Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.: Electrical System › Ignition › Anti-theft › Control Module
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. reported this defect to federal regulators on Jul 11, 2018 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 33,168. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Volkswagen Golf and Golf Sportwagen vehicles. The build of silicate on the shift lever micro switch contacts may enable the key to be removed from the ignition while the vehicle shift lever is not in "Park." As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
The risk
Removing the key while the shift lever is in a position other than "Park" increases the risk of an unintended vehicle rollaway that may result in personal injury or a crash.
The remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional switch and circuit board, free of charge. The recall began March 19, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 37L5.
8 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Volkswagen Golf | 29 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen | 12 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 2017 Volkswagen Golf | 117 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| 2017 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen | 38 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 2016 Volkswagen Golf | 85 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 2016 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen | 51 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 2015 Volkswagen Golf | 131 | 12 | 3 | 7 |
| 2015 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen | 59 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 18V464000.
Full record for the 2018 Volkswagen Golf → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →