2011 Volkswagen GTI owner complaints

Clutch makes a loud metallic groaning sound when engaging first gear or reverse. Loudest on cold days and when driving the car for the first time every day. Has been occurring for the past year. Many others have reported this issue online and vw has issued a technical service bulletin regarding the issue. They have admitted that this issue is due to a faulty clutch assembly/throwout bearing and have issued a redesigned part to fix the problem, but they are still very inconsistent in covering the cost of replacement for the defective part.

Rough up and down shifts with the dsg transmission. I complained several times over the last 4-5 years to vw dealerships claiming that the transmission was making horrible clunking and clanking sounds in lower gears, and would have rougher than usual shifts normally in reverse to drive, and second gear to first gear, or first gear to neutral. They all but ignored it and blamed it on being the "nature of the car" and to "get used to it". This poses an issue though as the transmission is sometimes slow or hesitant to give power or it'll cut power unexpectedly... So from a stop some power is present, but can cut out for a second or two... Leaving the driver and passengers in a dangerous position. It also lurches forward from a cold start when shifting into drive. If someone did not have their

Came outside to a failed water pump. This is a common problem with various volkswagens. Many shop techs are very familiar with this issue. It is unsafe for the driver and other cars. There is a chance the pump could fail while driving or a person may not notice the coolant on the ground. That can lead to the car overheating and causing expensive damage. You could also be left stranded on the side of the road. Any instance when a person or car are left on the side of the road is a road and health risk. Also when these pumps fail they often leak coolant. The coolant is not safe for the environment. When the pumps do get replaced the issue often comes back repeatedly. This is partly due to the poor design of the system. A revision of the waterpump should be made. Also an extension on the warr

Engine will stall and die within 5-20 seconds after starting. Happens on a warm engine after it sits for 45-60 minutes. Happened multiple times, each after engine has reached operating temperature. This is potentially a deadly problem if the car dies on a street, as it won't steer or have propulsion! Had it seen at vw dealer: they suspect it is the "in-tank fuel pump" but this part is not covered under drivetrain warranty? I called vw customer service but they said they can't help on this $834 repair. I'm perplexed how a fuel pump goes bad on a 2011 with only 45k miles, and that a vital component that will make the car stall & die is not covered under drivetrain warranty. This is a potentially deadly problem if it dies suddenly and cars following cannot swerve around. Very disappointed.

When accelerating after having slowed down for a turn, the clutch fails to engage and I get a false neutral. The RPM goes all the way to 5000, 6000, but the car doesn't speed up because it's in neutral, even when the gear selector is in d. This is difficult to replicate because it happens spontaneously. Volkswagen refuses to recognize problem because it cannot be immediately replicated at the dealership. *tr

False neutral with dsg transmission: I had something scary happen this morning. Next to my house, where I pull out and make a left on to a 4 land road, traffic is coming around a mostly blind curve at 50mph. I have to pull out across traffic and go left onto this road (which has a median). This morning I pressed the gas for a very light acceleration, and it pulled out just a little bit and when it went to second it didn't engage... It went to neutral. I was only 1/2 way across the first lane of traffic. My car barely rolled out of the way of cross traffic. The engine would rev, but no gears were engaged. The stick was in d. Once the car rolled down to about 2mph and I let the rpms drop down to idle, 1st gear engaged and I went about my business. It had literally *just* enough roll

I was merging onto the 5 south freeway from the 110 south freeway, shifting the automatic transmission manually. After shifting into third gear and depressing the throttle, the engine began to rev freely as if in neutral for several seconds. Since the car was coasting and unresponsive, I began to lose speed while merging. I was able to regain power by shifting into neutral, then shifting back into drive and downshifting manually. This could have been an accident very easily if there was more traffic. *tr

While moving and coming to a stop and then accelerating to proceed, the transmission would rev but the car would not move. The car was in drive only way to fix the situation at the time is to come to a complete stop and try to accelerate again. *tr

I own a 2011 vw gti 2-door dsg. I have experienced a "false neutral" about 10 times in the 2 months I have owned this car. Specifically, it happened twice on 08/27/2011, once on 9/25/2011, once on 9/26/2011. Each time I have been in manual mode...it occurs when I am coasting to either slow down or stop...then attempt to accelerate...though the car mfd tells me it is in gear (I.e. 3), the car is in neutral...the accelerator does nothing but rev the engine...the car remains coasting. I have to take the shifter out of manual mode, and place it into d...and wait about a second or two without touching the accelerator in order for a clutch to engage a gear and allow me to move. On 8/27, both times it happened when trying to complete a left hand turn on a green...a dangerous situation to find you

From second day of ownership vehicle has had transmission (dsg automatic) problems. At well over 40 occurrences (in 30,000 miles) the transmission will slip into neutral when slowing to a rate of 10mph or less and then trying to accelerate, causing an extremely unsafe condition. One instance a collision was avoided by another motorist swerving onto the sidewalk to miss my vehicle and almost struck a pedestrian when my transmission went into neutral and I coasted into the intersection. Another symptom of the transmission is that the car will go into neutral at highway speed. At 65-70mph it will without warning or notice go into neutral and sometimes will not go back into gear until the vehicle has come to a complete stop. I have had the car into the dealer many times and it is the same s

