Volkswagen
Reviews and Complaints

Lithia Volkswagen of Reno, NO!

Let me give you some background: I bought a new ID.4 in March 2023, I wrote a check for $1000 more than the cost of the car. The "financial Guy" noticed the error but did not call me but rather deposited the check. I had the proper amount in the account but not the extra $1000 - the check bounced. The "financial Guy" called my wife and threatened her to write a new check. (The car was in the shop for its first Warranty - less than a week old) Guy, the sales person smoothed everything over and they got their money and I got the car.

Now one year later, I bring the car in for its one year "checkup" I have a few minor warranty issues that I note to them and I'm handed a authorization to sign for $195. I say "No, I just want the warranty item fixed". Their response is "If we cannot reproduce them here we will charge you $195 for 1 hour of service tech time".

Now I have to pay for an incompetent "service tech." because he cannot find the problem, or they are calling me a liar telling them that there is something there that they can not find.

Warranty items: shimmy in the steering wheel on curves, "brake maneuvering not available", front parking sensor.

Now I'm afraid to tell them about warranty items - I'll get charged!

I knew I would never but another car for Lithia after the first purchase, now I will not buy another Volkswagen because of their warranty!

The people that work there are great, the company's policies are not worth the effort to buy a car there - RUN!

Tiguan 2011, Version 2.0 TDI 4 motion. Already *** km and 6 years, no serious problem. It is a very nice and good quality car by price. It's my 4th VW and I'm always happy.

2012 VW Touareg TDI Lux

6/27/2023 – Larry H. Miller VW, Lakewood CO

Requested 105m Service (Odometer 106705) & Check for small oil leak. Service completed and estimated to replace both valve cover gaskets - $1972

7/11/2023 – Larry H. Miller VW, Lakewood CO

(Odometer 106897) Brought in to repair oil leak.

7/14/2023 – (Odometer 106897) Picked up vehicle, Cost - $1732. Once home found the leak to be much worse.

8/16/2023 – O’Meara VW, Thorton CO

(Odometer 106931) Vehicle brought in for oil leak repair. They found the following –

1. Oil drain plug not torqued properly – torqued to spec. no leak.

2. Seepage from turbo boost pipes. Verble quote to replace turbo - $3200

3. There may be a leak from the timing chain area. Changed oil filter & oil, re-evaluated.

4. Leak found on back driver side of engine. May need engine removal to repair. Est. cost - $15000.

8/22/2023 – I picked up the vehicle (they left the under-carriage cover in the back. Cost - $480.75

8/30/2023 – (Odometer 106982) Vehicle taken to an independent German Car shop.

Diagnosis – Valve plastic cover warped. Cost - $1401. No further leaks.

My issue with the two VW Service Centers –

1. I’m not sure the leak I found in June wasn’t caused by the drain plug not torqued properly to begin with.

2. The technician who repaired the valve cover gaskets obviously did not check for leaks after the repair.

3. On the second evaluation, they apparently didn’t check for a valve cover being warped.

4. Between the two service centers we spent $2213 and did not get the repair done nor a proper estimate.

I have taken my VW to Larry H. Miller VW since we purchased it in 2012. I have been satisfied with their work until this year. I know the difficulty in finding an oil leak but when the process takes 3-5 days with the wrong outcome, it is difficult to trust in their abilities.

What I expect from a service center is a proper estimate, diagnosis and repair which neither one of the above forementioned provide except for the independent. Driving 20 miles to get a repair done is the least I should receive.

I see VW has "Updated" how their service departments handle oil leaks as of 9/23/2023. Too late for me I'm afraid.

I own a 2022 Atlas R-line. I have had nothing but problems with this vehicle.

First my radio screen keeps going black ! Also I have had 2 episodes where SUV has shut off while driving. The first time nobody was infront of me the 2nd time I came very close to hitting someone. I keep getting a message stating " start engine manually" when it shuts off. I am so afraid to drive this vehicle!

It went to the dealership as soon at it happened. They had my atlas for 10 days. they drove it for 70 miles & it did not act up. The last 2 episodes had about a 1 months span between the times it shut down. The dealership decides to change the fuel pump (JUST BECAUSE) when I got it back 2 days ago it smelled of gas fumes so strongly! I get a sore throat and a bad headache when I'm driving it! I'm already terrified that my truck is going to shut off again & now the fuel smell is horrible! I was finally at a comfortable time financially in my life that I could afford a new vehicle and here I am right back with car problems like its a used car! I'm so devastated I don't know what to do! I'm so afraid to step foot into this SUV that i absolutely loved at 1 time!

And don't even get me started on the car net app because it worked for 1 month & now nothing ! the app blames it on VW and VW blames it on the app! how do I get rid off this Atlas :(

Don't buy parts over the counter from any dealer representing Volkswagen, in fact don't buy anything from Volkswagen! They do not stand behind their products and they mislead you on what the warranty policy covers. I bought an engine with the understanding that it was assembled correctly only to have it fail less than 1000 miles later. Now they want me to pay to have it disassembled so they can find the root cause of failure. I will still have to pay when they find out it is their part that has failed!

On Friday I went into the VW Keffer dealership and Issac was my salesman. I went in because I had received a letter about your fresh start program. When I called and made the appointment, I was told that they would trade out my old car even if I was upside down and pay 120% over the value. My salesperson was Isaac and I told him that I was coming in for the program and that I was told that I could trade my car. When the salesman spoke to me, and we discussed my options he took my file to the finance office. I did tell them that I didn't want my loan shopped. Isaac came back and said that they could work out a deal if I traded both of my cars and did a lease because they had an incentive for 12,000 and they would pay off both of my cars. I asked if I could get my brother to cosign could I just trade the Toyota. They said that it would be better to get the lease. I did tell them that I worked part time and full time, but I was concerned about the payment. Bottom line I did purchase the VW but thing was not finalized until Monday. I had a meeting at my part time job Monday evening, and they let all of the staff go. I texted Issac 1st thing Tuesday morning and told him that I needed him to call me, and he said that he would call me after he completed his 9a appointment. He did not so I text him again and informed him that I had lost my parttime job and I could not afford this lease. I called and asked for Brian the finance manager and left him a detailed message with the receptionist and no call back. I called today and asked for the sales manager and had to leave him a message and still no one has called me back. I know that the recording stated that you have 3 days to change your mind. I am frustrated because of the fact that I feel like they are purposely avoiding me so that I missed the deadline. I can't afford this because the loss in income. I am not happy because I am in a $1000+ lease payment that I know that I can't make because my income decrease by $1500 per month and I still have other bills that I have to pay. If this is how VW operates then I regret going into your dealership and will not do business with VW again. This is not good business, and I am very disappointed with that dealership and the staff. This may not go any further than you or this department and I am at the point of filing a complaint with the BBB and maybe someone will take this issue serious and not just want to make a sale and a dollar. A very disappointed customer. And the sad part was that I had someone to ask me where I purchased my vehicle and I said I would rather not say because I did not want them to experience what I did.

Eleanor Collins [protected]

On 2/13/2024, I went to visit my appointment in St. Jude Medical center, and park on the parking structure. It was less than 5 mph. The ID.4 just uncontrollable dash forward and hit the parking stoper on the floor. I thank God that it was happen in the parking structure. If it is on the freeway, injury and more damage will be involved.

Trying to call the VW customer service the whole day and no one answer.

It is so unreliable, that my payoff has to be stopped, and that I will return it after my lease.

By the way on 2/12/2024, while I am driving on the freeway, the collision light was on for a little while, and I ignore it, and move on without further problem.

