2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF Complaints

I PURCHASED A 2015 VW GOLF TDI WITH 18" WHEELS AND LOW PROFILE PIRELLI TIRES AUGUST 2014. THIS VEHICLE WAS RE-ENGINEERED FOR THE US MARKET TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE UREA TANK THAT IS NEW AND SPECIFIC TO THE US TDI PLATFORM. ALL OTHER GOLF MODELS HAVE AN INDEPENDENT SUSPENSION SYSTEM WHILE THIS MODEL WAS DOWNGRADED TO A TORSION BEAM REAR SUSPENSION. THE VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED ON LOWER END MODELS WITH 16" WHEELS AND HIGHER PROFILE TIRES, BUT THE HIGH END VEHICLES HAVE THE 18" WHEELS AND LOW PROFILE TIRES AS STANDARD EQUIPMENT. ON APRIL 25, I NOTICED A SIDEWALL BUBBLE ON A FRONT TIRE. VW REPLACED BOTH THE TIRE AND BENT RIM AND I WAS TOLD THE OTHER 3 RIMS WERE BENT. THEN THE OTHER FRONT TIRE HAD A SIDEWALL BLOWOUT AND BOTH THAT TIRE AND WHEEL WERE REPLACED. THE OTHER WEEK I ENDED UP WITH A SIDE WALL NAIL IN A REAR TIRE. THIS TIRE WAS REPLACED BUT NOT THE WHEEL AND I WAS TOLD THAT ALL WHEELS ARE BENT, INCLUDING THE 2 NEW WHEELS. I HAVE JUST UNDER 18000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE, HAVE CALLED VW AMERICA AND WAS SENT THE SPEC SHEET ON THE CAR. I ASKED IF A CAR WITHOUT INDEPENDENT SUSPENSION WAS ENGINEERED FOR LOW PROFILE TIRES AND ASKED FOR SOMEONE TO EXPLAIN WHY I HAVE HAD 2 SIDEWALL ISSUES AND 6 BENT RIMS IN UNDER 18,000 MILES AND 11 MONTHS WITHOUT ANY RESPONSE OTHER THAN VW AMERICA SENDING THE SPEC SHEET. I FEEL THAT THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND ASKED FOR THE SPECIFIC ENGINEERING APPROVAL OF LOW PROFILE TIRES WITH THIS SUSPENSION SYSTEM AND WAS TOLD VW AMERICA DOES NOT HAVE THIS INFORMATION AND WOULD NOT PROVIDE IT TO ME IF THEY DID.

FAILURE OF ADBLUE EMISSIONS SYSTEM. DEALER REPLACED PUMP FAILED AGAIN BEFORE LEAVING WORK BAY

THE VW EGOLF AUTOMATICALLY TURNS ITSELF OFF WHEN THE DRIVER EXITS THE VEHICLE. EVEN THOUGH THE KEY IS LEFT IN THE VEHICLE, ONCE THE DRIVER EXITS THE VEHICLE THE VEHICLE SHUTS DOWN. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN. YOU INTENTIONALLY LEAVE THE VEHICLE ON TO ENSURE THE CABIN IS MAINTAINING A COMFORTABLE TEMPERATURE FOR YOUR PASSENGERS... MEANWHILE, THE VEHICLE SHUTS DOWN AND DISABLES THE CLIMATE CONTROL. YOU HAVE NOW LEFT YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS, ELDERLY, CHILDREN, PETS, ETC POSSIBLY IN A HOT VEHICLE WITH NO WAY TO MAINTAIN CABIN TEMPERATURE! PEOPLE, CHILDREN AND PETS DIE REGULARLY FROM CABIN EXTREME TEMPERATURES! PLEASE CONTACT VW AND TELL THEM TO REVERSE THIS PROGRAMING! A DRIVER/OWNER SHOULD HAVE CONTROL OVER THIS! I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY OTHER VEHICLE IN THE MARKET THAT AUTOMATICALLY TURNS ITSELF OFF WHEN THE DRIVER EXITS THE VEHICLE!

