The clock spring assembly on my vehicle failed. In may 2023 volkswagen of america issued an extended warranty coverage notice for the part. After doing some research and determining the part failure, i called my local vw dealer to report the problem. They told me they would be happy to schedule an appointment to look at my vehicle but they could not schedule my vehicle for service for at least a month. Considering this issue to be an extreme safely issue and realizing i did not want to drive around in my vehicle for over a month without air bag protection, i had my vehicle repaired at an independent service facility. I have had several communications with vw of america (attached) and they refuse to reimburse me for this repair.
Turbo wastegate actuator rod/flap failure/seizure. Vw dealership & independent service center both diagnosed the issue as a seized wastegate actuator flap/rod. This is due to poor design and is a common issue on all 2015-2020 vw/audi 1. 8l tsi engines. This issue causes intermittent engine codes for "low boost" related codes. P00af00 and similar codes without warning. A key cycle usually temporarily fixes the problem until under boost again. This prevents safe operation of the vehicle while on highways and freeways. Engine shaking & prevention of acceleration and shifting happens after the engine code occur and the car is put into a limp mode. It is unsafe to maneuver the vehicle to the side of the road during these events.
I was making my final trip of my move from minneapolis to the denver area and was on [xxx] traveling west in the right lane. The truck ahead was moving from the right lane to the left to give room to a car stopped on the right shoulder. There was another car in the left lane so i couldn’t move to the left. The truck was soon blocking much of the left lane so the car in the left lane was slowing as i slowed. I then applied my brakes and the pedal went all the way to the floor without actuating the brakes! Fortunately, by then there was room between the truck and the car on the shoulder and i was able to miss both as i sailed by. Pumping the brake pedal restored the brake function. Thinking that i must be low on brake fluid, i pulled off the highway at the next large service station. The brake fluid reservoir was full. I continued to my new home and at my first opportunity i went to the nearest vw dealership and left it for several days to be checked. No error codes so they did nothing. Vw customer service arranged for another dealership to check it out. No error codes and not able to reproduce the problem so they did nothing. About a month later i was one a trip on a very hilly rout. Costing down a steep section i applied the brakes as i started to be more than 10 mph over the speed limit. The pedal went about 80% to the floor! But there was braking this time. Pumping the pedal restored normal brake function. Vw customer serviced had arranged for yet one more dealership to look at the car. Again, not surprisingly, they couldn’t reproduce the problem and no error codes so they did nothing. I consider this to be a significant safety problem. As vw would not fix the problem, even as the car is still under warranty, i replaced the master cylinder at my own expense and have taken the car on a 2500 mile trip with no sign of the braking problem i have more confidence in the car. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6)
Second occurrence of this issue approximately two years apart, unresolved and unaddressed by manufacturer. Driving during evening on lit city street at night traveling in lane of traffic. In normal course of driving (~25 mph) vehicle applied full brakes with no advance notice in the middle of road. Forward collision assist had been activated by what appeared to be a patch of ice on the road ahead. Full braking while driving posed significant risk of rear collision due to automated full brake application without input or forewarning to the driver.
Several times now, my 2019 vw golf alltrack s while driving has flashed a warning saying "ignition switched off" and then "check starter system". I can still apply the brakes, steer, and accelerate, but various electrical systems stopped working, including the speedometer. I've brought it to a vw dealer, but they said they couldn't find an issue. Several places online say that this is an ignition switch issue and that it was fixed once they replaced the ignition switch.
While driving, all vehicle gauges and hvac suddenly stopped working. Car beeped, and screen said "pull over safely" (or something like that), and then said "check starter system". Turned car off, and then eventually it turned back on. Same thing happened again, but i was able to continue driving (engine kept running), with no hvac, no speedometer, no tachometer, nothing. I don't know if turn signals or exterior lights were working.
After being in hot sunlight all day(95+ degrees), car started and about three minutes into drive the engine and all electronics died while going approximately 15mph, warning display flashed up on center lcd display that ignition was off, please pull over, and then to check the starter. The power steering turned off so i had very limited steering. The car would not restart, took about 5 minutes of waiting and had to remove the key and reinsert it before it would start again. I was only going 15mph on an empty residential road, so no damage, but if it happened on a busy highway it might have resulted in a crash. Dealer could not reproduce the fail, but read codes that showed the ignition switch was faulty, and they replaced that. The car was at the dealership to look at another issue(the blind spot monitor lights not turning off), and i picked it up from the dealership minutes before this ignition switch issue occurred. They found no issues or error codes with the blind spot monitoring or any other electrical system, the ignition switch issue only occurred after the car was sitting outside in direct sunlight for 5 hours. I believe the heat was the issue, i have found multiple online forum posts where owners of 2019 vws of different models have the same issue on hot days.
Windshield cracked while it was parked. Four people were in the car on a trip from reno to san francisco. No one heard or saw anything hit the windshield before they stopped for breakfast. When they came back to the car they found that the windshield had a crack about 12 inches long. There was no sign of a stone or other object that might have caused the crack. There was no chip in the glass either.
On july 5, 2023 the electronics in our 2019 vw golf alltrack s, stopped working, while that car was been driven on a highway. The following was no longer operational, (while the car was still in motion): gauges such as speedometer, tachometer, fuel indicator and engine temperature; controls such as turn signals, wipers, dashboard and car indicator lights, also the infotainment system, used at that time for driving directions, was no longer operating. The car engine was still running; however, safely pulling to the side of the road was hardly possible, as the turn signals and lights no longer worked. After the car was stopped and the engine was turned off and on few times, the above-listed electronics started working again. Prior to this incident, the car has been driven daily and has not been parked for an extended period of time; it also has been serviced in accordance with the manufacturer requirements. A few weeks prior to this incident, the car was serviced / inspected by an authorized vw dealer. The same dealer examined the car, next day after the incident, and determined that a faulty ignition was the cause of the issues. Replacing that part (under warranty) required few days, as an incorrect part was ordered by the dealer. The loss of key controls and gauges mentioned above, and required for a safe vehicle operation, created a dangerous situation, which should be investigated, in order to determine if design issues exist and require further actions, to prevent such incidents.
Sunroof spontaneously shattered while driving down the highway. No collision or impact. Sounded like a gunshot. Had to immediately pull over, remove all of the glass in order to drive it at all.