4.4

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
25,000 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2005 Volkswagen GTI:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #2

Aug 262022

GTI

  • miles
problem unknown, but I was driving at 40mph in 4th gear when my rpm-??s dropped to zero and my battery light came on and I had a total loss of power and was unable to accelerate, when I pulled over and stepped on the gas pedal it did not rev and rpm-??s stayed at zero. This was very dangerous. This happened again a couple weeks later driving in second gear when the same thing happened. The only thing I could do was pull over and restart my car and everything seemed functional again after restarting. I took it to an auto shop where they said it was my throttle body and cleaned it out but a week later while sitting in my car with the radio and air conditioning on my car does the same thing where the rpm-??s drop to zero and battery light comes on, engine is still running, ac stops blowing cold, radio flashes off and back on and unable to apply gas as it would do nothing. I had to restart the car to regain function. The last time this happened I was stopped at a red light and again the Rpm-??s drop to zero and battery light comes but the engine is still running, I have to quickly restart the car again as it seems the only way to reset it. This is just ridiculous and absolutely dangerous, how can a car just suddenly decide to lose all power to the gas pedal. If I was on the freeway or traffic I could cause a huge accident because of this issue. This needs to be fixed asap.

- Woodland Hills, CA, USA

problem #1

Jul 102010

GTI

  • 50,000 miles
My cars electronics would shut off while driving, a few times the car completely stalled while I was driving. The alternator the Volkswagen puts on the automatic Gtis are too small to power everything in the car. They put a 90amp on the car, when it needs something bigger, auto part stores sell a 120 amp. I brought my car to the VW dealership I bought it from, and the guy that sold me the car told me "there is no one here that cares about your problem" so I went home and called VW national office, they took all my information and said they would look into it. During the time they were looking into the problem my battery wouldn't stayed charged, so I bought the 120 amp alternator and a new battery and just replaced them myself. I agree with the other person that complained about this, only happens when it gets really hott outside and you have to run your ac at a higher speed.

- Fort Walton Beach, FL, USA