2014 Volkswagen Golf problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (4) · Fuel/Propulsion System (2) · Service Brakes (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Volkswagen Golf model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (5)
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2019-12-04 · campaign 19V862000 · 226 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2015 Passat, 2011-2014 Golf A6, and 2011-2013 Audi A3 diesel vehicles, thought to have been previously repaired under one of the Takata air bag recalls. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's side air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began December 20, 2019. 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 69R6, 69Q8, 69Q9, and 69Y5.
Unknown Or Other 2018-05-16 · campaign 18V329000 · 252 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Eos, 2012 Passat, 2012-2016 CC, 2015-2016 e-Golf, 2011-2015 Touareg, 2012-2015 and 2017 Tiguan, and 2011-2016 Golf and 2011-2013 GTI vehicles. Modifications made while the vehicles were in an internal evaluation period may cause the affected vehicles to not comply with all of the applicable regulatory requirements.
Risk: If the vehicles do not meet all regulatory requirements, there could be an increased risk of a crash, fire, or injury.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles to make them fully compliant or Volkswagen will repurchase them if necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2018-03-06 · campaign 18V148000 · 363,713 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Volkswagen CC, 2010-2014 Golf, 2010-2014 Eos, 2007-2010 Passat Sedan and Wagon, and 2012-2014 Passat vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to explode.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could explode with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternative inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 16, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69Q9. Note: This recall partially supersedes recall 16V-078.
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2016-02-10 · campaign 16V078000 · 659,493 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Golf, 2007-2010 Passat sedans and wagon, 2012-2014 Passat sedan and Eos, 2009-2014 CC, 2009-2012 Audi Q5, 2010-2012 S5 Cabriolet and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflators, free of charge. Volkswagen issued an interim notification to owners on April 12, 2016, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Volkswagen will notify owners again once parts are available. Volkswagen owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.
Air Bags:frontal 2015-08-04 · campaign 15V483000 · 415,825 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Volkswagen CC, and Passat, 2010-2013 Eos, 2011-2014 Golf, GTI, Jetta, and Tiguan, and 2012-2014 Jetta Sportwagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, debris may contaminate the air bag clock spring, a spiral wound, flat cable that keeps the air bag powered while the steering wheel is being turned. This contamination may tear the cable and result in a loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air
Risk: A loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag will prevent the air bag from deploying in the event of a vehicle crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install a protective cover over the steering wheel clock spring if the air bag light is off. If the airbag light is on and the steering wheel clock spring requires replacement, dealers will install a new steering wheel clock spring. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on January 15, 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987.
Service bulletins (1,218)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Engine 2026-09-17 · V0116152014815_20 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
suggested fuel additive
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-09 · SM 39-2026 · Other
this special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-06 · TT 00-13-04_7 · Other
permission to change daily order upgraded to red order
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-04 · V0026012081638_2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
differences between a leak and seepage
Electrical System 2026-07-15 · VOS-26-42 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this is a notice for software changes with the odis diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: a software fix is needed to correct the issue: da 0019 - hotfix 12-v battery test(s) – no battery diagnosis - inconclusive test result.
Engine 2026-07-09 · V1718062017813_24 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
oil consumption measurement and electronic oil consumption measurement
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,218 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-14 · Unknown Or Other“driving down the road as normal and heard a loud noise. my sunroof combusted and got glass everywhere. nothing hit it, there is no damage to the rest of the car, but the sunroof shattered. …”
2023-08-30 · Engine“my vehicle has (2) serpentine belts, and (2) belt tensioners. (1) tensioner is for the belt that engages the water pump, alternator, power steering and then has (3) idler pulleys. the other one is the ac tensioner, that belt routes from the ac compressor to the crank and the ac tensioner. the ac compressor is a dual belt pulley. so the ac tensioner…”
2022-05-24 · Unknown Or Other“while driving on the freeway the car stopped accelerating and would only rev when gas pedal was pressed. i coasted to the fast lane shoulder and put on hazard lights. chp had to stop freeway traffic to push me to the side of the freeway. car eventually restarted and let me put into gear. i drove to auto repair store and they scanned car. code u0103…”
2020-09-03 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 127,000 mi“i'm having issues with a p0106 code. it continuously comes off and on. i have had the manifold absolute pressure sensor replaced, i have had the intake cleaned and relatable parts. the check engine light will come on at random times, and will just go away on it's own. i have read that multiple people have had to update the ecm which has then fix…”
2019-09-11 · Power Train · 34,272 mi“the slave cylinder went bad its poring fluid out it completely failed when the vehicle was parked it has exactly 34,272 miles it should not have failed at that mileage and age i know of 3 other people around that have had the same thing happen this needs to be looked into because its starting to look like a manufacturing problem. this could have b…”
2019-07-15 · Service Brakes · 16,085 mi · 💥 crash“tl* the contact owns a 2014 volkswagen golf. the contact stated that the abs warning light illuminated. the vehicle was then taken to a local dealer (charles maund volkswagen located at 6900 burnet rd, austin, tx 78757, phone number: (512) 458-1111) where it was diagnosed that the wheel speed sensor failed and needed to be replaced. the failure was…”
2018-08-24 · Air Bags · 32,730 mi“takata recall a vw dealer service invoice states they completed the recall on this car, but your website says it is incomplete, according to my vin. vw of america sent me recall notices in march & april of 2018. community vw, santa maria, ca 93456 [805 348-3221] invoice date: 12/19/17 customer number: 50792 technician number: 34657 i would…”
2017-08-25 · Air Bags“tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2014 volkswagen golf. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v078000 (air bags); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. jennings volkswagen, located at 201 waukegan road, gl…”
2017-07-31 · Unknown Or Other · 60,000 mi“"key gets stuck in ignition and i cannot turn off the engine.…”
2017-07-11 · Air Bags“takata recall - i have called several dealerships in chicago since the recall in 2016 and still no one has the replacement. there could be dangerous consequences for not having this tested and corrected.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.