Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2010 Volkswagen Golf submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 16 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.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
HAD TO REPLACE THE MAP SENSOR 3 TIMES IN 2 YEARS. MANIFOLD PROBLEM. THERE ARE NO RECALLS FOR THIS VEHICLE BUT THE PROBLEM PERSISTS. HAD TO PAY $700 EACH TIME TO FIX.
THE MAIN (REAR) ENGINE OIL SEAL IS LEAKING WITH ONLY 51,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. I BELIEVE THIS IS A DEFECT OF THE ENGINE OIL SEAL OR IMPROPERLY MOUNTED FROM THE VW FACTORY. THERE HAS BEEN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS OF THIS PROBLEM WITH VW OWNERS. THE COST OF THIS REPAIR SHOULD BE FULLY COVERED BY VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA.
WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE SIMPLY SHUT OFF. I TURNED ON HAZZARDS, PUT CAR INTO PARK, RESTARTED, PUT CAR BACK INTO DRIVE AND DROVE AWAY. THIS WAS ON THE I-35 FRONTAGE ROAD AND I COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN REARENDED / KILLED. HAPPENED ONE OTHER TIME ON THE BQE IN NEW YORK SEVERAL MONTHS PRIOR. AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT I WAS TOLD BY THE AUTHORIZED SERVICE DEPT. "PROBABLY A GLITCH, WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN." WAITING FOR A THIRD INCIDENT WHERE I'M NOT SO LUCKY.
HAD JUST REFUELED VEHICLE A DAY PRIOR WHEN ON LUNCH BREAK VEHICLE LOST POWER WHILE DRIVING. UPON ENTERING A HEAVILY CONGESTED INTERSECTION THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AND STALLED CAUSING STEERING, BRAKING AND CONTROL TO BE COMPROMISED. STARTED VEHICLE TO MOVE OUT OF HEAVY TRAFFIC AND DROVE DIRECTLY TO AN AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR SHOP. UPON INSPECTION THE REPAIR FACILITY DISCOVERED METAL PARTICLES THROUGHOUT FUEL SYSTEM CAUSING UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS LISTED ABOVE INCLUDING STALLING AND LOSS OF CONTROL. *TR
I HAVE A 2010 VW GOLF TDI. I WAS DRIVING ALONG AT 25 MPH WHEN MY GLOW PLUG & CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS STARTED FLASHING, AND MY TACHOMETER DROPPED TO ZERO, INDICATING A STALL. THE POWER STEERING ALSO STARTED TO CUT OUT, BUT I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY PULL OVER. TRIED STARTING THE CAR AGAIN AND GOT NOTHING. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A VW DEALERSHIP DOWN THE STREET, AND ON MONDAY 11/19 THEY INFORMED ME THAT MY HIGH-PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILED AND SENT METAL FRAGMENTS THROUGH THE ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM. THE CAR IS CURRENTLY BEING REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY, BUT I WAS TOLD THAT THE BILL WOULD BE AT LEAST $5,000 FOR THIS KIND OF FIX. OH YEAH, THIS ALSO COMPLETELY RUINED MY TRAVEL PLANS FOR THANKSGIVING, AS VW REFUSED TO GIVE ME A LOANER CAR WHILE THIS DOCUMENTED WARRANTY ISSUE WAS BEING DEALT WITH. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL CASES OF 2009-10 TDI FUEL PUMP FAILURES WITH THE SAME SYMPTOMS. APPARENTLY, THERE HAVE BEEN THREE REVISIONS OF THIS PUMP SINCE THEN, AND I AM DUE TO GET THE NEWEST ONE. BUT, THERE IS ALSO TALK THAT ULTRA-LOW-SULFUR DIESEL FUEL IN THE US IS NOT PROVIDING THE PROPER LUBRICITY, AND THUS CAUSING THE PUMPS TO FAIL (THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE IN EUROPE). NONETHELESS, FURTHER INVESTIGATION BY THE NHTSA SHOULD RESULT IN VW DOING A PROPER RECALL AND REDESIGN, RATHER THAN QUIETLY FIXING AN INHERENT FLAW ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS. EVEN WITH MY CAR FIXED, I'LL STILL BE WONDERING WHEN THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. WHICH ALSO MAKES ME WONDER IF I SHOULD JUST SELL IT AND BE DONE WITH VW. VERY FRUSTRATING. *TR
