This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Highway driving, glow plug light started flashing, started losing power, then stall. Managed to coast off onto an exit ramp. Mechanic towed, found battery/alternator fine, fuel pressure fine, suggested dealer repair. VW dealer says entire fuel system needs replacing: Hpfp, fuel lines, etc. Noted NHTSA investigation pending on Volkswagen fuel pump problems for similar make, model, year: NHTSA action number :EA11003
Pulled away from stop sign into traffic. Engine quit as if fuel was cut off. Coasted to side of roadway. Car would not restart though it did crank. About a third of a tank of fuel, 80K service was two weeks ago. Car had to be towed to shop.
The car started to make a strange sound and shortly after lost almost all power then stalled out. The glow plug light was flashing which indicates a significant problem. It restarted but still had no power. I pulled over to the side of the road where it stalled again and now would not restart. I had the car towed to my mechanic where they found that the hpfp high pressure fuel pump had failed. When it failed it self destructed putting metal shavings throughout the fuel system. VW's recommended repair is to replace the entire fuel system at a cost of over $8000. This vehicle has been meticulously maintained and has never been misfueled.
I enjoyed this car for the first year from then on nothing but constant problems. The daul mass flywheel, the diesel particulate filter #1 at 98000 miles with a con artist service manager at lagdon VW in vernon ct. Telling me I needed another one 3 weeks later and it was my fault and not covered with vwoa standing by the dealer I took the car to a non VW repair shop and they laughed when I told them my story and had the diesel particulate filter fixed in 10 minutes with no charge. The car passed state emissions with no problem. The high pressure fuel pump went. Now with 6 payments left it needs too much to list and I may default on loan because of constant money spent on repairs. The credit union says they may stop financing VW tdi's because of all the complaints and defaults.
The car affected is a 2010 VW Jetta tdi. Ever since I've owned the car, it has had an issue with running ruff or stalling out. At 30,426 miles I had the dealer look at the vehicle. They ran a diagnostic and test drive with no issues found. This enough for it to be noticeable, but no symptoms are present. I brought the car in again for the same issue on 12/8/14 at 83748 miles, but this time there was an esp error that flashed in the mdi display and then went away. The dealer could not verify the customer complaint. The service manager also stated that he had a similar vehicle with the same problem and the could also not be diagnosed. At the time the dealer told me that I could have the software upgraded and that would be a charge to me or I could have the injectors changed out and that would be covered under the extended warranty. The were charging according to how they were going to fix the problem, not on the issue itself. VW sent me the paperwork in April of 2015 to get my money back. The dealer recommended changing the mdi display, but was not sure this would fix the problem. My concern is that there is an issue that Volkswagen cannot diagnose that could possibly turn into a safety issue with the car stalling.
- Waterbury, CT, USA
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I was driving my 2010 VW Jetta tdi in a parking lot, slowing down at less than 5 mph to stop. All of a sudden, the engine stalled without warning. No warning or check engine lights came on at all. I had to put the car into park to restart it. Since this incident, the engine seems to be sputtering at low speeds.
Flew to dallas to purchase this car 2/27/15. Drove it home 1500 miles to los angeles over 2 days. Got to el paso on 3/1/15 & got into an accident traveling at a very slow speed (15mph or less) going downhill. My particular issue comes in the way of how the transmission behaves going downhill at high or slow speeds. When the cars ECU (electronic control unit) senses the car going downhill, and you transition from the throttle pedal to the brake pedal, the car behaves as if you were driving a manual transmission downshifting & staying in gear. Now you may think that's not a problem, but....since these transmissions technically are manual transmissions with an automatic clutch...if you were driving a manual transmission car & wanted to stop quickly as I did to avoid hitting another car, you would push the clutch in to disengage the transmission from the engine...& thus cause the car to lose it's locomotive force. Well, that is exactly what this car did during the accident. The automatic clutch did not disengage from the engine when slowing down to a stop, and, thus provided the massive low end torque the diesel engine provides even at very low engine speeds. So, that when I saw the car stopped in front of me, I responded with hitting the brakes, turning the ignition off, and even swerved to the left in an attempt to avoid hitting the back of the other vehicle. I could not stop the vehicle in time to avoid hitting the other car. My background: I'm a 32 yr pro-automotive tech who not only works on, diagnoses & repairs all sorts of vehicles using computer controls...but, I used to teach it as well. So, after driving this car now for several weeks, &...having researched this car & multiple other dsg owners complaints online about the way these transmissions shift...I can say for sure, VW's that use these dsg transmissions is/are a major issue when it comes to public safety.
