2010 Volkswagen GTI Engine Problems

The contact owns a 2010 Volkswagen GTI. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle started jerking and failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the intake manifold was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 67,000.

NHTSA ID

11419311

Incident

May 1, 2021

Mileage

67,000 mi

DURING MODERATE ACCELERATION, ENGINE CUTS POWER, EPC LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON. VEHICLE GOES INTO LIMP MODE, AND ENGINE WILL NOT TURN MORE THAN 3000 RPM, AND HAS NO POWER TO ACCELERATE. ENGINE DEVELOPS MISFIRES AND IDLES VERY ROUGHLY. ENGINE MAY STALL. TURNING KEY OFF AND BACK ON DOES NOT REMEDY THE PROBLEM. DISCONNECTING THE BATTERY WILL TURN THE EPC AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS OFF, BUT UNDER NEXT MODERATE ACCELERATION, EPC AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS COME BACK ON, AND PROBLEMS COME BACK. CHECK ENGINE DTC CODES RANGE FROM MISFIRES TO SYSTEM TOO LEAN AND AIR INTAKE LEAKS, AND FOR ACCELERATOR/THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR B MALFUNCTIONS. THESE PROBLEMS HAVE HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES IN TRAFFIC ON THE INTERSTATE AND IN THE CITY. THE VEHICLE HAS STALLED AT STOP SIGNS AND TRAFFIC LIGHTS. IT HAS ALSO STALLED DURING ACCELERATION. THIS PROBLEM STARTED HAPPENING ON AUGUST 6TH 2019 AND HAS CONTINUED TO HAPPEN.

NHTSA ID

11279309

Incident

Aug 6, 2019

Mileage

148,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING THE STEERING WHEEL, GAS PEDAL AND ENGINE WILL STUDDER AND CAUSE EPC LIGHT TO COME ON WITH CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. TURNING OFF THE CAR AND TURNING BACK ON WILL SOMETIMES CORRECT PROBLEM BUT WILL COME BACK SHORTLY AFTER. CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE WITHOUT STALLING OUT. ALMOST LIKE THE COMPUTERS FORGOT HOW TO ACCELERATE THE CAR AND USE THE ENGINE. CAR WAS GETTING ONTO HIGHWAY WHEN THIS HAPPENED BUT DOES HAPPEN DURING REGULAR DRIVING. CAR JUMPS AND STUDDERS AND THE ENGINE WANTS TO SHUT DOWN SINCE IT CANT ACCELERATE OR SHIFT HIGHER, RPMS GO DOWN TO POINT OF CAR STALLING.

NHTSA ID

11130440

Incident

Sep 19, 2018

Mileage

85,000 mi

CAR OVERHEATED AND BROKE DOWN ON ROUTE 95 IN VIRGINIA DUE TO A DEFECTIVE WATER PUMP. THIS IS THE THIRD WATER PUMP IN LESS THAN 3 YEARS AND 6332 MILES THAT HAS GONE BAD IN THIS VEHICLE. THE CURRENTLY HAS 28314 MILES. THE FIRST WATER PUMP FAILED 11-20-15 WITH 21982 MILES. THE SECOND PUMP FAILED 2-27-16 WITH 22767 MILES. THE THIRD PUMP FAILED 3-27-18 WITH 28314 MILES. THERE IS NO REASON FOR WATER PUMP FAILURES THIS FREQUENTLY. ALL SERVICE WAS DONE AT VOLKSWAGEN OF FREDERICKSBURG 540-898-1600.

NHTSA ID

11083347

Incident

Mar 27, 2018

Mileage

28,310 mi

HAVE A GTI WHERE THERE IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILING. VW RECOMMENDS REPLACEMENT OF THESE PARTS WHICH COST OVER $1300. THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN FOR THIS ISSUE. AND OF COURSE VW KNOWING THIS WAS A PROBLEM CHANGED THE DESIGN IN NEWER CARS.