I WAS TRAVELING ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MILES AN HOUR AND MY SUNROOF EXPLODED WITHOUT WARNING. TEMPERATURES OUTSIDE WERE IN THE MID 90'S, TIME OF DAY WAS 6:00 PM, I HAD AIR CONDITIONING RUNNING AND SUNROOF AND INTERIOR SHADE TOTALLY CLOSED. AFTER THE EXPLOSION, THE SUNROOF WAS BOWED FROM THE INSIDE OUT (CONVEX CURVE) AND THE SAFETY GLASS WAS SHATTERED IN WEBLIKE PIECES. I PULLED OVER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND I WAS MISSING GLASS FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOF ABOUT THE SIZE OF AN OBLONG WATERMELON.

I WAS IN HAYWARD ON THE 880 FREEWAY (FLAT, DRY ROAD) IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, IN THE HOV LANE GOING ABOUT 40 MPH, AND MY VW E-GOLF JUST SHUT DOWN AND SHOWED THE ERROR "ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURE: STOP!". I HAD ENOUGH MOMENTUM TO COAST 5 FEET OVER TO THE LEFT SIDE (CENTER DIVIDER) I COULD NOT MAKE IT COMPLETELY OUT OF THE LANE. CARS WERE LAYING ON THEIR HORN AND SPEEDING PAST ME WHILE MY BUMPER HUNG OUT A FOOT INTO THE LANE. THE CAR IS 3 MONTHS OLD. IT HAD A CHARGE OF 86 MILES WHEN IT HAPPENED, I HAD IT ON A CHARGING STATION IT SHOWED I CHARGED MY CAR ACCUMULATED (KWH): 29.523. THE RADIO, WINDOWS, BLUETOOTH AND ALL OTHER ELECTRICAL POWERED INSTRUMENTS STILL WORKED. I PRESSED THE POWER BUTTON OFF AND TURNED IT ON AGAIN , THE ERROR STILL REMAINED, AND THE CAR WOULD NOT "TURN ON".

THE MODEL ABOVE IS A GOLF TDI WITH A 6 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION....AS I WAS DRIVING IN 6TH GEAR AT 60 M.P.H. WITH THE CRUISE ENGAGED I CAME UPON A DOWN GRADE AND AS I HAVE DONE FOR CLOSE TO 50 YEARS AND NUMEROUS STANDARD TRANSMISSION CARS, DOWN SHIFTED TO 5TH TO ALLOW ENGINE BRAKING DOWNHILL. WHEN I LET THE CLUTCH BACK OUT THE CAR ACCELERATED INSTEAD OF SLOWING BECAUSE THE CRUISE NEVER CANCELLED. IT WAS TRYING TO BRING ME BACK TO THE SET 60 M.P.H. SET SPEED. TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER, GANLEY VW NORTH OLMSTEAD OHIO, ON 6/8/15, AND AFTER THEY LOOKED AT IT I WAS TOLD THIS WAS "NORMAL" THIS WAS NEVER "NORMAL" WITH ANY OTHER CAR I HAVE OWNED AND IF SO IT DEFINITELY IS NOT A SAFE FEATURE.

RURAL ROAD IN FLORIDA, CRUISE CONTROL SET TO SPEED LIMIT OF 45 MPH. APPROACHING A SHARP CURVE, I DOWN SHIFTED MY MANUAL TRANSMISSION FROM 5TH TO 3RD TO SLOW DOWN TO AN APPROPRIATE SPEED OF ABOUT 35 MPH. WHEN I RELEASED THE CLUTCH, AND BEGAN STEERING INTO THE CURVE, THE CAR'S CRUISE CONTROL RE-ENGAGED AND I FOUND MYSELF STRUGGLING TO STEER AROUND THE CURVE AT 45 MPH. EXACT MODEL IS GOLF SPORTWAGEN TDI SEL WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSION. VW'S OWN INSTRUCTION VIDEO SAYS THAT WHEN THE CLUTCH PEDAL IS DEPRESSED THE CRUISE CONTROL DIS-ENGAGES AND THAT THE DRIVER MUST PRESS THE RESUME BUTTON FOR THE CRUISE CONTROL TO BE RE-ENGAGED. IN MY 50 YEARS OF OPERATING AUTOMOBILES, EVERY CAR WITH CRUISE CONTROL AND A MANUAL TRANSMISSION HAS OPERATED PER THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE VW VIDEO. UPON CAREFUL READING OF THE OWNER'S MANUAL I FOUND THE FOLLOWING DISCLAIMER: "CHANGING GEARS WHEN CRUISE CONTROL IS ACTIVE ... THE CRUISE CONTROL REDUCES ACCELERATION AS SOON AS THE CLUTCH PEDAL IS PRESSED, AND AUTOMATICALLY CONTINUE TO REGULATE SPEED AFTER A GEAR CHANGE." THIS NON-STANDARD BEHAVIOR MAY SOON LEAD TO PEOPLE BEING KILLED. *TR

