Equipment Problems of Volkswagen Golf - part 1

My vehicle is subject to safety recall 20uf (suction jet pump failure / fire risk). I have attempted to contact pacific Volkswagen in hawthorne, CA to schedule this safety-critical repair. On two separate occasions, upon mentioning that the call was regarding the 20uf recall, the dealership staff disconnected the call. This repeated 'recall avoidance' at pacific Volkswagen is preventing me from remedying a known fire risk, and the dealership is effectively refusing to facilitate a federally mandated safety repair. I am concerned that the dealer is prioritizing paid service over safety-critical warranty work.

See all problems of the 2017 Volkswagen Golf 🔎.

Sunroof glass implosion while driving (2018 Volkswagen Golf) while driving my 2018 Volkswagen Golf at normal highway speed, my sunroof suddenly and violently imploded without any warning or external impact. The sound was extremely loud—similar to a gunshot or an explosion—and initially I believed something had struck the vehicle or that a large object had landed on the sunroof. Glass shattered and fell into the interior of the vehicle, sending shards throughout the cabin. The incident was extremely frightening and caused me to momentarily lose focus while driving. I narrowly avoided a potential car accident due to the sudden noise, falling glass, and shock of the event. There were no visible objects, debris, or overpasses that could explain the breakage, and no other vehicles were involved. This appears to be a spontaneous sunroof glass failure. The incident poses a serious safety risk, as it could easily lead to a crash or cause injury to occupants. I am reporting this issue to raise awareness and request investigation, as spontaneous sunroof implosions while driving are dangerous and should not occur under normal driving conditions.

See all problems of the 2018 Volkswagen Golf 🔎.

I am currently stationed in the united kingdom and the vw dealership is stating that they are unable to complete the needed recall because it is an imported vehicle?! not sure how something that important can just be shrugged off because I am in a different country.

See all problems of the 2019 Volkswagen Golf 🔎.

The chrome plastic trim coating on the start/stop button and also the steering wheel have peeled and are razor sharp. I cut myself badly on both pieces on my right fore fingertip and middle ring finger. I try to avoid placing my hand accross the horn of the steering wheel since this happened, but the trim there is very dangerously sharp. There is a recall on the same trim on 2017 cars (service action 34l9), but the vw dealer told me there was not on my vehicle.

See all problems of the 2015 Volkswagen Golf 🔎.

The water pump in these vehicles are known defects, with class actions resulting. My water pump has failed at less than 70k miles. This results in engine overheating and possible failure. Luckily I was able to get the car off the road.

I have gear shift trim that has peeled and is extermely sharp in my vehicle. This had led to cutting my hands multiple times while accessing the center storage compartment. This is a known issue with gtis and other Volkswagen trim manufacturing, yet Volkswagen refuses to replace the part in my VIN. The relevant service action code is 34j7.

The vehicles built-in independent navigation system frequently loses its position. When the system loses its position, it displays an inaccurate vehicle position on the map, and does not provide correct driving guidance. The incorrect driving guidance can lead to a turn into a body of water, house, or other fixed structure. The issue has been reported to the manufacturer and the vehicle was inspected by their dealer. The dealer was able to observe the condition on a test drive. The manufacturer/dealer is placing the blame on cellular phone interference, even if the phone is not connected to the car. This does not equate as the built-in navigation system is a system that is independent of any cellular phone. The manufacturer is not willing to take any further action.

See all problems of the 2022 Volkswagen Golf 🔎.

I have a leak in my trunk from water leaking from my pressure valve in the rear of my car. Found that this is a common issue with my car. The seal around the pressure valve doesn't prevent water from entering into the trunk of my car. I got a flat tire on the highway and opened the hatch to get my spare and there was water flooded there and it rusted my spare tools. I could not put on my spare tire.

See all problems of the 2016 Volkswagen Golf 🔎.

The last few months my schedule changed and I'm driving in the dark now. The auto dimming mirror does not function as expected, it is too slow in response to prevent glare and blinding from vehicles behind me. By the time the mirror decides to dim I'm already blinded from the glare and can no longer see what is in front of me. Also, since it does not dim to the edge I still get blinded from the glare around the perimeter of the mirror (there is no way to adjust this to prevent it). Since this mirror is also "rimless" (no plastic cover on the edge) the polished edge causes light refraction thereby blinding me in daylight. Currently the only way to prevent glare from the mirror is point it down to the floor rendering useless and dangerous.

