RoadVitals

1997 Volkswagen GTI 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 Apr 21, 2005
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.
1
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 Nov 19, 1997

What this page shows

Our database holds 10 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1997 Volkswagen GTI. 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

Electrical
Filed Apr 21, 2005

NO PROBLEMS UNTIL MAY 2002. CAR STALLED, RAN ROUGH, FELT LIKE IT WAS GETTING NO GAS, THEN WOULD SURGE, THEN STALL. VW IN CHARLESTON, SC, HAS HAD CAR DOZEN PLUS TIMES, AND NEVER FOUND PROBLEM. MECHANIC CHECKED FUEL SYSTEM, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, CODES PRESENTED, WENT THROUGH TECHNICAL MANUALS. ALSO MANY ELECTRICAL PARTS, I.E., DISTRIBUTOR, FUEL PUMP, MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR, ECG, ETC., WERE REPLACED. CAR HAS BEEN TOTALLY UNRELIABLE SINCE THAT POINT. YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT'S GOING TO DIE OUT. HAPPENED TO US ON I-95; 18-WHEELER HAD TO SWERVE TO PREVENT ACCIDENT. CAR NOW SITTING IN DRIVEWAY. FROM WHAT I CAN FIND ON THE INTERNET, MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM. *NM

NHTSA ID
10118214
Incident
May 10, 2002
Mileage
73,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Sep 29, 2003

SIDE MOLDINGS CAME OUT REPEATEDLY. THE WARRANTY WAS ONLY 2 YEAR. ONE CAME OUT WITHIN TWO YEAR AND INITIALLY COVERED BY THE WARRANTY BUT WHEN IT CAME OUT AGAIN THEY SAID IT WAS NOT COVERED ANYMORE.

NHTSA ID
10040881
Incident
May 1, 1999
Tires & wheels
Filed Jun 11, 2003

WHILE TRAVELING ABOUT 55MPH ON THE HIGHWAY REAR PASSENGER TIRE TREAD SEPARATED FROM THE WHEEL. DEALER IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM.*AK

NHTSA ID
10022890
Incident
Jun 11, 2003
Mileage
40,000 mi
Fuel systemTires & wheels
Filed Jun 11, 2003

WHILE TRAVELING ABOUT 55MPH ON THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING RIGHT REAR TIRE TREAD SEPARATED FROM THE WHEEL CAUSING A RIP AND TEAR UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE'S GAS TANK. *AK

NHTSA ID
10022889
Incident
Jun 11, 2003
Electrical
Filed Apr 7, 2003

WHILE DRIVING THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED. *NLM

NHTSA ID
10015311
Incident
Apr 7, 2003
Fuel system
Filed Sep 18, 2000

ICE FORMED IN THE GAS FILLER CAP 3 TIMES AND CAUSED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO COME ON. EACH TIME IT COSTS 70 DOLLARS TO HAVE THE DEALER TURN IT OFF.

NHTSA ID
731765
Incident
Jan 5, 1999
Electrical
Filed Sep 18, 2000

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO OPERATE THE IGNITION IN A PANIC SITUATION BECAUSE OF ALL THE INTERLOCKS. THE ACCESS TO THE SWITCH IS ALSO BLOCKED BY THE AIR BAG. THIS STUPID ARANGEMENT ALMOST CAUSED ME AN ACCIDENT WHEN THE ENGINE QUIT IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION.

NHTSA ID
731763
ElectricalFuel system
Filed May 31, 2000
Fire reported

VEHICLE HAD PREVIOUS ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS, THIS DRIVETRAIN HAS HAD KNOWN FUEL SYSTEM PROBLEMS

NHTSA ID
723404
Incident
Oct 6, 1999
Fuel system
Filed Jun 19, 1998

VEHICLE'S AIR INTAKE BOX HAS FILLED WITH WATER 3 TIMES WITHIN 1 YEAR, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL OR THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO COME ON.

NHTSA ID
537113
Other / unspecified
Filed Nov 19, 1997

WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE AROUND A CORNER FRONT WHEEL HIT HIT CURB AT 10 MPH, CAUSING SEVERE DAMAGE TO WHEEL AND VEHICLE. OWNER QUESTIONS THE SAFETY OF VEHICLE.

NHTSA ID
819261

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 .