NHTSA ID

11073575

Incident

Dec 30, 2017

VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED FROM A VOLKSWAGEN DEALER WITH 61557 MILES AND MAINTAINED THROUGH SERVICE AT DEALERSHIP INCLUDING REGULAR OIL CHANGES. LESS THAN TWO YEARS LATER, AT ROUGHLY 106,000 MILES THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILED RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING RESULTING IN VALVE DAMAGE AND ULTIMATELY FULL ENGINE FAILURE. VEHICLE WAS COMING OUT OF A TURN AT APPROXIMATELY 24 MPH, SAFELY IN 3RD GEAR, AND FAILED ABOUT 2 SECONDS AFTER THROTTLE WAS APPLIED. NO POSSIBLE WARNING FROM VW OR THEIR SERVICE TECHS AND NO SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE INTERVAL FOR THIS PART. HAD THIS HAPPENED IN A MORE TRAFFIC FILLED AREA, THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A VERY HIGH CHANCE OF A COLLISION OR OTHER SAFETY CONCERN.

NHTSA ID

11066463

Incident

Nov 15, 2017

Mileage

106,000 mi

THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER SLIPPED AND BLEW THE CAMS. THE CLUTCH WAS ALSO BAD. EVERY PERSON I TALKED TO WHEN I HAD TO BUY A NEW ENGINE KNEW THAT VW GTI OR GOLFS HAD THIS NOTORIOUS ISSUE. WE HAD ONLY OWNED THE CAR FOR 9 MONTHS AND HAD TO BUY AN ENTIRE NEW ENGINE BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM THAT EVERYONE IN THE CAR INDUSTRY KNEW ABOUT ALREADY.

NHTSA ID

11042128

Incident

Jul 5, 2017

Mileage

90,000 mi

AROUND 40-50,000 MILES, THE VW GOLF GTI USUALLY HAS RUNNER FLAP ACTUATOR/INTAKE MANIFOLD FAILURE. THIS IS COMMON ON ALL VW GTIS. THIS FAILURE USUALLY OCCURS JUST AFTER THE VW WARRANTY EXPIRES ON THE CAR. VW HAS MADE A 2017 UPGRADE MANIFOLD TO FIX THIS PROBLEM BUT THEY REFUSE TO RECALL THEIR CRAPPY CARS IN ORDER TO FIX THIS KNOWN PROBLEM. OWNERS ARE GETTING STUCK WITH A $1000-$2000 REPAIR BILL TO FIX THIS PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11001419

Incident

Jun 21, 2017

Mileage

48,500 mi

I WAS DRIVING IN TRAFFIC WHEN THE ENGINE STARTED TO RUN ROUGH AND LOUD. I HAD TO PULL OVER AND TURN IT OFF. WHEN TRYING TO TURN IT BACK ON IT STARTED UP AND CONTINUED TO RUN ROUGH. I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE SHOP. WHEN THEY LOOKED AT IT THEY TOLD ME THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED DUE TO THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILING. WHEN I ASKED ABOUT WHEN I WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE THIS SERVICE DONE THEY TOLD ME ITS NOT LISTED IN THE OWNERS MANUEL OR AT ANY SERVICE INTERVAL UP TO THIS POINT. THE PART IS NOT ON ANY LIST OF SERVICE FOR THE CAR YET FAILED AT 93K MILES. VW SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T REPORT IT TO ME AS SOMETHING THAT COULD BREAK. I WAS TOLD WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR THAT THE TIMING CHAIN AND TENSIONER SHOULD LAST THE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE WHICH SHOULD BE MUCH HIGHER THEN 93K. THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE IN ALL VW TSI ENGINES AND CAN HAPPEN AS EARLY AS 40K, VW NEEDS TO FIX THIS AND WARN EXISTING CUSTOMERS.

