12 complaints reported

2015 Volkswagen Golf Engine

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
12
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Sep 2023

Thermostat housing and water pump are leaking coolant. It is available for inspection. It can cause my engine to overheat and/or fail while being used. It has been confirmed by a dealership. It has not been inspected by the police, manufacturer, or insurance company. There have been occasional reports of low coolant, and the coolant drains significantly faster than expected especially in cold weather (e.g. needing to fill coolant every 7 days). It was first repaired in 2019, and has since failed again.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2019
Aug 2023

While normally driving on the street, I noticed that the car started to overheat and could hear the radiator working to keep the heat level normal. I stopped and did not notice any leaks and added coolant to the car after I left it cool for about 3 hours. The problem went away but i still took it to the dealership and i was told it might be the head gasket of the engine or thermostat/waterpump, a $4000 repair. Was advised to just sell the car. VW should address this issue as it has been a long issue now

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2023
Nov 2022

Loss of coolant due to cheap plastic housing leads to damage to the thermostat and water pump. Researching the forums on this issue has shown that it's a common problem with the vehicle that Volkswagen hasn't addressed.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2022
Oct 2022

Coolant has leaked all over my driveway because of a thermostat housing and water pump fail. I am getting fixed for the second time $1800 dollar fix. Very common amongst other Volkswagen owners. This is not fair. If they know of this problem it should be dealt with. Now I am out $4000 in repairs and have a big stain in my brand new driveway. This is very unsafe if driving long distances as coolant leaks everywhere.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2022
May 2022

Water Pump and Thermostat leaking.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2022
Dec 2020

THERMOSTAT ELBOW LEAKING

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2020
Feb 2020

THIS IS A SECOND REPAIR FOR A FAILED THERMOSTAT HOUSING/WATER PUMP ON THIS VEHICLE. THE FIRST TIME, JANUAARY 2019, THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING AND RELATED SEALS WERE REPLACED. THIS TIME THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING AND WATER PUMP WERE BOTH REPLACED.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Feb 2020
Jun 2019

THERMOSTAT HOUSING & ASSOCIATED SEALS ON THE CURRENT 1.8L AND 2.0L VOLKSWAGEN/AUDI EA888 GEN 3 ENGINE ARE PRONE TO FAILURE, CAUSING LOSS OF ENGINE COOLANT. THIS COULD AFFECT ANY VW/AUDI VEHICLE USING THE 1.8 OR 2.0L EA888 GEN 3 ENGINE. VW HAS A LONG HISTORY OF WATER PUMP/THERMOSTAT HOUSING ISSUES AND THE CURRENT GENERATION OF VEHICLES IS NO EXCEPTION. MANY OTHER REPORTS CAN BE FOUND ON VARIOUS ONLINE FORUMS SUCH AS REDDIT.COM, GOLFMK7.COM AND VWVORTEX.COM, ETC. THIS IS A COSTLY OUT OF WARRANTY REPAIR REQUIRING REMOVAL OF THE INTAKE MANIFOLD AND HAS BEEN REPORTED ONLINE BY OWNERS OF 2015 '2019 US MY VEHICLES. SOME VEHICLES, SUCH AS OURS, EXPERIENCED A REPEAT FAILURE. THERE ARE THREE FAILURE MODES THAT I AM AWARE OF AS REPORTED ON THE SITES MENTIONED ABOVE. MY WIFE AND I HAVE EXPERIENCED FAILURE MODES 1 AND 2. WHEN THIS ISSUE IS OCCURRING OWNERS OFTEN REPORT THE SMELL OF COOLANT OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE 1. HOUSING HEATING/COOLING CAUSES EXPANSION/CONTRACTION AND WARPING RESULTING IN A SLOW WEEP OR LEAK FROM THERMOSTAT HOUSING ASSEMBLY & ASSOCIATED SEAL, MOST OF THE TIME NOT DETECTABLE AT THE HOUSING ASSEMBLY/SEAL WITHOUT PRESSURE TEST. OFTEN, VW SERVICE CENTERS ARE UNABLE TO VERIFY THERE IS A LEAK, EVEN AFTER PRESSURE TEST, OWNERS ARE SENT ON THEIR WAY, AND YET COOLANT STILL DISAPPEARS FROM THE TANK. MY WIFE'S CAR WENT IN FOR TESTING MULTIPLE TIMES BEFORE ISSUE WAS FOUND. 2. HOUSING HEATING/COOLING CAUSES EXPANSION/CONTRACTION AND WARPING RESULTING IN A SMALL BUT CONSTANT LEAK LARGE ENOUGH TO CREATE A SMALL PUDDLE OR STREAM UNDER THE CAR. A LOW COOLANT ALERT MAY/MAY NOT APPEAR DEPENDING ON SPEED OF THE LEAK. 3. HOUSING HEATING/COOLING CAUSES EXPANSION/CONTRACTION AND WARPING RESULTING IN A SUDDEN CATASTROPHIC FAILURE RESULTING IN RAPID LOSS OF COOLANT AND CAUSING A VISIBLE LARGE PUDDLE UNDER THE CAR AND A WARNING ALERT TO APPEAR ON THE DASHBOARD.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2019
Dec 2016

