MSRP: $17,995 - $29,440
Invoice: $17,275 - $28,262
MPG: 23 City / 33 Hwy
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Volkswagen Golf Recalls & Reliability

Scorecard

Overall: 2012 Volkswagen Golf U.S. News Best Cars 8.5
Critics' Rating: 9.1
Performance: 8.4
Interior: 8.6
Safety: 9.8
Reliability:
How we calculate scores
Research analyzed for this review

Pros & Cons

  • Powerful engines
  • High-quality interior materials
  • Available diesel engine with good fuel economy
  • Comfortable back seat
  • Poor fuel economy for base model
  • Expensive for the class

Research Other Years

Review Last Updated: 4/25/13

Recalls

There has been 1 safety recall issued from NHTSA.

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESELRecall Date: 09/30/2011
  • Consequence: DUE TO THE RESONANCE CONDITION, INJECTOR LINE NUMBER 2 COULD DEVELOP SMALL CRACKS WHICH COULD LEAD TO FUEL LEAKAGE. LEAKING FUEL IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, MAY LEAD TO A FIRE.
  • NHTSA Campaign ID: 11V490000
  • Potential Number of Units Affected: 168,275
  • Summary: VOLKSWAGEN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL 2009-2012 JETTA AND JETTA SPORTWAGEN VEHICLES, MANUFACTURED FROM MAY 2008 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2011, MODEL YEAR 2010-2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF VEHICLES, MANUFACTURED FROM MAY 2009 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2011, AND MODEL YEAR 2010-2012 AUDI A3 VEHICLES, MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 2009 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2011, THAT ARE EQUIPPED WITH A 2.0L TDI COMMON RAIL DIESEL ENGINE/CLEAN DIESEL ENGINE. THE FUEL INJECTION PULSES COULD COINCIDE WITH THE NATURAL FREQUENCY OF THE INJECTOR LINE #2, IN SPECIFIC LOAD AND RPM CONDITIONS. THIS RESONANCE CREATES ADDITIONAL STRESS IN THE FUEL LINE.
  • Remedy: VOLKSWAGEN WILL INSTALL AN IMPROVED FUEL INJECTOR LINE FOR THE NUMBER 2 CYLINDER AND WILL INSTALL VIBRATION DAMPERS ON ALL OF THE INJECTOR LINES. VOLKSWAGEN AND AUDI WILL NOTIFY OWNERS TO HAVE THE VEHICLES REPAIRED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING NOVEMBER 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VOLKSWAGEN AT 1-800-822-8987.
  • Notes: VOLKSWAGEN RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER IS 23J9/V5. OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .

Reliability

Our reliability score is based on the J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) rating or, if unavailable, the J.D. Power Predicted Reliability rating.

Predicted Reliability Score
  • Key:
  • Among The Best
  • Better Than Most
  • About Average
  • The Rest

J.D. Power and Associates Power Circle Ratings do not include all information used to determine J.D. Power and Associates awards. See JDPower.com for more information on Power Circle Ratings. Your experience may vary.

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Warranty

Volkswagen provides a three-year/36,000 mile new vehicle limited warranty and five-year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty for the Golf. There’s also a 12-year warranty against corrosion perforation, with no mileage limitation.

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