general problems of the 2011 Volkswagen Golf

Electrical short caused catastrophic fire in engine compartment, suspected issue is a water leak due to faulty manufacturing. Leak was noted by Volkswagen repair facility and was to be inspected and repaired within 30 days.

Driving on interstate at 70 mph with cruise control on when car suddenly slowed and warning lights began flashing. I slowed to 60 mph and within a minute the engine shut off and was almost rear ended by a semi truck before I could get to the shoulder of the highway. Engine would not restart and I was stranded on the highway. Had to have the vehicle towed by aaa back to my home. Used my ross-tech vcds scanning tool to troubleshoot and found codes: p0087 (fuel rail system pressure too low), p020 (cylinders 1-4 injection timing), p1004-p1007 (torque difference cylinders 1-4). Examined fuel filter and fuel metering valve and found metal chips and particles in both places. Based on this evidence, the high pressure fuel pump has likely failed. My safety was put at risk when the failure occurred due to the sudden loss of power and subsequent near collision with a truck. Additionally I was in danger of being hit by other vehicles as I sat on the shoulder of the highway waiting for a tow truck. My vehicle is available for inspection by the local vw dealership, but will have to be towed at my expense to be examined.

Tl the contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Golf. While driving 45 mph, the contact noticed black smoke underneath the hood. The contact pulled over and observed flames. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact was able to extinguish the fire. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who repaired the coil pack, harness wiring, and electronic control module. The vehicle caught fire twice after the repair. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The failure mileage was 50,000. The VIN was unknown.

Intercooler experienced condensation causing the engine to "hydrolock" resulting in destruction of the engine. This is a condition that vw is aware of but failed to notify it's customers of.

Check engine and glow plug light came on, the car eventually would only run at around 50% power. After driving for another 20 miles it eventually shut down. Vw conducted a diagnostic and told me the hpfp was damaged and that debris made its way into the engine. Also the particulate filter and catalytic converter needed replacement. The car has 130k and has never had a gasoline incident. I expected the tdi to make it a lot longer than this.

While exiting the off ramp of the highway at 1100 at night the car died and I was lucky enough to make it to the side of the road as traffic behind me was locking up their brakes and swerving to avoid a collision. After an expensive tow and finally getting the vehicle to the dealer I was told the high pressure fuel pump had exploded in the tank sending metal into the whole fuel system. I am told the repair bill will cost around $6500 to fix. This car has 54000 miles and I had received a letter from vw stating my high pressure fuel pump had an extended warranty a month prior however vw will not pay for the repair costs. The vw dealer told me they did a fuel sample test and the fuel did not have enough lubrication in it which caused the fuel pump to fail. As I have researched vw has had more than 3500 reported cases of these fuel pump failures and refuses to stand behind the bosch products they use. I also talked with the service station where I purchased the fuel to let them know the pump failure is being blamed on lack of lubrication in their fuel and they have not had one other complaint of fuel issues reported. On a side not I filled my Dodge diesel truck with the same pump and fuel and have had no problems. To me this is a serious problem that vw is not taking responsibility for and if there is not a recall on these fuel pumps it is only a matter of time before someone gets killed because a known bad part that is not getting replaced.

The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Golf. Moments after parking the vehicle, it caught fire. The fire department extinguished the fire. The contact indicated that the fire originated in the engine compartment; however, the cause of the fire was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 44,000.

After driving my 2011 Golf tdi for a couple of minutes in the morning, I was traveling around 25 mph and my engine suddenly stuttered and then died. I immediately pulled as far over as I could to let traffic go by. I tried to restart the engine several times, but to no avail. After about 5 minutes of sitting in traffic, I decided to just hold the key in the starter position until, after about 20 seconds, the engine was starting to catch and then it started again. The same day, in the evening, as I was driving home, I came across the same stuttering issue but I pushed the clutch in and just gave it more gas to keep the idle up; the stuttering then went away. I took it to the Volkswagen dealer 4 days later and explain the situation, but they were unable to find any reason it could have happened.

When driving the car and accelerating, the engine stopped. There was a loss of engine power; however, after engine lost power, the dash-board lights were on. The car would not re-start immediately after the engine stopping. This scenario occurred three times. In two of the three situations, the car did re-start later in the day (approximately 3 hours after the initial failure). In one of the three situations, the car could not be re-started and required towing to the car dealer. In one of the three situations, a near miss accident occurred. A second car nearly rear ended my car after the engine stopped working. No accident occurred, but it was a close call. The second car skidded and swerved around my car.

When driving car and accelerating, the engine simply stopped. The dash-board lights were on, but the engine lost power. Attempts to re-start the car were not immediately successful. In two of the three cases, the engine did re-start. However, the e-starts occurred over 4 hours after the initial loss of engine power. In one of the three cases, the car could not be re-started. In this last case, the car was towed to the dealer and as of today (10 November), the dealer has not determined the cause of failure. A near miss accident occurred in one of the cases. After the engine stopped, another car nearly rear-ended my disabled car. The other car skidded and served out of the way of my disabled car.

Had driven car 20 miles that day. Went inside for 15 minutes, came back. Unable to start car. Unable to engage engine. Lights and shifters all working. 5 attempts by 3 different people over next hour and unable to start car. Vw tow truck driver unable to start car. Next morning vw able to start car. Vw dealer attributes problem to water/algae in fuel. Line cleaned and fuel replaced by dealer. Car picked up. Car driven 15 miles total after pick-up. Left car for 5 minutes, returned to car but unable to restart car. Multiple attempts failed. Tow truck driver able to start car after 5 minutes of constantly engaging engine. Being investigated by vw dealer now.

During regular slow traffic driving conditions my 2011 Volkswagen Golf tdi displayed the "engine control malfunction" light on my instrument panel. I quickly pulled over and turned off the engine. After waiting several minutes I started the vehicle again and the light turned off. After about 10 minutes of driving, the light came on again and I noticed an extreme loss of power. I pulled over again within a few minutes and turned off the engine. This time I waited almost 15 minutes before trying to start the vehicle again and it would not start. I thought I was out of diesel as the low fuel light had also just come on so I called someone to bring me 5 gallons of diesel thinking maybe I was out. After refueling, the vehicle still wouldn't start so I had it towed to the closest vw dealer. The dealer said it was the fuel pump and I am currently waiting for it to be repaired. This happend on a Saturday and it is now 4 days later.

Engine rpm surges/spikes 500-800 rpm's from idle when attempting to slowly accelerate from a stop or near stop causing the vehicle to lunge forward unexpectedly. This surge/spike occurs primarily when on slight uphill grades or inclines and after releasing the brakes and gently applying throttle pressure. This seems to occur when the hill assist system is activated. Examples: surge/spike occurs when on a slight grade or incline from a stop or near stop such as pulling up a driveway, trying to inch forward in stop-and-go traffic, or when accelerating normally from a stop. It is as though you pumped the throttle for a second then released it. If the vehicle is on a very steep upgrade incline it is not as noticeable as the brakes are not immediately disengaged when the surge/spike occurs due to the hill assist system engaging the brakes. If the vehicle is on a down grade decline or level road the engine rpm usually accelerates and operates normally. The vw authorized service department has confirmed this to be not normal. They have been claiming to investigate the rpm surge/spike with no solution after several service appointments in the past year and over 15,000 miles.