I HAVE A 2010 GOLF TDI MANUAL TRANSMISSION CAR. THE CAR WAS STALLED DURING DRIVING, AFTER JUST DOWN SHIFTED FROM 2ND GEAR TO FIRST GEAR. AFTER TURNING OFF THE ENGINE COMPLETELY, I STILL COULDN'T RESTART THE CAR RIGHT AWAY. I HAD TO WAIT FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, AND TRIED AGAIN. THE CAR STARTED ON THE NEXT ATTEMPT. I EXPERIENCE THE SIMILAR TYPE OF STALLING SOON AFTER I PURCHASE THE VEHICLE, AND IT PERSISTS AND RECURS QUITE OFTEN. OTHER TIMES, ALSO DURING DRIVING, MOSTLY NOTICEABLE IN 4TH GEAR SPEED, THE CAR COULD ALL OF A SUDDEN LOST POWER, FOR ABOUT 2 SECONDS, ALTHOUGH THE ENGINE WAS NOT STALLED OR STOPPED. I ALSO NOTICED AFTER A DIFFICULT START, THE DRIVING IS LESS SMOOTH. AND WHEN THE CAR IS STOPPED AND COMPLETELY TURNED OFF, THE ENGINE/FAN WOULD KEEP ON RUNNING IDLE FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. AND DURING THAT IDLE TIME, A LARGE AMOUNT OF HEAT IS DISPENSED OUT FROM UNDERNEATH THE FRONT HOOD. *TR
I GOT INTO MY CAR AS NORMAL, AND BEGAN TO DRIVE. AFTER ABOUT 5 MINUTES OF DRIVING, I CAME TO A RED LIGHT ON A BUSY STREET. MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE GLOW PLUG LIGHT BEGAN TO FLASH, THE CAR IMMEDIATELY DIED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. I WAS TOLD THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILED, AND THE ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM HAS TO BE REPLACED... AFTER I GOT HOME, I QUICKLY GOOGLE SEARCHED THE ISSUE AND APPEARS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM ON A BAD DESIGN BY VOLKSWAGEN AND BOSCH... *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF TDI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE VEHICLE WOULD LOSE POWER. THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND A DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED BUT THE DIAGNOSTIC WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE A FAILURE CODE. THE VEHICLE WAS ALSO TEST DRIVEN, BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE MANUFACTURE WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 19,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 20,000.
UPON MAKING A LANE CHANGE TO MERGE INTO A FASTER MOVING TRAFFIC LANE, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED NORMALLY FOR ONE SECOND THEN LOST ALL ENGINE POWER LEAVING ME IN A DANGEROUS POSITION. UPON DEPRESSING THE CLUTCH, THE ENGINE STALLED. I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE AFTER WHICH IT WORKED NORMALLY. THIS HAS HAPPENED APPROXIMATELY 20 TIMES SINCE. IT USUALLY CREATES A DANGEROUS SITUATION SUCH AS LEAVING THE CAR WITHOUT POWER IN AN ONCOMING TRAFFIC LANE DURING A LEFT TURN OR MOVING TOO SLOWLY IN A MERGING MANEUVER. SOMETIMES THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WILL ALSO COME ON AND THE GLOW PLUG WARNING LIGHT STARTS FLASHING. CLOUDS OF WHITE SMOKE ALWAYS APPEAR AT THE TAIL PIPE DURING THE POWER LOSS. THE DEALER HAS REPLACED A SENSOR 4 TIMES WHICH MAKES THE WARNING LIGHTS GO OUT, BUT THE ENGINE CUTTING OUT PROBLEM IS NEVER ADDRESSED. VW SIMPLY STATE "CANNOT REPRODUCE PROBLEM" AND RETURN THE VEHICLE. THE BEHAVIOR IS VERY DANGEROUS. *TR
I DEC 19TH 2011 I EXPERIENCED WHAT I BELIEVE WAS A HARD START. WEATHER IN THE MORNING WAS IN THE TEENS, AFTERNOON IN THE LOW 40S. LEAVE WORK, GET IN CAR, PUT KEY IN IGNITION & TURN TO ON POSITION, PUT SEAT BELT ON, AND START. CAR STARTS RIGHT AWAY BUT IS IDLING ROUGH, SHAKING VIOLENTLY LIKE A WASHING MACHINE OFF BALANCE. I DROP INTO NEUTRAL AND REV IT UP TO 2K, STILL IDLES ROUGH FOR ABOUT A MINUTE MORE BUT DOES NOT STALL. I EXPERIENCED SOMETHING LIKE THIS ONCE WHEN MY SUBARU LEGACY'S #2 INJECTOR QUIT, A MISFIRING BOXER ENGINE DOES NOT IDLE SMOOTH. THE RIDE HOME WAS UNEVENTFUL, STOPPED AT THE BANK AND RESTARTED FINE. EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL THIS MORNING, TEMPS IN THE LOW 40S. WHAT I BELIEVE HAPPENED TO MY CAR WAS MOISTURE ACCUMULATED IN THE INNER COOLER AND WAS INGESTED INTO THE INTAKE TRACT CAUSING A "HAMMERING EFFECT" AS THE ENGINE TRIED TO COMPRESS THIS MOISTURE. VW HAS ISSUED A TSB #21 11 06/2025464 BUT NO RECALL AS YET. WHEN I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE IN FOR SERVICE THEY FOUND NO MOISTURE SO NOTHING WAS DONE. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE THE VEHICLE COULD INGEST THIS MOISTURE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT WARNING CAUSING THE CAR TO STOP AND STRAND IN AN UNSAFE LOCATION. A RECALL AND FIX SHOULD BE ISSUED. *TT