See all problems of the 2021 Volkswagen Golf 🔎.

Thermostat/water pump housing leaking coolant at 20,000 miles. No damage to vehicle that caused this, seems to be a common issue with vw Golfs. The repair is out of pocket and the dealership which sold me the car only a year ago is quoting $1600.

The infotainment of the car with the navigation gave wrong directions and almost drove me into a canyon rather than the street. I took it to the dealership and left it there for two days and the problem was still there.

See all problems of the 2023 Volkswagen Golf 🔎.

Driving on the interstate with no cars near me and my sunroof exploded and showered me with glass. Vw is claiming that it was hit and it was not. The car is my daily driver, and I inspect it daily. The plastic insert was cracked (also an issue with this model)and mentioned by me on a previous service visit at baxter Volkswagen of omaha, but it was not investigated by baxter and then the service advisor gave no explanation as to why it was not looked at. A month a half later the sunroof exploded.

Vehicle epc light comes on dash. Obd code is "p00af00 - turbocharger boost control "a" module". This error causes sudden loss of power and loss of driver assistance (forward collision assist, blind spot assist, cruise control, etc. ). Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Upon checking turbo charger, the wastegate actuator arm is seized up, keeping the wastegate from functioning properly, failing to maintain boost pressure and entering limp mode causing sudden loss of power and acceleration. This has happened while on the roadway, attempting to merge into highway traffic, change lanes & pass other vehicles. This caused the vehicle behind me to close the distance very rapidly almost resulting in multiple rear end collisions. The vehicle has not been inspected by others, yet. The only warning that came on was when it first did it. I had a sudden loss of power, a warning beep from the dash and the epc light illuminated. It fixed itself after a few moments then occured again. It is now stuck with this error and will not operate accordingly.

I was driving and the spring from the grab handle (driver side) popped out and hit me by my left eyebrow. At home, I tried to compare the driver side grab handle with the front passenger grab handle to see if I can fix it. As I grabbed the handle and the spring became loose and it is now sideways (picture) in addition, according to my repair log, my gti was serviced to repair the right side rear passenger grab handle on 18 Jan 2020. I have a service appointment tomorrow 11 oct 2023 to repair the grab handles and a check engine light.

Backup camera upon backing up, fails from time to time. The camera will freeze (showing a still image), it can lag (showing a delayed image), it will sometime show no image at all (just a black screen). Available for inspection upon request, yes. It puts the driver and anyone behind the car at risk, by showing incorrect information to the driver about the position of the car in conjunction to its surroundings. The issue has not been confirmed at a dealership, but I have been documenting it. The dealership is aware the cameras are issues in these cars but doesn’t want to act until a specific recall is made available. Not a great solution since this issue puts people at risk. No warning of errors or awareness from the car that the system has failed.

The panoramic moonroof in my car exploded while I was driving home. It sounded like a shotgun went off inside my car and if the sun visor would have been open, glass would have fallen on me. The moonroof exploded outward, and I have pictures if needed. The car is a little over one year old and I have an appointment with the dealer in a week to see if it is covered under warranty.

Shifter cracked under normal use. This leads to unsafe driving as the ability to shift gears is difficult. Shifter slides off rod when shifting.

The sunroof exploded while driving without warning and with no impact. The sliding cloth cover was closed at the time, so thankfully little to no glass entered the car, but it was very loud and, had the cover been open, would have filled the car with glass. The sunroof has since been fixed through my insurance, but it took 8-9 months to get completely fixed, and the local vw dealership refused to work on it and had no recommendations.

See all problems of the 2020 Volkswagen Golf 🔎.

While driving down the highway around 60 mph, nowhere near any other vehicles or pedestrians, the sunroof spontaneously shattered. The break goes outward/upward from the cabin.

Shift nob cracks and eventually detaches from shift rod which causes loss of ability to accelerate/shift. This appears to be a widespread issue based on consumer forums.

Sunroof frame cracked. Leaky sunroof. Drains are cleaned. A pillars get wet where airbags and wiring are located. Could cause a short.

