2011 Volkswagen GTI: raw data

Every record we hold for this vehicle, as plain tables, with nothing added. The consumer page shows the same records with the maintenance schedule, price ranges and nearby shops around them.

vehicle	2011 / volkswagen / gti
known issues	6 clusters (reviewed 2026-09-09)
complaints	55 on file (2011-07-20 → 2026-08-21)
recalls	2
investigations	3
fars	24 occupant deaths, crash years 2010-2024 (legacy-code)
indexed	yes
license	CC BY 4.0 (derived)

Known Issues clusters all years →

Timing chain tensioner failure causing engine damageENGINE12 complaints2016-01 → 2022-05gti-2011-timing-chain-tensioner-failure

11046659 60K MILES TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILED AT IDLE IN MY GARAGE CAUSING CATASTROPHIC ENGINE DAMAGE. VWOA DECLINED ASSISTANCE DESPITE TSB EXISTING FOR UPDATED PART. VWOA CITED REASON OF FAILURE AS IMPROPER MAINTENANCE. ALL MY MAINTENANCE WAS DONE ON TIME OR EARLY AT VW DEALERS WITH
11047206 MY VW GTI HAS A FAILING TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER THAT CAUSED MY VALVES TO COLLIDE WITH PISTONS AND REQUIRED A REBUILD OF THE ENGINE (EXCLUDING TIMING CHAIN). THE ENGINE IS NOT TIMED CORRECTLY AND HAS LOST A TON OF POWER AND IS RATTLING, IF I CONTINUE TO DRIVE IT WILL MOST LIKELY
11015007 TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILURE. STARTED THE CAR ONE MORNING AND RAN EXTREMELY ROUGH AND WOULDN'T STAY RUNNING. DEALER WANTS %6000 TO REBUILD ENGINE OR $7000 FOR A REMANUFACTURED ENGINE. CAR HAS 80K MILES ON IT

DSG transmission false neutral and hesitationPOWER TRAIN10 complaints2011-07 → 2017-11gti-2011-dsg-false-neutral

10425417 FROM SECOND DAY OF OWNERSHIP VEHICLE HAS HAD TRANSMISSION (DSG AUTOMATIC) PROBLEMS. AT WELL OVER 40 OCCURRENCES (IN 30,000 MILES) THE TRANSMISSION WILL SLIP INTO NEUTRAL WHEN SLOWING TO A RATE OF 10MPH OR LESS AND THEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE, CAUSING AN EXTREMELY UNSAFE CONDITION
10432598 WHEN ACCELERATING AFTER HAVING SLOWED DOWN FOR A TURN, THE CLUTCH FAILS TO ENGAGE AND I GET A FALSE NEUTRAL. THE RPM GOES ALL THE WAY TO 5000, 6000, BUT THE CAR DOESN'T SPEED UP BECAUSE IT'S IN NEUTRAL, EVEN WHEN THE GEAR SELECTOR IS IN D. THIS IS DIFFICULT TO REPLICATE BECAUSE
10413815 THE VEHICLE IS A 2011 VOLKSWAGEN GTI EQUIPPED WITH A DSG TRANSMISSION. THE GTI IS NOT OFFERED AS CHOICE WHEN SELECTING VEHICLE MODEL USING THIS ON-LINE COMPLIANT FORM. OCCASIONALLY THE VEHICLE FAILS TO ACCELERATE OR ACCELERATES VERY SLOWLY WHEN ATTEMPTING TO MOVE FORWARD FROM A

Water pump failureENGINE2 complaints2014-11 → 2015-05gti-2011-water-pump-failure

10722036 TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 VOLKSWAGEN GTI. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT THE DEALER FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE, THE TECHNICIAN DISCOVERED THAT THE WATER PUMP FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 76,000
10653680 CAME OUTSIDE TO A FAILED WATER PUMP. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH VARIOUS VOLKSWAGENS. MANY SHOP TECHS ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS ISSUE. IT IS UNSAFE FOR THE DRIVER AND OTHER CARS. THERE IS A CHANCE THE PUMP COULD FAIL WHILE DRIVING OR A PERSON MAY NOT NOTICE THE COOLANT ON

Clockspring failure disabling airbag, horn, and controlsELECTRICAL SYSTEM, AIR BAGS5 complaints2020-11 → 2022-08gti-2011-clockspring-airbag-horn-loss

11478572 The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen GTI. The contact stated that he lost the function of the steering wheel, horn, controls, and air bag. The air bag warning indicator light was illuminated. The contact called the local dealer and it was diagnosed that the clock spring needed to
11474199 My horn had stopped working and I brought it to the dealership to get it diagnosed. They identified it as a clockspring issue, and with the knowledge that VW has an active recall for the clockspring, I was hoping that I could get the clockspring replaced under the warranty
11448621 There are many cases of clock spring failure in my model as well as many others. The problem here is that this failure has caused my to lose the use of all my steering wheel controls, horn and airbag and shifters. VW has obliged about the problem and is willing to repair it

Fuse box melting with exterior lighting outageELECTRICAL SYSTEM5 complaints2015-12 → 2022-03gti-2011-fuse-box-melting-lighting

11129117 WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT I HAD SEVERAL LIGHTS QUIT WORKING SIMULTANEOUSLY. A BULB WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH AND MESSAGES FOR RIGHT FRONT LOW BEAM, RIGHT FRONT TURN SIGNAL, LEFT REAR TURN SIGNAL,LEFT REAR BRAKE, RIGHT FRONT HIGH BEAM, RIGHT FRONT FOG LIGHT, LEFT FRONT
10810589 INTERMITTENT, PARTIAL OR FULL LOSS OF OF EXTERIOR LIGHTING. WARNING LAMP INSIDE DID PROVIDE THE NAMES OF MULTIPLE, RANDOM LIGHTS THAT HAD FAILED, SOMETIMES ACCURATE, OTHER TIMES INACCURATE. LIGHTS WOULD FAIL AT RANDOM WHILE THE CAR WAS IN MOTION. FUSE F16 OVERHEATED AND MELTED
11457483 I bought the car and a couple days later the dash started lighting up with a bunch of codes about exterior lights so we checked them all fine I went to the auto part store and they said that the vehichle I have has a known issue with the fuses burning so we pull the fuse and

Ignition coil failure causing engine misfireENGINE4 complaints2014-07 → 2018-11gti-2011-ignition-coil-misfire

10662178 VEHICLE SUDDENLY BEGAN SPUTTERING, AND STRUGGLING TO MAKE POWER AFTER BEING STARTED AND DRIVEN DOWN A STREET AT LOW SPEEDS. ECM AND ECU BOTH THREW CODES PERTAINING TO A CYLINDER MISFIRE. REPLACED SPARKPLUGS. MISFIRE REMAINED. IDENTIFIED AS IGNITION COIL PACK, WHICH IS AN
10851689 WHILE ACCELERATING OFF THE RAMP THE CAR STALLED AND STARTED TO SHAKE. IT CREATED A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION SINCE I ALMOST GOT REAR ENDED. BESIDES, BEING IMMOBILIZED ON THE SIDE OF THE VERY BUSY HIGHWAY IS DANGEROUS AS WELL. IT TURNED OUT THAT ONE OF THE COILS HAVE FAILED AND
10617058 MY 2011 VW GTI WITH ONLY 38000 MILES LOST FIRST IGNITION COIL. THERE ARE MULTIPLE RECALL FROM VW FOR THIS PART, BUT NOT FOR THIS MODEL YEAR. AS RESULT, VEHICLE LOOSING POWER DURING DRIVING. *JS

NHTSA complaints (summary) all years →

count	earliest_date	latest_date	crash_flagged	fire_flagged	top_components
55	2011-07-20	2026-08-21	0	1	ENGINE:20; POWER TRAIN:16; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:8; UNKNOWN OR OTHER:5; AIR BAGS:3

Recalls all years →

campaign_number	report_received_date	component	summary	consequence	remedy
18V329000	16/05/2018	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Eos, 2012 Passat, 2012-2016 CC, 2015-2016 e-Golf, 2011-2015 Touareg, 2012-2015 and 2017 Tiguan, and 2011-2016 Golf and 2011-2013 GTI vehicles. Modifications made while the vehicles were in an internal evaluation period may cause the affected vehicles to not comply with all of the applicable regulatory requirements.	If the vehicles do not meet all regulatory requirements, there could be an increased risk of a crash, fire, or injury.	Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles to make them fully compliant or Volkswagen will repurchase them if necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
15V483000	04/08/2015	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Volkswagen CC, and Passat, 2010-2013 Eos, 2011-2014 Golf, GTI, Jetta, and Tiguan, and 2012-2014 Jetta Sportwagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, debris may contaminate the air bag clock spring, a spiral wound, flat cable that keeps the air bag powered while the steering wheel is being turned. This contamination may tear the cable and result in a loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag.	A loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag will prevent the air bag from deploying in the event of a vehicle crash, increasing the risk of injury.	Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install a protective cover over the steering wheel clock spring if the air bag light is off. If the airbag light is on and the steering wheel clock spring requires replacement, dealers will install a new steering wheel clock spring. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on January 15, 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987.

Investigations all years →

action_number	status	subject	components	opened	closed	recall_campaign	summary
EA18003	open	Air Bag Clockspring Failure	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER CLOCKSPRING/SPIRAL CASSETTE	2018-04-18	·	·	In August 2015, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) launched Safety Recall 15V-483 to address the loss of the protection provided by the front driver air bag in several models due to the failure of the clockspring.Debris entry into the steering wheel hub can result in contamination and ultimately failure of the clockspring in 2010-2014 Model Year (MY) CC, Passat, Eos, Golf, GTI, Tiguan, Jetta and Jetta Sportwagen models.Contamination of the clockspring can cause the ribbon cable to tear resulting in loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag and any steering wheel mounted controls.The loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag will result in illumination of the air bag warning light and will prevent operation of the front driver air bag in a crash of sufficient severity requiring a commanded deployment.In November 2017, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Recall Query (RQ17-009) after the agency received 90 complaints alleging failure of the clockspring in the subject models.Several of the complaints allege failure of the clockspring after receiving the recall remedy.The majority of the complaints allege the same failure mode without being included in the original recall, 15V-483.In its March 2018 response to ODI's Information Request under the Recall Query, Volkswagen provided approximately 700 consumer complaints and field reports on the recalled vehicles.These reports allege clockspring failure similar to the NHTSA reports described above.To date, NHTSA has received approximately 154 allegations of clockspring failure since the recall has launched.The total of 852 reports shown in the table above eliminates 6 duplicative reports received by ODI and the manufacturer.An Engineering Analysis has been opened to further evaluate the scope and effectiveness of the remedy associated with 15V-483 and perform a thorough review of the design changes implemented by Volkswagen and its suppliers to address this issue.The ODI complaints cited above can be viewed at www.NHTSA.gov under the following ODI identification numbers: 11080741, 11079877, 11079805, 11079124, 11076709, 11076645, 11076297, 11076249, 11076133, 11075756, 11075726, 11075358, 11075259, 11075055, 11074920, 11074565, 11073090, 11072745, 11072457, 11072089, 11071933, 11071880, 11071630, 11071592, 11067396, 11067061, 11066738, 11066601, 11066511, 11065909, 11065871, 11065262, 11064701, 11064564, 11064544, 11064531, 11063961, 11063501, 11063095, 11062772, 11062464, 11062353, 11062344, 11061463, 11061310, 11061311, 11060735, 11058154, 11057519, 11057477, 11057341, 11056793, 11056243, 11056063, 11055639, 11054279, 11052812, 11052678, 11052384, 11052228, 11051336, 11051155, 11051074, 11048803, 11047037, 11044226, 11043653, 11039142, 11033893, 11033330, 11032548, 11025475, 11025356, 11024647, 11023423, 11020570, 11020312, 11019415, 11019067, 11015441, 11015431, 11014595, 11014016, 11013709, 11013415, 11012596, 11011753, 11006668, 11006521, 11006307, 11006181, 11005301, 11003865, 11001780, 11001783, 11001334, 10994184, 10993360, 10993524, 10992490, 10985926, 10983678, 10981220, 10980831, 10980941, 10980549, 10979418, 10971152, 10967344, 10967155, 10959968, 10958624, 10957279, 10956488, 10949129, 10947562, 10945122, 10936498, 10936543, 10933950, 10927311, 10925421, 10924034, 10915612, 10915569, 10911171, 10902066, 10898733, 10896537, 10896510, 10895526, 10893938, 10891686, 10864967, 10863742, 10861984, 10851242, 10822505, 10821562, 10818403, 10795068, 10794402, 10788738, 10787804, 10782544, 10780725, 10780145, 10779145, 10776477, 10775448, 10763492, 10763423, 10763289, 10762670, 10760644, 10758777, 10749901, 10748922
PE15010	closed	Air Bag Clockspring Failure	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	2015-03-24	2015-09-28	15V483000	The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened an investigation based on consumer allegations of steering wheel clock spring/steering column control module (SCCM) failures in model year (MY) 2012 Volkswagen Passat and CC models.The SCCM is a module within the steering column that incorporates a spiral conductor (a ribbon cable) to electrically connect the steering wheel to the vehicle's electrical system while allowing for the turning of the steering wheel.Complainants alleged that that the clock spring failed while driving and without warning.When the SCCM fails electrically, an air bag war
RQ17009	closed	Air Bag Clockspring Failure	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER CLOCKSPRING/SPIRAL CASSETTE	2017-11-13	2018-05-04	·	In August 2015, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) launched Safety Recall 15V-483 to address the loss of the protection provided by the front driver air bag in several models due to the failure of the clockspring.Debris entry into the steering wheel hub can result in contamination and ultimately failure of the clockspring in 2010-2014 Model Year (MY) CC, Passat, Eos, Golf, GTI, Tiguan, Jetta and Jetta Sportwagen models.Contamination of the clockspring can cause the ribbon cable to tear resulting in loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag and any steering wheel

FARS occupant deaths all years →

crash_years	occupant_deaths	match_type	vpic_recovered
2010-2024	24	legacy-code	0

FARS counts every occupant death in a fatal crash, whatever the cause — it does not mean the vehicle was at fault or defective. Counts are not adjusted for how many of each vehicle are on the road.

Cite this

Derived data is CC BY 4.0. Link back to the page you used. Text and BibTeX below.

Wrench.Pro (2026). 2011 Volkswagen GTI vehicle data [dataset]. https://www.wrench.pro/data/vehicles/2011/volkswagen/gti

@misc{wrenchpro_2011_volkswagen_gti_2026,
  author = {Wrench.Pro},
  title = {Wrench.Pro vehicle data: 2011 Volkswagen GTI},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://www.wrench.pro/data/vehicles/2011/volkswagen/gti}},
  note = {Derived from NHTSA public records. CC BY 4.0.}
}

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