RoadVitals

2009 Volkswagen Gli

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
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Latest Feb 2, 2017
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
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InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
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Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
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Overview

Our database contains 8 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2009 Volkswagen Gli, most frequently naming the brakes, driver assistance and electrical categories. 6 manufacturer communications are on file.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Brakes736.8%
  • Driver assistance631.6%
  • Electrical421.1%
  • Powertrain (other)15.3%
  • Steering15.3%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

No recalls in our database for this model year

That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

BrakesDriver assistancePowertrain (other)
Filed Feb 2, 2017

I WAS DRIVING MY CAR ON A CITY STREET AND HAD TO BRAKE HARD TO AVOID ANOTHER VEHICLE. WHEN I DID MY TIRES LOCKED UP AND I ALMOST LOST CONTROL OF MY CAR. THE "ABS", "TRACTION CONTROL", AND "BRAKE" LIGHTS ALL CAME ON. I REALIZED THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A ABS SYSTEM FAILURE SO I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND THEN BACK ON. THE SYSTEM RESET ITSELF AND I DROVE HOME. ON MONDAY (1/30/17) I TURNED MY CAR ON AND THE SYSTEM HAD FAILED. THE LIGHTS WERE ON THE DASH CLUSTER. MY ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING WAS NO FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY. THE TRANSMISSION WOULD STOP SHIFTING AND DROP BACK INTO FIRST GEAR ONLY. THE SPEEDOMETER AND FUEL GAUGES WERE MOVING ON THE OWN AND NOT INLINE WITH MY CURRENT SPEED OR FUEL LEVEL. *TR

NHTSA ID
10948989
Incident
Jan 30, 2017
Mileage
82,000 mi
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Sep 18, 2016

HERE IS ANOTHER DYSFUNCTION OF THE ABS MODULE FAILURE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED UNEXPECTEDLY ON THE DAY WHEN I WAS ON MY WAY TO WORK. IT BROKE DOWN THE FIRST TIME AS I CAME TO A STOP, AND ABOUT TO WENT ON THE HIGHWAY. ALL THE DASH LIGHT CAME ON WITH TERRIFYING NONSTOP BEEPING AND THE CAR STALLED WHEN I TRIED TO ACCELERATE TO MOVE THE CAR TO A SAFER SPOT. WHEN THE FIRST BREAK-DOWN HAPPENED, I WAS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF HIGHWAY, AND LOST CONTROL OF THE STEERING WHEEL AS I TRIED TO MOVE. THE LIGHTS WENT AWAY AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES WHILE I WAS STRUCK ON THE TURNABOUT, SO I CONTINUED TO DRIVE, AFTER ANOTHER 10 MINUTES (2 MILES), ALL THE LIGHTS AND BEEPING CAME BACK WITH A WARNING SIGN. AT THIS MOMENT, I WAS AGAIN, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY, AND NEEDED TO MERGE TO OUTSIDE LANE TO PULLOVER. FINALLY, I PULLED-OVER THE CAR, A VERY BAD SPOT WHICH WAS VERY CLOSE TO THE MAIN HIGHWAY TRAFFIC IN A RAINY DAY, I WAS STUCK AGAIN, STRANDED BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO STEP OUT OF THE CAR AND GOT RAN OVER BY THE TRAFFIC. I WAS STUCK THERE AGAIN FOR ANOTHER 1-1.5 HOURS, CALLING FOR ROAD-SIDE ASSISTANCE. AFTER CHECKING ONLINE, THIS ABS FAILURE IS VERY COMMON FOR ALL THE GLI/GTI, WITH VERY LOW MILEAGE. CALLED THE VW COMPANY AND REQUESTED THEM TO COVER THE REPAIR FEE ($2500), BUT WITH NO POSITIVE RESULT. VW NEEDS TO FIX THIS PROBLEM IN A PROMPTLY TIME MANNERS BEFORE ANYONE GETS HURT OR KILLED ON THE ROAD. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS PROBLEM, AND REQUEST THE COMPANY TO MAKE OFFICIAL RECALL OR EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THIS ABS MODULE. THE CUSTOMER WHO ALREADY PAID FOR THE REPAIR SHOULD ALSO GET FULL REFUND FROM THE COST. THIS IS LIFE-DEATH ISSUE CAUSED BY THE ABS MODULE FAILURE OF VW, AND TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS TO GO THROUGH.

NHTSA ID
10907462
Incident
Sep 6, 2016
Mileage
55,000 mi
BrakesElectrical
Filed Sep 13, 2016

ABS MODULE FAILED UNEXPECTEDLY CAUSING DASH LIGHTS TO COME ON AND TOTALLY DISABLED THE ABS SYSTEM. IT FIRST STARTED HAPPENING WHILE DRIVING, AND ABS REMAINED DISABLED UNTIL MODULE WAS FIXED AND REPLACED INDEPENDENTLY. VWOA WOULD NOT COVER FAILURE OF THE PART.

