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2004 problems

FaultScore report

2004 Volkswagen GTI problems

Owners have filed 13 complaints about the 2004 Volkswagen GTI with NHTSA between 2005 and 2017. The largest single group is the electrical system. Across this model's run it ranks 25 of 29 worst.

Read the complaints What breaks Worst years for the Volkswagen GTI All 2004 cars

FaultScore 25/100

Higher is worse. Measured against the other years of the Volkswagen GTI.

How this is worked out

The numbers

Complaints

Crashes reported

Fires reported

Injuries reported

22,090 mi

Median mileage at failure

Half of reported failures happened before this

67%

Failed under 36,000 miles

Inside a typical bumper-to-bumper warranty

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.

The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.

Complaint volume — 10: Against the median year of the Volkswagen GTI. 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 — 100: 67% of failures with a mileage on record happened under 36,000 miles, against a national rate of 29%.

How 2004 compares with every other Volkswagen GTI

Click any bar to open that year's report.

3 2 2 1 28 11 12 12 11 58 97 141 72 13 12 57 102 76 295 68 66 52 42 18 123 84 57 21 288 10 8 56 11 40

85 86 87 91 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

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

What breaks on a 2004 Volkswagen GTI

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

Airbags 4 30.8%

Median failure at 11,180 miles

Electrical System 4 30.8%

Median failure at 11,180 miles

Other & Unspecified 1 7.7%

Doors, Latches & Locks 1 7.7%

Fuel & Propulsion 1 7.7%

Median failure at 166,190 miles

Lights 1 7.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 1 7.7%

Median failure at 33,000 miles

When it fails

Odometer readings owners gave when they filed. About half of all complaints include one.

10,000 – 24,999 miles 3 50.0%

25,000 – 49,999 miles 1 16.7%

75,000 – 99,999 miles 1 16.7%

150,000+ miles 1 16.7%

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.

Apr 2005 peak 6 Aug 2017

Recalls on the 2004 Volkswagen GTI

A complaint is one owner's allegation. A recall is the point at which the manufacturer or a regulator agreed the defect is real and dangerous enough to fix for free — however old the car is.

Canada — Transport Canada

Canada runs its own recall programme, and its campaigns do not always mirror the American ones.

Recall 2006122 24 May 2006 244,526 units in Canada

Lights And Instruments

On certain Golf, GTI, Jetta, Jetta wagon, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, Passat and Passat wagon, the brake lamp switch may malfunction. If this happens, the brake lamps could become inoperative; or could come on and stay on, even though the vehicle is parked. Correction: Dealers will replace the brake lamp switch with a newly revised version. This action includes vehicles previously affected by Transport Canada recall 03-184 and 04-075. The switch installed during this prior repair may not function properly. Note: parts available December 2006.

Recall 2005012 19 Jan 2005 108,501 units in Canada

Seats And Restraints

Certain vehicles equipped with the comfort seats option may have a seat heater element that can malfunction when the ignition switch is in the "ON" position and the seat heater switch is also "ON". If this happened, the seated occupant may experience excessive heat in this location. The heating mat could damage, or melt a small hole in the seat. If this were to occur, an electrical/melting smell or small amount of smoke would be noticeable. In some cases, the small hole in the seat could damage the seated occupant's clothing. In rare instances, this could lead to a minor or superficial skin injury. Correction: Dealers will modify the driver's seat heater by installing an electrical repair kit and will install a new passenger side seat heater switch.

Recalls cover specific build ranges, so check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls or, in Canada, Transport Canada.

The most recent complaints

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

Filed 9 Aug 2017 at 166,190 miles Lincoln, NE

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 VOLKSWAGEN GTI. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER. AFTER A COUPLE OF SECONDS, THE VEHICLE WOULD REGAIN POWER. IN ADDITION, WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AND RESUME DRIVING. A FEW DAYS LATER, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT WHEN HE PULLED THE FUEL FILTER AND INLET OUT, THERE WERE METALLIC PARTICLES IN THE FUEL FILTER. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE CONTACT CALLED THE SCHWORER VOLKSWAGEN DEALER (LOCATED AT 3301 SCHWORER DR, LINCOLN, NE 68504) WHO STATED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 166,190.

NHTSA complaint #11013920 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 21 Jun 2010 at 89,000 miles SAN Diego, CA

AIR BAGS

AIRBAG LIGHT HAS COME ON, THE DEALER WANTS $105.00 TO DIAGNOSE WHY.

NHTSA complaint #10339413 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 18 Sep 2008 Whittier, CA

AIR BAGS

THE AIRBAG LIGHT ON MY 2004 VW GTI 1.8T HAS COME ON FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON. I HAVE HAD THE CAR SCANNED WITH PROPER EQUIPMENT, SCANNED THE ECU, FOUND NO CODES, CLEARED THE CODES AND THE LIGHT CONTINUES TO REAPPEAR.

NHTSA complaint #10242801 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 28 Nov 2007 at 33,000 miles Santa Clara, CA

POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY

CLUTCH FAILED ON CAR AT ONLY 33,000 MILES. NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY CONSIDERED NORMAL. WEAR AND TEAR. CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL REPLACED AT DEALERSHIP FOR $2300.

NHTSA complaint #10210227 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 27 Feb 2007 Port Washington, NY

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

I DRIVE A 2004 GTI 1.8T AND FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS IT HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FOR THE FOLLOWING: DEFECTIVE HOOD LATCH, DEFECTIVE RADIO, DEFECTIVE ALARM, WINDOW RECALL, DEFECTIVE BATTERY, AND NUMEROUS DEFECTIVE HEAD LIGHTS, TAIL LIGHTS AND BREAK LIGHTS. EACH TIME, THE PROBLEM IS FIXED, DUE TO THE WARRANTY, THEN I AM TOLD THAT ITS JUST DEFECTIVE PARTS. IS THE WHOLE CAR DEFECTIVE???