2019 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF Recalls, Complaints & Safety

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

* "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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

AUTONOMOUS EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK IN EMERGENCY SITUATION - DID NOT DEPLOY IN A REAR-END COLLISION SITUATION.

Crash

ENGINE STALLED WHILE STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD ON NEW CAR. START/STOP FEATURE WAS DISABLED AND I WAS RETURNING HOME. THE ENGINE WAS WARMED UP. THE VEHICLE DISPLAY INFORMED ME TO PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK AND RESTART THE VEHICLE MANUALLY. THIS GTI HAS THE DSG AUTO TRANSMISSION.

ENGINE HESITATE, STUMBLE AND JERK FROM STOP TO THE FIRST 5 GEARS AND MAKE WHINING NOISE. BRAND NEW CAR! SCARY DO DRIVE AND DANGEROUS. HAVE THE CAR FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS, 1,500 MILES.

ENGINE STALLS REPEATEDLY WHILE SLOWING TO A STOP

2019 GTI 6MT STALLS. THE ISSUE PRESENTS ITSELF SLOWING DOWN TO A STOP, WHERE THE ENGINE WILL SOFT STALL AND REQUIRE RESTARTING. THIS HAS HAPPENED WHEN STOPPED AT A LIGHT, AS WELL AS WHEN IN MOTION, COASTING TO A STOP. IT HAS HAPPENED ON THE HIGHWAY, IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, AS WELL AS PARKING IN A PARKING SPOT. THE UNSAFE CONDITION IS WHEN IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, IN RUSH HOUR ON RT 287 (MAJOR HIGHWAY) COASTING TO A STOP, THE ENGINE DIES AND I LOOSE CONTROL OF THE STEERING WHEEL CONTROL AND ACCELERATION. THE START STOP BUTTON NEEDS TO BE PUSHED TO GET THE CAR TO START UP AGAIN. THE CAR IS BRAND NEW AND HAS ROUGHLY 650 MILES ON IT.

THE DRIVER'S SIDE REARVIEW MIRROR DEVELOPED A STRESS CRACK WHICH MAY AFFECT VISIBILITY. THE ISSUE WAS NOT CAUSED BY ROAD DEBRIS. VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON HIGHWAY.

I HAD SOME ENGINE STALL PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE WHEN FIRST PURCHASED. THE ENGINE WOULD CUT OFF QUIETLY WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT AND BEGINNING TO DEPRESS THE CLUTCH WHILE IN NEUTRAL. HAPPENED IN HEAVY TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY AND IN STOP-AND-GO CITY TRAFFIC. I BROUGHT IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY CLAIM TO HAVE RESET THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE. UPON A FEW DAY AFTER RETURN, THE ENGINE CUT OFF WHILE THE CLUTCH WAS DEPRESSED IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF. THE CONTACT PURCHASED THE VEHICLE A FEW DAYS AGO. WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE STALLED TWICE WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT ACTIVATED THE ECO AND NORMAL MODES, BUT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START. THE CONTACT ALSO DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL TO SEE IF THE VEHICLE WOULD START, BUT WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. THE CONTACT HAD TO MANUALLY START THE VEHICLE WITH THE KEY AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE. THE CONTACT CALLED NORM REEVES VOLKSWAGEN SUPERSTORE (20 AUTO CENTER DR, IRVINE, CA 92618, (949) 830-7300) AND WAS INFORMED TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT OR TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 320.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF. WHILE DRIVING IN FIRST AND SECOND GEARS, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STALLED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS AND ALSO OCCURRED WHILE THE TRANSMISSION WAS NOT IN GEAR WITH THE CLUTCH PEDAL DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER, BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 190719047. THE CONTACT INDICATED THAT THE FAILURES WERE RELATED TO NHTSA INVESTIGATION NUMBER: DP19-003. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF. WHILE DRIVING FREQUENTLY AT VARIOUS SPEEDS AND ATTEMPTING TO STOP THE VEHICLE, THE CLUTCH ENGAGED ON ITS OWN. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO LOW COUNTRY VOLKSWAGEN (1001 JOHNNIE DODDS BLVD, MT PLEASANT, SC 29464, (843) 881-8555) WHO STATED THAT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS UNDETERMINED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 800. THE VIN WAS INVALID.