NHTSA ID
10905967
Incident
Apr 15, 2016
Mileage
87,000 mi
BrakesDriver assistanceElectrical
Filed Jul 26, 2016

ABS MODULE FAILURE CAUSING CAR TO RANDOMLY LOCK BRAKES DURING CORNERING/ABS ACTIVATION EVENTS. THIS ORIGINALLY OCCURRED WHEN ROADS WERE SLIPPERY IN WINTER 2014 (60K ON VEHICLE), CONTINUES TO GROW WORSE TO WHERE IT NOW HAPPENS DURING LONG SLOW CORNERS (HIGHWAY OVERPASSES). REPAIR FROM DEALERSHIP COSTS $2300 (10% OF THE PRICE OF NEW MSRP), VWOA REFUSES TO ASSIST WITH REPAIR EVEN THOUGH THIS IS A WELL DOCUMENTED SAFETY ISSUE THAT OCCURS ON ALL 2009 VW GOLF/JETTA VARIANTS. I HAVE HAD 3 EVENTS WITH COMPLETE LOSS OF TRACTION, AND UNCOUNTED PARTIAL LOSS EVENTS. I HAD AN INDEPENDENT DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSE, AND THE ISSUE WAS CONFIRMED AS THE COMMON FAILURE. ...UPDATED 08/30/16 *BF

NHTSA ID
10888797
Incident
Jul 4, 2016
Mileage
89,000 mi
BrakesDriver assistanceElectrical
Filed Jul 8, 2016

YET ANOTHER ABS MODULE FAILURE. CLEARLY A DESIGN FLAW ON THE PART OF VW. THE ENTIRE DASH CLUSTER HAS MALFUNCTIONED. LOUD BEEPS ON STARTUP. ABS LIGHT. BRAKE LIGHT, STABILITY CONTROL LIGHT...ALL LIT UP LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE. ENGINE FAULT - WORKSHOP WARNING. SPEEDOMETER DOESN'T WORK! FUEL GAUGE WILDLY FLUCTUATES. LOW FUEL WARNING STAYS LIT EVEN WITH A FULL TANK. TRIP COMPUTER DOES NOT WORK. OTHER ELECTRICAL FAULTS AS WELL PROBABLY RELATED TO THE SPEEDOMETER MALFUNCTION. THE CAR'S ELECTRONICS THINK IT'S NOT MOVING SO ALL ELECTRONIC FUNCTIONS TIED INTO THE SPEED OF THE CAR ARE COMPROMISED. TRUNK RELEASE MECHANISM STOPPED WORKING. I'M LOOKING AT A $2000 REPAIR ON A CAR WITH ONLY 50,000 MILES!! VW NEEDS TO OWN UP TO THIS MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND PROVIDE A FIX TO ITS CUSTOMERS.

NHTSA ID
10883552
Incident
Jun 1, 2016
Mileage
50,000 mi
Electrical
Filed Dec 21, 2014

MY 2009 GLI HAS THE SAME PROBLEM THE TIGUANS HAD IN THEIR FUSE BOXES THAT LEAD TO THEM BEING RECALLED. THE RIGHT SIDE LIGHTS, MAIN BEAM, REAR LIGHT, TURN SINGLES DO NOT WORK AFTER STARTING THE CAR.

NHTSA ID
10667485
Incident
Dec 18, 2014
Mileage
48,000 mi
BrakesDriver assistanceSteering
Filed Nov 20, 2014

I OWN 2009 VW JETTA THAT HAS RECENTLY DEVELOPED WHAT I FEEL IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. WHILE DRIVING TO WORK 11/12/14 MY ABS ACTIVATED WHILE COMING TO A STOP. WITHIN MOMENTS OF THE ABS ACTIVATION THE DASH EMITTED THREE LOUD BEEPS AND THE ABS, TRACTION AND BRAKE LIGHT ILLUMINATED (BRAKE LIGHT BEGAN BLINKING. THE BRAKE SYSTEM LOCKED MOMENTARILY, SENDING THE CAR INTO A SLIDE. I WAS ABLE TO RECOVER FROM THE SLIDE, HOWEVER THE TRACTION AND ABS WERE DISABLED. I PULLED INTO THE NEXT AVAILABLE PARKING LOT AND RESTARTED THE CAR AT WHICH POINT THE ISSUE APPEARED TO RESOLVE. LATER IN THE DAY WHILE ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE TO LUNCH THE ISSUE OCCURRED AGAIN, NEARLY SENDING ME SLIDING INTO A POLICE CRUISER. AFTER ANOTHER SHUTDOWN THE ISSUE APPEARED TO RESOLVE, BUT THE ISSUE OCCURRED AGAIN WITH DISTURBING REGULARITY. WHENEVER THE ABS WOULD ACTIVATE THE SYSTEM WOULD FAIL AND LOCK THE TIRES. THE VEHICLE WAS THROWING FAULTS 01130 (ABS OPERATION IMPLAUSIBLE SIGNAL) AND 16352 (CONTROL MODULE ELECTRICAL ERROR), WHICH IS INDICATIVE OF A FAILED ABS CONTROL MODULE. AFTER PERUSING THE NHTSA SITE AS WELL AS A FEW ENTHUSIAST FORUMS I FOUND THIS ISSUE WAS NOT UNCOMMON AMONG OWNERS OF THE 2009 MY VOLKSWAGENS. IT ALSO APPEARS THAT VW IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE, AS THERE ARE MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS OF INDIVIDUALS RECEIVING ASSISTANCE TOWARDS THE REPLACEMENT OF THE AFFECTED MODULE, AND A REVISION OF THE COMPONENT WAS RELEASED THAT CORRECTS THE FAILURE. AN ABS CONTROLLER SHOULD NOT BE A MAINTENANCE ITEM, AND THE FAILURE OF THIS SAFETY COMPONENT PLACED MY LIFE AND THE LIFE OF OTHERS AT RISK MULTIPLE TIMES DURING THE COURSE OF MY COMMUTE. I WOULD EXPECT THE BASIC SAFETY SYSTEMS OF WHAT I FEEL IS A WELL DESIGNED AND VALUABLE VEHICLE TO LAST MUCH LONGER THAN 72500 MILES, ESPECIALLY AS I DO NOT DRIVE AGGRESSIVELY OR PARTICIPATE IN TRACK DAYS. (OTHER COMPLAINANTS HAVE STATED THIS OCCURS ANYWHERE BETWEEN 20K-100K MILES. *TR

