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2010 Volkswagen Golf engine problems

16 complaints (23% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 30,200.

owner complaints
16
of this car's complaints
23%
typical mileage
30,200
crashes
0
recalls
0

Which part fails

  • Engine
    3

At what mileage

Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.

0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+

Volkswagen Golf engine problems in other years

19911995200020052010201520202023

Specific symptoms reported on the 2010 Volkswagen Golf engine

Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.

Stalling 25Loss of power 9Check engine light 7

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

What 2010 Volkswagen Golf owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed Jul 25, 2017 · Electrical, Engine · CA

Had to replace the map sensor 3 times in 2 years. Manifold problem. There are no recalls for this vehicle but the problem persists. Had to pay $700 each time to fix.

Filed Aug 4, 2016 · Engine · 51,000 miles · IL

The main (rear) engine oil seal is leaking with only 51,000 miles on the odometer. I believe this is a defect of the engine oil seal or improperly mounted from the vw factory. There has been numerous complaints of this problem with vw owners. The cost of this repair should be fully covered by volkswagen of america.

Filed Jan 9, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 47,000 miles · DC

While driving the vehicle simply shut off. I turned on hazzards, put car into park, restarted, put car back into drive and drove away. This was on the I-35 frontage road and I could have easily been rearended / killed. Happened one other time on the bqe in new york several months prior. After the first incident I was told by the authorized service dept. "probably a glitch, won't happen again." waiting for a third incident where I'm not so lucky.

Filed Apr 19, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 114,000 miles · KY

Had just refueled vehicle a day prior when on lunch break vehicle lost power while driving. Upon entering a heavily congested intersection the vehicle lost power and stalled causing steering, braking and control to be compromised. Started vehicle to move out of heavy traffic and drove directly to an automotive repair shop. Upon inspection the repair facility discovered metal particles throughout fuel system causing unsafe driving conditions listed above including stalling and loss of control.

Filed Nov 26, 2012 · Engine, Fuel system · 40,169 miles · CA

I have a 2010 vw golf tdi. I was driving along at 25 MPH when my glow plug & check engine lights started flashing, and my tachometer dropped to zero, indicating a stall. The power steering also started to cut out, but I was able to safely pull over. Tried starting the car again and got nothing. The car was towed to a vw dealership down the street, and on monday 11/19 they informed me that my high-pressure fuel pump failed and sent metal fragments through the entire fuel system. The car is currently being repaired under warranty, but I was told that the bill would be at least $5,000 for this kind of fix. Oh yeah, this also completely ruined my travel plans for thanksgiving, as vw refused to give me a loaner car while this documented warranty issue was being dealt with. After doing some research, I found that there are several cases of 2009-10 tdi fuel pump failures with the same symptoms. Apparently, there have been three revisions of this pump since then, and I am due to get the newest one. But, there is also talk that ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel in the us is not providing the proper lubricity, and thus causing the pumps to fail (this is not an issue in europe). Nonetheless, further investigation by the federal safety agency should result in vw doing a proper recall and redesign, rather than quietly fixing an inherent flaw on a case-by-case basis. Even with my car fixed, I'll still be wondering when this will happen again. Which also makes me wonder if I should just sell it and be done with vw. Very frustrating.

Filed Sep 24, 2012 · Engine · 30,200 miles · DE

I have a 2010 golf tdi manual transmission car. The car was stalled during driving, after just down shifted from 2nd gear to first gear. After turning off the engine completely, I still couldn't restart the car right away. I had to wait for several minutes, and tried again. The car started on the next attempt. I experience the similar type of stalling soon after I purchase the vehicle, and it persists and recurs quite often. Other times, also during driving, mostly noticeable in 4th gear speed, the car could all of a sudden lost power, for about 2 seconds, although the engine was not stalled or stopped. I also noticed after a difficult start, the driving is less smooth. And when the car is stopped and completely turned off, the engine/fan would keep on running idle for several minutes. And during that idle time, a large amount of heat is dispensed out from underneath the front hood.

Filed Aug 2, 2012 · Engine, Fuel system · 53,000 miles · NY

I got into my car as normal, and began to drive. After about 5 minutes of driving, I came to a red light on a busy street. My check engine light came on and the glow plug light began to flash, the car immediately died and would not restart. I was told the high pressure fuel pump failed, and the entire fuel system has to be replaced... After I got home, I quickly google searched the issue and appears to be a common problem on a bad design by volkswagen and bosch...

Filed Mar 7, 2012 · Engine · 19,000 miles · WA

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 volkswagen golf tdi. The contact stated that while driving at any speed, the vehicle would lose power. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and a diagnostic was performed but the diagnostic was unable to locate a failure code. The vehicle was also test driven, but the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacture was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 19,000 and the current mileage was 20,000.

Filed Feb 15, 2012 · Engine, Fuel system · 5,491 miles · CA

Upon making a lane change to merge into a faster moving traffic lane, the vehicle accelerated normally for one second then lost all engine power leaving me in a dangerous position. Upon depressing the clutch, the engine stalled. I was able to restart the engine after which it worked normally. This has happened approximately 20 times since. It usually creates a dangerous situation such as leaving the car without power in an oncoming traffic lane during a left turn or moving too slowly in a merging maneuver. Sometimes the check engine light will also come on and the glow plug warning light starts flashing. Clouds of white smoke always appear at the tail pipe during the power loss. The dealer has replaced a sensor 4 times which makes the warning lights go out, but the engine cutting out problem is never addressed. Vw simply state "cannot reproduce problem" and return the vehicle. The behavior is very dangerous.

Filed Jan 30, 2012 · Engine · 15,000 miles · CT

I dec 19th 2011 I experienced what I believe was a hard start. Weather in the morning was in the teens, afternoon in the low 40s. Leave work, get in car, put key in ignition & turn to on position, put seat belt on, and start. Car starts right away but is idling rough, shaking violently like a washing machine off balance. I drop into neutral and rev it up to 2k, still idles rough for about a minute more but does not stall. I experienced something like this once when my subaru legacy's #2 injector quit, a misfiring boxer engine does not idle smooth. The ride home was uneventful, stopped at the bank and restarted fine. Everything was normal this morning, temps in the low 40s. What I believe happened to my car was moisture accumulated in the inner cooler and was ingested into the intake tract causing a "hammering effect" as the engine tried to compress this moisture. Vw has issued a tsb #21 11 06/2025464 but no recall as yet. When I brought my vehicle in for service they found no moisture so nothing was done. I believe this to be a safety issue because the vehicle could ingest this moisture at any time without warning causing the car to stop and strand in an unsafe location. A recall and fix should be issued.

Questions about the 2010 Volkswagen Golf engine

Does the 2010 Volkswagen Golf have engine problems?

Owners have filed 16 complaints about the engine of the 2010 Volkswagen Golf, 23% of all its complaints.

At what mileage do 2010 Volkswagen Golf engine problems start?

The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 30,200 miles.

Was there a recall on the 2010 Volkswagen Golf engine?

There is no recall for this problem on this model year.

What year does the Volkswagen Golf have bad engine?

The Volkswagen Golf model years with the most engine complaints are 2019 (35 complaints), 2015 (28 complaints) and 2011 (26 complaints).

Other 2010 Volkswagen Golf problems

Fuel system 32Airbags 11Transmission 7Brakes 5Electrical 5Driver assistance 4Seat belts 3Seats 3Acceleration 1Body 1Lights 1Tires 1Visibility 1

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