2017 Volkswagen Golf
Complaints about this year name pump far more often than the other years of this generation — 22% of them, about 4× the usual rate of 5.7%.
Generation 2 of the Volkswagen Golf, which began in 2015 and ran to 2021. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 418 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 28 |
| Involving a crash | 6 |
| Recalls | 5 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 27.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- alltrack — 7.2% of this year's complaints, against 1.1% across the other years of this generation (6.8×). Owners wrote it as: alltrack, golf alltrack, alltrack contact.
- leaked — 7.2% of this year's complaints, against 1.3% across the other years of this generation (5.6×). Owners wrote it as: leaked, compartment.
- onto — 7.9% of this year's complaints, against 2.9% across the other years of this generation (2.7×). Owners wrote it as: onto, ground.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- tank — 19% of complaints, 5× usual
- water — 18% of complaints, 4× usual
- leaking — 19% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
Leaking water pump at less than 80,000 miles causing engine to overheat and become damaged.
I AM HAVING THE EXACT ISSUE FROM THE 2015-2016 GTI SUCTION PUMP RECALL. MY CAR IS A 2017 GTI AND IS LEAKING THROUGH THE CHARCOAL CANISTER FILTER. WHEN I TRY TO FILL THE TANK IT'S CUTTING OFF THE FLOW FROM THE GAS NOZZLE AS IF THE TANK WAS FULL BUT WHEN I CHECK…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 18V464000 STEERING Fixed free of charge.
- 19V188000 SUSPENSION Fixed free of charge.
- 16V955000 SEAT BELTS Fixed free of charge.
- 21V321000 UNKNOWN OR OTHER
- 24V110000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Volkswagen Golf was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2017 Volkswagen Golf? What happened to yours?
Loading comments…