Volkswagen Golf Complaints (2012)

48 consumer complaints on file.

#10489003December 17, 2012
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL, ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
THE CAR IS A 2012 VW GOLF TDI, PURCHASED AROUND APRIL OF 2012. IT HAD APPROXIMATELY 7500 MILES AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. I WAS ON A SHORT DRIVE TO THE STORE AND BACK (5 MILES ROUND TRIP FROM HOME). ON THE WAY BACK, I HEARD A METAL GRINDING SOUND COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND NOTICED A LACK OF POWER. I TURNED OFF THE RADIO TO CONFIRM THAT THE SOUND WAS COMING FROM MY NEW CAR AND IT WAS. AT THE NEXT STOP LIGHT, THE CAR DIED AND COULD NOT BE RESTARTED. I CONFIRMED THAT I STILL HAD DIESEL FUEL, AND SURE ENOUGH, I STILL HAD 1/4 TANK. SO I WAS NOT OUT OF FUEL. THE ENGINE WOULD CRANK, BUT NOT START. THANKFULLY THIS HAPPENED AT A STOP LIGHT INSTEAD OF ON THE HILLY INTERSTATE I TAKE TO WORK 20 MILES EACH DAY. ASIDE FROM HEARING THE METAL GRINDING SOUND FOR APPROXIMATELY 30 SECONDS, I HAD NO WARNING. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED BACK TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER TOOK A FEW DAYS TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM AS A FAULTY FUEL PUMP. APPARENTLY, THE FUEL PUMP MALFUNCTIONED AND SHOT METAL SHARDS THROUGH MY ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM. IT TOOK THE DEALER WELL OVER A WEEK TO REPLACE EVERY COMPONENT AND THE COST OF LABOR AND PARTS WAS OVER $10,000. THANKFULLY, VW COVERED THE REPAIR AS BEING UNDER WARRANTY. A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH CONFIRMED THAT HUNDREDS OF OTHER VW DIESEL ENGINES HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. UNFORTUNATELY, THE DEALER DID NOT REPLACE THE FUEL TANK. BASED ON REPORTS I HAVE SEEN ONLINE, I CAN EXPECT ANOTHER FAILURE ANY DAY. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS FURTHER AND FORCE VW TO ISSUE A RECALL. I HAVE OWNED 5 VOLKSWAGENS IN THE PAST (OWN 2 RIGHT NOW) AND LOVE THEM, BUT I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER ONE AFTER THIS INCIDENT. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10486272November 27, 2012
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN, FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD HAD JUST SHIFTED INTO 4TH GEAR CAME UP TO A RED LIGHT. I PRESSING IN THE CLUTCH AND STARTED TO SLOW DOWN STILL IN 4TH GEAR. THE RED LIGHT TURNED GREEN BEFORE I COULD SLOW DOWN MUCH AT ALL. I RELEASED THE CLUTCH WHEN I DID THIS THE ENGINE AND RPM INCREASED. I WAS STILL IN 4TH GEAR AND HARDLY ACCELERATING BUT IT FELT AS THOUGH I WAS IN SECOND GEAR. I KINDA FREAKED AND LOOKED TO MAKE SURE I WAS IN 4TH AND I WAS.THE CAR BEGAN TO RUN NORMAL SO I JUST BRUSHED IT OFF. I CAME TO ANOTHER RED LIGHT AND MADE A COMPLETE STOP. THIS IS WHEN THE CAR BEGAN TO SHAKE AND FLASH THE ORANGE COIL LOOKING LIGHT. IT COMPLETELY SHUT OFF AND I WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE CAR. MY BROTHER CAME AND HELPED ME PUSH IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. IT HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10480604October 15, 2012
ENGINE
AT 2766 MILES I WAS CRUISING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH ON MY WAY TO WORK WHEN THE ENGINE SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND THE EPC LIGHT CAME ON. THE ENGINE WAS COMPLETELY UNRESPONSIVE, I PULLED OFF TO THE SHOULDER, CALLED ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE AND WAS TOWED TO THE NEAREST DEALER THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME THE WATER PUMP SEIZED AND SERIOUSLY DAMAGED THE ENGINE. I WENT TO LOOK AND THERE WAS A BIG HOLE IN THE SIDE OF THE ENGINE. HE TOLD ME THEY HAD TO ORDER NEW PISTON HEADS, RODS, ETC... BASICALLY, NEEDED TO REBUILD THE ENGINE. SPEAKING TO THE MECHANIC ACTUALLY WORKING ON THE CAR, HE SAID IT WOULD PROBABLY NEED AN ENGINE REPLACEMENT. THEY QUICKLY REALIZED REPAIR WASN'T POSSIBLE AND HAD A NEW ENGINE EN ROUTE. AFTER A LITTLE SEARCHING ONLINE, I FOUND THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO AT LEAST 5 OTHERS (THERE ARE MORE NOW). IT SEEMS TO BE AN ISSUE WITH THE WATER PUMP PULLEY. I AM MOST CONCERNED BECAUSE VW DENIED THEY HAD EVER HEARD OF THIS. I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE THAT THE REPLACEMENT ENGINE WILL NOT SUFFER THE SAME ISSUE. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10472079August 23, 2012
