RoadVitals

1990 Volkswagen Golf Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints 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.
10
Latest Oct 24, 2002
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.
3
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jul 14, 1995

What this page shows

Our database holds 10 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1990 Volkswagen Golf. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

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

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–10 of 10

Body & structure
Filed Oct 24, 2002
Fire reported

CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING AND WITH NO WARNING THE WIRING IN THE TRUNK CAUGHT ON FIRE AND THE CONSUMER WAS FORCED TO PULL OVER TO EXIT THE VEHICLE. DEALER NOTIFIED TS CONSUMER HAD TURNED ON THE REAR DEFROST FOR THE FIRST TIME. THERE WAS A CRACKING SOUND AND A STREAM OF SMOKE CAME UP FROM THE DRIVERS SIDE REAR HATCH AREA. THE VEHICLE WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED. *JG *JB

NHTSA ID
8021548
Incident
Oct 18, 2002
Mileage
83,000 mi
Electrical
Filed Feb 12, 2001
Fire reported

WHILE DRIVING COULD SEE A LIGHT BURNING ON FLOOR OF VEHICLE . CONSUMER GOT OUT OF VEHICLE AND SAW U A BLUE FLAME. VEHICLE STARTED FILLING UP WITH SMOKE. FIRE COULD NOT BE PUT OUT. FIRE DEPARTMENT STATED THAT FIRE STARTED FROM ENGINE COMPARTMENT TO TRUNK. VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. *AK

NHTSA ID
880404
Incident
Feb 4, 2001
Brakes
Filed Nov 7, 2000

WHILE DRIVING AT 40 TO 45 MPH HEARD A SNAP AND THAT WAS ROTORS SNAPPING IN HALF, LOST ALL BRAKES AND STEERING. THERE WERE FIVE RECALLS ON VEHICLE THAT HAD NEVER BEEN DONE.*AK

NHTSA ID
874536
Incident
Oct 7, 2000
Visibility
Filed Apr 11, 2000

WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM WORK, THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT OF MY CAR SUDDENLY BEGIN TO FOG UP. I WAS COASTING TOWARD A STOP LIGHT AND AS SOON AS I STOPPED I NOTICED ANTIFREEZE POURING IN FROM AROUND THE FIREWALL AREA. I WAS ONLY A FEW BLOCKS FROM HOME SO I WATCHED THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE AND PROCEEDED SLOWLY- SOMEHOW KEEPING MY FEET SUSPENDED OFF OF THE FLOOR TO AVOID THE HOT ANTIFREEZE. I SUSPECTED THE HEATER CORE BECAUSE I KNEW THAT IT WAS INTERNAL TO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. I REPLACED THIS MYSELF BECAUSE THE DEALER SAID THEY WOULD CHARGE BETWEEN 600-800.00 FOR THIS REPAIR. THIS WAS THE BIGGEST PAIN THE NECK TO REPAIR BECAUSE I HAD TO REMOVE THE DASHBOARD TO ACCESS THE HEATER CORE. PLUS I HAD TO REPLACE THE CARPET BECAUSE IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO GET ANTIFREEZE OUT OF CARPET. NOW I KNOW WHY THE DEALER CHARGES SO MUCH! *AK

NHTSA ID
721312
Incident
Nov 2, 1998
Seat belts
Filed Jun 7, 1999

THIS VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED WITHOUT FRONT LAP BELTS, BUT DO HAVE SHOULDER BELTS. DEALER SAYS VEHICLE IS SAFE. *AK

NHTSA ID
837067
Seat belts
Filed Nov 13, 1998

THE VEHICLE ISN'T SAFE DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE VEHICLE DOESN'T HAVE LAP BELTS. *AK

NHTSA ID
830759
Incident
Nov 6, 1998
Brakes
Filed Nov 4, 1998

CONSUMER HAS RECEIVED A RECALL LETER, AND HAS CONTACTED THE DEALER. PARTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID
830091
Incident
Oct 15, 1998
Seat belts
Filed Jul 13, 1998

SEAT BELT FAILURE.

NHTSA ID
538287
Driver assistance
Filed Sep 27, 1995
Crash reported

CAR WAS PUT INTO DRIVE DIDN'T PRESS ON THE GAS CAR ACCELERATE AND HIT A PARK CAR NO INJURY . TT

NHTSA ID
972547
Incident
Sep 26, 1995
Driver assistance
Filed Jul 14, 1995

SUDDEN ACCELERATION OF VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING. *AK

NHTSA ID
968823
Incident
Jul 7, 1995

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.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .