Vehicle speed controlPart report

2012 Volkswagen GTI Vehicle speed control Problems

Complaints: 4about this part
Share: 10%of 40 total for the year
Median mileage: 27,750miles
Trend: Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 4 complaints about the vehicle speed control of the 2012 Volkswagen GTI, 10% of the 40 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 27,750 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.

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.

“In slowing to pass through heavy traffic I disengaged cruise control (which had been set to 70mph) by hitting the brakes. Several minutes later while traveling approximately 15mph - the cruise control re-engaged spontaneously causing the car to accelerate forward. I slammed the brakes again - which caused the cruise to disengage again - at which point I switched cruise control off.”

NHTSA complaint #10542975, filed 2013-09, 26,000 miles

“Cruise control & disengaging from the cruise control by applying the brake pedal. On tuesday, march 27th, 2018 I was driving south on I-15 coming from mesquite, nevada and headed back into the las vegas valley. As I passed the exit to take the great basin highway west towards the town of pioche, nevada there was a long semi truck in the #2 lane and I was in the #1 lane on this two lane highway. The semi truck made a lane change into my lane because he wanted to get around the vehicle in front of him, after the truck came into my lane I had to adjust my speed. …”

NHTSA complaint #11081932, filed 2018-03, 93,634 miles

“While using cruise control at highway speeds, the cruise control's accelerate and decelerate buttons occasionally perform the opposite function: pressing decelerate will accelerate the car, pressing accelerate will decelerate the car. This only happens for the first 1-2 button presses, then the buttons return to their normal function. This has occurred 6-7 times in the past two weeks.”

NHTSA complaint #10670411, filed 2015-01, 29,500 miles

“While pulling away from a full stop (light) the engine RPM surged to approximately 4000 and the transmission indicator light flashed (a wrench icon). The engine continued to rev but there was no movement of the car as if the car was in neutral. I turned off the car and restarted it. The car then shifted properly and the wrench icon had disappeared. This occurred while in the middle of an intersection.”

NHTSA complaint #10490920, filed 2013-01, 5,550 miles

Vehicle speed control: other model years

Year	Complaints	Share of year
2019	2	1%
2012	4	10%
2009	6	4%
2008	1	1%
2007	5	6%
2003	1	2%
2002	1	1%
1999	1	13%
1995	2	11%

Other parts of the 2012 Volkswagen GTI

Engine
13 complaints Transmission and drivetrain
7 complaints Air bags
5 complaints Brakes
5 complaints Electrical system
4 complaints Fuel system
4 complaints Other or unknown
3 complaints Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
2 complaints Engine cooling
1 complaints Exterior lighting
1 complaints Steering
1 complaints Body and structure
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2012 Volkswagen GTI

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