Volkswagen Golf Complaints (2019)

63 consumer complaints on file.

#11761809September 3, 2026
SUSPENSION, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:DIESEL:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Golf. The contact stated that the turbocharger failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the mechanic informed the contact that during the inspection, the rear coil spring fractured. The contact researched and became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V188000 (Suspension), which was associated with the failure; however, the VIN was not included. The contact stated that the dealer had replaced the turbocharger assembly after the original failure with the vehicle. The dealer also replaced the rear coil springs. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11677470July 31, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I am currently stationed in the United Kingdom and the VW dealership is stating that they are unable to complete the needed recall because it is an imported vehicle?! Not sure how something that important can just be shrugged off because I am in a different country.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11653958April 10, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Golf. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact attempted to start the vehicle and the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact attempted to contact the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact stated that an independent mechanic was contacted, and the vehicle was scheduled to be taken to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,038.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11609117August 17, 2024
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
This has been an open recall for 5 years and the manufacturer will not fix it. This could lead to vehicle fires and injuries.. It is not acceptable that Volkswagen can just ignore these safety recalls!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11587310May 6, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
When driving down the road doing about 35 mph with no car close in front of me my forward collision sensor went off without warning and initiated sharp braking which almost caused the car behind me to run into me. My car jolted like I’d been hit (I hadn’t) and the red warning light lit up the dashboard. The person behind me was able to brake in time and didn’t hit me. I don’t think my brake lights engaged. It was terrifying and incredibly unsafe and I’m lucky I wasn’t on a highway or there wasn’t anyone following too closely behind. Very, very dangerous situation.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11584895April 24, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
When driving over train tracks the automatic emergency brakes engaged and the forward collision detection beeping alarm sounded. This has happened over 5 times since I have owned the car. Many times the forward collision alarm will go off without engaging the brakes, seemingly without cause. Only when passing over train tracks do the emergency brakes bring the vehicle to a stop or to an extreme slowdown. I have a video of the incident if you would like it, but no way to upload on this website. You can hear the emergency brake and alarm going off with nothing in front of my car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581354April 5, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES
Purchased vehicle brand new from Seacoast VW in Greenland, NH in March of 2020. In February of 2022 with just 12804 miles on this vehicle I had them check a problem with noisy rear brakes. I was informed that the rear brakes were delaminating and needed replacement for around $800. As this was beyond the 12 month warranty that this charge was not to be covered. After much negotiation I agreed to pay 20% of the parts & labor charge and they would pick up the remaining 80% as a one time goodwill because I was a loyal VW customer. The excuse that was given to me at that time is that I didn't drive enough miles & rust on the rotor caused the delamination. Jump forward to April 2024 I again was told my rear brakes were delaminating and would not pass the NH state safety inspection. The service consultant was very surprised that they had already replaced the rear brakes in 2022! I was again told this was because I did not drive enough. I then called VW Customer Care phone number that the dealer provided to see if VW would provide some financial relief. The woman who answered the phone was very polite and understood my frustration that brakes would fail after only 12000 miles but after checking with her supervisor informed me that VW would not help with this Safety problem. I then asked her if I was the only one who has experienced this problem And she emphatically stated that I was not the only complaint for this problem and even suggested that I keep all of my records for possible reimbursement in a future recall due to the significant number of complaints that VW has had with this problem. This is a severe safety problem that VW is trying to sweep under the rug and needs to be investigated so VW bears the cost of this and not the many customers that have so far had to bear the expense that is an actual design flaw!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11562500December 29, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2019 VW Golf. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V604000(Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced the failure. The VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11549494October 11, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Driving on the interstate with no cars near me and my sunroof exploded and showered me with glass. VW is claiming that it was hit and it was not. The car is my daily driver, and I inspect it daily. The plastic insert was cracked (also an issue with this model)and mentioned by me on a previous service visit at Baxter Volkswagen of Omaha, but it was not investigated by Baxter and then the service advisor gave no explanation as to why it was not looked at. A month a half later the sunroof exploded.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11549292October 10, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving and the spring from the grab handle (driver side) popped out and hit me by my left eyebrow. At home, I tried to compare the driver side grab handle with the front passenger grab handle to see if I can fix it. As I grabbed the handle and the spring became loose and it is now sideways (picture) In addition, according to my repair log, my GTI was serviced to repair the right side rear passenger grab handle on 18 Jan 2020. I have a service appointment tomorrow 11 Oct 2023 to repair the grab handles and a check engine light.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544677September 15, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
