2019 Volkswagen Golf Complaints

SUSPENSION,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING — Filed 08/29/2026

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.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 12/19/2025

The transmission lurches and studders at stops with roughly 60K miles on it. The dealer believes it to be the mechatronic unit. I am put at risk because the car begins to move, stops, and then begins again moving. Cars behind me may believe I am accelerating from a stop and rear end me. There are no warning lamps, messages, or anything whatsoever, the issue generates no codes for dealer techs to diagnose.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 07/30/2025

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.

AIR BAGS — Filed 04/10/2025

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.

POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 11/26/2024

When I take my foot off the brake to accelerate, the car jerks backward and shudders. It feels as though it’s about to stall. When pressing the gas pedal, the car also has delayed acceleration. Both of these issues create dangerous driving conditions. The car hesitates when accelerating from a stopped position, nearly causing me to be rear-ended at traffic lights on multiple occasions. I’ve also experienced a couple of close calls while making right turns on red, as the car hesitates and won’t accelerate immediately. I feel unsafe driving the vehicle. Have had the car to one independent mechanic, the sister dealership of where it was purchased from, and two VW dealerships. They have acknowledged an issue as they have replaced the motor mounts and mounting plate. It did not resolve the issue. The car does operate as designed. There are no fault codes or engine lights so they have advised me to continue driving until it gets worse. It is unsafe to drive since there is an issue with accelerating. The service team at Mossy VW replicated the backward jerking motion during a test drive and confirmed that the vehicle is exhibiting a delayed throttle response. While the mechanic submitted a Volkswagen Technical Assistance (VTA) request, he reiterated that no repairs could be performed without a fault code.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 08/17/2024

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!

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 05/06/2024

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.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 04/24/2024

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.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 04/05/2024

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!

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 08/27/2023

I was making my final trip of my move from Minneapolis to the Denver area and was on [XXX] traveling West in the right lane. The truck ahead was moving from the right lane to the left to give room to a car stopped on the right shoulder. There was another car in the left lane so I couldn’t move to the left. The truck was soon blocking much of the left lane so the car in the left lane was slowing as I slowed. I then applied my brakes and the pedal went all the way to the floor without actuating the brakes! Fortunately, by then there was room between the truck and the car on the shoulder and I was able to miss both as I sailed by. Pumping the brake pedal restored the brake function. Thinking that I must be low on brake fluid, I pulled off the highway at the next large service station. The brake fluid reservoir was full. I continued to my new home and at my first opportunity I went to the nearest VW dealership and left it for several days to be checked. No error codes so they did nothing. VW customer service arranged for another dealership to check it out. No error codes and not able to reproduce the problem so they did nothing. About a month later I was one a trip on a very hilly rout. Costing down a steep section I applied the brakes as I started to be more than 10 mph over the speed limit. The pedal went about 80% to the floor! But there was braking this time. Pumping the pedal restored normal brake function. VW customer serviced had arranged for yet one more dealership to look at the car. Again, not surprisingly, they couldn’t reproduce the problem and no error codes so they did nothing. I consider this to be a significant safety problem. As VW would not fix the problem, even as the car is still under warranty, I replaced the master cylinder at my own expense and have taken the car on a 2500 mile trip with no sign of the braking problem I have more confidence in the car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 12/29/2023

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.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 09/26/2023

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.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 09/19/2023

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.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 09/21/2023

Several times now, my 2019 VW Golf Alltrack S while driving has flashed a warning saying "ignition switched off" and then "check starter system". I can still apply the brakes, steer, and accelerate, but various electrical systems stopped working, including the speedometer. I've brought it to a VW dealer, but they said they couldn't find an issue. Several places online say that this is an ignition switch issue and that it was fixed once they replaced the ignition switch.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 04/01/2021

* "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

VISIBILITY,AIR BAGS — Filed 07/14/2023

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.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 08/16/2023

While driving, all vehicle gauges and HVAC suddenly stopped working. Car beeped, and screen said "pull over safely" (or something like that), and then said "Check starter system". Turned car off, and then eventually it turned back on. Same thing happened again, but I was able to continue driving (engine kept running), with no HVAC, no speedometer, no tachometer, nothing. I don't know if turn signals or exterior lights were working.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 06/01/2023

