2019 Volkswagen Golf Brakes Problems

Purchased vehicle brand new from Seacoast VW in Greenland, NH in March of 2020. In February of 2022 with just 12804 miles on this vehicle I had them check a problem with noisy rear brakes. I was informed that the rear brakes were delaminating and needed replacement for around $800. As this was beyond the 12 month warranty that this charge was not to be covered. After much negotiation I agreed to pay 20% of the parts & labor charge and they would pick up the remaining 80% as a one time goodwill because I was a loyal VW customer. The excuse that was given to me at that time is that I didn't drive enough miles & rust on the rotor caused the delamination. Jump forward to April 2024 I again was told my rear brakes were delaminating and would not pass the NH state safety inspection. The service consultant was very surprised that they had already replaced the rear brakes in 2022! I was again told this was because I did not drive enough. I then called VW Customer Care phone number that the dealer provided to see if VW would provide some financial relief. The woman who answered the phone was very polite and understood my frustration that brakes would fail after only 12000 miles but after checking with her supervisor informed me that VW would not help with this Safety problem. I then asked her if I was the only one who has experienced this problem And she emphatically stated that I was not the only complaint for this problem and even suggested that I keep all of my records for possible reimbursement in a future recall due to the significant number of complaints that VW has had with this problem. This is a severe safety problem that VW is trying to sweep under the rug and needs to be investigated so VW bears the cost of this and not the many customers that have so far had to bear the expense that is an actual design flaw!

I was making my final trip of my move from Minneapolis to the Denver area and was on [XXX] traveling West in the right lane. The truck ahead was moving from the right lane to the left to give room to a car stopped on the right shoulder. There was another car in the left lane so I couldn’t move to the left. The truck was soon blocking much of the left lane so the car in the left lane was slowing as I slowed. I then applied my brakes and the pedal went all the way to the floor without actuating the brakes! Fortunately, by then there was room between the truck and the car on the shoulder and I was able to miss both as I sailed by. Pumping the brake pedal restored the brake function. Thinking that I must be low on brake fluid, I pulled off the highway at the next large service station. The brake fluid reservoir was full. I continued to my new home and at my first opportunity I went to the nearest VW dealership and left it for several days to be checked. No error codes so they did nothing. VW customer service arranged for another dealership to check it out. No error codes and not able to reproduce the problem so they did nothing. About a month later I was one a trip on a very hilly rout. Costing down a steep section I applied the brakes as I started to be more than 10 mph over the speed limit. The pedal went about 80% to the floor! But there was braking this time. Pumping the pedal restored normal brake function. VW customer serviced had arranged for yet one more dealership to look at the car. Again, not surprisingly, they couldn’t reproduce the problem and no error codes so they did nothing. I consider this to be a significant safety problem. As VW would not fix the problem, even as the car is still under warranty, I replaced the master cylinder at my own expense and have taken the car on a 2500 mile trip with no sign of the braking problem I have more confidence in the car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I was driving during the afternoon on a local road at approximately 30 mph. When I approached a traffic light with car brake lights showing ahead of me, I gently tapped my brakes in anticipation of possibly needing to slow down or stop. Instead of an expected gradual slowing of the vehicle, I was surprised when the brakes seemed to grab and the car stopped abruptly as if I had stepped down hard on the brake pedal. Fortunately, the situation appeared to return to normal in an instant when I let up on the brakes. The incident has not reoccurred.

The plastic button for the hand brake/ parking brake pops out of the handle which then causes the brake to release. VW has replaced the part under warranty 2 times since I purchased the vehicle. In my case the second time it happened the car popped out of gear and struck 2 cars across the street from my driveway. Dealer states its a common issue. But Volkswagen has done nothing to correct the issue other than replacing the hand brake repeatedly on the cars. It's a major safety issue in my opinion. And I feel they need to come up with a permanent solution rather than replacing with a new faulty part. I have since sold the car back to the dealer as I don't trust that the hand brake on the car won't fail again.