2016 Volkswagen E-Golf problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Vehicle Speed Control (2) · Power Train (2) · Engine (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Volkswagen E-Golf model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (5)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2022-07-27 · campaign 22V543000 · 1,216 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2016 Audi TT Roadster, TT Coupe, S3 Sedan, R8 Coupe, A3 Sedan, A3 Etron, A3 Cabriolet, 2016 Golf Sportwagen, Golf R, Golf GTI, Golf A7, and E Golf vehicles. During air bag deployment, the front passenger air bag may explode or deploy improperly.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking occupants, resulting in serious injury or death. An improper air bag deployment may not properly restrain the occupant, increasing their risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the front-passenger air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69DY and 61C1.
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.
Seat Belts:pretensioner 2016-12-29 · campaign 16V955000 · 5,947 vehicles
Defect: 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.
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Latches/Locks/Linkages 2016-06-24 · campaign 16V464000 · 5,658 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2016 CC vehicles manufactured January 12, 2016, to February 3, 2016, Golf R and Tiguan vehicles manufactured November 25, 2015, to January 28, 2016, and e-Golf vehicles manufactured November 25, 2015, to January 11, 2016. Vibrations, such as those created by opening and closing a vehicle door, may cause the rear child door locks to disengage, allowing a child to open a rear door while inside the vehicle.
Risk: If an unrestrained child unexpectedly opens a door, they may fall from the vehicle increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the child lock(s), free of charge. The recall began on August 22, 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 58C9.
Electrical System:propulsion System:traction Battery 2016-03-07 · campaign 16V138000 · 5,561 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 e-Golf vehicles manufactured May 21, 2014, to March 1, 2016. Oversensitive diagnostics for the high-voltage battery management system may falsely detect an electrical surge resulting in the vehicle's electric drive motor shutting down unexpectedly.
Risk: An unexpected vehicle shutdown can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will update the battery management software, free of charge. The recall began March 15, 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 93B4.
Service bulletins (529)
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 529 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2023-10-23 · Service Brakes“the regenerative braking system on my car shut off for about half a second before re engaging automatically. i was slowing down at a red light and had a car in front of me. as i applied the brakes, i hit a bump in the road and the brakes completely stopped working, causing me to almost hit the car in front of me. i do not believe that this issue is…”
2022-11-20 · Electrical System“while the vehicle is attached to a/c power for charging, the forced air heating system does not warm the car. this can leave the occupants without heat for an extended period of time while charging in a remote location which could be life threatening. there used to be a "work around" using carnet functions for this car, but that service has been …”
2022-10-14 · Fuel/Propulsion System“two miles into my morning commute, i accelerated to 65 mph when the following message appeared on the instrument display "error: electrical system. stop!" at the same time, the vehicle lost all electrical motor drive and began to coast and decelerate. as i coasted there was a clicking noise in the drivetrain and remained audible while i changed l…”
2022-06-09 · Electrical System:propulsion System:charging:cable/Cord:accessory · 43,000 mi“the contact owns a 2016 volkswagen e-golf. the contact stated that while charging the vehicle with the level 3 charger, the female connector on the vehicle became loosened due to a failure with the 4 tabs holding the connector in place on the vehicle. the level 3 charger loosened and exposed the plug with live current going to the part. the contact…”
2020-11-17 · Vehicle Speed Control · 79,000 mi“i was driving down the road and the car halted all of a sudden. an error appeared on the dashboard that said electric failure. stop. luckily no cars were behind me or it would have been an accident. the car would not start back up for 30-40 minutes.…”
2020-02-05 · Unknown Or Other · 500 mi“the drop down v-clamp on the exhaust system at the engine came lose. the screw that is to secure this clamp does not function properly and will not stay in place to keep the clamp tight allowing the exhaust to come into the cabin of the automobile. i drove around with the windows down for two (2) weeks prior to my husband finding the issue. he …”
2019-04-30 · Unknown Or Other · 28,630 mi“metal trim around center console and steering wheel has sharp edges and can cut hands without warning. my trim was not bent until after it was caught on my hand and sliced my finger in two places.…”
2019-01-10 · Power Train · 9,700 mi“while charging the car, an electric component failed and the card got disabled and would not start anymore. it also stopped charging. the car was then towed away from charging station to the nearest dealership.…”
2018-11-15 · Unknown Or Other“tl* the contact owns a 2016 volkswagen e-golf. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 18v329000 (unknown or other). the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the contact called autonation (8201 east sprague ave, spokane, wa 99212, 866-483-4544) and was referred to the m…”
2018-08-02 · Unknown Or Other“we were lied to by the dealer about the cars history. with this current recall on the car, the major repair we just had, the fact that vw doesn't have techs in the area limiting our repair ability, and the fact that any repairs require vw to send in techs to the area, prolonging the time without the car, i asked vw to do a buy back as there is no f…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.