NHTSA ID

10971766

Incident

Apr 1, 2017

Mileage

93,000 mi

VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY AND PARKED. IT WOULD NOT START. THE ENGINE TRIED TO TURN OVER BUT WOULD NOT STAY RUNNING. IT WAS TAKEN TO A VOLKSWAGEN DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE RESULT IS A TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILURE AND VERY LARGE $2200 REPAIR FEE WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR A SIGNIFICANT REBUILD OF THE ENGINE IF MORE DAMAGE IS FOUND. AFTER SOME RESEARCH IT APPEARS THAT THIS IS A KNOWN DESIGN ISSUE WITH THE TENSIONER PART AND THERE IS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB 1512-01) ISSUED FOR IT BUT NO RECALL. IT IS VERY LIKE TO OCCUR FOR ALL VOLKSWAGEN MODELS WITH THE 2.0 TSI ENGINE PRODUCED BETWEEN 2008-2013. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN LIFE THREATENING IF THE FAILURE HAD OCCURRED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION, ESPECIALLY AT HIGHER SPEEDS.

NHTSA ID

10914861

Incident

Oct 6, 2016

Mileage

88,500 mi

TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILURE - THE CAR WAS PARKED FOR THE NIGHT. IN THE MORNING I WENT TO START IT. I WOULD NOT START. THERE WERE NO LIGHTS OR ERROR CODES. TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE DEALERSHIP STATED ZERO COMPRESSION AND BENT VALVES. THEY STATED I NEED A NEW ENGINE. 7400.00 CALLED VW OF AMERICAN. THEY OFFERED NO HELP WHAT SO EVER. VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA JUST KEEPS STATING THE CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. THERE IS A TSB, MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET REGARDING TIGUANS, GTI'S AND PASSATS. THIS ENGINE HAS HAD THIS PROBLEM HAPPENING FOR YEARS FROM 2008 TO 2013 VW WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY.

NHTSA ID

10873980

Incident

May 28, 2016

Mileage

98,400 mi

THE CAR SPUTTERED, SHOOK, AND MADE AN AWFUL SOUND SIMILAR TO A TON OF MARBLES IN A DRIER MACHINE. THE TIMING CHAIN WENT AT ROUGHLY 82,000 MILES. ACCORDING TO VW LITERATURE THEY STATED THAT THE REASON THEY WENT BACK TO A TIMING CHAIN IS THAT IT IS A LIFETIME, NONSERVICEABLE PART. THE TIMING CHAIN GOING ON AN INTERFERENCE TYPE ENGINE DESTROYED MY ENGINE TO THE ORDER OF ALMOST $4000. VW DID NOT WANT TO ASSIST WITH ANYTHING.

NHTSA ID

10733880

Incident

May 5, 2015

Mileage

81,979 mi

WE PURCHASED AND WE WERE SERVICING OUR VW GTI 2010 AT AUTOBARN MT. PROSPECT/IL. IN THE LAST 2 YEARS WE REPLACED ALL IGNITION COILS AT DIFFERENT TIME INTERVALS AND TWICE FOR CYLINDER #2. THERE ARE ACTUALLY MULTIPLE ISSUES HERE. FIRST, THIS KIND OF PROBLEM CAN EASILY GENERATE AN ACCIDENT, IF ONE IGNITION COIL FAILS AT THE WRONG TIME AND THE WRONG PLACE (WHEN PASSING OR DRIVING ON A MOUNTAIN ROAD). SECOND, THE IGNITION COILS ARE POORLY DESIGNED AND THEY GO BAD WAY TOO FAST MAKING THE CAR UNDRIVEABLE. COSTLY TOWING WAS REQUIRED ALMOST EVERY TIME. THIRD, THE VW DEALERSHIP SHOULD ADVISE CUSTOMERS TO REPLACE ALL COILS IN THE SAME TIME AT THE FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE. INSTEAD THEY CHOOSE TO REPLACE THEM ONE BY ONE, CHARGING BETWEEN $180.00 AND $220.00 EVERY TIME JUST FOR LABOR, WHEN THE PART ITSELF COSTS JUST $32.00 AND THE LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY FOR THIS TASK IS VERY LOW. *TR

