Two problems related to diesel engine have been reported for the 2011 Volkswagen Golf. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2011 Volkswagen Golf based on all problems reported for the 2011 Golf.
2011 vw Golf tdi (diesel engine). After driving from rainy weather into freezing and snow conditions, the car was parked for several hours in a 50 deg. Garage. When the car was next started, it would struggle to start and stall out. I have read of several issues with the Volkswagen Golf tdi engines and know about condensation in the intercooler freezing, then thawing, causing water to build up in the intercooler piping. I removed the intercooler to engine intake pipe and drained about a cup of water and intercooler. If this water was drawn into the engine, it could have destroyed the engine. This is a well documented issue on several Volkswagen forums. My vehicle is not under factory warranty and does not qualify for any Volkswagen factory updates without significant cost to me.
The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Golf diesel. While driving 10 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the vehicle would not stall if the gear was downshifted to first. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired. The vehicle continued to stall even when downshifted into first gear. The current and failure mileages were 900.