See all results →
All makes Worst years, ranked Problems by part Analysis Problems by model year Recalls in Canada Recall lookup Compare two cars How we grade

FaultScore report

2018 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack problems

Owners have filed 11 complaints about the 2018 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack with NHTSA between 2019 and 2025. The largest single group is the driver assist & collision avoidance. Across this model's run it ranks 3 of 3 worst.

Read the complaints What breaks Worst years for the Volkswagen Golf Alltrack All 2018 cars
A

7/100

CleanWorst

Measured against the other years of the Volkswagen Golf Alltrack, never against another car.

How this is worked out

The numbers

11

Complaints

0

Crashes reported

0

Fires reported

0

Injuries reported

What kind of bad

The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.

Complaint volume 11 vs 50 Severity 0 vs 50 Early failure not reported
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 11
Against the median year of the Volkswagen Golf Alltrack. 50 means typical for this model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 0
0% of these complaints involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of 9.7%.
Early failure — not reported
Too few complaints recorded a mileage to measure this.

How 2018 compares with every other Volkswagen Golf Alltrack

Click any bar to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks on a 2018 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack

Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 5 45.5%

Median failure at 29,000 miles

Other & Unspecified 2 18.2%
Body & Structure 2 18.2%

Median failure at 24,350 miles

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 1 9.1%

Median failure at 11,200 miles

Engine & Cooling 1 9.1%

When owners complained

A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single owner can see from inside their own car.

Oct 2019 peak 3 May 2025

NHTSA investigations into the 2018 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack

An investigation is the step before a recall: the agency has seen enough complaints to look into a pattern itself. An open one means it thinks something may be wrong and nothing has been fixed yet.

RQ23007 Opened 12 Dec 2023 Closed 1 Jul 2024 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:EVAPORATIVE EMISSIONS:CANISTER

Fuel Leak due to Suction Jet Pump Failure within Fuel Tank (Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 16V647)

On December 12, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened RQ23-007 to investigate the remedy repair effectiveness and scope of Volkswagen (VW) recall 16V-647. Recall 16V-647 was issued on September 2, 2016, for a defective suction jet pump (SJP) inside the fuel tank. Failure of the SJP could lead to a fuel leak from the vehicle. This recall covered certain model year (MY) 2015-2016 Volkswagen Golf and Audi A3 passenger car vehicles. The recall remedy repair replaced SJP Version 1.0 with an improved version, Version 1.1. The SJP is designed to purge fuel from the evaporative emiss...

The most recent complaints

In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.

York, ME

ENGINE

Volkswagen Wastegate Turbo Failure / design flaw and “wrongfully and intentionally” concealed a defect from consumers that could cause their vehicle’s engine turbocharger to fail prematurely at any time. Drivers have been unfairly forced to pay thousands out of pocket to repair and my estimate from a VW. dealer is: $4199.21 and I had to pay a $200 diagnostic fee. This is a major safety issue for the vehicle will lag and not accelerate. There is a class action lawsuit filed and settled but I cannot get Volkswagen to help me.

NHTSA complaint #11661666 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Seattle, WA

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

Second occurrence of this issue approximately two years apart, unresolved and unaddressed by manufacturer. Driving during evening on lit city street at night traveling in lane of traffic. In normal course of driving (~25 mph) vehicle applied full brakes with no advance notice in the middle of road. Forward Collision Assist had been activated by what appeared to be a patch of ice on the road ahead. Full braking while driving posed significant risk of rear collision due to automated full brake application without input or forewarning to the driver.

NHTSA complaint #11565501 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Seattle, WA

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

Second occurrence of this issue approximately two years apart, unresolved and unaddressed by manufacturer. Driving during evening on lit city street at night traveling in lane of traffic. In normal course of driving (~25 mph) vehicle applied full brakes with no advance notice in the middle of road. Forward Collision Assist had been activated by what appeared to be a patch of ice on the road ahead. Full braking while driving posed significant risk of rear collision due to automated full brake application without input or forewarning to the driver.

NHTSA complaint #11565501 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Neenah, WI

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

We were driving on the highway when the sunroof exploded. There were 4 of us in the car and none of us recalls anything striking the sunroof. Glass exploded wverywhere.

NHTSA complaint #11508588 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Park City, UT

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

I was driving west on I-80 and my sunroof exploded/shattered. There was no rock to be found anywhere.

NHTSA complaint #11469462 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Cleveland, OH

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

Had forward collision assist (turned on by default at engine start) turned on. When entering an intersection, vehicle stopped short to a full stop right in front of a metal plate on the road in the intersection. Had there been a vehicle behind me, the system may have needlessly caused a collision.

NHTSA complaint #11459292 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Cleveland, OH

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

Had forward collision assist (turned on by default at engine start) turned on. When entering an intersection, vehicle stopped short to a full stop right in front of a metal plate on the road in the intersection. Had there been a vehicle behind me, the system may have needlessly caused a collision.

NHTSA complaint #11459292 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 29,000 miles Winchester, MA

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM ENGAGES WITHOUT CAUSE OR WARNING. AT BOTH SLOW AND MODERATE SPEEDS WITH NO OBSTACLE IN FRONT OF CAR. RISK OF CAUSING A REAR-END ACCIDENT VERY HIGH. DEALERSHIP RAN DIAGNOSTIC AND FOUND NOTHING. RECOMMENDS DISABLING SYSTEM IF ISSUE PERSISTS.

NHTSA complaint #11395424 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 11,200 miles Vienna, VA

STRUCTURE:BODY

WATER LEAK FROM THE PANORAMIC ROOF. HEADLINER AND A PILLAR IS WET AND WILL BE REPLACED. WINDSHIELD FOGGED AND HAD CONDENSATION.

NHTSA complaint #11269976 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 11,200 miles Vienna, VA

VISIBILITY/WIPER

WATER LEAK FROM THE PANORAMIC ROOF. HEADLINER AND A PILLAR IS WET AND WILL BE REPLACED. WINDSHIELD FOGGED AND HAD CONDENSATION.

NHTSA complaint #11269976 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 37,500 miles Berne, NY

STRUCTURE:BODY

PANORAMIC MOONROOF LEAKING AROUND EDGES AND STAINING HEADLINER AND UPHOLESTRY

NHTSA complaint #11265296 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.