There are 12 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2011 Volkswagen Golfin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Fuse F16 (30A) in the engine fuse plate, melted instead of breaking - causing half of the cars lights to stop functioning including turn signals and brake lights. Cannot be fixed with replacing the fuse as it was never tripped but instead the whole fuse plate needs to be replaced. No warning lights preceded the event, all lights went out while driving. VW dealership requires a new plate to be put in with no explanation of what caused the melt and no guarantee that it won’t happen again. Multiple online forums suggest a similar finding, and even other models have tickets for recalls (same problem, same part) but not the 2011 Golf TDI.
Electrical Short caused catastrophic fire in engine compartment, suspected issue is a water leak due to faulty manufacturing. Leak was noted by Volkswagen repair facility and was to be inspected and repaired within 30 days
The wire from the alternator to the underhood fuse block is not thick enough to handle the current from the stock alternator. This causes the wire to get too hot melting the fuse block at the 30 amp fuse causing headlight issues.
LOST ALL LIGHTS, F16 AND F17 FUSES AND THE ENTIRE FUSE BOX WAS MELTED. FUSES WERE ARCING AND SHORTING INTERNALLY, BUT DIDN'T FAIL. THIS IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE IT SEEMS FROM RESEARCHING ONLINE, BUT THE DEALER REFUSES TO COVER THIS MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND MAJOR FIRE SAFETY ISSUE. THIS HAPPENED WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED.
I WAS RIDING AS THE PASSENGER IN MY VEHICLE. MY FOOT WAS BURNT BY AN ELECTRICAL COMPONENT THAT WAS DANGLING DOWN UNDERNEATH THE GLOVE BOX. IT WAS THE BLOWER RESISTOR. THE BLOWER RESISTOR MELTED THROUGH PLASTIC, THEN THE BLOWER RESISTOR WAS HANGING BY WIRES WHEN IT BURNT MY FOOT. *CC *TR
LIGHTING CHECK ENGINE . I COULDN'T PASS INSPECTION ON MY VW DUE TO: CODE P0106. MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE/BAROMETRIC. PRESSURE CTRL. RANGE/PERFORMANCE
DASHBOARD LAMP OUT INDICATOR AND DASH READ OUT INDICATES MULTIPLE LAMPS OUT (HEADLIGHTS, FOG, BACK UP, BRAKES ETC) AND SOMETIMES THEY ARE OUT BUT COME BACK ON LATER. VW CURRENTLY HAS A SERVICE BULLETIN OUT (SA-97-AM) ON JETTAS AND GTI'S OF EARLIER VINTAGE THAN MY 2011. THIS BULLETIN IS FOR MELTED FUSE PLATES, MY FUSE PLATE SHOWS THE SAME MELTING AND DAMAGED FUSE. VW NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS DEFECT. THANK YOU.
MY 2011 GOLF DIESEL WITH 31,000 MILES DIED IN RUSH HOUR ON A MAJOR STREET. HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALER. A WEEK LATER, I GOT THE CAR BACK. THEY FOUND METALLIC DEBRIS IN THE HIGH PRESSURE PUMP BORE AND WERE ADVISED TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM, A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF PARTS. THEY TESTED THE DIESEL, WHICH WAS NOT THE PROBLEM. THE WARRANTY COVERED THIS APPROXIMATE $8000 COST. NOW, I HAVE A MAJOR DECISION ON KEEPING THE CAR OR BUYING ANOTHER ONE. MY SERVICE REP SAID THAT MY WARRANTY WAS FOR 1 YEAR FROM THE DATE I RECEIVED THE CAR BACK. THIS DOES NOT SEEM FAIR, IT SHOULD BE FOR ANOTHER 5 YEARS, FALLING UNDER THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY, THESE ARE ALL NEW PARTS. WILL THIS HAPPEN AGAIN? I BOUGHT THIS CAR BECAUSE VW WAS SUPPOSE TO BE SUCH A RELIABLE CAR AND WOULD HATE TO GET RID OF IT, CAUSE IT IS AN EXCELLENT CAR BUT I AM NOT SURE IF IT WORTH THE RISK OF THIS MAYBE HAPPENING AGAIN AND HAVING TO DISH OUT $8000. *TR
WHEN DRIVING CAR AND ACCELERATING, THE ENGINE SIMPLY STOPPED. THE DASH-BOARD LIGHTS WERE ON, BUT THE ENGINE LOST POWER. ATTEMPTS TO RE-START THE CAR WERE NOT IMMEDIATELY SUCCESSFUL. IN TWO OF THE THREE CASES, THE ENGINE DID RE-START. HOWEVER, THE E-STARTS OCCURRED OVER 4 HOURS AFTER THE INITIAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. IN ONE OF THE THREE CASES, THE CAR COULD NOT BE RE-STARTED. IN THIS LAST CASE, THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND AS OF TODAY (10 NOVEMBER), THE DEALER HAS NOT DETERMINED THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. A NEAR MISS ACCIDENT OCCURRED IN ONE OF THE CASES. AFTER THE ENGINE STOPPED, ANOTHER CAR NEARLY REAR-ENDED MY DISABLED CAR. THE OTHER CAR SKIDDED AND SERVED OUT OF THE WAY OF MY DISABLED CAR. *TR
ACCORDING TO MY VW HONOLULU SERVICE PROVIDER MY 2011 VW GOLF'S STARTER CONNECTION WIRES WERE MELTED AND EXPOSED. MY GOLF WAS PURCHASED NEW JULY 2011 ALL MAINTENANCE WAS DONE AT MY VW DEALERSHIP AND THE MILEAGE IS 40020. MY SERVICE PROVIDER CLAIMS THIS AN UNIQUE PROBLEM BUT A POTENTIAL FATAL ONE. *TR
HIGH PRESSURE FUEL LINES WERE LEAKING LARGE AMOUNTS OF FUEL. FUEL LEAKED ON TO ALTERNATOR, CAR STALLED ON HIGHWAY AND REQUIRED TOWING. *TR
WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKE PEDAL I.E. TO SHIFT IN D (WHEN STANDING) , IT FEELS LIKE BEING REARENDED. INTENSITY OF THE PULSE OR SHUDDER VARIES, AND SOMETIMES DOES NOT OCCUR. LAST WEEK, SUTLIFF TECHNICIAN AND SERVICE MANAGER ON DUTY FELT THE PULSE, AND IN ADDITION A DISPLAY LIGHT EPC CAME ON, AND THE DISPLAY SAID "SERVICE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY". THE CAR WAS IN THE SHOP THREE TIMES OVER THE PAST 3 OR 4 MONTHS, AND I WAS TOLD EVERY TIME THAT THE ERROR CAN NOT BE REPRODUCED. IN ADDITION TO THAT, I TOOK A PICTURE AT ODOMETER READING 6048 MILES, SAYING "STEERING COLUMN LOCK: SERVICE NOW!", WITH AN ADDITIONAL YELLOW STEERING WHEEL LIGHT ON. I FOUND BOTH ERRORS ON BLOGS. HOWEVER, SUTLIFF VW CLAIMS THAT THEY CAN NOT READ ERROR CODES FROM THE VEHICLE, AND THAT THIS DOES NOT ALLOW ANY ACTION. VW CORPORATE ADVISED SUTLIFF ALSO NOT TO FIX THE ISSUE. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026