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Air bagsPart report

2016 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen Air bags Problems

Complaints
17about this part
Share
33%of 51 total for the year
Median mileage
40,834miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 17 complaints about the air bags of the 2016 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen, 33% of the 51 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 40,834 miles. 2 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“While driving I completed a u-turn and my airbag light came on. I took it to the dealer and they said it was the clock spring mechanism that failed and was no longer under warranty. Warranty was 3 year or 43,000 miles, my vehicle had 48,846 miles. The cost was $545.95 to replace the part. I researched this part and found that there are previous recalls due to failure.”

NHTSA complaint #11114117, filed 2018-07, 48,000 miles

“My car with approximately 25k miles on it. Airbag light came on. At the same time, my horn, and other components on my steering wheel stopped working. When I diagnosed my car it was determined it was the clock spring in the steering wheel that stopped working. A faulty clock spring will make it so that my airbag does not function. I was just parking my car but were I in an accident I could have been killed as my airbag would not work. …”

NHTSA complaint #11252081, filed 2019-08, 25,000 miles

“My fiance's vehicle has the common clockspring issue which rendered all electrical components of the steering wheel inactive (horn, cruise control, air bag, and radio controls). One day she started the car and saw the check engine light come on. I scanned the vehicle and it had the known b10001 driver airbag igniter: resistance too high code. The dealer thought it would be covered so long as it had the correct code but vwoa denied it. This has been a very well known issue and her vehicle should qualify under the recall/extended warranty. …”

NHTSA complaint #11321802, filed 2020-04, 76,000 miles

“Clock spring failure in under 2 years (less than 20,000 miles on the car). When car was turned on alerts came up that the airbag had malfunctioned, and automatic cruise control malfunction, none of the steering wheel controls worked, and the horn was non-functional. A quick google search LED me to believe it was the clock spring, and I also noticed vw had a clock spring recall on cars from 2011-2014, seems like this might be a larger issue. Car was brought to the dealer and repaired - clock spring was determined to be the problem.”

NHTSA complaint #11084462, filed 2018-04, 17,900 miles

“Existing NHTSA recall 69l2 but on different model year - vw driver side airbag and horn/steering wheel buttons disabled. My airbag warning light came on and my horn and steering wheel buttons became disabled simultaneously as I was in motion driving down the road. Now my airbag and horn/buttons are not working including cruise control. Vw recalled earlier-model vehicles but this appears to be a problem that still hasn't been solved and affects more than just the models listed in the original recall. I called vw care to see if my vehicle was covered under a campaign or extended warranty. …”

NHTSA complaint #11406665, filed 2021-04, 66,000 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Air bags: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2018217%
201738%
20161733%
20151424%

Other parts of the 2016 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen

Other or unknown
10 complaints
Engine
9 complaints
Fuel system
9 complaints
Electrical system
6 complaints
Suspension
5 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
4 complaints
Body and structure
3 complaints
Vehicle speed control
3 complaints
Steering
2 complaints
Back-over prevention (rear camera)
1 complaints
Electronic stability control
1 complaints
Engine cooling
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2016 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology