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EnginePart report

2010 Volkswagen Golf Engine Problems

Complaints
7about this part
Share
10%of 70 total for the year
Median mileage
49,000miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 7 complaints about the engine of the 2010 Volkswagen Golf, 10% of the 70 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 49,000 miles.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

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

“While driving the vehicle simply shut off. I turned on hazzards, put car into park, restarted, put car back into drive and drove away. This was on the I-35 frontage road and I could have easily been rearended / killed. Happened one other time on the bqe in new york several months prior. After the first incident I was told by the authorized service dept. Probably a glitch, won't happen again. Waiting for a third incident where I'm not so lucky.”

NHTSA complaint #10671435, filed 2015-01, 47,000 miles

“I have a 2010 GOLF tdi manual transmission car. The car was stalled during driving, after just down shifted from 2nd gear to first gear. After turning off the engine completely, I still couldn't restart the car right away. I had to wait for several minutes, and tried again. The car started on the next attempt. I experience the similar type of stalling soon after I purchase the vehicle, and it persists and recurs quite often. …”

NHTSA complaint #10476937, filed 2012-09, 30,200 miles

“I got into my car as normal, and began to drive. After about 5 minutes of driving, I came to a red light on a busy street. My check engine light came on and the glow plug light began to flash, the car immediately died and would not restart. I was told the high pressure fuel pump failed, and the entire fuel system has to be replaced... After I got home, I quickly google searched the issue and appears to be a common problem on a bad design by Volkswagen and bosch...”

NHTSA complaint #10468962, filed 2012-08, 53,000 miles

“I have a 2010 vw GOLF tdi. I was driving along at 25 MPH when my glow plug & check engine lights started flashing, and my tachometer dropped to zero, indicating a stall. The power steering also started to cut out, but I was able to safely pull over. Tried starting the car again and got nothing. The car was towed to a vw dealership down the street, and on monday 11/19 they informed me that my high-pressure fuel pump failed and sent metal fragments through the entire fuel system. …”

NHTSA complaint #10485995, filed 2012-11, 40,169 miles

“The main (rear) engine oil seal is leaking with only 51,000 miles on the odometer. I believe this is a defect of the engine oil seal or improperly mounted from the vw factory. There has been numerous complaints of this problem with vw owners. The cost of this repair should be fully covered by Volkswagen of america.”

NHTSA complaint #10893291, filed 2016-08, 51,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Engine: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2023218%
20221012%
2021114%
2020117%
20193454%
2018310%
20171815%
20161821%
20152620%
2014217%
20131433%
20121123%
20111514%
2010710%
200515%
200211%

Other parts of the 2010 Volkswagen Golf

Fuel system
32 complaintsAir bags
11 complaintsEngine cooling
9 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
7 complaintsBrakes
5 complaintsElectrical system
5 complaintsElectronic stability control
4 complaintsSeat belts
3 complaintsSeats
3 complaintsOther or unknown
2 complaintsEquipment
1 complaintsExterior lighting
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2010 Volkswagen Golf

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 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