RoadVitals

2017 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack Electrical Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Electrical reportsComplaints 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.
14
Latest Jun 10, 2026
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
19%
of 72 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
0
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2017 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 14 reports on file name it.

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

Owner reports naming electrical

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Electrical
Filed Jun 10, 2026

Car battery spontaneously exploded when trying to start the car.

NHTSA ID
11743364
Incident
Jun 10, 2026
Electrical
Filed Dec 9, 2025

Infotainment system is restarting itself repeatedly every 30 seconds to every few minutes.This has been going on for about 2 weeks. The component has not yet been inspected by a 3rd party.

NHTSA ID
11704039
Incident
Nov 27, 2025
ElectricalEngineFuel system
Filed Jan 13, 2025

I've been experiencing a recurring issue with my vehicle where the EPC light frequently activates. When this happens, the car significantly reduces its speed, making it difficult to drive safely. I've noticed this situation over the past six to eight months, and it typically requires me to pull over. After turning off the vehicle multiple times, I'm usually able to reset it and drive normally again. I'm seeking advice on how to address this problem effectively.

NHTSA ID
11635575
Incident
Apr 12, 2024
AirbagsDriver assistanceElectrical
Filed Jan 29, 2023

This is the second time since November 2022 that our clock spring has failed. While it's broken the driver has no airbag, horn, or usability of controls on steering wheel. This is a huge saftey concern especially driving in winter conditions.

NHTSA ID
11504304
Incident
Jan 29, 2023
Electrical
Filed Sep 12, 2022

Passenger window (front) and locks not working. Suddenly stopped working on my low mileage car. The wire harness had to be replaced. Similar recall for the VW Atlas that would also effect the airbag because of corroded wire contacts. Brought to VW dealer and they determined (after 2 weeks) the wire harness had to be replaced. Not functioning doors and locks and possible airbags are a huge safety issue.

NHTSA ID
11483955
Incident
Aug 29, 2022
AirbagsDriver assistanceElectrical
Filed Jun 5, 2022

Bought the car from autonation in October 2021 and had condensation wet dog smell. Car was garaged until 4/2022 at which time I noticed headliner stains and water coming into wheel well, called dealer was advised to check drain tubes. I cannot. More rain more issues. Care warning lights all came on including airbag. Car has 38150 miles. VW refusing to cover under recall. Wants me to file insurance claim. Dealer did not acknowledge mold headliner issues until I called back after picking up the car. PANORAMIC SUNROOF LEAKS. HEADLINER I AND CARPET IS BADLY STAINED WITH VISIBLE MOLD GROWTH. PILLAR STAINING AS WELL. WATER LEAKS FROM DOME LIGHT AND SUNROOF CONTROL BUTTONS. WATER ALSO LEAKS INTO FOOT WELL. TAKEN TO TWO DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP WHO HAVE SAID THAT IT IS LIKELY THE SUNROOF DRAINS ARE BLOCKED BY DEBRIS AND REPAIR WOULD NOT BE COVERED BY WARRANTY. THERE IS NO WAY FOR THE CONSUMER TO ACCESS THE SUNROOF DRAINS TO KEEP THEM CLEAR, PARTICULARLY THE REAR DRAINS, WHICH ENTAILS DISMANTLING PART OF THE CAR. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH MANY REPORTED COMPLAINTS BY OWNERS WITH A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN BEING ISSUED. PLEASE ENCOURAGE AN INVESTIGATION

NHTSA ID
11467619
Incident
May 6, 2022
Electrical
Filed Sep 1, 2020

THE MOON ROOF HAS BEEN LEAKING WATER THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THE RADIO BACK UP CAMERA NAVIGATION SYSTEM HAVE NOT BEEN WORKING THERE'S WATER THAT CAME ALL IN THROUGH THE FRONT BY THE WINDSHIELD THE TWO PILLARS AND NOW IT'S HAPPENING IN THE BACK IT WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY

NHTSA ID
11352458
Incident
Apr 10, 2018
Mileage
13,236 mi
Body & structureElectrical
Filed Jul 15, 2020

