2001 Volkswagen Golf problems
Owners have filed 152 complaints with NHTSA about the 2001 Volkswagen Golf. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 22% of complaints. Next are engine (15%) and electrical system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 152 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 71,000 miles 93 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 3 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 17 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 16 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 20 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 13 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 7 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 93 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 71,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (17 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 7 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2001 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 20 model years of the Volkswagen Golf with enough data (120 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Unintended acceleration while in "park" in two occasions (car accelerated and jumped forward while being on "park" and while driver was braking) . Jan 2002 limited damages// june 2002 significant damages.
When consumer got inside of vehicle and turned on engine, driver's side air bag deployed without prior warning, bruising consumer's arm, dealer and manufacturer were contacted.
Turn signals stopped working. They do not come on at all. Consumer contacted the manufacturer and there were no recalls. The check light illuminated due to a leaking recirculation valve.
I own a 2001 VW golf. Since I purchased this car, the brake light switch has failed once per year. Thus, I have had to replace this faulty brake light switch four times in four years. The faulty switch has caused my epc light to come on while I am driving, and to stall the vehicle and prevent it from shifting gears. VW issued a recall for faulty brake switches in the 1999-2002 jetta and 1998-2002 beetles, so I don't know why a comparable fix has not been made available to 2000-2002 golf owners.