2022 VOLKSWAGEN GTI Complaints

Lost my key fob during a hike. The key was attached to my belt through the key ring. Must have accidentally brushed release button for the emergency key, which dropped the key fob somewhere along a ten-mile (16 K) hike. Thought I could start the car using the emergency key. That is not possible. I became stranded. The key fob for 2022 GT1 includes an “emergency” key. The emergency key contains a metallic loop, which is the only way to attach the key fob to a key chain. The emergency key is released by pushing an exposed button on the side of the key fob (see attached picture). Unfortunately, the emergency key only unlocks the driver’s side door. It cannot start the car. In fact, the brakes are lock and the car cannot even be towed without the key fob. I believe losing the key fob was a direct result of faulty design and this problem should have been anticipated by VW. I routinely go for a long hikes from staging grounds that have no cell phone reception and are miles away from any place where I could get help (example: 37.5362566,-121.8474412). After a long hike on a hot day, I am exhausted, low on food, water and endurance. Being past retirement age, I am not equipped to further extend my hike. I believe this is a safety defect that should be rectified through recall if necessary. Fortunately, this time on July 28, I could get cell reception from my parked car. However, I do think my safety was imperiled by the poor design of the key. A single, unintentional motion disconnected the key and left me stranded. I have been unable to contact Volkswagen. Have not found any usable email address. Tried calling the listed phone number, 800-822-8987. After a 40 min. hold, it hung up on me.

In March of 2023, I brought my car into service at my local dealer regarding random SOS and assistive cruise control errors that were causing my cruise control to randomly disengage, which caused multiple safety incidents where the cruise control would cause me to nearly hit the car in front of me or cause the car behind me to almost collide into me. After more than a year of working with VW and the dealership, there is no resolution available to remedy this situation. I also reached out directly to VW and they're only offering a small cash settlement so I shut up and go away. Again, this car has caused multiple close calls which could have resulted in fatal accidents. I do not feel safe in this car and VW is showing zero remorse in denying claims regarding this car. I have another appointment set for August 22nd, which I doubt will resolve the issue I am having.

Travel Assist is disabled which includes Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist. The warning lights flash on and off, sometimes multiple times a second, sounding a loud beeping each time. It is triggered at engine start and persists through all speeds. I have experienced it 0-70 mph. The flashing lights and associated rapid beeping indicating the failure is extremely distracting while driving. Warning lights and warning sounds are designed to alert the driver to a potential safety issue so ignoring the lights and sounds is dangerous in the event it is a different caution/warning. However, also not ignoring it is dangerous because of the frequency of the warnings which causes the driver to look away from the road. After speaking with the maintenance department at my VW dealership, they indicated that this is a widely known problem that is remedied only with the replacement of the steering wheel. There are several other sensors that are triggered by the same issue I was told by the maintenance department. They are uncertain at this time if it impacts the airbag system which is another potential safety concern. The steering wheel can only be ordered after inspection by the maintenance department and there is shortage and/or back order of the part to fix the problem.

[XXX] I hit a pothole at night which punctured the right front tire. Luckily, I was close to a friend’s house and pulled into his driveway with a flat tire. Two safety issues; 1. The warning notification that there was damage to the right front tire appeared for about 10 seconds then disappeared. Only the tire icon continued illuminated. The warning notification should stay lit. Continuing to drive could have been a safety issue. This is a software issue that should be corrected. 2. I was completely unable to change the tire because I could not figure out how to remove the damaged wheel and tire. If this had happened on a deserted back road it could have been very dangerous. The car has a spare, a jack, and a lug wrench, but there are no visible lug nuts on the wheel. After complaining to VW Legal and numerous ineffective communications with VW Customer Care I now understand that there are plastic covers over the lug nuts that must be pried off to reveal the lug nuts. Unfortunately, these covers look like they should be unscrewed with a TORX wrench. I called VW roadside assistance that night; they did not understand what I was asking. The Owners Manual did not have a single section explaining how to change a tire. Later, after reading multiple sections of the Manual I did determine there is a wire loop tool to pull off these covers. Neither I nor my VW Dealer could remove it with just finger strength. VW Customer care referred me to the online Owner’s Manual. Not useful, it shows only the lug nuts, no mention of plastic covers. This is a specific example of a general problem NHTSA should look into. Namely that the Owner’s Manuals for today’s cars are written to cover many models. Finding something specific is difficult at best. In my case it could have been dangerous. What to do? Make the manufacturers publish online manuals that can be downloaded by the dealer for each specific vehicle. [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I purchased the vehicle base in March of 2022. The SOS, Travel and Parking assist warning lights started coming on in August 2022. I took it in for service. They kept the car for a couple of days because they didn't know how to fix the issue. Finally they were told by VW to replace the steering wheel with hope of this resolving the issue. The steering wheel was replace and the issue went away only to come back around November 2022. I took the vehicle in once again and was told that a newer steering wheel is now available and they will replace the one they put in back in August with this newer version. They however don't have an ETA of when the steering wheel will become available. This was back in December when they ordered the steering wheel. It's now almost April 2023 and I haven't heard any updates on the availability of the steering wheel. The warning lights comes on every single time I drive the vehicle and it's to the point of being a nuisance because the lights come on at light 15 to 20 times and each time they come on, they omit a loud beeping noise which is driving me up a wall. I don't really drive the car because of this. Now VW is telling me that my Safe and Secure subscription (which expired in March 2023) needs to be paid in full in order to continue the service even though VW put out a statement stating that this feature will be free to all VW customers for 5 years. I'm basically paying $79.50 for April and May then receiving the feature for no charge starting in June which makes zero sense. I am beyond livid at this point and voe to never purchase another VW manufactured product due to all the stress I've endured while owning this new 2022 vehicle (which should not have any issues from the start). VW sold me a very defective product. I even had to have a new radiator install and the car only has 7K miles on it as of today (3/29/23).

Factory radiator came loose while driving causing the radiator to fall towards engine block. Lower radiator hose was cut by the crank or ac pulley causing all the coolant drain out. Dealer is replacing the radiator hose, but is not addressing the radiator falling out of place. Car had 6,900 miles when the fault happened. The car not been in an accident or been modified in any way.

After 3500 miles my radiator came loose and pushed a lower coolant hose into the alternator belt, chewed through the hose and all the coolant leaked out. Now my car is sitting at a dealer lot awaiting the replacement hose which is on back order in the entire country with no ETA. After this incident I realize this is a common issue(posts on Facebook & Reddit) and for whatever reason VW doesn't seem to be addressing this issue. At the very least they should be shipping a large shipment of these hoses to the US so customers can get back on the road ASAP.