2013 Volkswagen GOLF: complaints, problems and recalls

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 5 MILES PER HOUR AND MY CAR STARTED LOSING POWER......LIKE IT HAD A CLOGGED FUEL FILTER. BRAND NEW 2 WEEKS OLD I THOUGHT NOT POSSIBLE. I TRIED TO SAFELY GET IT TO THE LEFT LANE DODGING TRAFFIC WITH MY SLOW MOVING CAR. IT WENT TO 20 MPH AND IT DID NOT COMPLETELY STOP BUT REFUSED TO GO FASTER THEN 20 MPH. GOT HOME WITH IT LET IT SIT HALF AN HOUR. STARTED RIGHT UP AND RAN FIND. DEALER CHECKED HPFP DISINTEGRATED INSIDE ITSELF SENDING METAL SHAVINGS THROUGH OUT. COMPLETE FUEL SYSTEM REPLACED.....NICE FOR A 2013 BRAND …

Owner-reported narrative. 4,500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10475371 at NHTSA ↗

BRAND NEW CAR DRIVES SOMEWHAT ERRATIC. TOOK THE CAR TO DEALER FOR ALIGNMENT CHECK. WAS ADVISED BY DEALER THAT CAR IS DELIVERED WITH SUSPENSION ADJUSTED OUTSIDE OF MANUFACTURERS SPECIFICATIONS. NO REASON GIVEN WHY. I CONSIDER CAR UNSAFE AS IT DOESN'T DRIVE AS EXPECTED. CHECKING SOME OWNER WEBSITES, THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10489472 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 48 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL COLLAPSED, CAUSING THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO THE MEDIAN. THE CONTACT DID NOT SUSTAIN ANY INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,500.

Owner-reported narrative. 2,500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10532475 at NHTSA ↗

AFTER EXITING THE FREEWAY, I WAS DRIVING IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC AND THE ENGINE CUT OUT WITHOUT WARNING. I WAS UNABLE TO CHANGE LANES DUE TO LACK OF POWER AND POWER STEERING, SO I TRIED TO RE-START THE ENGINE WHILE COASTING IN THE FAST LANE. THE HUD INDICATED THAT I HAD TO PUT THE CAR IN PARK, SO I STOPPED THE CAR IN THE FAST LANE IN ORDER TO DO SO. THE ENGINE STARTED AND I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE AWAY. THE CAR WAS 6 WEEKS OLD AT THE TIME, AND HAD ABOUT 1100 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 1,150 miles reported. Look up ODI 10534805 at NHTSA ↗

ON JULY 16TH, 2013, AT 9:10 PM, I HAD DRIVEN, MY VW GOLF, 11 MILES, AT FREEWAY SPEEDS, OF 59 MPH. I WAS USING THE CRUISE CONTROL. UPON ARRIVING, AT MY FREEWAY EXIT, I BELIEVE I TURNED OFF THE CRUISE CONTROL, OR TAPPED THE BRAKE. I DON'T RECALL WHICH. I HAD BEEN DRIVING MY 2013 GOLF, FOR 11 MILES, AT THE FREEWAY SPEEDS, OF 59 MPH. OTHER VEHICLES WERE PASSING ME, WITH THESE OTHER VEHICLES GOING FASTER, THAN MY CAR. I WAS GOING SLOWER THAN THEM. MY CAR WAS NEW, AND I AM RETIRED. SO I DO NOT NEED TO TRAVEL SO FAST. AFTER ALLOWING THE 2013 VW GOLF…

Owner-reported narrative. 2,554 miles reported. Look up ODI 10536973 at NHTSA ↗

WHEN I TURNED THE KEY TO START THE CAR , THE DASH LIGHTS FLICKERED AND TURNED DIM. IT SOUNDED LIKE IT DOES WHEN THE CAR BATTERY WAS DEAD BUT SMOKE STARTED TO COME OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD. AS I LEFT TO GET TO THE PHONE , FLAMES STARTED TO COME OUT OF THE HOOD. I GOT TO A PHONE AS SOON AS I COULD AND CALLED 911. THE CAR WAS PARKED DOWN THE STREET FROM OUR HOUSE BECAUSE OF A SNOW STORM. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CAME AND PUT OUT THE FIRE BUT THE CAR WAS DESTROYED. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 11,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10564035 at NHTSA ↗