NHTSA ID
10659755
Incident
Nov 12, 2014
Mileage
72,000 mi
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Oct 9, 2014

EVERY TIME I BRAKE HARD OR GO INTO A LETS SAY DOWN HILL TURN AT MODERATE SPEED MY ABS, TRACTION CONTROL AND BRAKE LIGHTS LIGHT UP THE DASH WITH 3 LONG BEEPS. AFTER THAT ALL SAID COMPONENTS DON'T WORK ANY MORE UNTIL NEXT RESTART. THAT MORNING I GOT THE LIGHTS COME ON IN THE MORNING ON MY WAY TO WORK AND I COULDN'T JUST STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY TO POWER CYCLE MY CAR SO I CONTINUED DRIVING WITH CAUTION. AFTER I MADE AN EXIT FROM THE HIGHWAY I HAD TO MAKE A DOWN HILL SLOW (25-30 MPH) RIGHT TURN (IT JUST STARTED RAINING SO THAT DIDN'T HELP EITHER) AND MY CAR STARTED OVERSTEERING AND MADE A 90 DEGREE SPIN COMING TO A STOP ON THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. IF THERE WERE ANY TRAFFIC COMING FROM OTHER WAY I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE ACCIDENT FOR SURE. VW IS SAYING THAT THEY CAN'T COVER IT UNDER WARRANTY SINCE THE CAR IS OLDER AND THE REPAIR IS LIKE $2,000.00 - THAT'S A LITTLE BIT TOO CRAZY AND SHOULDN'T HAPPEN TO A $27K VEHICLE AFTER 5 YEARS OF OWNING. I SEARCHED THE FORUMS AND FOUND A LOT OF 2009 VW GTI'S AND GLI'S WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AND SOME OF THOSE GUYS WERE INVOLVED IN CAR CRASHES. THIS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED ASAP BEFORE MORE PEOPLE GET INVOLVED IN CAR CRASHES AND GET HURT. I THINK IT'S A BAD BATCH OF ABS CONTROL MODULES THAT THE FACTORY WOULD HAVE TO CORRECT AND REPLACE UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY. *TR

NHTSA ID
10643509
Incident
Oct 22, 2013
Mileage
85,000 mi

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

TT 97-14-02ss1

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Tech Tips Damage to Data Link Connector (DLC) from Aftermarket Devices (Cannot Communicate with Vehicle OBD System)

V531601 2040536

STRUCTURE:BODY:BUMPERS

The document refers to Corrosion being found where the rear bumper cover meets the quarter panel. It discusses how it can happen, and where to find warranty coverage to service the parts

Revised_Oil_Capa

ENGINE; EQUIPMENT; EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL

Job Aid ? VW Engine Oil Capacities (Gasoline, Diesel, Hybrid Engines)

TT 57-10-15

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY

Tech Tips: Vehicles with Immobilizer with Download/Discharge? New Key Will Not Program

TT 90-11-10

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

Tech Tips (Instrument Cluster Production Mode): During PDI, or after installation of a replacement cluster, ?Pro? may be displayed in place of the odometer. The high beam indicator may be flashing in the instrument cluster as well. This indicates the cluster is in Production mode. Production mode is not the same as ?Transport? mode. This document infroms of the difference between Production, and Transport mode.

SB-1-10705

EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL

SUMMARY TO BE PROVIDED ON A FUTURE DATE.

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Volkswagen Gli by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2021210
2009Viewing800
2008100
2007000
2006000
1990110

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.