Discovered several inches of water in the spare tire boot area. The entire back seat was also soaked through. Water appears to be leaking into the car from rear pressure vents behind the bumper or from another undetermined source, posing risks including black mold and damage to the spare tire.

The sunroof leaks water into the passenger side a pillar.

The shift knob for the manual transmission broke off the shift assembly while accelerating and merging onto the freeway. This is what happened the first time the knob broke off. It has happened 3 times due to the part being physically broken. My safety and the safety of others was at risk. When a car is moving at speed and no longer has the option to shift into a higher gear, you become stuck at a slower speed and this happens very suddenly. If you apply brake then the engine will loose rpm and stall out causing the car to loose control of acceleration suddenly and could result in lose of control. This is stated in the vw owners manual under how to drive a manual transmission. The issue has been confirmed by the local dealership and by vw corporate. The component has been inspected my vw dealership. The vehicle has zero warnings or ways to monitor this.

Faulty/unreliable water pump resulted in sudden coolant leak and subsequently overheating the engine. This seems to be a common problem when looking at reports/discussion from other owners of this vehicle online. It’s a known issue that the stock water pump is bad.

The sunroof glass exploded while driving. Shattered glass had the potential to fall into the vehicle had the sun shield not been closed. Shattered class could fly out onto the road causing hazards to other motorists. The sunroof has not been inspected yet. No warnings or symptoms prior to failure. While driving, a loud explosion was heard coming from the top of the car. When inspecting the top of the car it was noticed that the sunroof had been shattered along the seal. No signs of impact from projectiles.

Vehicle exhibits multiple electrical and systems faults related to the airbags, tmps, abs, etc, as similarly described in 07/26/2019 Volkswagen technical tip 97-1902tt. Vehicle interior and sunroof tray is wet in various places. These issues raise concerns as they relate to safety and drivability. Upon inspection, the plastic sunroof tray is apparently cracked in multiple places as described in 12/06/2016 Volkswagen TSB 2045403 (supersedes v601608 November 22, 2016) and referenced again in Volkswagen update 60c7. According to dealership records, the sunroof tray was claimed repaired per Volkswagen update 60c7. This does not seem to be true.

There is a piece of trim near the gear selector in the interior that separated to reveal a sharp edge that caused a severe cut on my hand.

The shift knob slid right off the top while shifting into 2nd gear. I had to push it back on to shift into third gear while driving in traffic. I could have lost control of the vehicle if I had not acted quicky.

Poor quality of the shifter knob component and installation from the factory for the 6-speed manual transmission variant of the 2022 vw gti. The shifter knob can come loose and pop out of the metal shaft while shifting gears in the drive. The poor quality of the knob develops a crack in the corner of the component which can cause the knob to detach from the transmission over time and make the car undrivable. Since taking delivery of the car from the dealership, the shifter knob appears to not be installed properly as the component can feel loose and pop out of the metal shaft and get detached from the transmission. This incident of the shift knob popping out occurred a few times while driving. As changing gears with the shifter knob is a crucial aspect of driving the car, the current component poses a serious quality and safety issue for the car that was overlooked by the manufacturer.

Manual shift knob is starting to crack. Vehicle is just under 4,000 miles.

The car just started on fire while I was driving and nearly killed me and my boyfriend lucky someone was honking and flagging down and when we tried stopping the car wouldn't brake and we had to jump out when it was still rolling. We were bout to get on the high way lucky someone stopped us be we did so.

See all problems of the 2003 Volkswagen Golf 🔎.

Rear view camera not working, no image on dashboard screen it seems it is an electrical connection issue more than a software issue.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? manual gear shift knob. It has a crack that will potentially loosen and fall off how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? no safety issue yet but at risk of falling off. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? no has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others?no were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? no.

The car has a manual transmission. The car has roughly 100 miles on it (brand new). The shift knob (gear knob, gear lever, etc) comes loose periodically and pops off of the gear selector, which is very dangerous as it makes it impossible to shift the car into gear. This has happened at least 3 times in the past 100 miles. All times were at slow speeds with no unusual force applied to the shift knob. There were no warnings and it hasn't been inspected. I'm not interested in having the car inspected but simply want to report the safety issue.