Vehicle suddenly began sputtering, and struggling to make power after being started and driven down a street at low speeds. ECM and ECU both threw codes pertaining to a cylinder misfire. Replaced sparkplugs. Misfire remained. Identified as ignition coil pack, which is an extremely common issue on this model. Previous generations of the same car report recall notices. This generation unfortunately missed the recall so far, and has several threads on noted forums pertaining to others who have had problems as well with the faulty coil packs. Vwoa alluded to being aware of the issue when contacted, but did not offer full compensation. Vehicle is out of bumper to bumper warranty. Not covered as "engine component" under powertrain warranty. *tr

I tried to start my car, which was parked in the driveway; the battery was working fine, but the engine would not start. I had it towed to a vw mechanic the next morning, 11/9/17. The vw mechanic informed me that my timing tensioner chain had broke causing my pistons to crash into one another, causing my engine to not work and need a total rebuild. My car had given no warning, no engine lights, nothing to allude to an impending catastrophic issue involving my engine. My car only has 59,000 miles on it, premature for this issue - especially with no warning. This issue is not protected by warranty.

My vw gti has a failing timing chain tensioner that caused my valves to collide with pistons and required a rebuild of the engine (excluding timing chain). The engine is not timed correctly and has lost a ton of power and is rattling, if I continue to drive it will most likely cause the engine to seize again. The vehicle was stationary and initially broke upon turning it on.

60k miles timing chain tensioner failed at idle in my garage causing catastrophic engine damage. Vwoa declined assistance despite tsb existing for updated part. Vwoa cited reason of failure as improper maintenance. All my maintenance was done on time or early at vw dealers with the exception of 3 oil changes I performed myself with recommended oil. The rate of failure is extremely high and customers are not being informed that an updated part exists. I brought this car into the dealer twice for camshaft correlation codes which were verified and I was told it's normal operation. This cost me $3000 to repair. Also warranty extensions on other parts are not disclosed when you run your VIN on vw's website. Fraudulent concealment is being committed. If this happened while the vehicle was in mo

This is my third Volkswagen gti in three years, and for the second time in the 6 years I've owned this car, the headliner has detached and fallen down onto passenger. Three times if you count the sunroof visor shade cloth. This happened on both previously owned vw models as well. Volkswagen is incapable of making a quality cloth liner for the doors, roof, and other components covered by their fabrics/upholstery. Vw claims this is typical wear and tear and not a fault of their components, but then why does it occur every three years on every single model they produce?

This is my third Volkswagen model, particularly golf gti model in ten years, and for the third time, like clockwork, the air con has died before 48k miles on the odometer. All signs point to a faulty sensor on the compressor that dies, and typically shrapnels the compressor, dry, and other critical air con systems, causing zero cold air to blow. Vw has a recall or an open tsb for this faulty sensor and the parts affected by it on previous models after several complaints, but refuses to extend any compensation or assistance for the facelifted mk6 generation. Vw is cheapening out and using the same exact parts as before, and hoping to slide under the radar to avoid having to shell out costs to fix and repair for the newer generations. This is absurd. Vw should be ashamed for putting such a f

When the key has been inserted into the ignition cylinder, the key will not turn all the way to turn on the vehicle. It will stop in the accessory setting and not go further. The key can be taken out again but same issue continues if you try again. The automatic transmission on my vehicle is fully engaged in park and the steering wheel is not locked. The car will not turn on and will force me to have it towed to a mechanic to repair or replace the ignition lock cylinder that seems to be damaged. All accessories power on just fine when the accessory setting is engaged so that leads me to believe the ignition switch is fine but the cylinder is damaged. Replacement of this part requires the removal of the steering wheel, airbag, steering column arms and other electronics so I am taking it

Intermittent, partial or full loss of of exterior lighting. Warning lamp inside did provide the names of multiple, random lights that had failed, sometimes accurate, other times inaccurate. Lights would fail at random while the car was in motion. Fuse f16 overheated and melted the fuse box exactly as described in NHTSA campaign id number: 13v569000, and vw safety recall 97z9. Volkswagen assured me the parts are not related and that the tiguan recall does not affect my model, but come on.

Ongoing engine misfire issues. After 3 visits to dealership and replacement of coils, fuses, relays, etc, root cause determined to be a short between the after run coolant pump which causes a voltage draw and confuses the ECM. After talking with vw technician, I learned that this same exact part on Audi vehicles is under a safety recall for the shorting issue that my pump is having because the short can cause fires. However, the vw part is not under recall. My family could have been put in grave danger because this part is in my car and has not been recalled. In addition, even though the part has failed, vw will not compensate me for the repair, so I have no choice but to pay $500 out of pocket to fix a safety hazard in my vehicle. For reference, Audi recall number is 18v229000.

Put my key into the ignition and recieved, "error: airbag" now my airbag light is on and I didnt do anything to my electrical or airbag system.