I installed the aluminum pump (Graf) on the wife's Tiguan and it has worked great since. Have put 40K miles on the metal pump and no issues.
Best Water pump for Volkswagen Tiguan
I personally replaced the water pump on my Tiguan with a Graf aluminum pump. The only issue I've had was the rubber o-ring on the temp sensor leaking. I replaced all the rubber seals with Rein branded ones and no more leaks.
Had a better look during weekend and the "substance" in the expansion tank looks and feels like rust particles not oil. It does not feel slick. I'll be replacing the pump with the aluminum Graf unit soon, hoping I'll last more than 100k at least.
So it turned out to be the water pump. According to the service manager, they've had plenty of TSI engines come through with the same problem and he wasn't surprised about my issue. The repair was covered under the powertrain warranty. I'm happy to have my Tig back.
You'll need to keep an eye on the coolant bottle level, the water pump has been known to leak and need replacement.
My 2019 Tiguan SE 4motion with about 20,000 miles has been telling me to add coolant every few weeks. Today I dropped the car off at my local VW dealership stating I had a possible coolant leak. Just got a call from the service advisor saying hey will need to keep the car overnight bc they have to replace the waterpump!
As for the aluminum one made by/marketed as Graf, there are a few issues in my experience. First, the rubber gasket from the housing to the block is known to fail by tearing where the link in the gasket between the two passage connect. I think this is because the gasket does not precise fit in the channel for the seal machined into the housing. On the one that just put on an engine I just put in my '12 Tiguan, I cut that link out, effectively making two seals and relieving the tension in the seal. Next, the O ring seal supplied for the temp sensor is known to disintegrate, so I got a factory seal. Last, if your engine has a late water pump currently with the clip that holds in the temp sensor, the two mounting bolts to the block at the sensor will be too short for the aluminum pump housing, so you need to get the bolts for an early water pump. Honestly, as long as you don't have any oil leaks, the latest factory water pump is fine. I generally don't trust aftermarket water pumps, as I have had too many fail over the years (not on these engines, just in general). I used this Graf aluminum water pump as a test. The quality seems good, but time will tell.
I have a 2010 VW Tiguan, it has almost 102,000 miles on it... The garage said to fix what probably is the water pump would be very costly, the water pump is buried in the car, he said removing parts would add more costs with brittle hoses, etc.
When doing your own maintenance, a problem may arise in the event of a recall. My application under the water pump recall for my previous Tiguan (1st Gen - PQ) was denied even though it was replaced at a VW dealer because I did not show "convincing evidence" of having followed the scheduled coolant maintenance despite including my aftermarket receipts with miles and dates.
IDK - I was at 160K or so miles when I sold my '11 Tiguan. Sure, it ate a water pump, had the first gen timing chain tensioner replaced, needed cv axles, had a stuck fuel injector, lost an intake manifold, blew a turbo diaphragm, destroyed its engine mount bushings, struts and shocks went bad, needed seat covers replaced because they cracked and split and needed new tires every 25K or so...
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