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
FUEL PUMP FAILURE, RANDOM POWER CUT OUT DUE TO FAULT MODE. SYSTEM FLASHES A GLOW PLUG LIGHT INSTEAD OF A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT NOT SIGNALING A OBVIOUS FAILURE. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10470560August 14, 2012
ENGINE, FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
AT 6,519 MILES, WHILE ABOUT TO ENTER THE ON-RAMP OF A LOCAL HIGHWAY, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND GLOW PLUG INDICATOR LIGHT BEGAN TO FLASH. I WAS ABLE TO VEER OFF THE ENTRANCE RAMP AND CONTINUE DOWN THE DOWN TO THE NEAREST SAFE PARKING LOT AREA; AS I PULLED INTO THE PARKING LOT AREA, THE VEHICLE SHUDDERED AND SUDDENLY SHUT OFF. IT WOULD NOT RE-START, AND WE HAD TO ARRANGE FOR A TOW TO A FAMILY MEMBERS HOUSE THROUGH OUR INSURANCE COMPANY. IN THE MORNING WE HAD A TOW TO OUR DEALER SET UP THROUGH VOLKSWAGEN ROADSIDE SERVICE, WHO WOULD NOT COVER THE ENTIRE COST OF THE TOW TO OUR PREFERRED DEALER, SO WE PAID THE DIFFERENCE OUT OF OUR OWN POCKET. I WAS NOTIFIED BY THE DEALER THAT THE FUEL PUMP (COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS HPFP) BASICALLY IMPLODED AND SENT METAL THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM, WHICH NOW NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. WE OWN TWO VOLKSWAGEN DIESEL (TDI) VEHICLES; THIS ONE, A 2012 GOLF TDI, AND A 2010 JETTA TDI. THEY ARE BOTH FILLED UP AT THE EXACT SAME PUMP FROM THE EXACT SAME STATION ABOUT 99% OF THE TIME. AT THE TIME THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED, THE GOLF HAD 281 MILES ON THE CURRENT TANK OF DIESEL WHICH WAS FILLED UP ON 08/03/2012. I FILLED UP MY JETTA TDI AT THE SAME PUMP ON 08/06/2012, CURRENTLY HAVE OVER 230 MILES ON THAT TANK OF DIESEL, AND HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED ANY PROBLEMS. WE KEEP METICULOUS DOCUMENTATION OF OUR DIESEL USAGE, COST, ETC. WITH RECEIPTS AND OTHER LOGS, AND CAN SAFELY STATE THAT THIS WAS NOT DUE TO A MISTAKE ON OUR PART. RATHER, THIS IS A DESIGN FAILURE AND/OR OVERSIGHT ON THE PART OF BOTH VOLKSWAGEN AND BOSCH, THE HPFP MANUFACTURER. I AM A VETERAN MEMBER OF THE TDICLUB VW DIESEL ONLINE COMMUNITY, AND THERE IS EXTENSIVE INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION THERE OF THESE REPEATED FAILURES. PLEASE VISIT THE FOLLOWING THREADS FOR INFORMATION; HTTP://FORUMS.TDICLUB.COM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=286380, HTTP://FORUMS.TDICLUB.COM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=299854. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10470073August 10, 2012
POWER TRAIN
LEAVING A PARKING LOT, PUT THE GEAR INTO REVERSE AND WAS GOING FORWARD. PUT THE GEAR IN PARKING 3 X AND BACK TO REVERSE 3 X, BUT STILL GOING FORWARD. COULDN'T TURN OFF THE ENGINE. OPENED THE DOOR, AND AFTER MAYBE 10 MINUTES WAS ABLE TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE, GAVE IT A MINUTE AND THEN USE THE REVERSE GEAR AND IT WORKED. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10461255June 11, 2012
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STRUCTURE:BODY
