Can I reject may car because of the automatic emergency braking system?
In December 2025 I bought a new VW Tiguan Match from a franchised dealer. Apart from a minor repair to vanity mirror lights in the sun visor (done by the dealership) ownership has been pretty uneventful. Until today. Driving on an empty A-road, on a clear, sunny dry morning at 6.30am the emergency brake activated. As I say there was nothing on the road. I continued my journey to work where i had to make a 3-point turn and while reversing the emergency brake activated again. Again there was no traffic behind me, being on a closed estate. Fortunately no harm done to my car or others. However my confidence has been severely shaken in the product and brand. Especially after calling the main dealer who just kept telling me they were unaware of any issue and there was no recall in place. I am in the early stages of trying to get the car ‘diagnosed’ by the main dealer. My question is where do I stand with regards to rejecting the car and what legislation can I rely upon, as I suspect the dealership will be reluctant to take the car back.
Asked on 30 April 2026 by 02100kph
Answered by
David Ross
You can read our in-depth guide to rejecting a car here - www.honestjohn.co.uk/advice/car-buying-advice/how-.../ - but in brief, to successfully reject the car it must be either 'not fit for purpose, not as described or does not match the description you were given'. For your car to qualify as not fit for purpose you would need to establish that the automatic emergency braking system is faulty rather than not operating as you might expect - unfortunately such systems are not flawless and can be activated by false detection of an obstruction.
You have done the right thing by having the vehicle inspected by the dealer, as it goes in your favour to give them the opportunity to make a repair. Hopefully this will result in the problem being fixed, but if it does not you may then choose to proceed with rejecting the car. However, as false activations such as this are a known issue it may be that the dealership will decline your rejection, in which case you would need to escalate this by contacting Trading Standards.
You have done the right thing by having the vehicle inspected by the dealer, as it goes in your favour to give them the opportunity to make a repair. Hopefully this will result in the problem being fixed, but if it does not you may then choose to proceed with rejecting the car. However, as false activations such as this are a known issue it may be that the dealership will decline your rejection, in which case you would need to escalate this by contacting Trading Standards.
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