ON OR ABOUT 6.13.2019, MY 2017 VW GOLF ALLTRACK SE LEAKED WATER THROUGH THE LIGHT IN THE ROOF, BEHIND THE VISOR (DRIVER'S SIDE) WHILE STATIONARY. EACH TIME THE HEADLINER WAS STAINED, WATER SAT IN THE LIGHT AND IT LEAKED ALL OVER MY LAP. AS OF 6.11.2020, IT IS STILL LEAKING. THIS APPEARS TO BE A KNOWN ISSUE AND A CLASS ACTION SUIT IS PENDING. VW CLAIMS THIS IS A REPAIR DEFECT, NOT A MANUFACTURE DEFECT AND ONLY OFFERS TO COVER 75% OF A $12K REPAIR ON A VEHICLE THAT HAS 34K MILES, BEEN MOSTLY GARAGE KEPT OR COVERED AND ALL MAINTENANCE COMPLETED ONLY AT VW DEALERSHIPS. I HAVE FILED SEVERAL COMPLAINTS WITH VW. THEY STATE THAT SINCE VEHICLE IS OUTSIDE OF 3 YEAR WARRANTY (3YR/36K MI), THEY ARE OFFERING GOODWILL. I DO NOT FEEL IT IS FAIR OR RIGHT TO HAVE TO SPEND EVEN $1 TO REPAIR A KNOWN STRUCTURAL DEFECT RELATED TO THE SPOT WELDS AND SUNROOF, WHICH WERE LIKELY THE CAUSE OF EACH AND EVERY LEAK THAT THE CAR HAS EXPERIENCED. ADDITIONALLY, THE CAR LIKES TO SUDDENLY ATTEMPT TO ACTIVATE THE COLLISION WARNINGS FOR NO REASON - AFTER FURTHER RESEARCH, THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AS WELL, POSSIBLY RELATED TO WATER DAMAGE. VW OF AMERICA REFUSES TO TAKE ANY ACTION BEYOND THEIR OFFER OF 75% COVERAGE OF COSTS AS GOODWILL ON A CAR THAT WASN'T BUILT RIGHT TO BEGIN WITH AND FRANKLY, IS A RISK TO THE SAFETY OF MY TWO CHILDREN, 4 & 2, AS A SPOT WELD IN THE SUNROOF IS SURELY A SIGN THAT IT'S LIKELY NOT THE ONLY STRUCTURAL DEFECT OR FAILURE OF THE VEHICLE. THIS IS MY 4TH VW AND CLEARLY WILL BE MY LAST.

NHTSA ID
11339536
Incident
Jun 13, 2019
Mileage
34,000 mi
AirbagsElectrical
Filed Mar 9, 2020

I WAS BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY AND I FELT SOME SORT OF STRINGY-LIKE METALLIC RESISTANCE AS I TURNED MY STEERING WHEEL (SIMILAR TO A RUBBERBAND HELD TAUT AND BEING PLUCKED). APPROXIMATELY 5 MINUTES LATER, AN AIRBAG AND A TRANSMISSION WARNING APPEARED AND MY HORN AND ALL BUTTONS ON MY STEERING WHEEL STOPPED WORKING. I WAS AT 50,0170+ MILES WHEN THIS OCCURRED. MY VEHICLE IS NOT UNDER RECALL, EVEN THOUGH 400,000 + OTHER VWS HAD THE SAME RECALL...

NHTSA ID
11317038
Incident
Mar 9, 2020
Mileage
50,175 mi
ElectricalVisibility
Filed Dec 31, 2019

PURCHASED A USED 2017 VW ALLTRACK APRIL 2 YEARS AGO. PRESENTLY HAS ~30K MILES. CHRISTMAS DAY THIS YEAR, 4 WARNING LIGHTS APPEARED LIT-UP IN THE CONSOLE-AIR-BAG, TIRE PRESSURE, ABS AND TRACTION CONTROL. TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE IT WAS PURCHASED, AND ADVISED THAT WATER-INTRUSION OCCURRED DUE TO BLOCKED SUN-ROOF DRAINS [WHICH ARE NOT IMMEDIATELY ACCESSIBLE. ADVISED THAT IT WAS NOT CONSIDERED STANDARD MAINTENANCE AND AN EXPENSIVE REPAIR. ALSO REPAIRED WERE CORRODED WIRING CONNECTORS AND CORRODED WIRES! DEALER ADVISED THAT ONCE CORRECTED 'IT SHOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM AGAIN' WHICH WE DON'T TRUST OR BELIEVE. RESEARCH INDICATES THAT THIS IS A WELL-KNOWN AND WELL-DOCUMENTED PROBLEM. WE ARE VERY FRUSTRATED AND CONCERNED THIS PROBLEM WILL BE CONTINUOUSLY OCCURRING. RUST NEVER SLEEPS