So in conclusion, I do not think it is a reliable vehicle, even I like the ID.4, but safety is the most important and I have to give up and finishing the lease and returned back

I took my ID4 for 20K service as well as a factory recall. The dealership was kind enough to give me a loaner. The dealership had my vehicle for 3.5 weeks. There was very limited communication. When we finally got it back we were told they could not do the recall or update because they are not a "high voltage dealership" This would have been nice to know while they had the vehicle for over 3 weeks. I contact customer care and they suggest a dealership that can accommodate me. I make an appointment online. I am then called right before my appointment by the dealership to tell me they have 68 cars ahead of me and they would put me on a list.

I had the car back 1 day and I got a dash light and warning Electrical System Malfunction service required.

I call the dealership and there is nothing they can or will do. I just have to wait.

I chat with VW they find another dealership where I can get an appointment Mind you all of the dealerships are very far from my home. I manage to get an appointment. I took it yesterday they state they cannot do the recall and the car may be out of warranty by the time they can and fixing the electrical system malfunction will be at least 2 weeks and they have no vehicle I can use. I am at a loss I need to still get to work and I feel my vehicle is being held hostage. I have no choices in the matter if I want the bare minimum done. I am completely at a loss as to what to do about the recall. I am so disappointed in the vehicle purchase and would not recommend a VW electric vehicle to anyone.

I own a 2019 VW Atlas SE R Line. The air bag light came on in April of 2023 and I went to the dealership and had it checked out. They said that it needed a few parts and gave me a price. Not long after I got an e-mail about a recall on passenger occupant detection sys. Why were they able to tell me what parts were needed in 20 minutes and VW has not been able to come up with a fix in

8 months? I was planning on buying a new 2024 VW Atlas in a couple of months but because of your lack of concern for safety I have decided to look at other

suv's. Can you tell me why it is taking so long?

sad owner

Paul Halker

[protected]@msn.com

​

andreas.[protected]@volkswagen.de

​

Sent to all board members already. Thank you.

My name is Rachel Bennett, I bought a new Atlas in 2020. It was a 2019-year model my Atlas is still under Warranty with only 6k miles left and feel that I am being dismissed so that my warranty runs out and the Dealership does not have to help me. Very early on after purchasing the new vehicle I began to have problems and would take the Atlas into the shop so far at least 5 times and waiting on them to schedule a 6th to fix leaking antifreeze again as well as other issues sway bars fixed twice still not correct, I have to ride with windows down or cracked due to the smell of antifreeze/freon, bearings out and replaced with a few thousand miles many and recalls fixed as well as Sway bars replaced twice. Currently on a waiting list to get the coolant leak again needing a rental car while they fix again so I can go to my Dr. Appointments . I will provide you with all documentation from the dealership where they have tried to fix the vehicle. The Thyroid cancer was diagnosed one year and a half or so after I bought the Atlas, they had to remove my Thyroid completely and was told it was not genetic it was due to exposer of something as well as armpits having golf ball size lymph nodes removed. The Dr.s at MD. Anderson is willing to test the air in the Atlas to see if this could have caused the cancer. I have never nor do I never want to get attorneys involved in this whatsoever, I just want my car fixed and to know that it is healthy so that my when my grandchildren are with me, I am not afraid that they are breathing in something that could put them thru all I have been thru. I love the Atlas and have thought about just trading it in but then I would feel guilty for the new owner that they cannot fix the issues that I am having. I hope that we can work this problem out without dragging others in. I thank you for your time and for hearing my concerns. The vehicle was purchased in VW of Conroe Texas by me and my husband Larry Bennett. I will get all documentation together for you to review. If I do not hear something soon from Dealership or Board Members, I will have no choice but to go, see an attorney which I have been advised to do and use the Dr. at the cancer center to do an air test. I will begin to send medical records and vehicle maintenance records. There is much more to this story that I would really appreciate VW for helping me with. Thank you again.

