Vehicle report

2019 Volkswagen Golf

Free recalls, owner complaints, and NHTSA safety ratings for the 2019 Volkswagen Golf, plus how to check this specific vehicle before you buy.

The 2019 Volkswagen Golf has 6 NHTSA recalls on record and 15 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. Its overall NHTSA crash-test rating is 5 out of 5. Below is the full breakdown, plus how to check this specific vehicle by VIN before you buy in Alberta.

6

Open recalls

15

Complaints

5

Overall safety

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2019 Volkswagen Golf recalls (6)

  • SUSPENSION:REAR:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Golf Sportwagen, 2019 Jetta, 2015-2019 Golf, and 2018-2019 Tiguan vehicles. The rear coil springs may prematurely fracture.

    Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear axle coil springs, free of charge. The recall began April 12, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42J5.

  • ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:ANTI-THEFT:CONTROL MODULE

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2019 GTI, 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 Golf, 2012-2019 Beetle and Beetle Convertible, 2017-2019 Golf SportWagen and 2011-2018 Jetta vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission, manual handbrake and keyless entry. A build-up of silicate on the shift lever micro switch contacts may enable the key to be removed from the ignition when the transmission shift lever is not in "Park."

    Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional switch and circuit board, free of charge. The recall began November 19, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 37M2.

  • WHEELS

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Jetta GLI, Golf Alltrack, and Golf GTI vehicles. The front wheel bearings may have been improperly machined, potentially causing excessive stress on the wheel, wheel bolts, or wheel bearings.

    Remedy: Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will replace the wheel bearing assemblies, wheels, and wheel bolts, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 40P1. Note: The affected owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repairs have been made.

  • TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan LWB, Golf Sportswagen A7, Golf Alltrack, Golf R GP, Audi Q3, Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas, Golf A7, Audi A3, 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021 Atlas FL vehicles. The tire pressure monitoring system may not detect an air pressure loss in adequate time when deflating occurs among all four tires simultaneously. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."

    Remedy: Dealers will update the TPMS software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi’s customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.

  • ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Golf, Golf Alltrack, Golf Sportwagen, 2019-2020 Golf GTI, and Jetta vehicles equipped with a conventional ignition switch. The ignition switch may fail, especially in high temperature environments.

    Remedy: Dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 1, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 28H7.

  • FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain front-wheel drive 2015-2020 Audi A3 Sedan, 2015-2019 Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Volkswagen Jetta GLI, 2018 Golf Sportwagen GP, 2018-2019 Golf Sportwagen A7, 2015-2017 Golf Sportwagen, 2015-2020 Golf GTI, and 2015-2020 Golf A7 vehicles. Due to a problem with a suction jet pump seal inside the fuel tank, fuel may flow into the evaporative emissions (EVAP) system and possibly leak out of the charcoal canister.

    Remedy: Dealers will replace the suction pump, free of charge. Final owner notification letters for Audi owners were mailed on July 25, 2024. Final owner letters for VW owners were mailed on August 13, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are VW: 20UF/Audi: 20YF. Vehicles that were previously recalled under 16V-647 will need to have the new remedy completed. This recall expands and replaces previous recall number 16V-647.

2019 Volkswagen Golf safety ratings

5

Overall

4

Front

5

Side

4

Rollover

Source: NHTSA NCAP ratings.

2019 Volkswagen Golf owner complaints (15)

  • POWER TRAIN

    The transmission lurches and studders at stops with roughly 60K miles on it. The dealer believes it to be the mechatronic unit. I am put at risk because the car begins to move, stops, and then begins again moving. Cars behind me may believe I am accelerating from a stop and rear end me. There are no warning lamps, messages, or anything whatsoever, the issue generates no codes for dealer techs to diagnose.

  • UNKNOWN OR OTHER

    I am currently stationed in the United Kingdom and the VW dealership is stating that they are unable to complete the needed recall because it is an imported vehicle?! Not sure how something that important can just be shrugged off because I am in a different country.

  • AIR BAGS

    The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Golf. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact attempted to start the vehicle and the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact attempted to contact the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact stated that an independent mechanic was contacted, and the vehicle was scheduled to be taken to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,038.

  • POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

    When I take my foot off the brake to accelerate, the car jerks backward and shudders. It feels as though it’s about to stall. When pressing the gas pedal, the car also has delayed acceleration. Both of these issues create dangerous driving conditions. The car hesitates when accelerating from a stopped position, nearly causing me to be rear-ended at traffic lights on multiple occasions. I’ve also experienced a couple of close calls while making right turns on red, as the car hesitates and won’t accelerate immediately. I feel unsafe driving the vehicle. Have had the car to one independent mechanic, the sister dealership of where it was purchased from, and two VW dealerships. They have acknowledged an issue as they have replaced the motor mounts and mounting plate. It did not resolve the issue. The car does operate as designed. There are no fault codes or engine lights so they have advised me to continue driving until it gets worse. It is unsafe to drive since there is an issue with accelerating. The service team at Mossy VW replicated the backward jerking motion during a test drive and confirmed that the vehicle is exhibiting a delayed throttle response. While the mechanic submitted a Volkswagen Technical Assistance (VTA) request, he reiterated that no repairs could be performed without a fault code.

  • FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

    This has been an open recall for 5 years and the manufacturer will not fix it. This could lead to vehicle fires and injuries.. It is not acceptable that Volkswagen can just ignore these safety recalls!

  • FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

    When driving down the road doing about 35 mph with no car close in front of me my forward collision sensor went off without warning and initiated sharp braking which almost caused the car behind me to run into me. My car jolted like I’d been hit (I hadn’t) and the red warning light lit up the dashboard. The person behind me was able to brake in time and didn’t hit me. I don’t think my brake lights engaged. It was terrifying and incredibly unsafe and I’m lucky I wasn’t on a highway or there wasn’t anyone following too closely behind. Very, very dangerous situation.

  • FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

    When driving over train tracks the automatic emergency brakes engaged and the forward collision detection beeping alarm sounded. This has happened over 5 times since I have owned the car. Many times the forward collision alarm will go off without engaging the brakes, seemingly without cause. Only when passing over train tracks do the emergency brakes bring the vehicle to a stop or to an extreme slowdown. I have a video of the incident if you would like it, but no way to upload on this website. You can hear the emergency brake and alarm going off with nothing in front of my car.

  • SERVICE BRAKES

    Purchased vehicle brand new from Seacoast VW in Greenland, NH in March of 2020. In February of 2022 with just 12804 miles on this vehicle I had them check a problem with noisy rear brakes. I was informed that the rear brakes were delaminating and needed replacement for around $800. As this was beyond the 12 month warranty that this charge was not to be covered. After much negotiation I agreed to pay 20% of the parts & labor charge and they would pick up the remaining 80% as a one time goodwill because I was a loyal VW customer. The excuse that was given to me at that time is that I didn't drive enough miles & rust on the rotor caused the delamination. Jump forward to April 2024 I again was told my rear brakes were delaminating and would not pass the NH state safety inspection. The service consultant was very surprised that they had already replaced the rear brakes in 2022! I was again told this was because I did not drive enough. I then called VW Customer Care phone number that the dealer provided to see if VW would provide some financial relief. The woman who answered the phone was very polite and understood my frustration that brakes would fail after only 12000 miles but after checking with her supervisor informed me that VW would not help with this Safety problem. I then asked her if I was the only one who has experienced this problem And she emphatically stated that I was not the only complaint for this problem and even suggested that I keep all of my records for possible reimbursement in a future recall due to the significant number of complaints that VW has had with this problem. This is a severe safety problem that VW is trying to sweep under the rug and needs to be investigated so VW bears the cost of this and not the many customers that have so far had to bear the expense that is an actual design flaw!

  • SERVICE BRAKES

    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)

  • ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

    The contact owns a 2019 VW Golf. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V604000(Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced the failure. The VIN tool confirms parts not available.

  • UNKNOWN OR OTHER

    Driving on the interstate with no cars near me and my sunroof exploded and showered me with glass. VW is claiming that it was hit and it was not. The car is my daily driver, and I inspect it daily. The plastic insert was cracked (also an issue with this model)and mentioned by me on a previous service visit at Baxter Volkswagen of Omaha, but it was not investigated by Baxter and then the service advisor gave no explanation as to why it was not looked at. A month a half later the sunroof exploded.

  • UNKNOWN OR OTHER

    I was driving and the spring from the grab handle (driver side) popped out and hit me by my left eyebrow. At home, I tried to compare the driver side grab handle with the front passenger grab handle to see if I can fix it. As I grabbed the handle and the spring became loose and it is now sideways (picture) In addition, according to my repair log, my GTI was serviced to repair the right side rear passenger grab handle on 18 Jan 2020. I have a service appointment tomorrow 11 Oct 2023 to repair the grab handles and a check engine light.

  • ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

    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.

  • ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

    * "Starter system faulty", currently the supposedly damaged part has already been replaced * When this fault appears, all the vehicle's electrical instruments stop working, lights, radio, air conditioning, reversing camera, security systems, but the vehicle's engine remains on, this happens a few minutes after starting the car and the cabin. is above 90 degrees temperature. * part 5Q1.905.865 is defective under high temperatures. * No, but you can search for information on the Internet with the part number 5q1 905 865 and you will find hundreds of complaints from VOLKSWAGEN vehicle owners with this same problem. * The warning appears on the dashboard screen and in 3 seconds all the vehicle's electronic instruments turn off but the engine continues to run

  • VISIBILITY,AIR BAGS

    The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Golf. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light and the air bags warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V892000 (Visibility, Air Bags) however, neither the VIN nor the model vehicle was included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. The VIN was not available.

Checking a used Volkswagen Golf before you buy

The recall, complaint, and safety data above describes the 2019 Golf in general. To know the condition and history of the specific vehicle you're looking at, check it by VIN. A VIN check shows whether this particular Golf's recalls are still outstanding, and a full history report adds accident, title, and ownership records the data above can't show.

Before you buy a 2019 Volkswagen Golf in Alberta:

See other model years of the Volkswagen Golf, or browse more Volkswagen models.

2019 Volkswagen Golf — questions and answers

Does the 2019 Volkswagen Golf have any recalls?+

Our check found 6 NHTSA recalls associated with the 2019 Volkswagen Golf. Check the specific vehicle by VIN to see which remain outstanding, since some may already have been repaired. Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer.

How many complaints does the 2019 Volkswagen Golf have?+

NHTSA lists 15 owner complaints for the 2019 Volkswagen Golf in our results. Complaints are problems reported by owners and don't always lead to a recall, but a pattern of similar complaints is worth weighing before you buy.

Is the 2019 Volkswagen Golf safe?+

The 2019 Volkswagen Golf has an overall NHTSA crash-test rating of 5. Review the front-crash, side-crash, and rollover ratings above, and pair safety ratings with a mechanical inspection of the specific vehicle.

How do I check a 2019 Volkswagen Golf VIN?+

Enter the vehicle's 17-character VIN into our free VIN check to see recalls, complaints, and safety ratings for that exact vehicle, then run an Alberta Personal Property Registry (PPR) lien search before you pay.

Are recall repairs on a Volkswagen free?+

Yes. Safety recall repairs are performed at no cost by a franchised Volkswagen dealer, even for a used vehicle and even if you're not the original owner. Confirm the required parts are in stock before relying on the fix.

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