2001 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF Complaints

I HAVE A 2001 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF WITH THE TDI ENGINE (ENGINE CODE ALH). LAST NIGHT AND THIS MORNING I HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE ECU POWER RELAY ("RELAY 109"). SYMPTOMS ARE SUDDEN STALLING OF THE ENGINE WITH THE INABILITY TO RESTART FOR 3-5 MINUTES. THIS MORNING DURING MY MORNING COMMUTE MY ENGINE STALLED 4 TIMES, 3 OF WHICH WERE ON AN EXTREMELY BUSY FREEWAY DURING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. THIS IS A KNOWN AND WELL DOCUMENTED PROBLEM WITH THE TDI ENGINE. THERE HAVE BEEN A LARGE NUMBER OF REPORTS OF THIS PROBLEM (SEE HTTP://FORUMS.TDICLUB.COM AND SEARCH FOR "RELAY 109" FOR EXAMPLES). VOLKSWAGEN HAS RELEASED AN UPDATED RELAY WHICH FIXES THIS FAILURE MODE. LUCKILY I WAS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM SO I WAS ABLE TO PURCHASE A REPLACEMENT AND INSTALL IT MYSELF. VW KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND IT IS A SEVERE SAFETY ISSUE... THE ENGINE WILL STOP RUNNING WITHOUT WARNING AND MAY NOT BE RESTARTED FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. LUCKILY THIS MORNING I WAS ONLY TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH WHEN THE FIRST STALL HAPPENED. I RECOGNIZED THE PROBLEM AND AFTER I WAS ABLE TO RESTART MY ENGINE AND CONTINUE ON, I GOT INTO THE RIGHT-HAND LANE, ASSUMING THAT IT WOULD HAPPEN AGAIN. THE NEXT TIME IT HAPPENED I WAS TRAVELING AT ABOUT 55 MPH, AND FORTUNATELY I WAS PREPARED TO STOP THE CAR SAFELY. THIS HAPPENS TO VWS WITH TDI ENGINES UP TO AND INCLUDING THE 2001 MODEL YEAR. THE OLD RELAY PART NUMBER IS 357906381A AND THE NEW REPLACEMENT IS 1J0906381A. THIS SITUATION MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED SERIOUS SINCE THE REPLACEMENT PART IS ONLY ABOUT $25 AND INSTALLATION TAKES LESS THAN 10 MINUTES, BUT I FEEL THAT IT IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. *LA

2001 VW GOLF 2.0L WITH 59K MILES AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON FOR NO APPARENT REASON AT STARTUP AND WOULD NOT GO OFF. CALLED VW OF AMERICA AND WAS GIVEN A CASE NUMBER. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER AND THEY REPORTED THAT THE PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAG HARNESS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. WAITING FOR VW OF AMERICA RESPONSE TO DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS TO TAKE PLACE. *JB

AIR BAGS DEPLOYED ON SIDE FOR NO APPARENT REASON. NO DAMAGE DONE TO VEHICLE OTHER THAN SLIGHT SCRATCH ON THE UNDERCARRIAGE. IT COULD NOT BE DETERMINED WHETHER OR NOT THE SCRATCH WAS THERE BEFORE OR AFTER THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. DEALER REFUSED TO PAY FOR THE DAMAGE, AND THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A SAFETY ISSUE.*AK

MY VW GOLF 2001 WITH 2.0L GASOLINE ENGINE HAS A O2 SENSOR PROBLEM. BUT DEAR COULD NOT FOUND ANY RECALL ON MY CAR. SINCE THERE IS A MASSIVE RECALL ON O2 SENSORS AND MY CAR FIT IN THE CATEGORY, AND IT BROKEN DOWN RIGHT AFTER THE WARRENTY EXPIRES, IT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL. ALSO THE MASSIVE AIR FLOW SENSOR FAILS AFTER THE WARRENTY, WHICH IT IS NOT FIXED UNTIL IT HAS BEEN IN THE DEALER FOR 3 TIMES!*AK

CONSUMER STATED THAT WHILE ENGINE RUNNING AND WITHOUT WARNING THE OXYGEN SENSOR WOULD LEAK CARBON MONOXIDE THROUGH OUT THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SERVICE DEALER AFTER INSPECTION AND HAD A FAULTY O2 SENSOR REPLACED. *AK *CB