While driving, glow plug indicator flashed rapidly, indicating engine malfunction. Car experienced a reduction in power. After parking in parking lot, car started up and appeared initially ok, but then experienced total engine failure after driving <300 feet. Car was towed to mechanic. Mechanic indicates that metal fragments/flakes were found distributed throughout fuel system/engine, consistent with failure of high pressure fuel pump. Mechanic stated that this condition was consistent with pictures/description found in technical service bulletin 23 14 03.
Vehicle lost power and went into limp mode, dash said service engine. Car died a few minutes later as I tried to limp it to the dealer and it would not restart. I had to tow the vehicle at my own expense but Volkswagen did pay for a completely new fuel system. Cause of the problem was a failure of the diesel high pressure fuel pump. There are thousands of cases of this same problem documented here: forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?T=299854 Volkswagen needs to be held accounted for a defect in their common rail diesel cars if there are this many problems.
My husband left for work and got about 1/4 mile from the house and was not able to accelerate above 30 miles per hour. The glow plug light was flashing along with the engine light. My husband went about a mile total before returning home. He let the car sit for about an hour and tried to start the car. The car would not turn over and the glow plug light was flashing but not the engine light (this time). After several more attempt to start the car it started back up. He decide to drive it to the dealership, where we purchased it, to diagnose the problem. The dealer ship is 30 miles from our house. He made it about 20 miles and the car died while making a turn at a stop light. The light turned red, as my husband was still trying to start the car. It was stalled in the middle of the intersection. I was following my husband in another car and had to stop in the middle of the road with my hazards on so cars would not hit us and go around. After several tries of starting the car he was able to get it started just long enough to pull to the side of the road. The car died again. At this point we had to push the car to a parking spot (down a dead end road) and call a tow truck. The car was towed to the car dealer ship that we purchased the car. It has been at the car dealership over a week with no news other than the high pressure fuel pump is bad and shrapnel has gotten into the engine.
2010 Jetta tdi (diesel) stalled while driving slowly on residential roads and would not start again. Car was towed to dealership where metal fragments were found throughout fuel system due to failure of high pressure fuel pump (hpfp). VW of America paid for entire fuel system to be replaced (~$7000). Owner is sure that vehicle was filled with correct fuel.
While driving home from work, about 30 minutes into a 40 minute drive, driving about 30 mph, in 16 degree F weather, my vehicle, a diesel with a 6 speed manual transmission suddenly stalled. I was able to engage the clutch, go to a lower gear, release the clutch and re-start the engine. With the engine bucking and hesitating, I was able to drive the rest of the way home. The next morning, the vehicle would not start. I had it towed to a VW repair shop where they found a completely blocked intercooler, full of ice. Doing some research, I have found that VW has a tsb to correct intercooler icing, which involves replacing the original factory unit with a new intercooler design. As I looked on VW forums, I found that many drivers have had similar unpredictable failure due to intercooler icing. When I requested VW correct this design flaw at their expense, they refused, claiming the vehicle is off warranty. I would like NHTSA to look into this, as I feel VW needs to either make a safety recall, or correct the problem on any car on which it occurs. This problem strikes me as similar to the recent GM ignition key failure issue. Thank you for your consideration.
Went to start and loud clunk noise & engine would not turn over. Several pieces if ice were found in turbo intercooler area. In shop now. Known design deficiency that VW never informed us about. $1800 to implement tech bulletin with no reimbursement from VW, that is if engine is not ruined.
My husband brought my car in for routine maintenance to the VW dealer in Feb 2014 including a timing belt change. He also discussed a "hard start- no start" issue I was having. The service representative said to make sure the glow plug light goes out before trying to start (I've been carefully watching with each start since that time and there is no relationship between the light and the vehicle starting issue). Today (5 March 2014), I had a repeat of the same problem I've had 3 times this winter: Car starts fine in the am even during below zero temperatures, I drive to work and let it sit for 3-8 hours. Car will not start, regardless of air temp. It takes 4-8 attempts to start the car including "pumping the fuel" pedal. I believe this is a known as a "hard start- no start" intercooler issue and is addressed in the following VW technical bulletin -- https://drive.google.com/file/D/0B162-sx2nn5luzbidg9hcvr6nuu/edit?usp=sharing.
