Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 6 of 19 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
Electrical System. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Power Train. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Engine. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
1 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports
What owners actually said
19 reports
Mileage unknown · May 12, 2022
Air BagsElectrical SystemEngine
Multi-system failure - multi incidents; Dealership has confirm and 'corrected' but several electrical/engine issues persist. Vehicle has been inspected by three VW dealerships (Royal Motor Sales in San Francisco, Serramonte, CA and Kalispell VW in Montana). Several issues were observed while driving - multiple system failure w…
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Multi-system failure - multi incidents; Dealership has confirm and 'corrected' but several electrical/engine issues persist. Vehicle has been inspected by three VW dealerships (Royal Motor Sales in San Francisco, Serramonte, CA and Kalispell VW in Montana). Several issues were observed while driving - multiple system failure warnings, and also engine failure multiple times. The last time the engine failed while driving 75 miles an hour and there was no where to pull off nor shoulders.
NHTSA ODI #11464370
Mileage unknown · Mar 9, 2022
Service BrakesCrash
The plastic button for the hand brake/ parking brake pops out of the handle which then causes the brake to release. VW has replaced the part under warranty 2 times since I purchased the vehicle. In my case the second time it happened the car popped out of gear and struck 2 cars across the street from my driveway. Dealer states i…
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The plastic button for the hand brake/ parking brake pops out of the handle which then causes the brake to release. VW has replaced the part under warranty 2 times since I purchased the vehicle. In my case the second time it happened the car popped out of gear and struck 2 cars across the street from my driveway. Dealer states its a common issue. But Volkswagen has done nothing to correct the issue other than replacing the hand brake repeatedly on the cars. It's a major safety issue in my opinion. And I feel they need to come up with a permanent solution rather than replacing with a new faulty part. I have since sold the car back to the dealer as I don't trust that the hand brake on the car won't fail again.
NHTSA ODI #11455944
Mileage unknown · Jun 19, 2021
Unknown Or Other
I experienced two leaks inside my car due to a VW manufacturer defect with sun roof drain tubes. The first time it happened my car was three months old. At 20 months it happened again causing extensive staining in the interior of my car. No where in my maintenance schedule was I told to clean out drains. The dealer is saying…
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I experienced two leaks inside my car due to a VW manufacturer defect with sun roof drain tubes. The first time it happened my car was three months old. At 20 months it happened again causing extensive staining in the interior of my car. No where in my maintenance schedule was I told to clean out drains. The dealer is saying I'm liable because the drain clogging was environmental. I say the drains should not be clogging this much on a new car. There are numerous instances of leaks and vehicle buy-backs for VW Alltracks, as well as other VWs for this. I paid the dealer $250 to unclog the drains because I have no choice but now I'm out of luck with the replacement of the headliner. The dealer admitted it's no where written that unclogging those drains is required.
NHTSA ODI #11421493
7,500 miles · Apr 9, 2021
Power Train
COOLANT LEAKING FROM THERMOSTAT HOUSING WATERPUMP MODULE CAUSING ENGINE ISSUES. COMMON ISSUE ON THE VW EA888 GEN 3 ENGINE.
NHTSA ODI #11407230
4,500 miles · Jan 7, 2021
Electrical System
KEY FOB LEFT ON TOP OF CAR WHILE TRYING TO PUT CAR SEAT IN, WHICH ALLOWED CAR TO START (PUSH TO START) AND MOVE, HOWEVER KEYS FELL OFF CAR DURING MOVEMENT. WHEN DONE WHILE PARKED THIS WILL NORMALLY LEAD TO A BEEPING SOUND AND A WARNING THAT THERE IS NO LONGER A KEY IN PROXIMITY, AND TWO BIG YELLOW LIGHTS COME UP ON THE DASHBOAR…
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KEY FOB LEFT ON TOP OF CAR WHILE TRYING TO PUT CAR SEAT IN, WHICH ALLOWED CAR TO START (PUSH TO START) AND MOVE, HOWEVER KEYS FELL OFF CAR DURING MOVEMENT. WHEN DONE WHILE PARKED THIS WILL NORMALLY LEAD TO A BEEPING SOUND AND A WARNING THAT THERE IS NO LONGER A KEY IN PROXIMITY, AND TWO BIG YELLOW LIGHTS COME UP ON THE DASHBOARD. HOWEVER, AS THE KEY FELL OFF THE ROOF WHEN THE CAR WAS ALREADY IN GEAR/MOVING, NO WARNING SOUND OR DASHBOARD LIGHT CAME UP (CAR ACTED AS IF EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO LONGER A KEY IN RANGE). THIS LED TO A SET OF LOST KEY FOB/HOUSE KEYS AND BEING STRANDED ONCE PARKED.