OUR VW GOLF CAME WITH CONTINENTAL CONTIPRO CONTACT TIRES. WITH LESS THAN 9300 MILES ON THE CAR, WE HAD A CATASTROPHIC TIRE FAILURE. AS WE ENTERED THE FREEWAY ON RAMP, OUR TIRE INDICATOR LIT UP TELLING US TO CHECK THE TIRES. LESS THAN THREE MINUTES LATER, IN A HIGH SPEED ZONE LIMITED TO ONE LANE BECAUSE OF CONSTRUCTION, WITH NO SHOULDER, OUR FRONT DRIVERS SIDE TIRE COMPLETELY SEPARATED, LEAVING US WITH LIMITED CONTROL OVER THE CAR AND FEW OPTIONS TO AVOID A CRASH THAT POTENTIALLY COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A HUGE PILE UP AND FATALITIES. CHECKING…

Owner-reported narrative. 9,230 miles reported. Look up ODI 10626286 at NHTSA ↗

I WAS ENTERING THE FREEWAY AND ACCELERATING WHEN I REALIZED THAT MY CAR WOULDN'T GO FASTER THAN 40MPH. I PULLED THE CAR OVER AT THE NEXT EXIT AND THE CAR WOULD NO LONGER ACCELERATE. IT WOULD NOT LET ME GO PAST THE SLOWEST SPEED THAT I HAD REACHED WHILE EXITING. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND IT WOULD NO LONGER START. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE NEAREST VW DEALERSHIP WHERE IT TOOK NEARLY A WEEK TO GET THE CAR FIXED. THERE WERE METAL SHAVINGS IN THE FUEL LINES; THE FUEL PUMP AND ALL LINES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I HAD MY CAR FOR LESS THAN A YEAR AT THE T…

Owner-reported narrative. 14,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10627303 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2015-08-04 (August 4, 2015)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Volkswagen CC, and Passat, 2010-2013 Eos, 2011-2014 Golf, GTI, Jetta, and Tiguan, and 2012-2014 Jetta Sportwagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, debris may contaminate the air bag clock spring, a spiral wound, flat cable that keeps the air bag powered while the steering wheel is being turned. This contamination may tear the cable and result in a loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag.

Consequence: A loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag will prevent the air bag from deploying in the event of a vehicle crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install a protective cover over the steering wheel clock spring if the air bag light is off. If the airbag light is on and the steering wheel clock spring requires replacement, dealers will install a new steering wheel clock spring. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on January 15, 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987.

Reported: 2016-02-10 (February 10, 2016)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Golf, 2007-2010 Passat sedans and wagon, 2012-2014 Passat sedan and Eos, 2009-2014 CC, 2009-2012 Audi Q5, 2010-2012 S5 Cabriolet and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflators, free of charge. Volkswagen issued an interim notification to owners on April 12, 2016, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Volkswagen will notify owners again once parts are available. Volkswagen owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.

Reported: 2018-03-06 (March 6, 2018)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Volkswagen CC, 2010-2014 Golf, 2010-2014 Eos, 2007-2010 Passat Sedan and Wagon, and 2012-2014 Passat vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to explode.

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could explode with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternative inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 16, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69Q9. Note: This recall partially supersedes recall 16V-078.

Reported: 2018-05-16 (May 16, 2018)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Eos, 2012 Passat, 2012-2016 CC, 2015-2016 e-Golf, 2011-2015 Touareg, 2012-2015 and 2017 Tiguan, and 2011-2016 Golf and 2011-2013 GTI vehicles. Modifications made while the vehicles were in an internal evaluation period may cause the affected vehicles to not comply with all of the applicable regulatory requirements.

Consequence: If the vehicles do not meet all regulatory requirements, there could be an increased risk of a crash, fire, or injury.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles to make them fully compliant or Volkswagen will repurchase them if necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.

Reported: 2019-12-04 (December 4, 2019)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2015 Passat, 2011-2014 Golf A6, and 2011-2013 Audi A3 diesel vehicles, thought to have been previously repaired under one of the Takata air bag recalls. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's side air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began December 20, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69R6, 69Q8, 69Q9, and 69Y5.