To all Board Members,

My name is Rachel Bennett, I bought a new Atlas in 2020. It was a 2019-year model. Very early on after purchasing the new vehicle I began to have problems and would take the Atlas into the shop so far at least 5 times and waiting on them to schedule a 6th to fix leaking antifreeze again as well as other issues sway bars fixed twice still not correct, bearings out and replaced with a few thousand miles many recalls fixed. Currently on a waiting list to get the coolant leak again needing a rental car while they fix again so I can go to my Dr. Appointments . I will provide you with all documentation from the dealership where they have tried to fix the vehicle. The Thyroid cancer was diagnosed one year and a half or so after I bought the Atlas, they had to remove my Thyroid completely and was told it was not genetic it was due to exposer of something. The Dr.s at MD. Anderson is willing to test the air in the Atlas to see if this could have caused the cancer. I have never nor do I never want to get attorneys involved in this whatsoever, I just want my car fixed and to know that it is healthy so that my when my grandchildren are with me I am not afraid that they are breathing in something that could put them thru all I have been thru. I love the Atlas and have thought about just trading it in but then I would feel Quilty for the new owner that they cannot fix the issues that I am having. I hope that we can work this problem out without dragging others in. I thank you for your time and for hearing my concerns. The vehicle was purchased in VW of Conroe Texas by me and my husband Larry Bennett. I will get all documentation together for you to review. Thank you again.

Rachel Bennett

Admission and Benchmark Coordinator

[protected]@shsu.edu

[protected]

[protected]

Hi,

I want to register a complaint against your service department. I own a VW 2023 Atlas bought in June 2023. I had a small issue with the infotainment system and i booked an appointment for today at 3:00 PM and i reached around 3:10 PM. There after i explained the issue and everything at 4:30 PM they took my car in to check at 4:45 PM they tell me a software needs to be updated and that i should leave my car at the service or i should rebook the appointment. Honestly this is absolutely ridiculous. Do you guys think i have free time to first wait for almost two hours and than i am being told to come again. You guys think we have nothing else to do? I left my work to come get this fixed i had to cancel 3 important meetings to come here and this is how i was treated. Honestly as much as the car is all nice but i have to say your after sales service is ******

I want to file this complain at the highest level as this not a brand like VW is meant to be.

Regards

Very Angry Customer

i have recently purchased the VW Sat Nav for my 2021 T Roc. I am using it in Spain with English language.

I have major problem the voice town or road names are not understandable due to the way they are pronounced. They are in some strange language , English trying to pronounce Spanish names and totally non understandable, I am English and have a reasonable level of the Spanish language. These announcements made by the sat nav might as well be in "DOUBLE DUTCH"|

Is there any way I can change the sat-nav language to Spanish with affecting the overall settings if the digital cockpit?

Regards

Richard Biggs

I lease a 2022 VW GTI. I have met with my dealership for service and with customer care. I have an audible alarm that dings every few minutes related to the Travel Assist systems. The established fix by my dealership after software updates were not being successful is a steering wheel replacement. It has now been 6 months since I started this journey. The dealership states they can not get an ETA on the new wheel even after 6 months. The dealer sent me to VW Customer Care who told me essentially they can't do anything and that only the dealer can really handle this parts issue. "We understand this must be very frustrating, however we currently have no way to predict when the new part will arrive."

For six months I have been listening to this constant ding ding alarm as I am driving. You can't even imagine how annoying and frustrating it is. How can this possibly be acceptable to anyone in the VW Group. This is a 2022 vehicle and 6 months of my ownership has been listening to this continuous ding and alert message on my dash.

Dear sir/madam

I am writing to complain about the major technical issue which I encountered in my car (volks wagen teramont chassis n0:wvgbe1ca9pc540049) after only two weeks or purchasing from the local dealer in the uae ai&sons

The care let me down in the middle of the motorway and I nearly could have caused with my family.

The error is the known epc error.

I took the car to the local dealer awaiting solution and courtesy car.