THE DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW FAILED TO RESPOND, THE HAZZARD LIGHTS WOULD FLASH WHEN THE DEFROSTER WAS TURNED ON, THE GAS TANK COVER WOULD OPEN WHEN THE CAR WAS STARTED, THE REMOTE CONTROL WOULD NOT WORK... A BUNCH OF RANDOM PROBLEMS WERE INTERMITTENT AT FIRST -THEN BECAME PERMANANT. THE SERVICE MANAGER AT BARRY VOLKSWAGON (DARTMOUTH MA) INSISTED THAT IT WAS NOT RELATED TO AN ADVISORY REPORT ON WINDOW CLIPS BUT OFFERED TO FIX IT FOR $1000. TRACY VOLKSWAGON (HYANNIS, MA) TOOK A LOOK AT THE SAME CAR AND FIXED THE PROBLEM UNDER WARRANTY. IT WAS THE WINDOW CLIPS SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER: 640101. *AK

CAR CONSUMES TOO MUCH OIL. OIL CONSUMPTION TEST IN PROGRESS FROM MANUFACTURER. 3RD TIME WITH TEST. I'VE TAKEN MY CAR TO THE MANUFACTURER 3 TIMES AND THEY TELL ME THAT THEY NEED TO DO THE TEST 3 TIMES IN ORDER TO GUARANTEE THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG. THE CAR JUST EATS UP OIL LIKE CRAZY AND IT ONLY HAS 39K MILES. *NLM

MASS AIRFLOW SENSOR FAILURE HAS CAUSED INTERMITTENT LOSS OF ENGINE POWER WHICH MAY LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT. PROBLEM IS WIDESPREAD, AND REPEATED FAILURES ARE OCCURRING WITH MANY DIFFERENT OWNERS. CARS AFFECTED ARE DIESEL ENGINE MODELS.*AK

SEAT BELT FAILURE. WHEN PULLING ON FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT TO BUCKLE UP, SEAT BELT "JUST CAME OUT" TO FULL LENGTH. NO TENSION AT ALL, LOOSE. DRIVER REPORTED HEARING A NOISE AS BELT WAS COMING OUT, AND IT CAME OUT TOTALLY SLACK. WON'T GO BACK IN NOW. *AK

MARCH 2, '03 WHILE TRAVELING ON A SECONDARY ROAD WITH 5 OCCUPANTS, IN A NON-ACCIDENT EVENT, THE SUBJECT VEHICLE PASSED OVER A LARGE METAL PLATE THAT IS USED TO COVER ROAD WORK FOR THE EVENING OR WEEKEND. WITHOUT WARNING THE DEFECTIVE AIRBAG SYSTEM DEPLOYED THE PSGR SIDE AIRBAGS! NO DAMAGE OR IMPACTS WERE NOTED ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE BODY. HOWEVER, A SMALL SCRATCH WAS NOTED UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE BETWEEN THE DOORS (RIGHT SIDE) AND WHAT APPEARED TO BE A THUMB PRINT IN THE UNDERCOATING UNDER THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT. NEITHER OR BOTH MAY BE RELATED TO THE INCIDENT. VW INDICATED THAT THEY BELIEVE THAT ONE OR BOTH OF THE MARKS, BEING LOCATED VERY NEAR TO THE SENSORS, CAUSED THE DEPLOYMENT. ALTHOUGH UNKNOWN FOR CERTAIN, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A BOLT OR SOME OTHER OBJECT MAY HAVE BEEN LYING ON THE METAL PLATE AND MAY HAVE BEEN PINCHED BY A TIRE - CAUSING IT TO STRIKE THE BOTTOM OF THE VEHICLE. IN NO WAY AN INCIDENT THAT SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED THE AIRBAG SYSTEM. VW HAS ADVISED THAT "AN OUTSIDE INFLUENCE" CAUSED THE AIRBAG TO DEPLOY AND STATED TO THE VEHICLE OWNER THAT "THE SENSORS CANNOT DETERMINE WHETHER A STONE IS HITTING THE VEHICLE OR IF A TRUCK IS HITTING THE VEHICLE." A STATEMENT THAT ALSO INDICATES A DEFECTIVE SYSTEM . WHILE IT'S UNDERSTOOD THAT SENSORS ARE TO "SENSE" THAT SOMETHING HAS OCCURRED, THE "AIRBAG CONTROL MODULE" SHOULD INTERPRET THE INFORMATION BEING SENT BY THE SENSOR AND BE ABLE TO MAKE A MORE REASONABLE ASSESSMENT. IN ANY EVENT, IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT GENERALLY VEHICLES ARE NOT STRUCK BY OTHER VEHICLES FROM UNDERNEATH. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE AS OF 3/28/'03 - VW OF AMERICA HAS REFUSED TO COVER THIS UNDER WARRANTY - A $3,775 REPAIR!!!!! IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE NHTSA INVESTIGATE THIS VERY SERIOUS DEFECT AND ORDER A RECALL BEFORE SOMEONE IS INJURED SERIOUSLY OR KILLED. *NLM