INTER-COOLER DESIGN IS DEFECTIVE IN THAT IT ALLOWS CONDENSATION AND SLUDGE TO BUILD WITHIN THE CHARGE AIR INTAKE SYSTEM WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY FREEZES AND THAWS WITH LOW AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AND IT MOVES FURTHER AND FURTHER WITHIN THE INTAKE SYSTEM UNTIL THE CONDENSATE AND SLUDGE BECOME DRAWN INTO THE AIR INTAKE MANIFOLD AND BECOMES DISCHARGED INTO THE CYLINDERS CAUSING THE ENGINE TO HYDRO-LOCK AND FAIL. CAUSING POTENTIAL FOR PERMANENT AND CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE UPON RESTART. CURRENTLY FOR THIS MODEL, THE REPAIR IS COVERED UNDER THE MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY ALONG WITH REPLACEMENT OF THE CHARGE AIR INTER-COOLER SYSTEM WITH A REDESIGN. IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHETHER THIS REDESIGNED SYSTEM INDEED SOLVES THE ROOT CAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM. HOWEVER, IF THE CAR IS BEYOND THE YEARS/MILES OF THE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER'S OR EXTENDED WARRANTY, VW WILL NOT SUBSIDIZE THE REPAIRS TO THE ENGINE, NOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE CHARGE AIR SYSTEM...EVEN THOUGH THE PROBLEM WAS DIRECTLY CAUSED BY THEIR DESIGN. THE OWNER WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LARGE EXPENSE OF GETTING THE CAR RUNNING AGAIN. *TT
2010 VW GOLF TDI - ENGINE DIED AFTER ACCELERATING WHILE ENTERING A HIGHWAY FROM A PARKING LOT. I HAD TO COAST BACK INTO THE PARKING LOT AT A DANGEROUSLY SLOW SPEED. IF THERE HAD BEEN ONCOMING TRAFFIC IT COULD LIKELY HAVE LED TO AN ACCIDENT. THE CAR DID RESTART AFTER PARKING AND TURNING THE IGNITION OFF AND BACK ON. I DID NOT LOSE POWER TO ANY OF THE ELECTRONICS, ONLY TO THE ENGINE. THE TACHOMETER WENT TO ZERO AND THE ACCELERATOR WAS UNRESPONSIVE. THE CAR CURRENTLY HAS APPROX. 34K MILES ON IT. *TR
WHILE DRIVING MY 2010 VW GOLF TDI WILL STALL/HESITATE FOR A SECOND OR TWO. I EXPERIENCE THIS ISSUE ABOUT ONCE EVERY COUPLE WEEKS. I REPORTED THE ISSUE TO THE DEALER, BUT THEY REPORTED THAT COULD NOT FIND ANY ISSUES WITH THE CAR. *TR
ENGINE STALLS, ON STARTING FROM STOP, SOMETIMES WHEN GOING DOWN HILL, OR OVER A BUMP IN THE ROAD. SEEMS TO STALL WHEN RPM GOES BELOW 750. COMMONLY STALLS IN INTERSECTION, RESULTING IN DANGEROUS SITUATION WHILE ONE RESTARTS CAR. COMPLAINED TO DEALER, BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO FIX PROBLEM. THIS IS A RECURRING PROBLEM WITH STALLS DAILY TO ONCE EVERY SEVERAL DAYS. HAS BEEN DOING IT SINCE I PURCHASED THE CAR. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS 2010 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND OFF AND THE TIRE PRESSURE LIGHT STAYED ON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ALL 20 ROLLER LIFTERS HAD TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE OF A TICKING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE HAD BEEN ON GOING AND THAT VOLKSWAGEN HAD REFUSED TO WORK ON THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED BECAUSE THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS ALSO A HIGH PITCH SOUND COMING FROM THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 400 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 1600.
AFTER LEASING A BRAND NEW CAR FOR 2 DAYS (WITH ONLY 221 MILES ON THE ODOMETER) THE CAR ENGINE SUDDENLY DIED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND WOULD NOT START, LEADING TO VERY DANGEROUS FOR LIFE AND STRESSFUL(I HAD TWO FINAL EXAMS COMING UP WITHIN 2 DAYS COMING GOT)SITUATION. AFTER THE CAR GOT TOWED TO THE OFFICIAL VW DEALERSHIP AT FLADEBOE ON JUNE 3RD, IT TOOK THEM 5 DAYS TO DIAGNOSE AND REPAIR THE CAR. THERE WAS NO INJECTOR PULSE AND ENGINE CONTROL MODULE WAS REPLACED. ALSO, THE CAR GOT SCRATCHED WHILE IN REPAIR.I WAS GIVEN A RENTAL CAR, AND ALTHOUGH I WAS TOLD BY THE VW STUFF THAT THE COVER ALL THE COSTS, I ENDED UP PAYING $63 FOR RENTING OUT A TOYOTA FROM "ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR". FEW DAYS AGO, I FOUND OUT THAT THE CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK AT ALL IN THE CAR, THE REAR VIEW MIRROR CANNOT NOT ADJUST COMPLETELY AND THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT DOOR JAMS WHENEVER THE CAR MANUAL IS PLACED INSIDE. I AM ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT THE CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM WORKED BEFORE THE REPAIR AT FLADEBOE. *TR
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.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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