This is not what I have expected from such a car

I bought a brand new car polo vivo comfortline 2022 at VW last year April. This year 23 March 2023 i experienced problems of a starter i went there numerous times this year. They change a starter but still the vehicle is doing the same. On the 14th and 15th of this month it couldn't start at all I am very very frastruted because the vihacle is no longer safe for me and my family and I am lady it is risk even on high ways. I'm still paying it. I still remember one time I was assisted by traffic officers it couldn't start and the road was busy it was early in the morning and that cause the inconvenience. I will be glad and happy if they could take back their vehicle or else discuss other avenues to resolve the matter. I do not want that vehicle anymore. Paying something that I am not happy for it is not right at all.

I purchased a brand-new VW Tiguan 2.0 TDI and took delivery on 31st August 2023. On Sunday, 17 September 2023 at 12h56 the vehicle warning alert triggered a message stating that the engine is overheating, and that the coolant level is low.

We pulled over and checked the coolant bottle, it was empty, and a pipe had burst and the vehicle couldn't be driven.

Upon calling the VW roadside assist, we were waiting 3.5/4 hours for the tow service to arrive. The dealership VW Mcarthy Durban, South Africa was not available to receive the car hence the car was stored overnight in the tow service storage yard.

On Monday 18 September 2023, the dealership advises that this was a minor fault as the clamp on the pipe came loose which was not the case as we saw the pipe burst. They advise we must collect the vehicle which is really unethical as the quality of the vehicle is now questionable and the safety. If a pipe can burst and engine overheat in 2.5 weeks, then what can be the standard of workmanship and quality of materials in the rest of the vehicle. I would like to be replaced with a brand-new vehicle as this is what I purchased and my expectations in terms of the vehicle's capacity to deliver.

On 20 September 2023, I requested for evidence that a full assessment and diagnostics report on all components was done prior to my purchase and pre repair on 18 September 2023 which I still have not received.

Hi my 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI wagon had a failure in the high pressure fuel pump while it was in drive and caused it to die and not start again, unfortunately if it would have happened 30-1 minute sooner my son and myself could have been in an accident, unfortunately there are metal shards in it, and it happened right after my car hit 120 miles on it, after finding out it's going to be a yard decoration due to the high cost to fix it ( I have only owned it for a almost 4 month) my husband and myself decided to do some research on it because that seemed kinda strange it dying like that without a warning plus it just had it in the shop about 2 months beforehand to get stuff fixed amd have it all looked at and no one told me that these cars can do this, and after research we find out this has happened to lots of people amd most of them were driving when it happened, so now we know we ended up with a faulty car, so my husband has decided we might just need to take our loss and be done with VW, he has always loved owning your cars and this was my first one ever owning and now I have nothing because I thought choosing VW was a safe bet, my husband is also thinking about going to the national transportation board as well so that why they know what is going on with these cars and maybe they can make sure customers get informed that this could happen and what to do to try and prevent it or to just not buy the car at all. Hopefully this complaint can help out future customers, maybe VW will finally decide in the future to do something about this and maybe even help the customers fix the problem. Thank you for your time reading this.

Sincerely Mrs. James

I’m experiencing 1 of the most unprofessional & frustrating dealership services from VW Princeton (NJ) Service Department. My car has been with them for service for the last 3 days from Sep 8 2023 with no updates or responses to umpteen calls I made. I still have no idea as to when the car will be serviced. Every time I call to ask for an update, they take down my details but they do not call back.

Any help would be appreciated.

I want to share my experience with Johnsons Volkswagen in Tamworth & Sutton Coldfield branches in UK.

Professionalism / honest & deserved support.

Facts:

Purchased Volkswagen CC (low mileage 27132 only) in December 2022 with 2 year warranty, breakdown cover & courtesy car.

CASE NO 1 in April (car driven under 3000 miles). Dealt with Tamworth branch.

***Mechanical fault of clutch slave cylinder***

First attempt to repair under warranty was declined. Estimated bill £2422 (complete new clutch assembly & labour).