WHEN I STARTED MY CAR, THE ENGINE JUMPED AND THE CAR SHOOK. I TRIED TO DRIVE IT BUT COULDN'T GET MORE THAN 10 FEET WITHOUT IT CONSTANTLY FEELING LIKE IT WAS BOTH STARTING AND STALLING, AND ROCKING BACK AND FORTH. I HAD TO PARK IT, AND EVEN WHEN COMPLETELY STOPPED THE CAR WOULD SHAKE AND THE ENGINE MADE A TERRIBLE NOISE. MY CAR STARTED TO SMELL REALLY BAD. THE DEALERSHIP TELLS ME THAT IT IS A COIL FAILURE IN THE ENGINE, WHICH CAUSED COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE AND LEFT ME STRANDED.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2016
Dec 2016

VERY ROUGH IDLE/DANGEROUS LOSS OF POWER ELECTRONIC POWER CONTROL LIGHT ILLUMINATES. CAR DEVELOPS ISSUE IN 2 INSTANCES, WILL IDLE SMOOTHLY AT REST AND THEN EPC LIGHT WILL ILLUMINATE AND VERY ROUGH IDLE WILL ENSUE WITH ENTIRE CAR SHAKING. CAR MUST BE SHUTOFF AND RESTARTED TO CORRECT. ONCE RESTARTED CAR WILL IDLE NORMALLY AND LIGHT IS OFF. SECOND ISSUE IS WITH CAR AT LOAD, DRIVING NORMAL SPEEDS WHEN EPC LIGHT WILL COME ON AND ENGINE POWER IS DRAMATICALLY REDUCED MAKING FOR EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS CONDITION IF PULLING OUT OR ACCELERATING IN TRAFFIC. SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER CAN ONLY BE RESOLVED IF SAFE PLACE AVAILABLE TO PULLOVER AND RESTART THE CAR. VW DEALER SAYS THEY CAN ONLY REPAIR CAR IF IT DISPLAYS BEHAVIOR AT SHOP. SINCE LIGHT IS OFF WHEN RESTARTED IT IS NOT RUNNING POORLY WHEN DRIVEN IN FOR SERVICE THEY STATE NO PROBLEM FOUND. THEY CLAIM THE ECU FAULT CODE DOES NOT TELL THEM THE CAUSE ONLY THAT IT HAPPENED EVEN THOUGH OTHER DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS DESCRIBE THROTTLE BODY ISSUES OR BAD SPARKPLUG COILS MAY BE AT FAULT. WHITE KNUCKLE ISSUE WHICH ELIMINATES CONFIDENCE IN DAY TO DAY DRIVING. THERE IS NO WARNING INVOLVED IT JUST HAPPENS. CASUAL RESEARCH INTO THESE SYMPTOMS RESULTS IN AN ALARMING NUMBER OF OWNERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SAME ISSUES. CAR UNSAFE TO DRIVE WHEN POWER LOSS MANIFESTS ITSELF. MANY OTHERS ALSO DESCRIBE A FAULTY WIRING HARNESS FOR THROTTLE BODY FOR WHICH THERE IS AN INTERNAL VW TSB BUT DEALERS SAY IS TIME CONSUMING AND THEY ARE NOT REIMBURSED FOR IN A TIMELY MANNER BY VW OF NA. DISAPPOINTMENT AND THEN SOME. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2016
Mar 2016

LETTER FROM SENATOR BROWN ON BEHALF OF CONSTITUENT REGARDING HIS DISSATISFACTION WITH THE VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA FOLLOWING THE PURCHASE OF HIS JETTA TDI (ATTN: JOHN PATTERSON). *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED VOLKSWAGEN DELIBERATELY ADDED SOFTWARE TO DECEIVE ITS OWNERS. *JB

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2016
Mar 2015

2015 VW GOLF SPORTWAGEN TDI 2.0L THE CAR HAS LESS THAN 5000 MILES ON IT AND ALREADY TWICE I GET AN ENGINE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LIGHT (MIL) TO "REDUCE OIL LEVEL." I HAVEN'T EVEN TAKEN IT IN FOR ITS FIRST SERVICE YET AND NOW THIS. TOO MUCH OIL? I CHECKED THE LEVEL SEVERAL TIMES AND THE DIP STICK INDICATES THE LEVEL IS WITHIN TOLERANCE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2015

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2015 Volkswagen Golf has 12 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.