2003 Volkswagen Golf problems
Owners have filed 32 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Volkswagen Golf. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 34% of complaints. Next are electrical system (12%) and seats (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 32 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 34% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 8
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 77,000 miles 24 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 | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 3 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 5 |
What the data shows
Of the 24 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 77,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 8 complaints mention a fire; 4 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 96% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 19th most-complained-about out of 20 model years of the Volkswagen Golf with enough data (19 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
Dt: the contact stated while driving at 40 MPH the driver's side curtain and seat airbag deployed with no collision. This happened where a side street meets a main street. He went to the emergency room and was suffering from frequent headaches and hearing loss in left ear. He has to see a specialist for the hearing loss. The rear passenger's hand was pinched between the window and airbag. This caused swelling in his hand. The insurance company stated it was a manufacturing defect.
While driving at 5 MPH consumer smelled smoke. Driver's seat overheated. Consumer parked the vehicle and exited before the seat burst into flames. The fire was extinguished, and no injuries were sustained. Consumer almost had an accident while trying to steer the vehicle to safety.
1) I turned on my heated seats for the first time since last spring. 2) once the seat was on for less than 30 seconds I felt a sharp pain in my buttocks and felt the seat. The seat was very hot and I turned off the heated seat. The heated seat got so hot it melted a piece in the seat. The car smelled like there was a fire in it, like wires burning. I pulled over to make sure the car wasn't on fire. 3) the heated seat had been recalled by VW and was fixed in 2005. This was the "fixed" part that burnt.
I had the hatch open on my golf and started to smell an electrical fire. I seen smoke coming from the cargo light and when I opened the taillight access panel there was a small fire that I immediatley put out. Thankfully I caught it in time and didn't close the hatch and walk away. It could have been much worse. I have pictures I can send upon request.
Recently I had the same problem regarding the brake lights saying on after I turned off my 2003 volkswagen golf and they continued to stay on. I first experienced the right front headlight going out, then the left front light went out and I had to drive home with the high beams on. We replaced the headlights but the right front still would not work. I then had the problem of the brake lights. I had to disconnect the battery for fear of draining the battery or having an electrical fire. I had the car repaired.