2010 Volkswagen Golf: engine stalls while driving

Filed Sep 23, 2014 · Fuel system · 60,580 miles · CA

I was stopped at a red light preparing to make a left hand turn when I noticed that the engine started making a rattling noise. After the light turned green, I proceeded to make my turn and after exiting the intersection the vehicle started to hesitate and eventually stalled. I pulled to the side of the road safely and tried to restart the vehicle but it would not start. I called aaa and my local vw dealer and had the car towed there for repair. I was told that the high pressure diesel fuel pump failed and that it would be replaced as a "goodwill" by vw since my car was just out of the 5 year 60k warranty. To my knowledge, the entire fuel system was replaced with the exception of the fuel tank itself which was cleaned. Everything was taken care of by vw with no charge to me, and a loaner car was provided.

Filed Aug 4, 2014 · Fuel system · MO

2010 volkswagen golf. Consumer writes in regards to fuel system malfunction. *smd the consumer stated in july 2013, the vehicle unexpectedly stalled on the highway. When she took the vehicle to dealer, for a diagnoses, they informed her, the fuel system had completely malfunctioned and sent metal shards throughout the entire fuel system. A couple of months later, the AC wasn't functioning properly. It was taking 10-15 minutes to get cold. It was determined the air compressor was failing and needed to be replaced along with the receiver and expansion valve.

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 Jan 9, 2014 · Fuel system · IN

There were three separate stalling incidents within 1 year (9/2012-6/2013). After each incident, the vehicle was taken to a volkswagen dealership for evaluation. The vehicle was within the 36,000 mile warranty during this time, and no problems were diagnosed or repaired by the technicians. Finally, on 1/7/2014, there was a complete failure of the high pressure fuel pump.

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 Mar 13, 2012 · Fuel system · 39,793 miles · CA

**************note: this is a diesel issue.******************** diesel high pressure pump failed (hpfs) at 39,793 miles. The car stalled on the highway and would not restart. Dealer found metal shavings inside fuel filter. Entire fuel system had to be replaced. Replaced the high pressure fuel pump (hpfs), 4 fuel injectors, aux fuel pump, tank pump, all rubber/plastic lines in fuel system, all metal lines in fuel system and fuel tank. Despite being out of warranty, vw paid for the repair (over $6000 dollars in parts not including labor.) was told that, if the problem recurs the car is covered for 12 months / 12000 miles. After that, I am on my own. *tr **************note: this is a diesel issue.********************

Filed Feb 25, 2012 · Fuel system · 39,300 miles · CA

Immediately after the 40k service on my 2010 vw golf tdi with 39,300 miles, the diesel glow plug warning light came on and the engine started running roughly. Approximately 10 seconds later, the engine stalled. The car would not restart and had to be towed to the dealership. The dealership found fragments of metal in the fuel system and replaced the entire fuel system (approximately $5000 in parts not including labor). Vw agreed to pay for the repair but there is no guarantee they will pay for this repair if it happens again. Also, vw was unable to tell me if the replacement high pressure fuel pump is the same design as the original one that failed. I am concerned the fuel pump could fail again and this time cause an accident it the car were to stall on the interstate. I am also concerned that, should the high pressure fuel pump fail again, it could cost between $8000 and $10,000 to repair. It appears that vw is repairing cars, with a fix that offes no assurance that the problem wont recur and, the federal safety agency may getting an accurate report on the actual number of high pressure fuel pump failures.

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.

Filed Oct 18, 2011 · Fuel system · 33,000 miles · MA

I'm a vw golf tdi canadian customer who suffered a hpfp failure in the us on sept 22nd, 2011. The car stalled at 35mph, was towed to a dealership in tewksbury, ma who claimed I had contaminated diesel fuel in my car and that was the cause of the pump failure. The car was towed to montreal, canada at the local dealership and arrived on sept 30th. Fuel lab test results did not confirm any type of fuel contamination, vw canada might cover the repairs under warranty but would like to know why the pump failed if the fuel was okay as I consider this a huge safety issue. I'd like to mentioned I only fueled from shell while traveling in the us. It looks like there were over 170 other complaints including some misfueling events and it seems that the us quality of diesel and/or poor pump design (by bosch) might be the cause.

Filed Aug 23, 2011 · Fuel system · 23,000 miles · CO

Since I first bought the tdi golf it has been easy to stall, sometimes stalling while still in motion going down the road. At approximately 20k miles stalling became sometimes unavoidable no matter how much gas you gave it from a stop. This caused the car to pull out into traffic and stall, leaving me dead in the water in dangerous traffic!! No matter how much gas I gave the car or how much I slipped the clutch it would still sometimes stall after propelling me into oncoming traffic. I have driven a manual transmission my entire life and I know how to work a clutch... This problem is not normal and many friends who I have had drive the car agree with me. At approximately 19,000 miles the glow plug light illuminated and blinked after starting the engine. The car wouldn't go above 20mph. I turned off the ignition and restarted with no further problem. At approx. 23,000 miles the car stalled 4 times in a row after cranking the engine and attempting to pull straight forward out of a parking lot. At this point the check engine light came on and the glow plug light also came back on and blinked. The car performance now is terrible and it is going into the dealership for repair. I am concerned about safety and the possibility of continuing expensive issues I may have that exceed the warranty period with this car. Please help!!!