I was driving my 2010 Jetta sportwagen tdi on a two lane state road at 45mph. The car was fueled two days prior with diesel (I am the original owner and have never misfueled) purchased at the fort knox army air force exchange services station. The car's glow plug caution light illuminated and an audible chime sounded as the RPM dropped to between 1000-1400 and an immediate deceleration occurred in traffic. The car would not accelerate and the engine shut down approximately 100 meters later. I had to push the vehicle to a gas station in order to clear the roadway. Vehicle was towed via flatbed to Volkswagen dealership for troubleshooting. The service technician informed me that the high pressure fuel pump failed and sent metallic shavings/material through my fuel system and that the repairs will be very costly. Researching further regarding the materiel failure revealed that there is a systemic problem with hpfp failures in model year 2009-2010 Volkswagen golf and Jetta tdi vehicles. At this time, I do not know if this costly repair is going to be covered by Volkswagen of America under warranty for a faulty pump. The failure did not occur due to any fault of my own and I am thankful that it did not happen with passengers at higher speed in more traffic due to the immediate loss of power to my drivetrain.
The car stalled going down the road in traffic as I lost power steering and braking. Almost caused a wreck except I pulled the emergency brake. The engine codes pulled were P0191 and P0087. This led my mechanic to discovering this is a well known issue for these 2010 Volkswagen tdi's where the high pressure fuel pump fails. Since this fuel pump has a known high rate of failure I'm wondering what Volkswagen is going about it. Please contact me at [xxx] if they are offering assistance or let me know what to do next. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Purchased a 2010 Jetta sportwagen tdi in 2012. Pre-certified 2 years or 24000 miles. Had the routine maintenance done as required and suggested. August 2014, I paid $600 to have the routine maintenance done. September 2014, my car is dead. As I was driving up a hill at 55 mph my check engine light came on and I lost power. Wasn't sure I was going to make it home. Luckily I did. High pressure pump went bad, metal shavings found, clearly a design / engineering issue. I have seen several issues with this on the internet. Vehicle needs to be recalled. First estimate is 5000-6000, I have taken it to the dealer, so the service dept can tell me what is wrong. I am sure they will charge more. Worst part is I am 7000 miles over and do not qualify for the pre cert coverage anymore. Worst investment ever! VW should be ashamed to not have had due diligence and recalled for this issue. This may cost someone else their life.
Vehicle will stall going from reverse to drive or from park to drive. Also from while accelerating there is sputtering that I need to release the accelerator and then apply again to keep it from stalling.
While driving 60 mph on highway 95 in needles California the glow plug light came on and began to flash. Cruise control disabled and the speed of the vehicle began to decrease. No power could be felt when pressing the accelerator pedal and the engine RPM began to fall. Vehicle was placed into neutral and coasted to side of the road. After complete shutdown the vehicle would not restart, unable to drive. Had vehicle towed by aaa to the nearest VW dealer in henderson Nevada and problem was diagnosed as high pressure fuel pump failure (hpfp). Fuel pump was damaged and metal debris from the pump was sent into the fuel delivery system and returned to the fuel tank. All fuel related parts will require replacement and/or cleaning to remove debris. The vehicle required parts that took approx 3 days to obtain and additional days to complete the repair.
On my way home from work I was cruising down at the interstate with the car on cruise control. Everything was fine the first 45 minutes of driving then all of a sudden my glowplug light illuminated and started flashing meaning engine malfunction. My vehicle started losing speed all of a sudden on the interstate which could have easily caused a crash. Luckily I pulled the vehicle over on the side of the road and the vehicle just stalled out on me. Now Volkswagen is saying the high pressure fuel pump sent metal shards into the fuel system and it all needs replaced and they will charge me 8000 dollars. I cannot be blamed for the failure of a fuel pump on a car with 40000 miles.I never allow the tank to go below 1/4 of a tank. There have multiple reports of peoples high pressure fuel pump going out and sending metal shards into the fuel system. This is very dangerous and could get someone very hurt or could possibly result in death. Something needs to be done about this.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Natick, MA, USA