158 of the
2,009 complaints filed about the Volkswagen Golf
are about the transmission —
8% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2022.
158
Complaints
8%
Share of all complaints
2
Crashes
1
Fires
Transmission & Drivetrain complaints by model year
Since shortly after purchase, the vehicle has experienced intermittent drivability and shifting issues along with repeated EPC and check engine warnings. Diagnostic trouble code P0111 (intake air temperature plausibility) has been present along with other electrical and engine management faults. A Volkswagen dealership diagnosis indicated that the intake air temperature sensor and an additional engine insulation “hood blanket” component (not originally installed on the vehicle) are required to address the issue. These components were presented as necessary to correct the fault and resolve intermittent shifting behavior. The shifting issue is intermittent but occurs during normal driving and raises safety concerns due to unpredictable drivability and transmission behavior. The vehicle continues to exhibit warning lights and unresolved performance issues despite multiple repair attempts. The dealership has not identified a clear root cause, and prior repairs including sensor and EVAP-related components have not resolved the condition. Given the involvement of transmission-related drivability concerns and repeated unresolved electronic faults affecting engine performance, I am filing this complaint as a potential safety-related defect affecting normal vehicle operation.
NHTSA complaint #11733997 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The EPC light has luminated 3 times in the last several months. The vehicle stutters and will not accelerate past 25 MPH. Shutting off the engine and restarting it clears the light and vehicle drives normally. The check engine light does not illuminate and no OBDII codes are stored. Manual states to take vehicle to authorized dealership for diagnosis if light stays illuminated.
NHTSA complaint #11688624 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Golf. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the stick shift was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed rear axle and coil springs. The contact was informed that the rear axle and coil springs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
NHTSA complaint #11577150 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle has a manual transmission and is equipped with a hill start assist feature. This holds the brake on a hill so the clutch and gear may be engaged and keep the car from rolling back. The feature in this vehicle does not release the brake when the vehicle starts moving forward and holds it for a set amount of time based on hill gradient. This had led to stalling of the vehicle, as the clutch and gear engagement process is completed before the brakes are released. This can be dangerous in traffic situations, especially in intersections.
NHTSA complaint #11542557 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Over the last two months, I've had over 30 incidences where the car will either randomly shift extremely hard into a gear or will hesitate, stutter, lose power while accelerating. Some of the shifts have been so hard that they've thrown me forward. Some of the losses of power are extremely dangerous as I'm accelerating at highway speeds. I have a full log of at least 30 of these incidents (and detailed as best I could) and they are attached. I picked May 11th because that was the hardest shift/loss of power which caused me the greatest harm. I've been able to reproduce the errors in drive, sport, and Tiptronic mode. The errors occur in all gears, but are most common in 2nd and 3rd (although the higher gears are involved as well), which leads me to believe it's not the transmission, yet the mechatronics unit or something outside of the transmission and engine itself. The troubling issue here is that the car is recording absolutely zero fault codes for diagnosis; that is, the car is shifting, stuttering, hesitating randomly and erratically and no diagnostics are being provided to resolve the issue. Technicians are able to guess what the issue is, but cannot give a guarantee what the problem is without the fault codes. This is the greatest safety concern, but luckily no crashes so far. I was interested to learn that there was a recall on the same model by the Australian government related to the pressure accumulator and I'd like to see if this could be the issue, since I'm experiencing the same symptoms as those described in the recall: https://www.vehiclerecalls.gov.au/recalls/rec-005369. The contact stated that the loss of power issue still persists. The contact stated the issue is a faulty crank trigger.
NHTSA complaint #11525100 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When shifting (6 speed manual) the shifter knob has come off the shaft multiple times and must be put back on when driving causing a safety issue. When shifting from 2-3 and 4-5 pressure on the shift knob causes it to sometimes turn counter clockwise and then the know pops of the shifting mechanism. I have to try and match up the knob with the shaft while driving and push it back and turn it clockwise. In the past, shifter knobs where screwed on and torqued tightly to keep them on. This one only requires a slight twist to come on and off the shaft.
NHTSA complaint #11518283 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The shift knob on the gear selector of my manual transmission vehicle broke off while attempting to merge into traffic while shifting into 2nd gear at roughly 10mph, leaving me unable to select a gear. This put my safety and that of others at risk by temporarily preventing me from moving my vehicle as I was merging with traffic. In addition, this is the second time a factory shift knob has broken in this car. The first one broke and was repaired by a dealer approximately 6 months ago. The shift knob is still in my car, but I will try to replace it soon. This one has not been inspected by a 3rd party yet. There were no warnings or signs of damage prior to the knob breaking off.
NHTSA complaint #11513479 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The shift knob for the manual transmission broke off the shift assembly while accelerating and merging onto the freeway. This is what happened the first time the knob broke off. It has happened 3 times due to the part being physically broken. My safety and the safety of others was at risk. When a car is moving at speed and no longer has the option to shift into a higher gear, you become stuck at a slower speed and this happens very suddenly. If you apply brake then the engine will loose RPM and stall out causing the car to loose control of acceleration suddenly and could result in lose of control. This is stated in the VW owners manual under how to drive a manual transmission. The issue has been confirmed by the local dealership and by VW corporate. The component has been inspected my VW dealership. The vehicle has zero warnings or ways to monitor this.
