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2017 Volkswagen Golf Recalls & Complaints

5

open safety recalls on record

Critical

145 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.22 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Critical21V321000

Unknown Or Other

Vehicles that do not meet all regulatory requirements may have an increased risk of injury, crash, or fire.

Remedy & full details

Volkswagen will repurchase the vehicles. Owner notification letters were mailed May 20, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 01F1.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Touareg GP, Tiguan, Golf A6, E-Golf GP, CCF, 2016-2017 Passat GP, 2018-2019 Golf R GP, and 2018 Atlas vehicles. These internal-use vehicles were sold without confirmation that they were built to all applicable regulatory requirements and may have been modified prior to sale. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of various Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Critical24V110000

Fuel System, Gasoline

fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source raises the risk of a fire.

Remedy & full details

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.

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.

Serious18V464000

Steering:Column Locking:Anti-Theft Device

Removing the key while the shift lever is in a position other than "Park" raises the risk of an unintended vehicle rollaway that may result in personal injury or a crash.

Remedy & full details

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.

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."

Serious19V188000

Suspension:Rear:Springs:Coil Springs

If a coil spring fractures while driving, it may damage a rear tire causing a loss of vehicle control, raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

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.

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.

Serious16V955000

Seat Belts:Pretensioner

In the event of a crash, if the air bags and/or the seat belt pretensioners do not inflate or function properly, the vehicle occupants have an increased risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

Volkswagen and Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected air bags and seat belt pretensioners, free of charge. The recall began April 2017. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2017 Audi A7, A4, A6, Volkswagen Golf and Tiguan vehicles and 2016 Volkswagen e-Golf vehicles for driver frontal air bags, passenger frontal air bags or head air bags that may not deploy properly. Additionally, certain 2017 Audi Q7, A4 Sedan, A4 Allroad, and 2018 Audi Q5 vehicles are being recalled because the seat belt pretensioners may not activate properly.

Complaint volume

145 this model-year 7 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

4Crashes
0Fires
6Injuries
0Deaths

Across 145 complaints. Severity Index 0.22.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Fuel/Propulsion System51 · 35%Engine18 · 12%Unknown Or Other12 · 8%Electrical System9 · 6%Structure · Body7 · 5%Air Bags6 · 4%Service Brakes5 · 3%Vehicle Speed Control4 · 3%
  1. Fuel/Propulsion System — 51 reports
  2. Engine — 18 reports
  3. Unknown Or Other — 12 reports
  4. Electrical System — 9 reports
  5. Structure:Body — 7 reports
  6. Air Bags — 6 reports
  7. Service Brakes — 5 reports
  8. Vehicle Speed Control — 4 reports
  9. Steering — 4 reports
  10. Power Train — 4 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

1995 (5) · 1996 (1) · 1997 · 1998 (1) · 1999 (7) · 2000 (8) · 2001 (9) · 2002 (7) · 2003 (6) · 2004 (6) · 2005 (4) · 2006 (3) · 2009 · 2010 (4) · 2011 (6) · 2012 (6) · 2013 (5) · 2014 (5) · 2015 (12) · 2016 (9) · 2017 · 2018 (6) · 2019 (6) · 2020 (2) · 2021 (1) · 2022 · 2023

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.