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: 1 of 81 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.
Power Train. Review the 25 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Forward Collision Avoidance. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
0 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports
What owners actually said
81 reports
Mileage unknown · Aug 30, 2022
Power Train
The Radiator was loose when I inspected it. Seems the radiator clips were not in place causing the radiator to become loose. Which would cause it to fall against the accessory pulley while running causing a hole in the radiator thus creating a over heating problem. Luckely I caught the issue before it became competently dislodge…
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The Radiator was loose when I inspected it. Seems the radiator clips were not in place causing the radiator to become loose. Which would cause it to fall against the accessory pulley while running causing a hole in the radiator thus creating a over heating problem. Luckely I caught the issue before it became competently dislodged. So far it seems VOA doesnt have a recall or a permanent fix for the issue so the DIY community has come up with a temporary fix which is not ideal. My car was manufactured in may 2022. If the radiator would come loose driving it could cause an accident on the highway putting other motorist lives in jeopardy.
NHTSA ODI #11482073
Mileage unknown · Aug 28, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling
July I broke down with a "low coolant" light, I pulled tot the side of the road, opened the hood and had a low coolant level. After further inspection of why - my radiator had come loose, pushing parts of it into the serpintine belt causing coolant to splew all over the engine bay. After a month of being at VW, they "Fixed" it. …
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July I broke down with a "low coolant" light, I pulled tot the side of the road, opened the hood and had a low coolant level. After further inspection of why - my radiator had come loose, pushing parts of it into the serpintine belt causing coolant to splew all over the engine bay. After a month of being at VW, they "Fixed" it. I picked up my car after they had called me yelling about the rental car they had given me, to bring it back at x date and time. So I had to break my Vacation in Oregon short which was about a 959 mile drive for me and get my car. Which, a week later broke down again from the same issue and left me stranded for 24 hours. I have pictures/videos of this.
NHTSA ODI #11481597
Mileage unknown · Aug 20, 2022
Power Train
The shift knob on my 2022 VW Golf GTI cracked and broke off while driving at 500 miles. Was very scary as I couldn’t shift while driving at about 40 mph.
NHTSA ODI #11480304
Mileage unknown · Aug 19, 2022
Engine
While driving warning lights started flashing stating car was over heating. Had the car towed to VW dealership and was informed that the coolant hose was leaking and needs to be replaced. This problem has been reported by many other GTI owners. Was old it will take between 1 to 4 months to secure the part.
NHTSA ODI #11480176
Mileage unknown · Aug 10, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling
Radiator became loose causing radiator to have play, which in turn caused it to push the radiator hose into the drive belt causing the vehicle to spill coolant everywhere and overheat
NHTSA ODI #11478703
Mileage unknown · Aug 10, 2022
Power Train
Gear shift knob came off post during shift from 1st gear to 2nd gear. Component may not be available for inspection, vehicle still at a dealer for repair. Safety was compromised by the distraction caused from shifter suddenly coming loose with no warning and from losing the ability to select a drive gear without re-seating the k…
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Gear shift knob came off post during shift from 1st gear to 2nd gear. Component may not be available for inspection, vehicle still at a dealer for repair. Safety was compromised by the distraction caused from shifter suddenly coming loose with no warning and from losing the ability to select a drive gear without re-seating the knob back on the post. As post is covered by shift boot, this must be done blindly by feel. Vehicle is at a dealer service center where it has been determined the vehicle requires a new "gearshift assembly" per phone call and is pending repair at time of writing. A similar failure with more detail and photos is available at the link below https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/shifter-knob-cracked-off-of-shaft-mid-traffic.9512198/#post-115640046
NHTSA ODI #11478629
Mileage unknown · Aug 10, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling
driving along normally with 1600 miles on the car and a low coolant message and tons of other warning lights came on. Radiator came loose from its mount, causing a cooling hose to contact engine pulley and fail. Towed car to dealership and 6 weeks later they finally fixed it.
NHTSA ODI #11478621
Mileage unknown · Aug 10, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling
Passagner side radiator housing clip is loose and can disloge the radiator allowing the coolant sensor to make contact with the serpentine belt gear and break the coolant hose connector that can casue a catasrophic coolant system failure. Multiple ownsers are also complaining of the same issue. https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/…
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Passagner side radiator housing clip is loose and can disloge the radiator allowing the coolant sensor to make contact with the serpentine belt gear and break the coolant hose connector that can casue a catasrophic coolant system failure. Multiple ownsers are also complaining of the same issue. https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/coolant-system-failure.9496016/ video showing the issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWZuAx7tA8w Local dealer states: no repair available at this time when I brought it to the dealer to address before it became an issue. I already had to reclip it twice.
NHTSA ODI #11478520
Mileage unknown · Aug 9, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling
Radiator LOOSE causing excessive rubbing on coolant hose causing leak and leaving vehicle stranded. This is happening to HUNDREDS of VW MK8 GTI's. This is a massive quality control issue and VW needs to address this very prevalent issue. This is causing owners to zip tie their radiators to prevent movement. My vehicle is brand n…
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Radiator LOOSE causing excessive rubbing on coolant hose causing leak and leaving vehicle stranded. This is happening to HUNDREDS of VW MK8 GTI's. This is a massive quality control issue and VW needs to address this very prevalent issue. This is causing owners to zip tie their radiators to prevent movement. My vehicle is brand new, just purchased new at dealership 2 weeks ago, mine is loose as well. Had I not been on enthusiast forums, I would have never know about it. Terrible quality control by VW!! This is a serious issue. https://www.facebook.com/DeutscheAutoParts/videos/1232366914233838
NHTSA ODI #11478379
Mileage unknown · Aug 8, 2022
Power Train
The gear shift knob for the manual transmission became loose during driving. This made it difficult to shift gears while driving, which makes it difficult to drive the vehicle safely. I was able to pop it back into place when I was stopped, but it has happened 2 times already in 2 weeks so I am concerned that it will eventually …
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The gear shift knob for the manual transmission became loose during driving. This made it difficult to shift gears while driving, which makes it difficult to drive the vehicle safely. I was able to pop it back into place when I was stopped, but it has happened 2 times already in 2 weeks so I am concerned that it will eventually become permanently loose.
NHTSA ODI #11478291
Official recalls
0
No recalls in this snapshot.
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.
2022 Volkswagen Golf Problems, Complaints & Recalls | Skip That Year