After being in hot sunlight all day(95+ degrees), car started and about three minutes into drive the engine and all electronics died while going approximately 15mph, warning display flashed up on center lcd display that ignition was off, please pull over, and then to check the starter. The power steering turned off so I had very limited steering. The car would not restart, took about 5 minutes of waiting and had to remove the key and reinsert it before it would start again. I was only going 15mph on an empty residential road, so no damage, but if it happened on a busy highway it might have resulted in a crash. Dealer could not reproduce the fail, but read codes that showed the ignition switch was faulty, and they replaced that. The car was at the dealership to look at another issue(the blind spot monitor lights not turning off), and I picked it up from the dealership minutes before this ignition switch issue occurred. They found no issues or error codes with the blind spot monitoring or any other electrical system, the ignition switch issue only occurred after the car was sitting outside in direct sunlight for 5 hours. I believe the heat was the issue, I have found multiple online forum posts where owners of 2019 VWs of different models have the same issue on hot days.

VISIBILITY/WIPER — Filed 05/07/2023

Windshield cracked while it was parked. Four people were in the car on a trip from Reno to San Francisco. No one heard or saw anything hit the windshield before they stopped for breakfast. When they came back to the car they found that the windshield had a crack about 12 inches long. There was no sign of a stone or other object that might have caused the crack. there was no chip in the glass either.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,VISIBILITY/WIPER — Filed 07/05/2023

On July 5, 2023 the electronics in our 2019 VW Golf Alltrack S, stopped working, while that car was been driven on a highway. The following was no longer operational, (while the car was still in motion): gauges such as speedometer, tachometer, fuel indicator and engine temperature; controls such as turn signals, wipers, dashboard and car indicator lights, also the infotainment system, used at that time for driving directions, was no longer operating. The car engine was still running; however, safely pulling to the side of the road was hardly possible, as the turn signals and lights no longer worked. After the car was stopped and the engine was turned off and on few times, the above-listed electronics started working again. Prior to this incident, the car has been driven daily and has not been parked for an extended period of time; it also has been serviced in accordance with the manufacturer requirements. A few weeks prior to this incident, the car was serviced / inspected by an authorized VW dealer. The same dealer examined the car, next day after the incident, and determined that a faulty ignition was the cause of the issues. Replacing that part (under warranty) required few days, as an incorrect part was ordered by the dealer. The loss of key controls and gauges mentioned above, and required for a safe vehicle operation, created a dangerous situation, which should be investigated, in order to determine if design issues exist and require further actions, to prevent such incidents.

ENGINE — Filed 05/05/2023

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

SEATS,LANE DEPARTURE — Filed 10/15/2022

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.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 11/27/2021

The plastic button for the hand brake/ parking brake pops out of the handle which then causes the brake to release. VW has replaced the part under warranty 2 times since I purchased the vehicle. In my case the second time it happened the car popped out of gear and struck 2 cars across the street from my driveway. Dealer states its a common issue. But Volkswagen has done nothing to correct the issue other than replacing the hand brake repeatedly on the cars. It's a major safety issue in my opinion. And I feel they need to come up with a permanent solution rather than replacing with a new faulty part. I have since sold the car back to the dealer as I don't trust that the hand brake on the car won't fail again.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 06/29/2020

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

ENGINE — Filed 05/06/2019

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WHILE STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO HARPER VOLKSWAGEN LOCATED AT 9901 KINGSTON PIKE, KNOXVILLE, TN 37922, (865) 691-0393, TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO RETRIEVE A FAULT CODE OR TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ON THE FIFTH OCCASION OF HAVING THE VEHICLE TAKEN TO THE DEALER, THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD SHIFTED TO ECONOMY MODE WHICH CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO SHUT OFF. ON ONE OCCASION, THE VEHICLE WAS STRUCK IN THE REAR BY ANOTHER VEHICLE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE OFF FROM A TRAFFIC LIGHT. THERE WAS NO INJURY SUSTAINED IN THE REAR END COLLISION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SERVICE TECH CALLED THE MANUFACTURER TO INFORM THEM OF THE FAILURE WITH THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER'S RESPONSE WAS STILL PENDING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,604.