A month ago I noticed my Gti was stalling when I tried to accelerate after a stop. Went on a drive with a lot of hill climbing and the car starting to stall on the uphill portions. The problem was noticeably worse after that, so I took it to a local shop. They weren't entirely sure but put in a new fuel filter. The problem did not get better. Today, a month later, I took my car to a different shop for further diagnosis and they determined it was a high pressure fuel pump/camshaft failure. The car is not performing safely due to stalling and a lag in acceleration.

- Cayucos, CA, USA

On October 9th, I attempted to start my car. It would turn over but would not start. I had to be towed to the nearest VW dealership. After inspection, I'm told that the timing 'mysteriously' advanced and destroyed all the engine valves. And now my only two options are to either replace the engine or think about buying another car. My car has less than 85K miles, always maintained at a VW branded maintenance facility, and everything kept factory standard (no aftermarket or third-party components). Thankfully this did not occur while I was on the highway earlier in the day. According to numerous accounts by other VW owners, there was a common culprit that led to this very same problem. Many report a defective timing chain tensioner that broke around the same mileage, which then led to immediate destruction of the engine. I contacted VW hq directly and pleaded my case. Unfortunately, they will do nothing to assist me financially in repairing/replacing my car. Now I'm seeking other avenues to hold VW responsible for knowingly installing defective parts on their vehicles.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

Water pump failed on 3 separate occasions. Had the fuel pump fail, air intake, excess carbon build up on valves, and now total engine failure. The rocker arm for number 3 cylinder broke in half causing total engine failure. Vehicle was in motion during all of the events. VW won't assist in repairs even though the 2.0 tsi engine has a well documented history of engine failure when the timing chain tensioner fails. They won't fix it unless it is under warranty. If you have this model of engine get it checked before you are out an engine.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

Within seconds of starting, the engine stalls (making a sputtering sound) and dies. This seems to happen on warm starts, not hot, not cold. I'm typically able to move the car (only a few feet) before the stall out occurs. The temperature gage seems to be around the 11 O' clock mark when this occurs. Specifically, it's happened after driving the car for 20-40 minutes, then letting the car sit for 1-2 hours. The car starts up again and runs anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour after the incident - closer to the 30 minute mark, pressing the accelerator seems to help the car from stalling. It is difficult to duplicate this behavior, there are no warning lights indicating what the issue may be, and it seems that there is either no fault code generated by the electrical system or it is being erased periodically. This has made it difficult to have the issue diagnosed and repaired by dealer service centers. This is very dangerous, considering it may cause the car to stop in traffic leading to an increased risk of crash. This is not an isolated report, there are other complaints on this site and on several VW forums posted online (these accounts include several videos that confirm this is a consistently experienced problem). Potential issues commonly identified include the fuel pump, fuel filter, or the fuel pump control module. Another VW vehicle - VW tiguan, model year 2007-2014, has been recalled for a similar issue attributed to the electronic control module (ECM) of the vehicle.

- Redwood City, CA, USA