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2022 Volkswagen Golf complaints

Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2022 record →

Power Train
Filed Sep 25, 2022CA

Shift knob cracked at union with dust boot. Concerned that continued use will cause knob to break off the stem or cause cuts/lacerations of fingers or hands. Issue has been reported on VW GTI Group Pages/forums impacting many owners. Repair of existing OEM part under factory warranty does not fix issue as the cracks will occur with the replacement part a second time. Seems the only option is for an aftermarket solution.

Unknown or Other
Filed Sep 22, 2022VA

The car has a manual transmission. The car has roughly 100 miles on it (brand new). The shift knob (gear knob, gear lever, etc) comes loose periodically and pops off of the gear selector, which is very dangerous as it makes it impossible to shift the car into gear. This has happened at least 3 times in the past 100 miles. All times were at slow speeds with no unusual force applied to the shift knob. There were no warnings and it hasn't been inspected. I'm not interested in having the car inspected but simply want to report the safety issue.

Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System
Filed Sep 15, 2022AL

The radiator fell out of it's harness, which cause the coolant hose to rub against a belt. The cooling hose broke, causing all coolant to leak out of the car. The car is now unable to be driven. This is a prevalent issue I heard about throughout the community, but has not been addressed by Volkswagen in any way. The only warning I received from the vehicle was that the car was low on coolant.

Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System
Filed Sep 13, 2022CO

Radiator hose hit the serpentine belt and caused full loss of coolant. I currently have 1,483 miles on my car bought new from the dealership. I haven’t even opened my hood until today when I was alerted to low coolant levels and had them all spilling out on my driveway.

Power Train
Filed Sep 11, 2022NY

As I was shifting into second gear to merge onto the highway, the shift knob detached from the gear selector resulting in me being temporarily unable to select a gear. I was able to partially reattach it, but it is still very loose and comes off easily. It is available for inspection, but I will be trying to bring it to my local VW dealer ASAP. My safety was put at risk by virtue of being unable to accelerate while merging on the highway. Yes, the problem has been been reproduced by myself - the shift knob is still loose and will come detached if extreme care is not exercised when shifting. I have not had a chance to bring it to my local VW dealer yet, but plan to ASAP. There were no warnings that a malfunction was imminent until the knob came detached.

Power Train
Filed Sep 7, 2022CA

Shift knob broke off.

Engine
Filed Sep 7, 2022NC

Radiator came loose allowing the lower return hose to contact the AC pulley and become damaged. Car lost substantial amount of cooling fluid and had to be parked. Eventually it was driven a short distance to the dealership for repair involving replacement of the radiator and hose. Dealer did not advise on any modification past returning car to previous state.

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Sep 4, 2022VA

Common problem on 2022 VW GTI models - radiator comes loose from upper clip mount on passenger side of vehicle, causing radiator to fall out of place. This causes the lower radiator to move enough so that the coolant hose rubs against a nearby serpentine belt, resulting in a hole in the hose and loss of coolant. This happened to me on Saturday, August 6. I was alerted with a LOW COOLANT warning in the dashboard. I immediately pulled over to check it out, saw the problem, and drove straight to dealer. Technician looked at it and said, "yep, I've done two of these already in the last month". This is a widespread issue as reported on vwvortex.com and the VW Mk8 group on Facebook. My car has been at Stohlman VW for over four weeks now, awaiting parts. Some owners have had the issue multiple times.

Lane Departure › Assist
Filed Sep 3, 2022FL

Lane assist error And shift knob is going up and down and cracked

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Sep 1, 2022MI

When driving at highway speeds, coolant sensor light stated there was a problem. Pulled off of freeway and noticed that coolant was spewing everywhere. Opened hood and radiator had come loose and damage to coolant lines when coming in contact with belts.

Power Train
Filed Aug 30, 2022WA

The Radiator was loose when I inspected it. Seems the radiator clips were not in place causing the radiator to become loose. Which would cause it to fall against the accessory pulley while running causing a hole in the radiator thus creating a over heating problem. Luckely I caught the issue before it became competently dislodged. So far it seems VOA doesnt have a recall or a permanent fix for the issue so the DIY community has come up with a temporary fix which is not ideal. My car was manufactured in may 2022. If the radiator would come loose driving it could cause an accident on the highway putting other motorist lives in jeopardy.

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Aug 28, 2022WA

July I broke down with a "low coolant" light, I pulled tot the side of the road, opened the hood and had a low coolant level. After further inspection of why - my radiator had come loose, pushing parts of it into the serpintine belt causing coolant to splew all over the engine bay. After a month of being at VW, they "Fixed" it. I picked up my car after they had called me yelling about the rental car they had given me, to bring it back at x date and time. So I had to break my Vacation in Oregon short which was about a 959 mile drive for me and get my car. Which, a week later broke down again from the same issue and left me stranded for 24 hours. I have pictures/videos of this.

Power Train › Automatic Transmission › Lever and Linkage › Floor Shift
Filed Aug 20, 2022IL

The shift knob on my 2022 VW Golf GTI cracked and broke off while driving at 500 miles. Was very scary as I couldn’t shift while driving at about 40 mph.

Engine
Filed Aug 19, 2022IL

While driving warning lights started flashing stating car was over heating. Had the car towed to VW dealership and was informed that the coolant hose was leaking and needs to be replaced. This problem has been reported by many other GTI owners. Was old it will take between 1 to 4 months to secure the part.

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Aug 10, 2022TN

Passagner side radiator housing clip is loose and can disloge the radiator allowing the coolant sensor to make contact with the serpentine belt gear and break the coolant hose connector that can casue a catasrophic coolant system failure. Multiple ownsers are also complaining of the same issue. https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/coolant-system-failure.9496016/ video showing the issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWZuAx7tA8w Local dealer states: no repair available at this time when I brought it to the dealer to address before it became an issue. I already had to reclip it twice.

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Aug 10, 2022TN

Driving along normally with 1600 miles on the car and a low coolant message and tons of other warning lights came on. Radiator came loose from its mount, causing a cooling hose to contact engine pulley and fail. Towed car to dealership and 6 weeks later they finally fixed it.

Power Train
Filed Aug 10, 2022CA

Gear shift knob came off post during shift from 1st gear to 2nd gear. Component may not be available for inspection, vehicle still at a dealer for repair. Safety was compromised by the distraction caused from shifter suddenly coming loose with no warning and from losing the ability to select a drive gear without re-seating the knob back on the post. As post is covered by shift boot, this must be done blindly by feel. Vehicle is at a dealer service center where it has been determined the vehicle requires a new "gearshift assembly" per phone call and is pending repair at time of writing. A similar failure with more detail and photos is available at the link below https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/shifter-knob-cracked-off-of-shaft-mid-traffic.9512198/#post-115640046

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Aug 10, 2022CA

Radiator became loose causing radiator to have play, which in turn caused it to push the radiator hose into the drive belt causing the vehicle to spill coolant everywhere and overheat

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Aug 9, 2022FL

Radiator LOOSE causing excessive rubbing on coolant hose causing leak and leaving vehicle stranded. This is happening to HUNDREDS of VW MK8 GTI's. This is a massive quality control issue and VW needs to address this very prevalent issue. This is causing owners to zip tie their radiators to prevent movement. My vehicle is brand new, just purchased new at dealership 2 weeks ago, mine is loose as well. Had I not been on enthusiast forums, I would have never know about it. Terrible quality control by VW!! This is a serious issue. https://www.facebook.com/DeutscheAutoParts/videos/1232366914233838

Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System
Filed Aug 8, 2022VA

Radiator came loose and cause a catastrophic coolant loss while driving leaving me stranded, a lot of people are having this problem

Power Train
Filed Aug 8, 2022NJ

The gear shift knob for the manual transmission became loose during driving. This made it difficult to shift gears while driving, which makes it difficult to drive the vehicle safely. I was able to pop it back into place when I was stopped, but it has happened 2 times already in 2 weeks so I am concerned that it will eventually become permanently loose.

Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System › Radiator Assembly
Filed Aug 2, 2022MD

The radiator is loose, causing one of the hose to rub against the engine. It drilled a hole into the hose and leaked all the coolant in the car. The coolant light came on, and the car had to be towed away or it would have been overheated. Coolant splashed all over the engine bay. The car had 95 mileage.

