2003 Volkswagen GTI problems
Owners have filed 72 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Volkswagen GTI. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 26% of complaints. Next are drivetrain & axles (18%) and electrical system (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 72 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 26% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 11 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 8 and 3
- Typical mileage
- 32,000 miles 59 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 | 19 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 15 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 9 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 13 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 59 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 32,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 51,000 miles (13 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 11 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 8 injuries reported; 3 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 94% 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 9th most-complained-about out of 19 model years of the Volkswagen GTI with enough data (61 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
Consumer was driving at 5 MPH and struck a pot hole and side door air bags deployed. Also, side window malfunctioned, and seat recliner broke.
Check engine light came on intermittently. Consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, and was told that the fuel injection system needed to be serviced at consumer's cost. Also, consumer experienced the same problem with another vehicle of the same make and model. The check engine light remained on.
(1) car engine overheated with air conditioning unit on with 35k miles (4 year old car). (2) dealer repair service technician discovered both auxilary fans (290" and 345") failed to spin at low speeds and operate only at high speeds causing engine to overheat when car is between 0 to 30 MPH. Dealer directed consumer parts were not covered under powertrain warranty (4 years, 50,000 miles) and considered electrical parts and to repair at consumer's expense ($918).