Failure happened to my wife while on I-75 and the dash lit up with many lights. Only 14,000 miles on the car and six years old but not an expected problem. Had to be towed to the dealer where it has been for 10 days.

Apparently ABS failure in common on earlier VW models. Not sure on 2011 Golfs and later years. I expected that VW would have an extended warranty for this problem. Dealer said no. Doesn't seem reasonable. Problem may have been caused by leaving lights on and draining the battery but it is only a theory. If this was the cause then my sense is it is a bad design.

I also own a 2013 Touareg TDI that has been approved for the court ordered diesel repair and settlement.I am hopeful that the repair experience will be a positive one as I love the Touareg. I was looking to buy another Golf and trade up to the R but I will have to wait and see if VW offers any assistance on the ABS repair.

Update from Jun 12, 2017: The VW Customer Care hotline listened sympathetically to my request for factory assistance with the ABS repair but, as expected did nothing. They reminded me the warranty ended at 36 months regardless of mileage. Duh!

I am no longer considering a new Golf in light of how VW handled my request. My 2013 Touareg TDI is included in the Dieselgate court settlement. After reading the many problems other VW owners have had after their VW's were made compliant I am not expecting a good experience since VW is claiming that the owners must be wrong and the independent test s run showing loss of torque and mileage must be wrong. Really?

I was a a huge VW fan. No longer.