Engine
Filed Jul 19, 2022OH

Radiator is not clipped in properly at the factory and causes the lower radiator hose to come intro contact with belts and pulleys. This in turn causes all antifreeze to leak out into the roadway and causes engine to overheat. Both can be dangerous and cause vehicle to catch FIRE. The plastic connector on the lower radiator hose rubbed on the pully and melted. Vehicle is still at the dealership waiting on parts. A search online shows this problem started in Feb 2022. I just bought my vehicle and it has less than 1000 miles on it.

Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System
Filed Jul 7, 2022OH

Clips that hold radiator failed, allowing a coolant hose to come into contact with a pulley, resulting in the immediate and complete loss of coolant. This is not an isolated issue - many owners in online forums have experienced the same issue, generally at 300-3000 miles.

Electrical System
Filed Jun 29, 2022MO

Various software glitches that can lead to anything from cruise control being disabled for no reason to the buttons on the steering wheel becoming not responsive. Audio glitch can sometimes happen where no audio can be heard from the cars speakers, even parking assist sensor sounds. Backup camera flickering is another issue that can happen sometimes. Issues are all intermittent.

Back Over Prevention › Rearview System Braking
Filed Jun 8, 2022NJ

I am reporting this same issue for two separate vehicles (same make, model and year): All of the sensors relating to parking, rear cross traffic, ACC, etc. fail intermittently. (They all fail as simultaneously and resolve simultaneously.) This has now occurred on two separate cars that I have owned (same make, year and model). The first was repurchased as a lemon, but the exact issue is now present on the second car (see separate report). The issue is dangerous since these are core safety features (e.g., rear cross traffic, emergency braking). The issue has been confirmed by a VW dealer on both vehicles. I also have photographs of the warning messages and lights on both vehicles. This problem is reported by many other owners of 2022 VW Golfs. For example: https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/mk8-computer-gremlins.9497807/ In addition to my vehicle, the dealer has another brand new 2022 Golf in the service department with the same issue. The warning messages are: "Rear Traffic Alert is currently not available." "Error: Park Distance Control" In addition, the parking sensors do not work.

Back Over Prevention › Warnings
Filed Jun 8, 2022NJ

I am reporting this same issue for two separate vehicles (same make, model and year): All of the sensors relating to parking, rear cross traffic, ACC, etc. fail intermittently. (They all fail as simultaneously and resolve simultaneously.) This has now occurred on two separate cars that I have owned (same make, year and model). The first was repurchased as a lemon, but the exact issue is now present on the second car (see separate report). The issue is dangerous since these are core safety features (e.g., rear cross traffic, emergency braking). The issue has been confirmed by a VW dealer on both vehicles. I also have photographs of the warning messages and lights on both vehicles. This problem is reported by many other owners of 2022 VW Golfs. For example: https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/mk8-computer-gremlins.9497807/ In addition to my vehicle, the dealer has another brand new 2022 Golf in the service department with the same issue. The warning messages are: "Rear Traffic Alert is currently not available." "Error: Park Distance Control" In addition, the parking sensors do not work.

Power Train › Automatic Transmission › Cooler/Radiator › Hoses and Fittings
Filed Jun 2, 2022IL

Radiator was loose from the factory where it clips to intercooler allowing movement of radiator within engine bay. Lower radiator hose then hit crank pulley from movement in radiator causing loss of coolant. Dealer replacing radiator hose, radiator and intercooler. Factory defect, happened with less than 200 miles on the car.

Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System › Radiator Assembly
Filed May 27, 2022CT

Radiator not firmly attached to the car. Radiator freely moves back and forth about one inch at the top on passenger side. Radiator, fan and shroud at risk of hitting other engine parts. I investigated this after seeing reports on internet and found that my vehicle has this problem.

Power Train
Filed May 27, 2022CT

After hearing reports that some 2022 VW GTIs were suffer total coolant loss due to a loose radiator I checked my own new GTI. I found that my GTI’s radiator was unsecured at the top on the passenger side and it could freely move back and forth approximately 1.25 inches. This could allow the radiator, shroud and fan to contact moving parts in the engine bay. Might be duplicate report, I tried earlier and got an error message.

Service Brakes
Filed Mar 28, 2022200 milesTX

The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Golf. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the hill assist engaged the brake longer while the brake pedal was not depressed. The contact mentioned that the vehicle stalled afterwards. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200.

Reading these

NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

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