2011 Volkswagen Golf: fuel pump failure

Filed Sep 26, 2023 · Fuel system · CA

The High-pressure Fuel pump failed during a routine drive at approximately 1500 RPMs. This caused an immediate loss of power while in traffic. Manage to limp the car to the nearest gas station in which the car finally died and would not start. Had to call for a tow truck. This immediate loss of power could have cause myself and my daughter to get into an accident. Luckily, we were not on a major highway doing 65+ MPH, which could have been a lot worse. The vehicle flashed a MIL light or flashing glow plug light at the time of the incident. The car did not show any signs of possible failure beforehand. This same issue has been recalled by Fiat-Chrysler on their Heavy-Duty Ram pickup trucks with 6.7L Cummins due to catastrophic failure of the CP4 fuel pump.

Filed Dec 31, 2021 · Engine, Fuel system · SC

Driving on interstate at 70 mph with cruise control on when car suddenly slowed and warning lights began flashing. I slowed to 60 mph and within a minute the engine shut off and was almost rear ended by a semi truck before I could get to the shoulder of the highway. Engine would not restart and I was stranded on the highway. Had to have the vehicle towed by AAA back to my home. Used my Ross-Tech VCDS scanning tool to troubleshoot and found codes: P0087 (fuel rail system pressure too low), P020 (cylinders 1-4 injection timing), P1004-P1007 (torque difference cylinders 1-4). Examined fuel filter and fuel metering valve and found metal chips and particles in both places. Based on this evidence, the high pressure fuel pump has likely failed. My safety was put at risk when the failure occurred due to the sudden loss of power and subsequent near collision with a truck. Additionally I was in danger of being hit by other vehicles as I sat on the shoulder of the highway waiting for a tow truck. My vehicle is available for inspection by the local VW dealership, but will have to be towed at my expense to be examined.

Filed Oct 12, 2015 · Engine, Fuel system · 93,000 miles · CA

My golf tdi suffered a catastrophic failure of the high pressure fuel pump (hpfp) causing my vehicle to stall in the middle of traffic. Luckily every warning light on my dash lit up about 30 seconds prior to complete failure allowing me to begin to merge from the left hand lane and coast with my hazards on to the right lane. From initial symptom to complete vehicle failure was less than 1 minute. Searching online this is a common failure, one that results in upwards of an $8000 repair.

Filed Aug 21, 2015 · Engine, Fuel system · 54,000 miles · FL

While exiting the off ramp of the highway at 1100 at night the car died and I was lucky enough to make it to the side of the road as traffic behind me was locking up their brakes and swerving to avoid a collision. After an expensive tow and finally getting the vehicle to the dealer I was told the high pressure fuel pump had exploded in the tank sending metal into the whole fuel system. I am told the repair bill will cost around $6500 to fix. This car has 54000 miles and I had received a letter from vw stating my high pressure fuel pump had an extended warranty a month prior however vw will not pay for the repair costs. The vw dealer told me they did a fuel sample test and the fuel did not have enough lubrication in it which caused the fuel pump to fail. As I have researched vw has had more than 3500 reported cases of these fuel pump failures and refuses to stand behind the bosch products they use. I also talked with the service station where I purchased the fuel to let them know the pump failure is being blamed on lack of lubrication in their fuel and they have not had one other complaint of fuel issues reported. On a side not I filled my dodge diesel truck with the same pump and fuel and have had no problems. To me this is a serious problem that vw is not taking responsibility for and if there is not a recall on these fuel pumps it is only a matter of time before someone gets killed because a known bad part that is not getting replaced.

Filed Jul 14, 2015 · Fuel system · 122,800 miles · CA

High pressure fuel pump went out on my 2011 golf tdi. My family and were driving down the road when it completely shut down almost causing an accident. Vw covers up to 120,000 miles, my vehicle has 122k miles. This car is my daily driver and almost lost my job due to this problem. Hpfp is a faulty pump and vw denies to cover this expense. I do not have $8000 to cover this expense, and I will keep on contacting vw to fix it. Other cars with higher mileage have been covered, but not mine. I am on of thousands with this tdi hpfp problem. I always use chevron diesel, so there is no way it can be "contaminated" it is vw faulty piece. I hope someone reads this and helps me out, thanks.

Filed Mar 3, 2015 · Fuel system · TX

Tl*the contact owns a 2011 volkswagen golf. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Oct 28, 2014 · Fuel system · 58,500 miles · AL

Check engine light came on. Took vehicle to an independent repair shop and after it was checked out mechanic stated the fuel pump and fuel system were contaminated with metal shavings. Mechanic advised that the engine could stall and not restart at any time if repairs were not made. Took the vehicle to the local volkswagen dealership and received the same diagnosis. Dealership service manager stated that the repairs were not covered under warranty but nonetheless that volkswagen would repair the fuel system at no cost. Vw dealership suggested that the vehicle had been misfueled, leading to the fuel pump failure. That was not the case. The vehicle has never been fueled with anything but diesel fuel.

