FaultScore report
Owners have filed 13 complaints about the 2019 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen with NHTSA between 2019 and 2026. The largest single group is the engine & cooling. Across this model's run it ranks 5 of 5 worst.
8/100
Measured against the other years of the Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen, never against another car.
How this is worked out13
Complaints
0
Crashes reported
0
Fires reported
0
Injuries reported
NHTSA overall crash rating
From the agency's own crash tests
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.
Click any bar to open that year's report.
Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.
Median failure at 78,000 miles
Median failure at 61,000 miles
Median failure at 30,655 miles
Odometer readings owners gave when they filed. About half of all complaints include one.
The agency crash-tested this model year itself. These are its own photographs and star ratings.
Frontal crash test
Side barrier crash test
Side pole crash test
| Configuration | Overall | Front | Side | Rollover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen SW FWD |
13.4% risk
|
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.
In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.
SUSPENSION
The rear axle coil spring coil spring is defective. Safety recall Code: 42J5 VW did not contain the suspect parts since I have the same failure mode as recall. VW Sport wagon is on recall, but not my VIN number. I hope you can hold VW responsible for defective coil springs, I'm sure I am not the only one.
NHTSA complaint #11761405 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Gulf Sportwagen. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V110000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. The contact was concerned about the vehicle catching fire. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
NHTSA complaint #11583342 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The grab handles to not remain flush to interior roofliner. The springs or appartatus is defective. All four handles hang down (some were never used). Passengers and drivers hit their head on these handles when entering or exiting the vehicle.
NHTSA complaint #11574049 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle restarted after 15 minutes but then stalled again. While driving 45 MPH on three other occasions, the vehicle stalled. The check starting system message was displayed. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the part to repair the vehicle was not available. The contact called another local dealer, Volkswagen Lee’s Summit (2225 NE Independence Ave., Lee's Summit, MO 64064) and was informed that the parts were not available. The manufacturer was contacted but the contact was awaiting a call back. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTS Campaign Number: 23V604000 (Electrical System). The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.
NHTSA complaint #11568828 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle restarted after 15 minutes but then stalled again. While driving 45 MPH on three other occasions, the vehicle stalled. The check starting system message was displayed. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the part to repair the vehicle was not available. The contact called another local dealer, Volkswagen Lee’s Summit (2225 NE Independence Ave., Lee's Summit, MO 64064) and was informed that the parts were not available. The manufacturer was contacted but the contact was awaiting a call back. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTS Campaign Number: 23V604000 (Electrical System). The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.
NHTSA complaint #11568828 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V604000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
NHTSA complaint #11563225 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SUSPENSION
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen. The contact stated while the vehicle was being inspected by a certified mechanic, the contact was informed that the coil springs were fractured. The vehicle was not repaired; however, the dealer and the manufacturer were made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.
NHTSA complaint #11527263 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SUSPENSION
The right rear coil spring fractured at the lower control end of the coil. This model was subject to a recall (19V188000) for premature fracture of the coil spring. However, according to VW this recall did not affect the VIN of our vehicle. Suspect that the recall either should have included our VIN or that the replacement springs have a similar material defect.