TWO FOAM PIECES, ONE ON THE LEFT AND THE OTHER ON THE RIGHT, IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT ARE WRAPPED IN TRANSLUCENT VINYL. SINCE THE VINYL CANNOT WITHSTAND THE HEAT, IT CAN CAUSE FIRE. BELOW ARE PICTURES OF THE VINYL WRAPPED FOAM ON THE RIGHT SIDE. THE WEB FOLDER ADDRESSES ARE CASE SENSITIVE. HTTPS://LH4.GOOGLEUSERCONTENT.COM/-TAJJEWYCJ6E/VUKQFQ8MJPI/AAAAAAAAB_E/4OZ-CUBFFRI/W1157-H868-NO/IMG_3101.JPG HTTPS://LH4.GOOGLEUSERCONTENT.COM/-APZJAK01WIM/VUKQGSDF26I/AAAAAAAAB_Q/PQUVYQ0OOKY/W1157-H868-NO/IMG_3112.JPG HTTPS://LH6.GOOGLEUSERCONTENT.COM/-JIXPGFG4D4Q/VUKQFRDJGMI/AAAAAAAAB_I/H5VKEOKW2G4/W1157-H868-NO/IMG_3104.JPG. *TR

THE PAINT NEAR A BOLT FOR ENGINE SUPPORT ON THIS ALLEGED NEW CAR IS DAMAGED, AND BARE METAL IS EXPOSED. AS THE RUST DEVELOPS, THE ENGINE SUPPORT MAY FAIL, AND THE ENGINE BLOCK MAY GO OUT OF POSITION. THIS CAN CAUSE FATAL ACCIDENT. BELOW IS THE PICTURE OF THE PAINT DAMAGE. THE WEB ADDRESS IS CASE SENSITIVE. HTTPS://LH3.GOOGLEUSERCONTENT.COM/-YVIYISDZMDO/VUVSSTKR7UI/AAAAAAAACBO/IEPTS_IAK4C/W1219-H914-NO/IMG_3189.JPG. *TR

THE DRIVERS SIDE HIGH BEAM IS NOT AIMED PROPERLY, IT IS POINTED BELOW THE CUT-OFF LINE OF THE LOW BEAM. THE HEAD LAMP ASSEMBLY HAS BEEN REPLACED BY THE DEALER TWICE BUT THE AIM WAS NOT IMPROVED. VOLKSWAGEN WAS CONTACTED, THEY EVALUATED THE SITUATION AND SAID THAT THIS WAS THE WAY THE SYSTEM WAS DESIGNED AND SO COULD NOT BE FIXED. THE DEALER ALSO SAID THAT THEY LOOKED AT OTHER CARS OF THIS SAME MODEL AND THEY ALL OPERATED THE SAME. BOTH THE HIGH AND LOW BEAM REFLECTORS ARE MOUNTED IN A COMMON HOUSING AND THE ASSEMBLY ONLY HAS ONE ADJUSTMENT SO BOTH BEAMS MOVE UP AND DOWN BY THE SAME AMOUNT. THIS APPEARS TO BE A DESIGN DEFECT. I FEEL THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD AS ONLY ONE OF THE HIGH BEAMS IS ILLUMINATING THE ROAD. *TR