After several conversations it was agreed to cover £1162 (slave cylinder & gearbox removal) under warranty leaving me with £1260 to pay for new clutch & labour. I ended up buying genuine like for like Volkswagen parts for £563 from another company leaving me to pay £95 for labour.

£658 loss but £600 saved after all.

It took around 2 weeks to complete repair, car left outside with open bonnet as there was big metal arm attached holding the engine due to gearbox removal. First very rainy evening I have found my car outside totally uncovered. Engine compartment full of water, drivers window fully open with

puddles of water on drivers seat & floor.

Car was repaired. Drivers interior door panel covered with dirt.

I have received free car health check advising to change front suspension bushes for £528 (full service was carried out by Volkswagen prior car purchase).

CASE NO 2 in June. Dealt with Sutton Coldfield branch.

***Boot opens every time reverse gear is engaged***

First visit booked in 3 week time indicated cable loom fault. Second visit rearranged after following 3 weeks as further investigation was required.

1 week later cable loom harness confirmed to be faulty. Warranty refused. Estimated bill around £500. Ended up buying like for like assembly for £58,

took around 1 hour to replace after watching several You Tube videos. I have received free car health check advising to change front suspension bushes but this time for £590. Plus there was a nail mentioned in one of the tyres. Unrepairable. New tyre required (£142).

There was slight front steering wheel vibration at particular speed so I took car to Elmbridge tyres for rebalancing which sorted vibration (tiny piece of metal was removed by them from "unrepairable" tyre free of charge).

Case 3 in September. Dealt with Tamworth branch.

***Airbag error***

Not possible to perform investigation unless I agree to pay unknown future costs for parts not covered under warranty. Minimum £150 for finding fault.

Paid £50 to local mobile mechanic (on/off airbag switch connector was loose).

I went into Mckenna Volkswagon for a leaking sunroof. They said the issue was a clogged drain it ruined my headliner. They said that they would have to order the part. Took 8 months to get the part. They said during the 8 months they had my car that the battery went dead. They replaced the battery and I got my car back. Brought it home and my wife came out to look at it. She started it up and the radio screen (infotainment screen) was blank. I called the dealer and she said bring it in when you can. Got up the next morning and it was working again. So I figured maybe just a glitch. Called the dealer set up a time to bring it in. In the mean time I looked up problems with the infotainment screen. It says issues with the screen sometimes are cause disconnecting the battery or a dead battery. It says to reboot the system or restart and or reload software, So when i took it to the dealer I gave them that information I told them to try that first, They called me a couple hours later and told me I needed a new screen. So I figured they tried my suggestion and that it didn't work. I said okay go ahead and order the part, The part was $1068 I paid for the part they put the part in and called me told me my car was ready. Took my car home. My wife took the car to work the next day, but when she got in the car to come home screen was blank again. I called the dealership and they said to bring it in. I brought it in and hey checked it out and called me and told me my car was ready. I asked what the problem was and they told me that they needed to reboot the system. Hmmm that is what I asked them to do in the first place before installing a $1000 part. I told them that and they said well they can only check it after the part is installed. I think they installed the part and found out it wasn't needed. Also they installed the part and kept the old part which is also illegal since the part wasn't under warranty.

We paid $839.67 for a rodent chewing on our 2022 VW Jetta wiring. It would have been a nice customer service prevention plan to notify us (a new owner) of any potential problems that we might have due to the Soy base that the EPA regulates. We understand it is an EPA regulation but if we would have been aware when we bought the car; we could have prevented the problem by purchasing rodent repellent.

While driving 55 mph - the engine sputtered, shook and completed died in the road. Was almost rear-ended from behind. This happened without warning. The EPC light and engine light both illuminated. After 6 hrs waiting VW Roadside Asst. tow truck came and towed car to dealership where it still sits some 15 days later. They tried ( or so they say) to put in a new fuel pump - we came and took car out and it broke down again less than 2 miles from dealership - EPC and check engine light still on. It still sits dead at dealership where they told us they did not know how to fix it.