5.5

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
16,500 miles

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problem #2

Nov 182020

GTI

  • miles
I was driving at normal highway speeds and when I went to slow down for a red light my brakes were not engaging until my pedal was pushed well over half way down. This was a very serious issue. I started noticing that if I pumped my brake pedal, the brakes would become more effective, but the vehicle really was not safe. I took the car to my local tires plus repair shop who believed the brake master cylinder was bad and it was replaced under warranty. Once the repair was completed I picked up my vehicle and the brakes still were not effectively engaging. At that point the rear brake calipers had gotten replaced and even after that, nothing had improved. Tires plus decided the car needed to go to Volkswagen because they could not figure out the issue. I took the car to my local repair shop who diagnosed the car and insisted there were no issues with my brakes and that the way my brake pedal felt was normal. I know for a fact this isn't true and the service center refused to acknowledge my concerns. In response I was told that I just don't know how brakes are supposed to work and that much dead pedal travel is normal. I picked my car up and after a week my brakes had gotten worse and they continue to get worse. The brake pedal is still not engaging my brakes until over halfway through the pedal travel and once the brakes do engage the pedal is very stiff. I again expressed my concerns to the dealership and the service advisor simply yelled at me and told me that there was absolutely nothing wrong with my car and that I needed to just listen to the experts. And yet they have not driven my car because they denied to do so. I have taken my car to two other repair shops who insist there is an issue but could not properly diagnose the issue and insist Volkswagen needs to deeply look into my cars braking system but Volkswagen won't do further investigating into the brakes.

- Lexington Park, MD, USA

problem #1

Feb 182018

GTI

  • 33,000 miles
The vehicle was on a highway and started beeping with warning light that said "brakes service now" and both brake and ABS lights were on. I took it to shoulder to check. The car had only 33000 miles on it. The brakes seemed to be okay though. Took it to the dealer who upon inspection said the ABS control unit is faulty and needs replacing. He quoted 3300 for the repair. Upon checking, he said the it failed not because of any user error, and the control unit should last a long time. Looks like there were recalls for VW car from 2008-2009 for a similar issue.

- Fremont, CA, USA