NHTSA complaint #11507364 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The shift knob pulls off the manual transmission shifter shaft under certain driving conditions, such as a fast shift. I believe that the shifter knob retainer clip is loose or broken. This is a safety problem. I first noticed it when I had to make a quick maneuver during a turn. Experiencing the shift knob pull off the shaft while I was downshifting was dangerous and distracting. I reported the issue to the service department at my local VW dealer. They were not aware of others having the same problem and asked me to bring in the car if I knew how to duplicate it. I can’t duplicate it in normal driving. The second time it happened I was braking for a traffic light while downshifting. I was able to push the knob back down without crashing, but it is very unnerving. No warning lights are triggered. I have not taken the car in to the dealer yet for an inspection. I don’t like the idea of trying to duplicate the problem like the dealer suggested. I want them to inspect the assembly and will probably give them an opportunity soon. I’m reporting this because I feel that VW should treat this issue with more urgency.
NHTSA complaint #11505707 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The gear shifter knob came loose during shifts while driving, detaching from the shaft inside of the leather shifter boot, making it difficult or impossible to select a gear.
NHTSA complaint #11498477 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
As I was merging onto a highway, the shift lever popped up and disconnected from the linkage as I was changing gears. This left me temporarily unable to accelerate on the on-ramp with vehicle traffic around me. I was able to push back down on the lever and reinstate shifting capabilities but the connection was still loose to the touch and could be pulled up again when I came to a rest after I finished driving. This particular part was eventually replaced under warranty as it had many cosmetic cracks and chips in it. Unknown if this is related to the loose linkage as that is a separate part of the shift boot. This vehicle is the manual transmission version.
NHTSA complaint #11497115 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This is related to VW recal 37M2. My VIN is not in the recall list, but it has the exact same issue with the shifter assembly. The car does not recognize when the transmission is placed in Park. Unable to lock doors
NHTSA complaint #11496535 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Poor quality of the shifter knob component and installation from the factory for the 6-speed manual transmission variant of the 2022 VW GTI. The shifter knob can come loose and pop out of the metal shaft while shifting gears in the drive. The poor quality of the knob develops a crack in the corner of the component which can cause the knob to detach from the transmission over time and make the car undrivable. Since taking delivery of the car from the dealership, the shifter knob appears to not be installed properly as the component can feel loose and pop out of the metal shaft and get detached from the transmission. This incident of the shift knob popping out occurred a few times while driving. As changing gears with the shifter knob is a crucial aspect of driving the car, the current component poses a serious quality and safety issue for the car that was overlooked by the manufacturer.
NHTSA complaint #11494263 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
During regular operation I shifted the car from 1st to 2nd gear (manual transmission) and the shift knob came off of the metal rod that attaches it to the linkage and transmission. There was no loud crack to indicate something breaking at the time. thankfully it happened at low speeds and I was able to pull over and reattach the knob and drive it home but the plastic that attaches it to the car is very much broken
NHTSA complaint #11491929 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The manual transmission shift knob has separated from the shift lever multiple times while driving. While shifting between gears, the knob lifts up with the boot off of the actual shift lever and I am unable to complete a shift until reconnecting the knob to the lever. The first time this happened, I was shocked and was nearly hit as I was on a highway entrance ramp and suddenly was not in gear and slowing down in a high traffic situation. Luckily I was able to get it sorted and make a shift with the knob loosely in place and then pull off the road. Firmly pressing the knob down onto the lever seemed to get it solidly attached, but unfortunately this has recurred more than once since then. I'm now aware and conscious to be very careful shifting but to any driver who this happens to the first time could easily be put into a situation of lost control of their vehicle speed or accidentally pull on the steering wheel when the shifter in their hand suddenly is not attached and the movement of their arm to shift results in a jerking of their body since. The shifter in the 2022 GTI (as well as Golf R) is a new design and it appears that multiple owners have experienced the plastic attachment cracking, breaking, or otherwise causing the shift knob to detach. Some owners report having a replacement knob installed and a repeat of the same problem. There seems to be either faulty design or manufacturing of the part, and this is a critical component to car control.
NHTSA complaint #11491949 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Car has Manual transmission. The gear shifter knob plastic near base where it attaches to shaft is cracking in two places. Cracks are getting worse and seem like they may fail. Dealer inspected and will replace. Appeared within 2 months of ownership.
NHTSA complaint #11491066 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Received a low coolant warning and then checked the coolant level. Coolant was low and was topped off. One week later the issue recurred as the coolant level and dropped below minimum levels again. Thermostat housing had a slow leak which was discovered by the dealer. This seems to be a flaw in the design of the thermostat housing as multiple owners are reporting the same issue with the same flaw in the thermostat housing.
NHTSA complaint #11490647 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While shifting the manual transmission, the shift knob and boot came up and off the shifter. Being totally unexpected, I was temporarily shocked, surprised and confused. Luckily, I was on a country road with no other traffic around me and coasted to a stop. I realized what happened and was able to still shift the transmission and get home. Been waiting two months for the part to come in at dealership.
NHTSA complaint #11488868 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Radiator/coolant line busting all over engine. Dealership had no clue but deduced it was the incorrect mounting of the radiator. Then came across an article about this scandal. In the shop for a week-dealership was terrible too. Included a photo after problem was fixed, but the dealership neglected to clean the engine. You can see where the coolant dried.
NHTSA complaint #11487552 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.