* "Starter system faulty", currently the supposedly damaged part has already been replaced * When this fault appears, all the vehicle's electrical instruments stop working, lights, radio, air conditioning, reversing camera, security systems, but the vehicle's engine remains on, this happens a few minutes after starting the car and the cabin. is above 90 degrees temperature. * part 5Q1.905.865 is defective under high temperatures. * No, but you can search for information on the Internet with the part number 5q1 905 865 and you will find hundreds of complaints from VOLKSWAGEN vehicle owners with this same problem. * The warning appears on the dashboard screen and in 3 seconds all the vehicle's electronic instruments turn off but the engine continues to run
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11541513August 29, 2023
VISIBILITY, AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Golf. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light and the air bags warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V892000 (Visibility, Air Bags) however, neither the VIN nor the model vehicle was included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. The VIN was not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11521144May 9, 2023
ENGINE
The engine completely failed while driving normally and lost power while on the highway, doing highway speeds. I had no power to safely exit the highway and it became extremely dangerous for surrounding traffic as I had to slow down. The problem has been confirmed by a Volkswagen dealer. Yes the vehicle has been inspected by Volkswagen. No warning lights or check engine lights prior to the failure
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11510411March 6, 2023
SEATS, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
Driver seats frame is loose, have been waiting for part since October/2022, they said that I can take over a year. Strong Volkswagen technician told me that is not safe to drive the car because if I get in accident I can get smashed once the seat is not safely locked in place. The strong vw service manager told me that the solution is sale the car for someone who doesn’t know about the problem. The car is under the warranty bumper to bumper.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11509555February 28, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
The contact owns 2019 Volkswagen Golf. The contact stated that while a complete stop, the Auto Start/Stop feature failed to engage and a message advising to manually start the vehicle by turning the ignition key was displayed. The contact stated that as he attempted to turn the ignition key, the key was stuck and the key fob fractured, causing the vehicle to go into Safe Mode. The anti-theft warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to push the vehicle to the side of the road with the assistance of bystanders. The vehicle was towed the contact’s residence. The contact notified the dealer of the failure and ordered a new key. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11500632January 7, 2023
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Faulty/unreliable water pump resulted in sudden coolant leak and subsequently overheating the engine. This seems to be a common problem when looking at reports/discussion from other owners of this vehicle online. It’s a known issue that the stock water pump is bad.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491552October 31, 2022
SUSPENSION
GTI has an overly squeaky front suspension. Suspension is 100% stock and unmodified. Searching online yields many Golf owners experiencing the same issues (in the USA and worldwide). People say to lube up the suspension with grease, but this could cause a safety issue if it gets on the brakes. Volkswagen claims this is normal, but I've owned nine Volkswagen vehicles and this is the first one that's ever had this issue. This sound has been ongoing since the vehicle had 10,000 miles on the odo; the vehicle now has 60,000 miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11443870December 15, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
11/2021 @ 5927 miles - sunny day, no vehicle in front, without warning AEB lit up, flashing and automatic brakes engaged, vibration felt, bringing car to near stop for no reason. Speed approx 35 mph on flat, straight roadway, approx 4 lanes heading one direction. Could have been rear-ended since car stopped suddenly. No prior occurrence. VW Case #05016886 created by VW upon contacting. Recommended VW service inspection. VW service stated Fault C113B00 for hill descent button, which this model doesn’t have hill descent option. VW technician reconfigured the ABS module to rectify error.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11431238August 31, 2021
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The car idles rough during initial cold start up, intermittently hesitates during acceleration and feels like it misfires during cruising. My dealer found that the ignition timing was retarded by 5º and told me to use better gas, citing a VW field service action (https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10176770-0001.pdf). The problem persisted after they treated the fuel. The car has never thrown a code causing the check engine light to turn on, and so the dealer has declined to investigate further. My records show the car was only filled with premium fuel, using VW recommended brands (BP, Exxon, Mobil, Shell) in the 2,000 miles prior to the service appointment and was only filled with regular fuel twice (due to the Colonial Pipeline shutdown) since the car was delivered new from the dealer.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11428235August 8, 2021
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL
Intermittent warning light on dash indicating, "Cruise control system malfunction".The owner's manual says to have the system checked by Volkswagen. The dealer said the vehicle is operating normally. I first noticed this the day after service action code 24FX was completed on 4/8/21. I noticed this four more times since.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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