Volkswagen Golf owners have reported 4 problems related to radiator (under the engine and engine cooling category). The most recently reported issues are listed below. Also please check out the statistics and reliability analysis of Volkswagen Golf based on all problems reported for the Golf.
The radiator is loose, causing one of the hose to rub against the engine. It drilled a hole into the hose and leaked all the coolant in the car. The coolant light came on, and the car had to be towed away or it would have been overheated. Coolant splashed all over the engine bay. The car had 95 mileage.
Radiator was loose from the factory where it clips to intercooler allowing movement of radiator within engine bay. Lower radiator hose then hit crank pulley from movement in radiator causing loss of coolant. Dealer replacing radiator hose, radiator and intercooler. Factory defect, happened with less than 200 miles on the car.
2000 vw Golf 2. 0l engine; driving to work on freeway (65-70mph). Heard "pop" and a hissing noise from front of vehicle. Slowed down and pulled over to shoulder, saw coolant leaking. Engine would not restart. Towed to dealership, found internal engine damage to valves and pistons. Cause was a faulty water pump: vw uses a plastic impeller on the water pumps which frequently break and cause the engine to overheat very quickly. After the damage, a simple google search on vw forums revealed numerous other people had the same problem I had. The end result was that I had to replace the engine, radiator, timing belt, water pump ($6000 repair bill). Sadly, vw put in the same type of water pump with the plastic impeller, so I have little confidence that it will last longer than another 60000 miles. I would have changed it with the timing belt, but vw says the belt is not due to be replaced on this vehicle until 105,000 miles (just outside the 100,000 mile warranty, conveniently!) car had only 60,000 miles on it, vw claims it is not covered under warranty due to age of vehicle.
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all problems of the 2000 Volkswagen Golf
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Car overheated above 40 mph. Radiator inspected and flushed. Problem persisted. Water pump removed and found to be defective. Plastic impeller was loose on shaft and not moving coolant. Replacement impeller was metallic.
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all problems of the 2007 Volkswagen Golf
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