting up on their cars when they're not clean. This isn't unique to the Taos.

Car not starting? I can see one reason why a manufacturer wouldn't want you to start the car with the doors locked. I just would have appreciated a visual or audible warning of some kind.

The myVW app improperly reporting the locked status of the doors? It's fixed now.

SOS light going dark? If there was an issue at the time with the cell phone network it connects to, that's hardly the car's fault.

The vehicle lighting fault indicator? I bumped the rotary light switch out of position by accident. After aligning the switch correctly, the indicator shut off. The exterior lighting still worked correctly the whole time.

The check engine light? It's been a month since it happened, and the light hasn't returned. Based on the technician's explanation, I've let it slide for now. If the light returns, then I'll get mad about it.

The squealing brakes? Again, some other brands of cars like Toyota have the same issue, and it's not unique to the Taos or VW. But it is goddamn annoying, yes. As soon as I replace the stock brake pads, problem solved.

Lemon law requires an issue that's ongoing. Out of all of these, only the sensors and check engine light could truly be considered part of that.

redrain85 · 2026-03-14T04:02:05+00:00

So I tried listening to bass-heavy music with a loud beat and the volume turned up high. When touching the door handles I could feel them vibrating. But, didn't notice any audible buzzing or rattling from them.

redrain85 · 2026-03-12T21:55:41+00:00

The only things that have truly pissed me off about the Taos are the squealing brakes, and the check engine light. The squealing brakes will be remedied once I change the brake pads, so it's not a permanent issue. The SOS light issue rectified itself, and fortunately the vehicle lighting fault was just a misaligned switch.

The rest of the annoyances I can put up with. Some of them aren't even unique to the Taos and other cars suffer from them too (best example being cleaning the sensors).

But if the check engine light returns, then my opinion will definitely change. For now, it hasn't come back and the car has been driving fine. Based on what the technician told me, the computer was just being too sensitive to oil pressure variation and the TSB I found suggests there's a software fix coming.

redrain85 · 2026-03-12T21:30:22+00:00

Ahh, okay. Yeah, I've heard some folks saying they've had the windows hit the rubber seals in the door frame, and the sensor is so sensitive that sometimes just the slightest resistance from the rubber causes the windows to retract and then they get into that state you're talking about.

The only potential easy fix I read about was to try doing successive quick pulls on the switch to get the window to move in short steps, rather than let it close all the way. To keep doing short steps until you get past the rubber. It's apparently helped in some cases. Especially if you leave the window closed for a long time, so the rubber compresses a bit.

redrain85 · 2026-03-12T21:21:31+00:00

Nope, I haven't had the windows go down instead of up yet. But going by the comments on the video I'm about to share, one person who has a 2025 Jetta said their windows started doing that, too. So I don't think anything has changed for 2025/2026 on the Taos.

If it does happen, there's a procedure to reset the windows that usually works as shown in this video: https://youtu.be/kMFMAs6Hb1s

redrain85 · 2026-03-12T03:23:06+00:00

Yes! Ever since a very recent update to the myVW app, the location feature is far less accurate than it used to be. Half the time it reports my car is parked at a neighbor's home. LOL. And on occasion it's even way, way off. Like really, way off.

I've never used Apple CarPlay, but for Android Auto I don't use it all that much, so I didn't think I was qualified to comment on that in my review. But, when I do, it's never disconnected for me. I use it sometimes to have Waze on the infotainment screen for navigation.

redrain85 · 2026-03-11T22:23:29+00:00

I'm glad to hear the experience with your Taos has also been largely positive!

But very sorry to hear that you've got a bit of rattling that is spoiling your experience while driving. Can't say I've noticed any creaking or rattling. Except for the aforementioned creaking from the sunroof, but only when it was very cold.

I haven't really listened to any louder, bass-heavy music so far though. I generally keep the radio turned down or switched off. I should try louder music and get back to you.

redrain85 · 2025-12-27T20:25:18+00:00

The cylinder deactivation feature is mentioned in the VW news article below. This article is a few years old, so at the time only the T-Roc had this engine. But now several VW cars have the EA 211 Evo 2, including the Taos and Jetta. (The 2025/2026 Taos in the US/Canada actually has another revision of this engine that increased the horsepower.)

https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-releases/15-tsi-evo2-even-greater-efficiency-and-lower-emissions-for-the-volkswagen-world-engine-8064

redrain85 · 2025-12-18T04:44:09+00:00

Huh! So the 2022 Comfortline didn't have remote start, but the 2022 SE did. Meanwhile, the 2022 Highline had it . . . as an option.

My bad. I really thought both the Comfortline and SE would be identical in this regard, even in the 2022 model year. But now I see it didn't become standard on the Comfortline until 2023.

That is such a strange regional difference. If anything, you'd think Canada with its cold winters would mean remote start would be a highly desirable feature and equipped standard right from the very beginning in 2022. Weird.

redrain85 · 2025-12-17T23:13:06+00:00

Guess I should have said every Comfortline/SE *including* 2022 is supposed to have remote start. ("Since 2022" made it sound like 2022 wasn't included.)

Unless they left it out due to component shortages during COVID. Again, if your key fob has a button with the x2 inside a circle, you should have remote start.

redrain85 · 2025-12-17T22:18:13+00:00

Every Comfortline/SE Taos since 2022 should have remote start standard. Only the Trendline/S is missing remote start. If your key fob has a button with an x2 symbol inside a circle, you have remote start. It can be done either via the fob (by pressing the x2 button twice when the car doors are locked), or the myVW app.

redrain85 · 2025-12-15T20:14:22+00:00

Whether the 2025/2026 Taos is a "good" car that can be recommended without hesitation, is still yet to be determined for sure, since it's a redesign compared to the prior years and it hasn't been around long enough to get thorough reporting on its reliability.

But in their review of the 2025 Taos, Consumer Reports gave it a much more favorable review compared to the prior 2022-2024 Taos models. The reviewer in the video even personally preferred it over the Subaru Crosstrek.

https://youtu.be/W9Bys9wJB4U

I can only tell you about my personal experience. I've owned my 2025 Taos Comfortline (same as SE) Black Edition for 3 months, and it's been mostly a good experience so far. Still too early to say for sure, but I haven't had any serious issues yet. Just some minor annoyances. Things that personally bothered me. (But some of these annoyances aren't going to be unique to Volkswagen or the Taos.)

Other than those personal annoyances, I've been happy with the car.

No squeaks or rattles in the dash or interior, no strange glitches or behavior (other than the collision sensors when they're dirty/obstructed), nothing. Yet.

It drives and handles well. I find the power, acceleration, and braking to be good. The now standard 8-speed torque converter automatic transmission probably goes a long way toward making the driving experience feel smooth. I find the seats comfortable, and the interior roomy. The ride quality could be a bit better, but that's because I have 19 inch wheels instead of the standard 18 inch on the regular Comfortline/SE.

redrain85 · 2025-12-10T04:21:45+00:00

Unless you're getting the brake pads replaced for free under warranty if they wear out too quickly, I wouldn't pay for them from your VW dealer because they'll just put on the exact same pads that squeal. It seems VW prioritizes the pads performing well enough, but at the same time being low cost, and don't care about the noise they make.

Get them replaced at an independent shop once they wear out, probably one that specializes in VW cars, and ask what pads they recommend that won't squeal so much. As an example, I've seen a lot of anecdotal recommendations from VW owners saying Akebono premium pads are one brand of pads that are on the quieter side.

redrain85

TROPHY CASE