NHTSA complaint #11512910 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
HORN. It takes great effort to sound the horn on this model VW. I am the original owner, and took it to two (2) VW dealers and they said that it works properly, but then again, they pressed very hard to make it work, and not how a normal driver would use it. For me and other drivers however, normal pressure on the horn will not sound it. I have driven many cars over the years (I am 63 and started driving 15-1/2) and I find this dangerous. I am in a Facebook group of VW Golf Sportwagen & Alltrack (similar car) owners, and many other owners state the same issue, and that it is dangerous. I have an older 1998 Volkswagen Passat 1.8T Wagon, which the horn performs much better. You can tap it and it goes "beep" like to communicate "thanks" (or other) to drivers, pedestrians, etc., or press normally and it goes "HONK". The horn on the 2019 Golf Sportwagon often doesn't sound when pressed, and it is a serious safety issue for me and my family. My wife has witnessed this multiple times and thinks it dangerous too. It is a serious flaw of this vehicle and I wish I had reported it sooner. Here are some comments from other Facebook users (same vehicle / model / year): "It is about the sensitivity of the pressure switch. Takes too much force to engage and it's not easy to modulate it.", "The horn is horrible. I have hit it in panic and it doesn't blow. If there is a VCDS code to shange it, please share." "Same behaviour on my 2017 VW Alltrack"; "Yep - another thing I don't like about this car. I have to remove one hand from the control rim if I have a situation where another car is about to hit me"; "I smash the steering wheel and it honks". I live in NYC and haven't yet, but will ask a Police officer or fireman to try to sound it. I haven't reported it to my Insurance, and no OBD-II codes or check engine lights -- supposedly this is "normal". This has been this way since Aug 27 2019 when I purchased the car, and hasn't improved or gotten better. END
NHTSA complaint #11497754 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The vehicle suddenly shut off while going 60 mph on the highway, and a 'Check Starter System' message appeared before a message that indicated that I need to stop the vehicle appeared. Vehicle was able to restart and the same issue occurred again less than 1 mile down the road. My safety was at risk due to the loss of power, that on another road or a highway on ramp, could have caused a collision due to the loss of speed I experienced. There were no prior warnings until the loss of power. The manufacturer service center was unable to replicate the issue or make any corrective action.
NHTSA complaint #11480880 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The vehicle suddenly shut off while going 60 mph on the highway, and a 'Check Starter System' message appeared before a message that indicated that I need to stop the vehicle appeared. Vehicle was able to restart and the same issue occurred again less than 1 mile down the road. My safety was at risk due to the loss of power, that on another road or a highway on ramp, could have caused a collision due to the loss of speed I experienced. There were no prior warnings until the loss of power. The manufacturer service center was unable to replicate the issue or make any corrective action.
NHTSA complaint #11480880 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
The vehicle suddenly shut off while going 60 mph on the highway, and a 'Check Starter System' message appeared before a message that indicated that I need to stop the vehicle appeared. Vehicle was able to restart and the same issue occurred again less than 1 mile down the road. My safety was at risk due to the loss of power, that on another road or a highway on ramp, could have caused a collision due to the loss of speed I experienced. There were no prior warnings until the loss of power. The manufacturer service center was unable to replicate the issue or make any corrective action.
NHTSA complaint #11480880 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
THE MOTOR COMPLETELY SHUTS OFF UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION. SOMETIMES THERE WILL BE A LOSS PF ENGINE POWER AND A 'STUTTERING' AND JERKING JUST BEFORE THE STALL OCCURS, BUT NOT ALWAYS. AT FASTER SPEEDS THERE IS A HARD THUMP AND SUDDEN DECELERATION. MY CAR HAS STALLED 14 TIMES WHILE IN MOTION AT SPEEDS FROM 20 MPH TO 60 MPH SINCE I STARTED COUNTING (THERE HAVE BEEN MORE STALLS THAN THIS). THE CAR ALSO NOW STALLS AT STOP LIGHTS, STOP SIGNS, OR SIMPLY WHILE IDLING IN NEUTRAL (I HAVE VIDEO OF THE MOTOR SHUTTING OFF). THE ISSUE FIRST APPEARED AT ABOUT 310 MILES ON THE ODOMETER ON 19 AUGUST 2019. THE CAR NOW HAS ONLY 372 MILES ON IT. ALL STALLS HAVE OCCURRED WHILE CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN IN A STRAIGHT LINE, ON BOTH LOCAL ROADS AND A STATE ROUTE HIGHWAY. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DOES NOT COME ON WHEN THESE STALLS OCCUR. THERE HAVE BEEN THREE NEAR-ACCIDENTS SINCE THE PROBLEM OCCURRED. CAR WAS PURCHASED 29 JULY 2019, VEHICLE HAD 122 MILES ON IT FROM DELIVERY FROM A PENNSYLVANIA DEALER TO MY DEALER IN MARYLAND.
NHTSA complaint #11245618 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.