10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
33,928 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.

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problem #10

Nov 282021

Golf SportWagen

  • miles
A defect that meets the definition of a nonconformity in Washington State, and that is covered under warranty, caused the vehicle to stall while driving and caused the vehicle to not accelerate when the accelerator was pressed. My safety was put at risk when this happened on a 50 mph road because vehicles behind me expected my vehicle in front of them to accelerate in a predictable way with the flow of traffic. Another time, a stall happened as I turned onto a highway. I had come to a stop, waited for the traffic light, and then turned right and pressed the accelerator as I normally would to get up to 50 mph. A flashing glow plug light came on, and the car immediately had zero propulsion, and so I turned the steering wheel to roll to the side of the road and turned on my hazard lights. I was fortunate that I was not rear-ended. On another occasion, I came off of the interstate as normal, but when I tried to drive over the overpass at a slight incline, the vehicle was unable to accelerate to 20 mph, and would only go about 5 mph no matter how much the accelerator was pressed. This happened multiple times, but not all of the time, and it was unpredictable when it would happen. It was dangerous to me because I could not time traffic circles with confidence that I would be able to press the accelerator and get up to speed without being struck from the left, or turn out onto busy roads with confidence I wouldn't be t-boned, or merge with traffic on the highway. The mileage on the vehicle at the first attempt to diagnose/repair the defect was 63935 on 10/11/2019 when a VW dealership diagnosed and replaced two glow plugs under warranty. Several more times it was warr. repaired. In November 2021, after the vehicle was repaired and failed on the dealership test drive, an engineer from Volkswagen inspected the vehicle, it was further repaired and released to me. A couple of months later, the vehicle stalled on a highway and a flashing glow plug light came on.

- Tacoma, WA, USA

problem #9

Oct 082022

Golf SportWagen

  • miles
I did a left-U turn- heard a loud sound, and then all the electrical things on my steering wheel failed, like horn, air bag, and controls. The failed airbag light is on, and it has other warning lights as well. I am now not protected in a crash, nor can I use my horn. I believe from a bit of research that my car has what I think is the same clockspring defect that VW has had in a TON of their vehicles- mine has failed- but does not seem to fall into a safety recall. Why is that? This seems to be a serious safety problem they have had- and I believe it should be covered by the manufacturer.

- Lexington, KY, USA

problem #8

Sep 202020

Golf SportWagen

  • 80,000 miles
Trim at compartment / shifter boot is peeling and aluminum coating will have a razor sharp edge which sliced my hand open

- Oak Harbor, WA, USA

problem #7

Jul 102020

Golf SportWagen

  • 47,000 miles
The vehicle infotainment system has become unusable (screen distortion) affecting tire pressure monitor, backup camera, traction control settings (preventing emissions inspection), service notifications and other vehicle systems only accessible through this unit. Dealer offered little assistance. System has theft protection making the dealer the only method of repair. Dealer refused to unlock a used component that could fix the problem.

- Littleton, CO, USA

problem #6

Mar 202020

Golf SportWagen 4-cyl Diesel

  • 60,040 miles
Gearshift surround has foil plating over plastic. Plating flakes off at entry point to storage cubby causing razor cuts in hand and fingers. This can happen whether driving or stationary.

- New Canton, VA, USA

problem #5

Apr 112020

Golf SportWagen

  • 61,000 miles
The brushed aluminum trim around the gearshift selector peels up leaving a razor sharp edge, this has cut my hand on more than on occasion as I reached into the storage compartment below the infotainment center. This has happened while driving on the highway and on city streets. The gearshift trim was replaced @35,000 miles

- Chino Hills Ca, CA, USA

problem #4

Dec 262019

Golf SportWagen

  • 29,735 miles
This car was purchased as a certified vehicle after receiving the emissions fix. After less than 10,000 miles and only one year of ownership, all my dashboard warning lights came on (including airbag error) and the floor mats were soaked when I started my car after a severe rain storm. I was told the sunroof drains were plugged and caused the electrical issues. The drain being plugged with debris is considered an external factor and therefore the repairs are not covered by the warranty of this certified car. The owner's manual indicates that maintenance on the sun roof drains is recommended at 40,000 miles. As noted, the car was below the 40,000 mark but had sat idle for over a year between the time it was bought back from the original customer to when it was sold as a certified vehicle.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #3

Aug 072019

Golf SportWagen

  • miles
The push start button not working need press multiple time just to start the car also apply when I need turn the car off. I need press push and start multiple time just to turn off the car.

- Valley Stream, NY, USA

problem #2

Feb 012019

Golf SportWagen

  • 52,000 miles
Clock spring failed at 52,000 miles--affecting both the airbag and horn. VW refused to reimburse me for the repair, despite their clock spring recall on multiple VW models, that was initiated by NHTSA investigation.

- Fayetteville, NY, USA

problem #1

Aug 112018

Golf SportWagen

  • 9,500 miles
Just in front of the shifter and behind the center storage console, metallic trim on plastic peeled up leaving a razor sharp edge. I did not see this defect. As I pulled my keys out of the console, the smallest finger on my right hand was badly sliced, causing quite a lot of bleeding. Had I been driving at the time, this could have caused an accident because of the surprise, pain, amount of blood and the distraction caused by those things. Fortunately, I had just parked at my home and was able to run inside and stanch the blood flow.

- Houston, TX, USA