6.1

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
12,563 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2017 Volkswagen Golf engine problems

engine problem

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2017 Volkswagen Golf Owner Comments

problem #13

Jan 162023

Golf

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car will stutter and stall. Usually after multiple short trips (5 stops and starts) in a short period of time (2 hours). 1 min/1000 gauge is fluttering around 0.75 on gauge when stopped. When car stalls it can be when pulling out at a stop sign. It will stall when gas is applied and then I need to coast around a corner. Occasionally the car will stall out when driving between 20 and 30 miles per hour. When this happens it is extremely dangerous because I am driving in traffic and need to pull over to the side of the road. I had this problem fixed at the dealership once before in 2021 and it cost $559.08 then. I was told at the time that gas sometimes has sediment in it and I should not get gas at grocery store pumps where the price is lower. I should stick to better gas stations. I now am getting my gas at the same two better places all the time hoping that the problem wouldn-€™t happen again. The problem started two weeks ago and is following the same pattern. I scheduled a service appointment again for them to check my car but it never displays any codes and it is difficult for them to recreate the stalling. My car is almost at 85,000 miles when my warranty runs out.

- Oley, PA, USA

problem #12

Jul 282022

Golf

  • miles
My car started sputtering randomly while I was driving and loosing power. Then when I tried to gas up my car, the car wouldn-€™t accept the gas. When I got home, gas started overflowing out of the tank all into my garage. It also soaked the whole wheel well with gas. There was no check engine line that came on. There is a current recall for this same issue which VW said is a suction pump problem on other GTI-€™s but not my car. There are tons of over videos on Facebook/YouTube of the exact same thing happening to them. I had the problem fixed at the dealer but it cost 3500 dollars. I still have all the receipts from the repair cost and I would like to be reimbursed since they expanded the recall but my car hasn-€™t received this recall even though it is the exact same issue.

- Albuquerque , NM, USA

problem #11

Jul 192022

Golf

  • miles
The 20Y6 recall for VW Golfs is exactly what my 2017 VW Golf GTI experienced. I am surprised the 2017 model year is not included. I did not feel safe driving my car with a failing fuel suction pump causing engine issues in traffic. When I finally made it home there was smoke coming out of my exhaust and fuel spilling out of the rear passenger wheel well.

- Independence, OH, USA

problem #10

May 172022

Golf

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

absurd oil consumption. I have never experienced a vehicle burning oil like VW golf. The vehicle manual states to check the oil every time filling the gas and it is normal for VW golf to burn oil. That said, I have owned more than ten cars in my lifetime, and I have never experienced an engine burning more than a quart every 700 to 1000 miles. I did not have any issues until ~35K miles. After hitting ~35K, I started experiencing the problem. VW service states to do the oil change every 10K, which if I wait, the engine will be toast. I have topped off at almost 10 to 13 quarts of additional between the oil change, i.e., between 10K change I am not sure what kind of complaints NHTSA has received, but I find many owners having similar issues doing google search. It seems VW is getting away with significant flaws with their engine burdening VW owners with the cost of additional oil and flawed design engine minimal lifetime. I will appreciate it if your organization looks into this issue and has VW take responsibility.

- Huntington, NY, USA

problem #9

Dec 012021

Golf

  • miles
Thermostat Housing Issue and Coolant Loss

- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

problem #8

Feb 022022

Golf

  • miles
Yes my concern is the water pump that is made out of plastic which is notorious to fail at low miles. My car only has 64k on it. This water pump was not build well and VW really should designed a better one. To replace this pumps are costly and its guarantee it will not be needed to be fixed again in a short time. My pump will cost me around $ 1700 to repair. These pumps are a ticking time bomb waiting to happen.

- Irvine , CA, USA

problem #7

Aug 122021

Golf

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My 2017 VW Golf has been leaking oil and coolant. It was taken to a VW dealership where the problem was diagnosed as a leaking auxiliary bracket gasket behind the thermostat housing. The service advisor told me that the car could randomly undergo a catastrophic loss of power if the component were to totally fail. He advised me not to drive the vehicle due to this possibility and the safety issues involved with abrupt loss of power, especially at highway speeds. I requested that this component be repaired under the VW Powertrain Warranty which is still in force for my vehicle but this coverage has been denied by VW Customer Care. The car continues to leak but has not yet lost power. I am concerned that this is a major safety issue for my car. The car is available for inspection upon request.

- Shaker Heights, OH, USA

problem #6

Aug 052021

Golf

  • miles
Issues with thermostat housing: the part fails, causing a slow coolant leak. Coolant light eventually comes on. I bought my car in fall 2016. Issue first occurred and was diagnosed and fixed by dealer under warranty in April 2020. It has now (August 2021) reoccurred and has been diagnosed again by the dealer as the same issue. This should be a lifetime part. I should not have had to replace this part twice within a little more than a year, on a car that is just about five years old. Safety issue: possibility of sudden failure/overheating that might leave the driver stranded by the side of the road. Numerous others have reported this issue occurring repeatedly; please see https://www.reddit.com/r/GolfGTI/comments/drna5m/mk775_thermostat_housing_issue_and_coolant_loss/ VW has also settled a class action on a similar issue on an older generation of cars (Coffeng, et al. v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.) A class action involving the current generation of cars is currently in progress (Zhao, et al., vs. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., et al.).

- Cambridge, MA, USA

problem #5

Apr 062021

Golf

  • 45,000 miles
Replaced my water pump 2 times already. Now I am replacing thermostat housing. All this under 45000 miles

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #4

Feb 012021

Golf

  • 79,323 miles
Leaking thermostat housing

- Worcester, VT, USA

problem #3

Dec 222019

Golf

  • 37,400 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Thermostat housing and water pump, coolant loss and leak. Dealer replaced thermostat housing March 2019 (24,000mi), 12/22/19 (37,400mi) another coolant leak likely from second thermostate or orignal water pump which was said not to have been replaced. Car is well maintained and cared for preemptively as a german car should.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #2

Nov 072017

Golf

  • 300 miles
Vehicle had 300 miles on engine when low oil pressure indicator registered. Cause was metal shavings in oil, according to manufacturer as told to dealer. Manufacturer instructed dealer to replace engine and all associated parts lubricated by engine oil and send non-functioning engine to manufacturer's research and development facility; stated that problem has happened, albeit infrequently, to other like engines. Warranty covered all costs. I have invoices for auto purchase and repair.

- St. Cloud, MN, USA

problem #1

Mar 092017

Golf 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 1,300 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Volkswagen Golf. The contact stated that the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to dealer where it was diagnosed that the vehicle had misfired in all cylinders; however, they were unable to duplicate the failure. The dealer cleared the system and warning sensors and advised the contact to allow the vehicle to warm up before driving. In addition, the failure recurred two weeks later. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that it needed a software update; however, an update was not available at the time. The failure occurred a total of three times. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 1,300...updated 05/15/17

- Millington, NJ, USA

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