WATER COMES TO THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE THROUGH THE GAP BETWEEN THE LOWER EDGE OF THE PLASTIC INTERIOR DOOR PANEL AND THE METAL DOOR. THIS LEAK NOW OCCURS ON THE RIGHT REAR DOOR OF THIS 2012 VW GOLF. ON OTHER DOORS, WATER COMES OUT THROUGH THE PURPOSELY DESIGNED DRAIN HOLES ON THE BOTTOM SIDE OF THE DOOR, AND THUS WATER DOES NOT COME INTO THE INTERIOR. THIS INCORRECT WATER FLOW INSIDE THE RIGHT REAR DOOR MAY CAUSE BODY DAMAGE AND ELECTRICAL HAZARD. WHEN I SPRAY LOW PRESSURE WATER TO THE BELT LINE AT A SELF CAR WASH BAY TO REPLICATE RAIN, WATER COMES OUT THROUGH THE GAP BETWEEN THE LOWER EDGE OF THE PLASTIC INTERIOR DOOR PANEL AND THE METAL DOOR AT A RATE FASTER THAN ONE DROP PER SECOND. PICTURES AND VIDEO LINK ARE HERE: HTTP://WWW.GOLF-6.COM/WERKSTATT/12132-IST-DIESES-WASSER-LECK-VON-VW-DESIGN.HTML. THE SAME KIND OF WATER LEAK OCCURRED ON THE LEFT FRONT DOOR OF MY 2011 VW GOLF. IT WAS REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY IN 2011. THE CAUSE WAS FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE SEALS INSIDE THE DOOR: SPEAKER SEAL, AND WINDOW LIFTER SEAL. FOR MY 2012 VW GOLF, HOWEVER, VW OF AMERICA AND VOLKSWAGEN AG ARE BEHAVING WEIRDLY. A VW DEALER SAID TO ME AFTER COMMUNICATING WITH VW OF AMERICA THAT VW DESIGNED GOLF TO LEAK WATER THAT WAY FROM MODEL YEAR 2012, WHICH IS HARD TO BELIEVE. VW OF AMERICA ADMITS THAT IT DOES NOT HAVE A VW DOCUMENT SUPPORTING THE DEALER'S CLAIM. HOWEVER, VW OF AMERICA DECLARED THAT THEY STILL SUPPORTS THE DEALER''S CLAIM. I ASKED VOLKSWAGEN AG WHETHER VW REALLY DESIGNED GOLF TO LEAK WATER THIS WAY FROM MODEL YEAR 2012. VOLKSWAGEN AG REFUSED TO ANSWER MY QUESTION FOR A STRANGE REASON: THEY WROTE THAT THEY DO NOT RESPOND TO YOUTUBE. WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE IS TO RESPOND TO A CUSTOMER'S QUESTION. THE YOUTUBE LINK WAS A SUPPLEMENTARY TOOL FOR MORE EFFICIENT COMMUNICATION. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10454965April 12, 2012
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA FAILS TO PROVIDE THEIR CUSTOMERS A FUSE DIAGRAM, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SAFELY IDENTIFY AND REPLACE A SIMPLE BLOWN FUSE. *TR WITHOUT A BASIC FUSE DIAGRAM, THE ONLY CHOICE FOR VW OWNERS NEEDING TO REPLACE A FUSE IS TO PULL FUSES ONE-BY-ONE AS THEY SEARCH FOR THE BLOWN FUSE. WITH MANY UNUSED SLOTS, SHOULD A FUSE BE INADVERTENTLY REPLACED IN THE INCORRECT SLOT, A CRITICAL SAFETY SYSTEM SUCH AS BRAKE LIGHTS, TAIL LIGHTS, HEADLIGHTS, ABS BRAKE CONTROL, WINDSHIELD WIPERS, HORN, ETC. CAN BE ACCIDENTALLY DISABLED WITHOUT ANY IMMEDIATE KNOWLEDGE ON THE PART OF THE OWNER. THIS HAPPENED IN MY CASE WHEN I WAS TRYING TO LOCATE THE 12-VOLT ACCESSORY FUSE. ALL OTHER AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURES PROVIDE FUSE ASSIGNMENT DIAGRAMS EITHER IN THEIR OWNER'S MANUALS OR, MORE TYPICALLY, ON THE BACK OF THE FUSE COMPARTMENT COVERS. THIS ENABLES THE OWNER TO QUICKLY IDENTIFY THE CORRECT FUSE, PULL AND INSPECT IT, AND REPLACE IT WITH A NEW FUSE. I CONTACTED VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA'S CORPORATE OFFICE AND SPOKE WITH A SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CEO WHO WAS UNWILLING TO GIVE ME ANY EXPLANATION WHATSOEVER WHY VW REFUSES TO PROVIDE THIS IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION. VW'S ADVICE IS TO "SHINE A FLASHLIGHT ON THE END OF THE FLAT FUSE AND TRY TO DETERMINE WHICH ONE IS BLOWN." IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IDENTIFY A BLOWN FUSE IN THIS MANNER. SINCE THIS REPRESENTS A VERY REAL POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD TO EACH AND EVERY VW OWNER WHO NEEDS TO REPLACE A FUSE, NHTSA SHOULD IMMEDIATELY ISSUE A RECALL ON ALL VW MODELS, GOING BACK TO THE DATE VW INSTITUTED THIS ILL-ADVISED POLICY. NHTSA SHOULD REQUIRE THE COMPANY TO PLACE FUSE ASSIGNMENT DIAGRAMS ON THE INTERIOR OF THE FUSE BOXES. THIS WILL IMMEDIATELY AND COMPLETELY CORRECT THIS SAFETY DEFECT.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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