NHTSA ID
11292290
Incident
Dec 25, 2019
Mileage
30,798 mi
AirbagsElectrical
Filed Dec 24, 2019

THIS CAR HAS A WELL KNOWN PANORAMIC SUNROOF LEAK THAT CAUSES EXCESS WATER TO ENTER INTERIOR OF VEHICLE AND SOAK BOTH FRONT AND REAR ELECTRONICS. MY VEHICLE HAS THIS PROBLEM CAUSED BY RECENT HEAVY RAINS. CAR IS USED TO TRANSPORT CHILDREN AND AM WORRIED ABOUT MOLD ABOUT FRONT AIR BAGS BEING WATER DAMAGED.

NHTSA ID
11291139
Incident
Dec 16, 2019
Mileage
45,000 mi
AirbagsElectricalVisibility
Filed Mar 14, 2019

PANORAMIC SUNROOF LEAKS AFTER 40+ DAYS AND COUNTING OF REPAIR AT VW DEALERSHIP UNDER WARRANTY. DEALER CAN'T SEEM TO FIND ROOT CAUSE OR NOT CAPABLE OF FINDING MULTIPLE PROBLEMS, OR MAYBE DO NOT WANT TO FIND ROOT CAUSE. WATER LEAKS INTO CAR AFTER RAIN/SNOW LIMITS VISIBILITY ON WINDSHIELD, ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS ARISE FROM SPEAKERS, DOOR LOCKS AND POWER WINDOWS NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. LOCATION OF SUNROOF LEAK IS ALSO NEXT TO SIDE AIRBAGS AND ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS PROBABLY CAUSING PREMATURE DETERIORATION.

NHTSA ID
11186850
Incident
Nov 7, 2018
Mileage
4,000 mi
AirbagsElectrical
Filed Feb 10, 2019

MY PANORAMIC SUNROOF HAS HAD AN ISSUE WITH WATER INTRUSION. DECEMBER OF 2017 I TOOK THE CAR INTO VW OF POHANKA, MARYLAN. THEY REPLACED THE HEADLINER, DRAINAGE TUBES, AND SMOOTHED OUT THE WELDS TO TRY AND FIX THE PROBLEM. I NOTICED THAT THE LEAK IS BACK WITH WATER STAINS ON THE A-PILLAR AND OVERHEAD. THE PROBLEM IS WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE THE WATER HAD LEAKED INTO. WE ARE AFRAID THAT THE WATER INTRUSION MAY CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS DOWN THE ROAD AND DO NOT WANT ANY ELECTRICAL ISSUES DUE TO THE WATER LEAK. OUR MAIN CONCERN IS THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIRBAGS LOCATED ON THE B-PILLAR AND THE POSSIBLE HEALTH ISSUES OF MOLD AND RUST. THE PROBLEM PERSISTS DURING THE RAIN SEASON.

NHTSA ID
11175989
Incident
Feb 10, 2019
Mileage
8,000 mi
ElectricalVisibility
Filed Jun 12, 2018

THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY. FOLLOWING RAIN, WATER LEAKED INTO THE CAR FROM THE PANORAMIC ROOF AT THE A-, B-, AND C-PILLARS AND REAR HATCH ON BOTH THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDES OF THE CAR. WATER DRIPPED FROM THE DASH ONTO THE FRONT FOOT WELLS. WATER ENTERING THE PILLARS COULD COME INTO CONTACT WITH PILLAR-MOUNTED AIRBAGS AND WITH ELECTRICAL CONTROLS AND SYSTEMS MOUNTED IN THE DASH.

NHTSA ID
11101498
Incident
May 25, 2018
Mileage
2,200 mi

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.

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Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .