2015 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen other reported problems

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

PTC auxiliary heater core failure causing near fire event. The failure causes the main power input to melt causing a burning plastic smell and smoke. The problem has been reproduced by multiple vehicle owners and happens during cold conditions as it supplies heat to the cabin prior to the engine hitting optimal operating temperatures. No warning messages or codes are thrown as a result of this issue. It is a hazard and could cause harm to operators of the vehicles affected.

NHTSA complaint #11692499 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

A defect that meets the definition of a nonconformity in Washington State, and that is covered under warranty, caused the vehicle to stall while driving and caused the vehicle to not accelerate when the accelerator was pressed. My safety was put at risk when this happened on a 50 mph road because vehicles behind me expected my vehicle in front of them to accelerate in a predictable way with the flow of traffic. Another time, a stall happened as I turned onto a highway. I had come to a stop, waited for the traffic light, and then turned right and pressed the accelerator as I normally would to get up to 50 mph. A flashing glow plug light came on, and the car immediately had zero propulsion, and so I turned the steering wheel to roll to the side of the road and turned on my hazard lights. I was fortunate that I was not rear-ended. On another occasion, I came off of the interstate as normal, but when I tried to drive over the overpass at a slight incline, the vehicle was unable to accelerate to 20 mph, and would only go about 5 mph no matter how much the accelerator was pressed. This happened multiple times, but not all of the time, and it was unpredictable when it would happen. It was dangerous to me because I could not time traffic circles with confidence that I would be able to press the accelerator and get up to speed without being struck from the left, or turn out onto busy roads with confidence I wouldn't be t-boned, or merge with traffic on the highway. The mileage on the vehicle at the first attempt to diagnose/repair the defect was 63935 on 10/11/2019 when a VW dealership diagnosed and replaced two glow plugs under warranty. Several more times it was warr. repaired. In November 2021, after the vehicle was repaired and failed on the dealership test drive, an engineer from Volkswagen inspected the vehicle, it was further repaired and released to me. A couple of months later, the vehicle stalled on a highway and a flashing glow plug light came on.

NHTSA complaint #11493252 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

I did a left-U turn- heard a loud sound, and then all the electrical things on my steering wheel failed, like horn, air bag, and controls. The failed airbag light is on, and it has other warning lights as well. I am now not protected in a crash, nor can I use my horn. I believe from a bit of research that my car has what I think is the same clockspring defect that VW has had in a TON of their vehicles- mine has failed- but does not seem to fall into a safety recall. Why is that? This seems to be a serious safety problem they have had- and I believe it should be covered by the manufacturer.

NHTSA complaint #11488593 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

TRIM AT COMPARTMENT / SHIFTER BOOT IS PEELING AND ALUMINUM COATING WILL HAVE A RAZOR SHARP EDGE WHICH SLICED MY HAND OPEN

NHTSA complaint #11365023 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

THE VEHICLE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM HAS BECOME UNUSABLE (SCREEN DISTORTION) AFFECTING TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR, BACKUP CAMERA, TRACTION CONTROL SETTINGS (PREVENTING EMISSIONS INSPECTION), SERVICE NOTIFICATIONS AND OTHER VEHICLE SYSTEMS ONLY ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THIS UNIT. DEALER OFFERED LITTLE ASSISTANCE. SYSTEM HAS THEFT PROTECTION MAKING THE DEALER THE ONLY METHOD OF REPAIR. DEALER REFUSED TO UNLOCK A USED COMPONENT THAT COULD FIX THE PROBLEM.

NHTSA complaint #11349976 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

THIS CAR WAS PURCHASED AS A CERTIFIED VEHICLE AFTER RECEIVING THE EMISSIONS FIX. AFTER LESS THAN 10,000 MILES AND ONLY ONE YEAR OF OWNERSHIP, ALL MY DASHBOARD WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON (INCLUDING AIRBAG ERROR) AND THE FLOOR MATS WERE SOAKED WHEN I STARTED MY CAR AFTER A SEVERE RAIN STORM. I WAS TOLD THE SUNROOF DRAINS WERE PLUGGED AND CAUSED THE ELECTRICAL ISSUES. THE DRAIN BEING PLUGGED WITH DEBRIS IS CONSIDERED AN EXTERNAL FACTOR AND THEREFORE THE REPAIRS ARE NOT COVERED BY THE WARRANTY OF THIS CERTIFIED CAR. THE OWNER'S MANUAL INDICATES THAT MAINTENANCE ON THE SUN ROOF DRAINS IS RECOMMENDED AT 40,000 MILES. AS NOTED, THE CAR WAS BELOW THE 40,000 MARK BUT HAD SAT IDLE FOR OVER A YEAR BETWEEN THE TIME IT WAS BOUGHT BACK FROM THE ORIGINAL CUSTOMER TO WHEN IT WAS SOLD AS A CERTIFIED VEHICLE.

NHTSA complaint #11299655 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

THE PUSH START BUTTON NOT WORKING NEED PRESS MULTIPLE TIME JUST TO START THE CAR ALSO APPLY WHEN I NEED TURN THE CAR OFF . I NEED PRESS PUSH AND START MULTIPLE TIME JUST TO TURN OFF THE CAR.

NHTSA complaint #11253109 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

CLOCK SPRING FAILED AT 52,000 MILES--AFFECTING BOTH THE AIRBAG AND HORN. VW REFUSED TO REIMBURSE ME FOR THE REPAIR, DESPITE THEIR CLOCK SPRING RECALL ON MULTIPLE VW MODELS, THAT WAS INITIATED BY NHTSA INVESTIGATION.

NHTSA complaint #11181182 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.