On 8/1/2024 my housemate was driving this vehicle on the highway and another driver signaled to her that there was an issue with the vehicle. He put a white board outside of the drivers side window which said "gas is pouring out of the back of your car." There was no warning light to indicate that something was wrong and no prior leaking. When she arrived at home the fuel tank was nearly empty and she informed me of the problem. I asked her when she had filled the tank and she said approximately 2 days ago and that prior to starting her short drive today had over half a tank of fuel. I took the car to the gas station to try to fill the tank. I was unable to fill the tank as the shut off mechanism kept triggered at the fuel pump. I was able to get less than half a tank of gas into the vehicle, so that I could drive is less than 5 miles to the mechanic. During this drive I lost approximately 1/4 of a tank of fuel. After an analysis of the vehicle they determined that fuel was leaking through the carbon canister. They identified this as an issue related to a recalled suction jet pump seal. I had my vehicle towed to the VW dealership in order to complete the repair. I was informed that at that time the repair for the recall was unavailable. Their review of the vehicle noted that the carbon canister had overflowed and leaked. This is a direct result of the suction pump seal failing. I requested both from the dealer and VW directly that this repair be covered under the recall and they stated that the language in the recall prevents them from covering the expense of my repair even though this damage is listed as a potential result of their recalled parts failure. VW put me & my loved one at risk. Driving a car that is leaking fuel is extremely dangerous and they have skirted their responsibility as a business by refusing to cover a repair that is a direct result of their recalled parts failure. I have filed a report w/ VW directly and the case number is 06376308.
2015 Volkswagen GTI: fuel leak
7 of the 97 complaints about the 2015 Volkswagen GTI describe fuel leak.
- owner complaints
- 7
- of this car's complaints
- 7%
- recalls
- 4
Fuel leak by model year
What owners say
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen GTI. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed; there was an abnormal fuel odor inside the vehicle, and the contact became aware of a fuel leak. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 24V110000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen GTI. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 24V110000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, she observed a strong fuel odor and gas leaking from under the passenger’s side rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 53,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen GTI. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, her husband exited the vehicle and noticed an abnormal odor. The contact's husband walked around to inspect the vehicle. The contact's husband noticed gasoline leaking from the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated that her husband noticed a trail of gasoline leading up to the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with a fuel leak from an internal failure. The contact was informed that the charcoal canister and purge valve needed to be replaced, and the vapor side of the fueling system needed to be flushed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Fuel leak in the passenger rear wheel well. Called local Volkswagen dealership and was told the suction pump was replaced in 2016 as the originals were known for having defects causing the same issues I am currently having. Replacement part seems to be defective as fuel is leaking onto the ground and in the wheel well which is a hazard for the environment and potential danger as a fire hazard. The problem has been recent for me (within the past 2 days) reading online it has apparently been a persistent issue since 2015 with the same make and model of vehicles for the 2015 and 2016 models.
I was parked in a parking lot with my car on when all of a sudden a lady parked next to me said that it smelled like gasoline. I decided to step out and check on the car the fuel was literally leaking out of the tank from the rear end of the car. The car had almost a full tank and in a matter of minutes it emptied itself out. Keep in mind, I am a smoker and if it wasn't because the lady told me about the gas leak it could've end up in a fatal fire/accident. I have seen around the internet that there was a recall for the same problem in 2015-2016 gti models but once you go into the vw page nothing appears. It even appears online from trusted sources that the recall number was 20y5 and 20y6. Currently the car has been in the vw for 1 month and they wanted me to pay around $2,800 to replace the fuel tank and once I did my research I found out that the exact problem happened to thousands of other people who had the same model yet the dealer did not even mention it to me and want to charge me with the $2,800.
Would like to know why we were never informed of the 3 recalls on our 2015 vw gti. Started investigating after our 2015 vw passat has the bad airbags in them. Also own the gti and we investigated to see if the bad airbags are in there too. That is when we found problems with the fuel pump which was recalled in june 2015, we were never notified, also a fuel leak of an ignition source...never notified and a loose stabilizer link in the steering. Who wants to drive this car. Why were we not notified of these three recalls. We never moved, I want an answer as this car is always in use. We were really upset with the passat that we got rid of it and thank god we had gotten rid of our other new passat last year only to buy another lemon and unsafe vehicle from vw......this being the gti. Please get back to us. If anything happens life threatening, you will be held responsible. You are ignoring your customers who at one time loved their vehicles....now they are afraid to drive them....but still must pay for them. Maybe we need a car replacement from vw for this gti for not letting us know. Not even sure if this gti has the bad airbags as your 800 number keeps me on the line on hold for over an hour I just think you don't want to answer.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
Fuel system, gasoline
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain front-wheel drive 2015-2020 Audi A3 Sedan, 2015-2019 Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Volkswagen Jetta GLI, 2018 Golf Sportwagen GP, 2018-2019 Golf Sportwagen A7, 2015-2017 Golf Sportwagen, 2015-2020 Golf GTI, and 2015-2020 Golf A7 vehicles. Due to a problem with a suction jet pump seal inside the fuel tank, fuel may flow into the evaporative emissions (EVAP) system and possibly leak out of the charcoal canister.
- Risk
- A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the suction pump, free of charge. Final owner notification letters for Audi owners were mailed on July 25, 2024. Final owner letters for VW owners were mailed on August 13, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298 or Audi customer service at 1‑800‑253‑2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are VW: 20UF/Audi: 20YF. Vehicles that were previously recalled under 16V‑647 will need to have the new remedy completed. This recall expands and replaces previous recall number 16V‑647.
Recall number 24V110000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Volkswagen Golf, Golf SportWagen, GTI, Audi A3 sedan and A3 Cabriolet vehicles. Due to a problem with the suction pump inside the fuel tank, fuel may flow into the evaporative emissions (EVAP) system.
- Risk
- As fuel accumulates in the EVAP system, it may leak out through the charcoal canister filter element. A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the suction pump, free of charge. The recall began November 2016. Volkswagen owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298, Audi owners may contact Audi customer service at 1‑800‑253‑2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 20Y6 and 20Y5. This recall has been fully superseded by recall 24V‑110.
Recall number 16V647000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: fuel pump
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015 Volkswagen Golf, and GTI manufactured on February 17, 2014, to May 22, 2014, and Audi A3 manufactured on February 16, 2013, to April 23, 2014. Improper nickel plating of components within the fuel pump may result in the fuel pump failing.
- Risk
- If the fuel pump fails, the vehicle will not start, or if the engine is running, it will stop and the vehicle will stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicles and replace any affected fuel pumps, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2015. Owners may contact Volkswagen at 1‑800‑893‑5298 or Audi at 1‑800‑253‑2834.
Recall number 15V229000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: fuel injection system: fuel rail
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Jetta vehicles manufactured March 28, 2014, to November 24, 2014, 2014-2015 Passat vehicles manufactured April 7, 2014, to November 18, 2014, 2015 Golf and GTI vehicles manufactured July 1, 2014, to November 20, 2014, and 2014-2015 Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles manufactured March 31, 2014, to November 27, 2014. A sealing cap at the fuel rail may fail, allowing fuel to leak into the engine compartment.
- Risk
- A fuel leak, in the presence of an ignition source, can result in a vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel rails with new parts, free of charge. The recall began February 6, 2015. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑822‑8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24BL. Note: This recall expands and supersedes recall 14V‑809 (Volkswagen recall number 24Bi) and only affects vehicles not previously repaired under that campaign.
Recall number 15V028000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2015 Volkswagen GTI fuel leak
Is fuel leak a common problem on the 2015 Volkswagen GTI?
7 of 97 owner complaints about the 2015 Volkswagen GTI (7%) mention fuel leak. The model year with the most reports is 2017.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2015 Volkswagen GTI?
There are 4 recalls and 1 service bulletin for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2015 Volkswagen GTI
Overheating 11Check engine light 9Engine failure 8Sunroof shattered 5
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