i was driving down the freeway on the way to work at 75 mph when all of a sudden my EPC went off in my 2013 volkswagon gti my entire car shut down (manual transmission) i lost all steering ability while on the freeway going 75 mph i couldn't get over to the shoulder due to loss of brakes due to entire car shutting down.i was almost smashed by a semi due to inability to steer my vehicle to total loss of power. i got the vehicle towed to a service shop they tell me that my timing chain had stretched and timing chain tensioner has failed, which caused significant damage to my engine. i bought the vehicle used and have taken meticulous car on it since i have owned it 3k oil changes, proper oil, proper, premium gas as notated milage based maintenance. the service center then notifies me that there was a class action lawsuit about failing timing chains and tensioners but when i called my local volkswagon dealership they told me it only covers up to125,000 miles but what i don't understand is that this issue almost cost me my life this is a known issue hence a class action lawsuit but to actually take care of the situation they refuse to do so i do enjoy the vehicle but i almost lost my life

- Warren, OH, USA

The gti started making clacking sounds, and shaking while on but stopped. Then the epc and check engine lights started flashing. Afterwards, the car would not accelerate at all and would shake a lot more. When taken to autozone for diagnostics of the check engine light, the report read: "perform engine de-carbon procedure." The coil packs were fine.

- Huntersville, NC, USA

The problem started about three months ago when my car had 50K mi. Right after it had been serviced by the dealer. Initially, the yellow engine light would come on occasionally (e.g. on in the morning and then off in the afternoon). Now the yellow engine light is steady on and the engine makes some weird noise when starting. The fault code P2015 (from obd-II diagnostic set) indicates that there is an intake manifold failure. The intake manifold is making an unusual rattling noise when the engine is running idle and fuel performance has been affected. The car used to run 27.5 mpg and now it is running about 24 mpg on average. Some of the forums and internet sites that I visited said that this problem occurs so frequently on the 2.0T tsi engine used on VW gti and Audi A3 between 2009 and 2015 that VW extended the warranty for this part to 120K mi. Or 5 yrs. (whichever comes first). However, when I took my car to the local dealer the mechanic said that, after checking the VIN, this recall/warranty does not apply to my car. People on the internet says otherwise and told me to try another dealer. Unfortunately, there is no other dealer nearby. The local dealer wants $ $1,400 to replace the manifold and clean the injection valve. My car has been serviced only by this dealer. I have the service records of all scheduled maintenance.

- Ventura, CA, USA

High pressure fuel pump failure - car stalled out in the middle of normal operation, driving down the street, no signs or warning prior.

- Paoli, PA, USA

Driving at highway speed (60mph) engine shut down abrubtly and glow plug warning light came on. This resulted in having to coast across three lanes of traffic with difficulty in steering and braking to narrow shoulder area. Engine would crank over but not restart. Vehicle towed to dealer. Diagnosis is high pressure fuel pump failure, a known issue with these vehicles.

- West Islip, NY, USA

The high pressure fuel pump failed at 130,000 miles costing $5000 to replace the high pressure fuel pump and 4 injectors. This is a diesel engine, so 130,000 highway miles is nothing. I have had multiple diesel powered cars and trucks in the past that have gone passed 300K miles before a major repair was needed. This was supposed to be a "economy car" as per what the salesman stated. I do not know of any other vehicle that cost's $5000 to replace a high pressure fuel pump. $5000 is 1/3 the value of the car. The car stalled on me in the middle of a intersection with my kids in the car. Recommended maint on the car has always been done at the correct time and miles. I have found numerous case's on the tdi forum that many other VW tdi owners have had the same problem, some even twice. This is a serious safety problem and not to mention but a serious misleading of the public in what a economy car" should be. So with all this being said now, I have to add that I can not afford this "economy car" any longer as that I cant trust it to be safe and reliable to drive. Recently, I have tried to trade this car in the various new car dealers on a more simplified safe vehicle to no avail. The dealers have all told me that they would take the car in on trade, but would give me only at the most $1000 on a trade because they stated they can not sell it as used with the dieselgate black cloud on this car. So I am on the hook to Volkswagen of America still making payments on a car that imo is unsafe to drive, and that has no resale value due to VW of America cheating on the vehicle emissions system.

- Fresno, CA, USA

On 5 Aug 2015, at approximately 9:00 pm, my 2013 VW Golf tdi suddenly died while driving down a major thoroughfare in lexington, ky. I narrowly escaped being hit by a tractor trailer in the rear end when the car died. I had previously put $20 worth of diesel fuel in the car earlier that morning so the car had been driven approximately 40 miles after fueling before the car suddenly died. After the car died, it would not restart so I had the car towed to the local VW dealer in lexington, ky. I went back to the dealer the next morning (6 Aug) and dropped off the key and explained to the assistant service manager (merritt) what had happened. I called the service dept back around 3:30 later that day to check on the status and was informed that the high pressure fuel pump (hpfp) had failed. They told me that they were still diagnosing the car to determine the extent of damage and what parts were going to need replaced. Since the hpfp is a known issue in the VW diesel models, he recommended that I call corporate VW of America and open a new case which I did and provided the case number back to the dealership. Yesterday (7 Aug), I got word from the dealership that the entire fuel supply system had metal shavings in it and that all major parts were going to need replaced, fuel pump, injectors, fuel lines, etc and that the estimated bill has going to be between 5-7 thousand dollars. VW of America also contacted me yesterday and let me know that they had been in contact with the lexington dealership and told me that they would let me know by Monday, 10 Aug if they would cover the parts and labor past the warranty expiration date since the hpfp failure is a known issue on the Volkswagen tdi models. I will update this as I receive new information. I am retired military and a current federal government employee.

- Winchester, KY, USA

I was sitting in traffic and when I began to accelerate the car just died in the middle of the road. I turned on my hazard lights for people could go around me so I could figure out how to get to safety. As soon as the car died I tried to turn the key to get it started again. Once I did that a bunch of lights came on and got a clicking sound once I turned the key. I then quickly put the car in park and was able to start the engine. Could be a very dangerous situation if this happened while trying to cross a dangerous intersection. I told dealer and they wrote it up but found nothing.

- Santa Rosa Beach, FL, USA

While driving about 2 miles after starting my car the diesel glow plug warning light started flashing and it felt like I lost power. I got to a safe place about 500 feet after, pulled over, turned off the car and started it again it seemed ok for a minute but then it started flashing again then the check engine light came on, I turned it off and it wouldn't start, it made a loud whine & clicking noise. It was towed to the dealer, they informed me that the bearings failed in the high pressure fuel pump.

- Tempe, AZ, USA

Driving in freeway traffic at around 35-40 mph. Prior, to this incident, car has been well maintained and trouble free. Engine died, subsequently power steering stopped working and I needed to steer vehicle to shoulder of road. I consider myself to be an experienced driver and was able to adjust to situation, concerned that a less experienced driver could have had an accident in the same situation.

- Laguna Niguel , CA, USA

I was driving on the highway at 5 miles per hour and my car started losing power......like it had a clogged fuel filter. Brand new 2 weeks old I thought not possible. I tried to safely get it to the left lane dodging traffic with my slow moving car. It went to 20 mph and it did not completely stop but refused to go faster then 20 mph. Got home with it let it sit half an hour. Started right up and ran find. Dealer checked hpfp disintegrated inside itself sending metal shavings through out. Complete fuel system replaced.....nice for a 2013 brand new car. What happens the second time it happens will the dealer replace again?

- Hyde Park, NY, USA