NHTSA ID

10702691

Incident

Dec 22, 2012

Mileage

43,067 mi

I WAS TOLD THAT THE IGNITION COIL SHOULD LAST UP UNTIL 100K MILEAGE AND THIS GAVE OUT AT 65K AND CAUSED ENGINE MISFIRING AND ALMOST ENGINE FAILURE. VOLKSWAGEN HAS SIMILAR RECALLS FOR THEIR IGNITION COILS AND I THINK THE 2010 VW GTI SHOULD BE INCLUDED. THANK YOU. *TR

NHTSA ID

10672759

Incident

Jan 13, 2015

Mileage

65,000 mi

VEHICLE WAS RUNNING VERY ROUGH. HARD TO START. HAD IT TOWED TO NORTH PENN VW. THEY DIAGNOSED IT AS A DEFECTIVE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER. TWO MANAGERS AND A TECH SAID THE PART FAILED AND IT SHOULD NOT HAVE. THEY SAID IT WAS OF NO FAULT OF MY OWN. THEY SUGGESTED I CONTACT VW SINCE IT WAS A DEFECTIVE PART. I DID AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HELP ME SINCE IT OUT OF WARRANTY. IT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM ON ALL 2010 VW'S. THE DEALERSHIP ADMITTED IT AND THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN(TSB) ADDRESSING THE EXACT PART. *TR

NHTSA ID

10668146

Incident

Dec 17, 2014

Mileage

76,183 mi

THE CAR STALLED AND LOST POWER WHILE DRIVING. NO POWER AND NO TIME TO ALLOW SAFELY TO MOVE THE CAR TO THE SHOULDER. ALMOST CAUSE A REAR END COLLISION. *TR

NHTSA ID

10598888

Incident

Jun 13, 2014

Mileage

80,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN GTI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LAMP ILLUMINATED AND THE ENGINE STARTED TO SHUDDER AND MISFIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND ALL OF THE VALVES NEEDED TO BE CLEAN. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 63,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 64,000.

NHTSA ID

10550454

Incident

Aug 30, 2013

Mileage

63,000 mi

I HAVE A 2010 VW GTI CURRENTLY WITH 13,000 MILES ON IT. THE FIRST INSTANCES HAPPENED AT ABOUT 10,000. IT STARTED WITH BRAKE VIBRATIONS, AND ENGINE STALLING. TOOK IT TO VW, THEY FOUND NO ISSUES. HAD TOTAL BRAKE BOOST LOSS ON THE WAY HOME, BRAKE DIDNT WORK FELT STIFF AS HELL. VW TOOK IT FOR 3 DAYS, DID AN ENGINEERING ASSIST, FOUND NO ISSUES AND COULDNT REPRODUCE IT, GAVE IT BACK AND SAID TO MONITOR IT. DROVE DOWN TO TAMPA, THE CARS TRANSMISSION WENT INTO NEUTRAL, AN ERROR POPPED UP ON THE DISPLAY AND THE CARS BRAKES WOULDNT RESPOND. E-BRAKED ON THE MEDIAN, I HAD A CHILD IN THE CAR, THIS CAR IS DANGEROUS. VW TOWED THE CAR TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP, FOUND THE MECHATRONIX UNIT WAS FAULTY, COULDNT FIND ANY IN FLORIDA, HAD TO ORDER FROM VW ESTIMATED 1 WEEK DELIVERY TIME. MECHATRONIX UNIT WAS FIXED UNDER WARRANTY AFTER A LENGTHY REPAIR. NOW THE CARS STILL ACTING UP, STALLS OCCASIONALLY, HAS TROUBLE STARTING, AND JERKS VIOLENTLY BETWEEN 1ST AND 2ND GEAR AND MAKES A LOUD POPPING SOUND. VW TOOK IT FOR 2 DAYS AND STILL CANNOT REPRODUCE THESE ISSUES AND GAVE IT BACK AFTER I TOLD VWOA THAT IT WAS AN UNSAFE VEHICLE AND I DIDNT WANT IT. I AM NOW DRIVING AN UNSAFE VEHICLE, AND BECAUSE THE VEHICLE HAS SAFETY CONCERNS I AM UNABLE TO TRADE THE VEHICLE IN OR SELL IT PRIVATELY DUE TO HAVING TO NOTIFY THE BUYER OF SAID SAFETY ISSUES. IM SUCK WITH THIS DANGEROUS VEHICLE THAT STALLS AT LIGHTS AND HAS TROUBLE STARTING/GETTING INTO GEAR. IM SCARED FOR THE SAFETY OF MY PASSENGERS AND OTHER MOTORISTS AROUND ME. AND IM NOT GETTING ANYWHERE WITH THIS COMPANY! *TT

NHTSA ID

10427956

Incident

Jul 2, 2011

Mileage

10,000 mi

THE 2010 GTI WITH DSG DRIVING IN HEAVY STOP AND GO TRAFFIC, AFTER AND HOUR AND HALF . STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC AT 7:00 PM. *TR

NHTSA ID

10365560

Incident

Nov 12, 2010

Mileage

10,800 mi

2010 VW GTI WITH DSG HAS STALLED OUT TWICE FOR ME IN TRAFFIC. THE CAR WILL START TO IDLE ROUGHLY THEN STALL OUT. THIS USUALLY OCCURS AFTER BEING IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC AFTER AND HOUR OR SO. *TR

NHTSA ID

10361242

Incident

Sep 22, 2010

Mileage

9,200 mi

2010 VW GTI WITH DSG HAS STALLED OUT TWICE FOR ME IN TRAFFIC. THE CAR WILL START TO IDLE ROUGHLY THEN STALL OUT. THIS USUALLY OCCURS AFTER BEING IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC AFTER AND HOUR OR SO. *TR

NHTSA ID

10361239

Incident

Oct 14, 2010

Mileage

9,600 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN GTI. HE COULD HEAR A BUZZING NOISE BETWEEN 2000 RPM AND 3000 RPM WHEN THE ENGINE IS STARTED AND THE NOISE CONTINUES ALL DURING DRIVING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN NUMEROUS TIMES TO THE DEALER WHERE HE WAS TOLD THAT WAS NORMAL FOR THE VEHICLE TO MAKE NOISE AND THAT IS PART OF THE DESIGN TO ENHANCE THE SOUND WITHIN THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER ALSO STATED THE SAME INFORMATION, STATING THAT THE SOUND WAS NORMAL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 10 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 8,800. UPDATED 11/16/10 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED VW DID ACKNOWLEDGE THE ISSUE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE FIX IS ONLY TEMPORARY AND THERE IS STILL A RATTLE IN THE ENGINE. UPDATED 11/24/10 THE CONSUMER STATED HE TOOK HIS VEHICLE TO THE DEALER TO HAVE THE TECHNICAL BULLETIN PERFORMED. THE DEALER KEPT THE VEHICLE FOR FIVE DAYS. HE STATED, AT FIRST IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THE NOISE HAD ALL BUT DISAPPEARED, BUT IT ONLY LASTED A COUPLE OF DAYS. UPDATED 01/13/11

NHTSA ID

10356972

Incident

Dec 12, 2009

Mileage

10 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS 2010 VOLKSWAGEN GTI. THE CONTACT STATED HE LOST THE ABILITY TO ACCELERATE AT HIGHWAY SPEED. AS HE WAS DRIVING THERE WAS A BIG CLUNKY SOUND AND THE VEHICLE SLOWS DOWN BUT DID NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP. HE HAD TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AT LEAST THREE TIMES BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO IDENTIFY THE FAILURE. THE VOLKSWAGEN MANUFACTURER WAS CALLED AND A CLAIM WAS FILED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,500.

NHTSA ID

10312802

Incident

Oct 11, 2008

Mileage

4,500 mi