Filed Oct 14, 2014 · Fuel system · 61,000 miles · PA

While driving at highway speed glow plug light began blinking and car lost power and went into "limp" mode. Had car towed to dealer where it was determined that the in-tank fuel pump and diesel high pressure fuel pump had both done bad, possibly a cascading failure. Repair was performed at no charge despite being outside of warranty. Eight months later and 18,000 miles later at approx 79,000 miles, similar symptoms and failure as determined by the same dealer. This was again repaired by vw under "goodwill warranty" . There must be some sort systemic or design failure with the fuel pumps on these cars. There are pages of complaints here and on various tdi web forums documenting instances of fuel pump failures.

Filed Sep 2, 2014 · Engine, Fuel system · 78,500 miles · FL

On the night of august 5 about 8:30pm, while driving at 45mph, my car lost power while driving. I was able to get out of the traffic flow and coast until I could get to a side road and then pushed it into a parking lot. I looked at the engine and saw the serpentine belt was damaged. I also noticed fuel sitting on top of surfaces in the engine compartment. I asked my son to verify if he smelled fuel which he did as I have little sense of smell. After seeing the damaged serpentine belt, I did not attempt to restart the engine. I had the vehicle towed. At the dealer, the service representative attempted to try to start the vehicle and move it and said it wouldn't start, possibly causing additional damage since the serpentine belt was shredded. After some investigation the dealer's service manager explained that their leading theory is that diesel fuel leaked from fuel filter gasket onto the serpentine belt. Then the shredded serpentine belt took out the timing belt and caused the engine to rotate out of time causing internal damage. Car had been maintained per manufacturer schedule by this dealer, and this failure occurred 6k miles after most recent service. Dealer was unsure why the diesel fuel leaked, but the high pressure fuel pump and fuel filter seemed viable problem points. After getting engine parts replaced at great expense and getting the engine running on aug 30, 2014, dealer indicated that they couldn't detect a fuel leak and said serpentine belt condition showed no condition to indicate failure but failed anyway causing the cavalcade of engine damage. Many parts were replaced or removed and reinstalled during the repair, so it is questionable that there was no fuel leak.

Filed Jul 3, 2014 · Fuel system · 41,000 miles · MD

2011 volkswagen golf tdi, started shaking while driving. I just made it to the right lane when the engine stopped completely, leaving me stranded on the side of the road. Car was towed to the dealership where they diagnosed a faulty fuel pump, leaving residues of metal in the engine. Car is little over 40,000miles, 5,000 miles out of warranty. Vw however agreed to fix the issue for free. It would have been a $10,000 repair. According to the service people, they have seen several issues like this, related to diesel golf. Luckily I was driving on a city street, but the engine shutting on a highway would have been extremely dangerous. It seems to be a pretty common issue, such that vw will fix it for free instead of charging customers. I am now worried this will happen again in another 40,000 miles. I am purchasing extended warranty, but vw should recall and replace all faulty pumps.

Filed Jun 12, 2014 · Fuel system · 91,000 miles · CA

Stalled while traveling full speed on the freeway in the desert, glow plug light and check engine light came on, was almost hit by several trucks while attempting to coast to the nearest off ramp 1/4 mi away, at the end of the off ramp vehicle stalled, again almost hit by several more vehicles. We were able to push the car off middle of the offramp to the side of the road. Dealer states high pressure fuel pump failure, known issue with my make/model/year of vehicle. Stalling on freeway is a very dangerous issue. Many owners have had multiple failures of this part as it wasn't designed properly for us diesel specs (was designed for europe.) vw needs to address this issue. This was not an issue of misfueling, I have only used diesel from brand name stations, your current investigation blaming this on misfueling is incorrect, it is clearly a part defect. The latest redesigned part for the 2013 model year has had failures as well (third redesign of part.)

Filed Apr 6, 2014 · Fuel system · 26,350 miles · WA

Last week, the engine light came on again in my golf tdi the way it had a year ago when the fuel pump failed. I took it in again and was told the possibility it was a fuel pump issue again after they replaced the entire thing brand new last summer was close to zero. However, I received a call that afternoon saying once again the fuel pump was having problems due to "dirty diesel." last summer after the car was repaired I was told only to go to shell and chevron. I have only gone to the same chevron station this entire time and the problem occurred again. I was told by the dealer mechanic that dirty diesel is a rampant problem in the pacific nw and that it was not a good idea that I only went to one gas station and that I should try others. I was also told, I "barely" drove the thing as it only had 5000 miles added on it since last summer. He said diesel can grow bacteria and that he would put additives in my current tank and then my next tank I should add another bottle of additives. How this solves the problem long term I have no idea. So apparently I was sold a vehicle with a fuel pump that a) can not handle the diesel quality in the entire pacific nw region I live in and b) must drive at a certain pace/rate to keep the fuel pump clean. I am going to try and sell the vehicle as soon as I can find a replacement as this seems like an inherent flaw in the car that will never go away since they continue to replace it with the same faulty fuel pump.