PURCHASED 2019 GTI RABBIT EDITION 6MT. SOON AFTER PURCHASE, VEHICLE BEGAN STALLING UNEXPECTEDLY WHEN COMING TO A STOP WHEN CAR IS IN NEUTRAL. HAS HAPPENED WHEN CLUTCH IS EITHER DEPRESSED OR NOT. SOMETIMES CAR HAS STALLED WHEN FULLY STOPPED. IN THIS CASE THE CAR STARTS IDLING ROUGHLY AND SHUDDERS BEFORE STALLING. CAR STARTS UP AGAIN WITH NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. CALL HAS STALLED 6+ TIMES SINCE PURCHASE. CAR HAS ALSO EXHIBITED EXCESSIVE VIBRATION COMING FROM THE ENGINE SINCE PURCHASE. DEALERS HAVE NOT REALLY BEEN HELPFUL; THEY EITHER DENY THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM OR SAY THAT THE WHEELS/TIRES NEED BALANCING, HOWEVER BALANCING AND REPLACING THE TIRES DID NOT FIX THE ISSUE. I AM POSITIVE THIS IS RELATED TO THE STALLING ISSUES. ALSO, THE GEAR NUMBER INDICATOR SOMETIMES SHOWS THAT THE CAR IS A A DIFFERENT GEAR THAN WHAT IS CURRENTLY SELECTED (I.E., CAR IS IN 4TH BUT GEAR INDICATOR INCORRECTLY SHOWS THE CAR IS IN 2ND). I HAVE SEEN THAT OTHER OWNERS HAVE THESE SAME EXACT ISSUES WHICH MEANS THAT THESE ARE MANUFACTURING DEFECTS IN THE VEHICLE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE THE CAR COULD STALL AT ANYTIME MAKING IT HARDER TO CONTROL OR STOP, ESPECIALLY IN AN EMERGENCY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY AT A STOP SIGN, IT STALLED, SHUT OFF, AND THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED, IT RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION. RIVERSIDE VOLKSWAGEN (8330 INDIANA AVE D, RIVERSIDE, CA 92504, (951) 509-2100) WAS CALLED AND STATED THAT THEY WOULD ATTEMPT TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF. WHILE DRIVING 5-15 MPH, THE VEHICLE SEIZED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT VEERED TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD, MANUALLY RESTARTED THE ENGINE, AND THE VEHICLE RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SUNTRUP VOLKSWAGEN (6000 S LINDBERGH BLVD, ST. LOUIS, MO 63123, (314) 892-8200) TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND THE FAILURE RECURRED MULTIPLE TIMES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 75,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF. WHILE STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MCKENNA VOLKSWAGEN (18711 BEACH BLVD, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA 92648, (888) 355-5733), BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 900.

2019 VW GTI RABBIT EDITION 6SPD MANUAL. INTERMITTENTLY, WHEN APPROACHING A STOP LIGHT OR TRAFFIC STOPPING, THE CAR IN NEUTRAL, OR WITH THE CLUTCH FULLY DEPRESSED, THE ENGINE WILL STALL. THE CAR WILL RESTART. SOMETIMES AFTER THIS HAPPENS, THE CAR WILL HAVE A STRANGE EXHAUST SOUND THAT REMINDS ME OF A CAR THAT IS RUNNING ON NOT ALL OF THE CYLINDERS, OR HAS AN AFTERMARKET CAMSHAFT. IF THE CAR IS SHUT OFF FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME AND THEN RESTARTED, THIS EXHAUST SOUND WILL DISAPPEAR. WHEN THE CAR STALLS, ALL POWER STEERING ASSIST CEASES. THIS STALLING ONLY SEEMS TO HAPPEN WHILE STOPPING AND IS RANDOM. SOME DAYS, IT WILL DO IT 4-5 TIMES IN A 11 MILE TRIP AND SOME DAYS, NOT AT ALL.

I WAS PULLING UP TO A RED LIGHT, CLUTCHED IN, SHIFTED TO NEUTRAL AND NOTICED MY STEERING HAD LOCKED. I RESTARTED THE CAR, IT STUMBLED, AND THEN DIED. RESTARTED AGAIN, IT STUMBLED AND THEN DIED. RESTARTED AGAIN, IT STUMBLED, AND THEN DIED. RESTARTED AGAIN, AND THEN THE LIGHT HAD TURNED SO I GAVE IT THROTTLE TO KEEP IT FROM STALLING AND THEN GOT GOING. ONCE MOVING I DID NOT HAVE ANY DRIVEABILITY ISSUES. IT HAD ABOUT A 1/4 TANK OF 93 OCTANE FUEL AND I HAD JUST DRIVEN A FEW MILES ON SOME CITY BACKROADS. DURING THE STALL THE GAUGE GEAR INDICATOR SHOWED 5>4 WHEN IN NEUTRAL MEANING THE CAR THOUGHT IT WAS IN 5TH GEAR.