NHTSA ODI #11386904
182 miles · May 5, 2020
Power Train
ISSUE WITH AUTOMATIC DSG TRANSMISSION AFTER 3 DAYS OF OWNERSHIP AND 182 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. ISSUE FIRST HAPPENED WHILE ACCELERATING FROM A STOP AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT AFTER IT TURNED GREEN. AFTER SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND THE CAR LOST POWER, FREE REV'D AND AFTER APPROXIMATELY 5 SECONDS WAS ABLE TO ENGAGE 2ND GEAR QUITE ROUGHLY. …
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ISSUE WITH AUTOMATIC DSG TRANSMISSION AFTER 3 DAYS OF OWNERSHIP AND 182 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. ISSUE FIRST HAPPENED WHILE ACCELERATING FROM A STOP AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT AFTER IT TURNED GREEN. AFTER SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND THE CAR LOST POWER, FREE REV'D AND AFTER APPROXIMATELY 5 SECONDS WAS ABLE TO ENGAGE 2ND GEAR QUITE ROUGHLY. PRESENTED AN ERROR MESSAGE THAT STATED "TRANSMISSION IN EMERGENCY MODE: REVERSE NOT AVAILABLE." PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT UNDER IT'S OWN POWER AND POWER CYCLED THE IGNITION. ERROR CLEARED, NO WARNING LIGHTS AT THAT POINT. HAPPENED AGAIN A FEW HOURS LATER WHILE DRIVING AT 40 MPH, A SERIES OF SUDDEN JERKS AND AN ABRUPT LOSS OF POWER, TRANSMISSION APPEARED TO BE IN NEUTRAL. CEL AND OTHER WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. ONCE THE CAR SLOWED IT ENGAGED FIRST GEAR AND LIMP MODE. IT WAS ONLY POSSIBLE TO DRIVE AT ABOUT 10 MPH IN THIS STATE. IT WAS QUITE ABRUPT DECELERATION IN A NORMAL TRAFFIC PATTERN AND WAS DIFFICULT TO AVOID GETTING REAR-ENDED AND PULLING OVER SAFELY. SCAN TOOL ERROR CODES ATTACHED. INDICATES CLUTCH 2 OPENING AND CLOSING UNINTENTIONALLY. *TR
NHTSA ODI #11323353
3,000 miles · Apr 27, 2020
Structure
SUNROOF LEAKS INTO CABIN CAUSING HEADLINER STAINS AND WATER DAMAGE TO HEADLINER. VW IS NOT TAKING CARE OF THE ISSUE PROPERLY AND I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT MY CAR FOR 29 DAYS NOW.
NHTSA ODI #11322344
270 miles · Feb 21, 2020
StructureUnknown Or Other
HELLO. I PURCHASED A NEW VW GOLF ALLTRACK SE FROM OPEN ROAD VW MANHATTAN ON 2/3/2020. THE NEXT DAY, I STARTED NOTICING RATTLING NOISES FROM THE DRIVER SIDE HEADLINER WHEN CAR IS IN MOTION OVER BUMPS AND CORNING AROUND SOFT SHOULDERS. THE DEALERSHIP NOTICED THE SOUND AND ATTEMPTED TO REPAIR THE ISSUE ON 2/17/2020 WITH LUBRICATION…
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HELLO. I PURCHASED A NEW VW GOLF ALLTRACK SE FROM OPEN ROAD VW MANHATTAN ON 2/3/2020. THE NEXT DAY, I STARTED NOTICING RATTLING NOISES FROM THE DRIVER SIDE HEADLINER WHEN CAR IS IN MOTION OVER BUMPS AND CORNING AROUND SOFT SHOULDERS. THE DEALERSHIP NOTICED THE SOUND AND ATTEMPTED TO REPAIR THE ISSUE ON 2/17/2020 WITH LUBRICATION. THE CAR WAS RETURNED TO ME AND UNFORTUNATELY THE RATTLING SOUNDS PERSISTS.
NHTSA ODI #11310540
855 miles · Feb 13, 2020
Structure
VEHICLE WAS DELIVERED BRAND NEW WITH A LEAKING PANORAMIC SUNROOF. THE DEALERSHIP ATTEMPTED TO REPAIR IT BY GRINDING DOWN BAD WELDS, REPLACING THE SUNROOF ASSEMBLY AND HEADLINER TO NO AVAIL. VEHICLE WAS BOUGHT BACK BY VOLKSWAGEN USA. THIS IS A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM WITH THESE VEHICLES AND VOLKSWAGEN NEEDS TO COME UP WITH A FIX THAT'…
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VEHICLE WAS DELIVERED BRAND NEW WITH A LEAKING PANORAMIC SUNROOF. THE DEALERSHIP ATTEMPTED TO REPAIR IT BY GRINDING DOWN BAD WELDS, REPLACING THE SUNROOF ASSEMBLY AND HEADLINER TO NO AVAIL. VEHICLE WAS BOUGHT BACK BY VOLKSWAGEN USA. THIS IS A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM WITH THESE VEHICLES AND VOLKSWAGEN NEEDS TO COME UP WITH A FIX THAT'S FREE TO OWNERS REGARDLESS OF WARRANTY BEING ACTIVE, IN OTHER WORDS AN OFFICIAL RECALL, UNTIL THEN DO NOT GET STUCK WITH ONE OF THESE CARS.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Golf, Golf Alltrack, Golf Sportwagen, 2019-2020 Golf GTI, and Jetta vehicles equipped with a conventional ignition switch. The ignition switch may fail, especially in high temperature environments.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Ignition switch failure can cause the electrical system to shut down and the engine to stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 1, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 28H7.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan LWB, Golf Sportswagen A7, Golf Alltrack, Golf R GP, Audi Q3, Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas, Golf A7, Audi A3, 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021 Atlas FL vehicles. The tire pressure monitoring system may not detect an air pressure loss in adequate time when deflating occurs among all four tires simultaneously. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An undetected sudden loss of pressure in all four tires increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the TPMS software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audis customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Jetta GLI, Golf Alltrack, and Golf GTI vehicles. The front wheel bearings may have been improperly machined, potentially causing excessive stress on the wheel, wheel bolts, or wheel bearings.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: The excessive stress can cause steering, traction or other stability issues or breakage relating to the front wheels, and increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will replace the wheel bearing assemblies, wheels, and wheel bolts, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 40P1. Note: The affected owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repairs have been made.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0
No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
2019 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack Problems, Complaints & Recalls | Skip That Year