Volkswagen Golf won't start problems

Filed Jul 9, 2024 · Fuel system · GA

I have a recall for the jet pump in the fuel tank of my vehicle. I have had fuel leaking from my charcoal canister. The vehicle is at the dealership right now, and they have confirmed this. Yet they will not make a repair on it and have been without my vehicle for over a week now. I am stuck in limbo with no date when anything will be done. I am unable to drive my vehicle due to he leak as it is unsafe and a fire hazard. The vehicle will also cut off while driving and will not start, even though it says there is still fuel in it. This should be due to the leak, and the dealer will do nothing to fix my problem until they are notified by Volkswagen themselves. This is ridiculous as i am without a vehicle, which i am still paying a loan on and insurance every month. Yet i have called Volkswagen and have been offered no solution on this matter. I have been told to wait for the recall, but this issue has been known about since February. Am i just supposed to wait indefinitely for a solution while i can't work or drive anywhere, while i continue to pay for this vehicle? I need a solution and Volkswagen to fix my issue and to be help responsible.

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 Nov 19, 2014 · Engine · 20,000 miles · SC

I drive 50 miles one way to work. Drove car to work and parked for the day (6 am), went out after work to start car and car would not turn over. Car acted as if the motor was locked, car is a manual drive so I left car in gear and rolled back ward to bump motor. Car attempted to start and when finally started it ran very rough. Read on internet regarding possible intercooler issue and took car to dealer. Dealer found a large amount of water in intercooler. Dealer unaware of tsb for this issue but was able to find in vw data base. Tsb equipment was installed, car has worked fine until this even after work same symptoms only car did not require bumping of motor.

Filed Oct 6, 2014 · Fuel system · 20,825 miles · AZ

While driving about 2 miles after starting my car the diesel glow plug warning light started flashing and it felt like I lost power. I got to a safe place about 500 feet after, pulled over, turned off the car and started it again it seemed ok for a minute but then it started flashing again then the check engine light came on, I turned it off and it wouldn't start, it made a loud whine & clicking noise. It was towed to the dealer, they informed me that the bearings failed in the high pressure fuel pump.

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 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 Jun 25, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · OH

I had just got on the freeway about 5mins. On the car shut down and then there was a back fire then I seen a symbol of a car with a key under it lit in the dashboard, the car would not start back up I had it towed to the house and then the car started but now it has a putter noise I changed the spark plugs the wires and o2 sensors and it still has the puttering noise.

Filed Feb 1, 2014 · Engine · 51,245 miles · VA

First incident was 1/06/14. My wife was a week over her delivery date tried to start the car and it tried to turn over but wouldn't start. Eventually called dealer who had her tow it in to them. The dealer informed her of moisture in intercooler pipe which they blew out with an air hose and charged her $48 (they said it is normally about $150). They informed her it was due to driving short distances & the cold weather; that diesels needed to be driven long distance only. The 2nd incident was 1/30/14. My wife & newborn were running errands in town when the car engine malfunction light came on & she pulled over to check on it. The car then would not start & again had to be towed to dealer. This time they pulled a big chunk of ice from inter-cooler pipe and said the inter-cooler had to be replaced & cold weather kit installed (est. $1100). A quick search on-line shows this is not a new problem & vw has been aware of it on north american diesels for several years yet they have failed to inform new buyers or fix the problem. Also many owners who have gotten vw's "fix" (cold weather kit) say it has not solved the problem. If we had know their diesels could not be driven in the winter or for short distances we definitely would not have bought one. Leaving any one stranded in the winter is bad but leaving my very pregnant wife & my newborn baby is something I can't put up with. Because vw doesn't admit to having a design flaw I am going to have to foot the bill for something I have now control over but vw does. On top of that I may have the same problem within a week due to an unforeseen event called "winter" if their fix doesn't work. If knowing you have a design flaw in your vehicles that leaves owners stranded at the worst possible time (winter) does not constitute a safety issue & deserve immediate attention&accountability if not a recall then I'm not sure what does.

Filed Oct 28, 2012 · Fuel system · 29,545 miles · CA

Check engine light went on a few seconds after I had merged a few lanes over on the freeway (101s @holly during rush hour). Glow plug light flashed once or twice. Within 60 seconds, the car had died while traffic was speeding up on both sides of me. Put on emergency flashers. I could not get the car started again, nor did I have enough time to merge to the side of the road (I had 2 lanes on my right, 2 on my left). After trying to start it for a minute or so, called 911. After 10 - 15 minutes, chp came and stopped all traffic, pushed me to the side of the road with his car. Car still would not start. Tow truck came a while later, towed me to vw dealer (boardwalk) which was nearby. Dealer: boardwalk volkswagen, redwood city, ca status: fixed under warranty. Provided me rental car. Took 1 week. All in all, gave me good service. They replaced the entire fuel system. Here is what they did under warranty (per the receipt): * replaced high pressure fuel pump * replaced auxiliary fuel pump * replaced fuel filter housing and filter * replaced all injector lines * replaced 4 injectors * replaced fuel rail * removed and reinstalled fuel pump inside gas tank * drain and refill diesel * road tested recheck ok * vendor code (bosch) and (cbf) not a very opportune time for a catastrophic failure, while cruising on the busy rush-hour highway, and it happened very fast. Nevertheless, no one was injured, and the car is now back on the road. I know several people with these cars of this vintage, and I will encourage them to contact vw to try and replace the pump before it fails. On the triclub forum, there are examples of this same thing happening 100s of times to these cars. Here is my entry: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=3978779 someone on the forum encouraged me to file an incident with the federal safety agency, so I am doing that here.

Filed Oct 12, 2012 · Fuel system · 27,580 miles · CA

I was driving my vw golf tdi about 15 MPH due to heavy traffic when coil sign began flashing and the service engine soon alert appeared. After approximately 200 yards the vehicle stopped and would not start again. There was no accident because traffic lights turned red. The vehicle was pushed from the intersection to the curb and towed to a vw dealership. Fuel pump, fuel filter housing, all fuel injectors, fuel lines, and high pressure fuel pump were removed and replaced with new parts. The vehicle is now operating.