There are 3 owner-reported steering complaints for the 2002 Volkswagen Golfin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
THE CAR HAS A TILT/TELESCOPE STEERING COLUMN, AFTER ADJUSTING THE COLUMN THE TURN SIGNALS QUIT WORKING. COULD NOT RESTART THE CAR AFTER TURNING IT OFF BECAUSE IMMOBILIZER WOULD NOT RECOGNIZE THE KEY. MULTIPLE FUSES WERE BLOWN OUT, INCLUDING THE ONE FOR THE HAZARD FLASHER. UPON INVESTIGATION THE FAILURE WAS FROM THE WIRING HARNESS FOR THE STEERING COLUMN, THE INSULATION ON MOST OF THE WIRES WAS CRACKED AND THE TURN SIGNAL WIRES SHORTED OUT. THE INSULATION FOR THE MAIN POWER WIRES RUNNING INTO THE IGNITION SWITCH ALSO WERE CRACKED, IF THESE SHORTED OUT IT COULD HAVE CAUSED A FIRE. MOST OF THE INSULATION IN THIS AREA HAS HARDENED AND IS NOT VERY FLEXIBLE, MAKING IT PRONE TO CRACKING. TEMPORARY REPAIR HAS BEEN TAPING UP ALL THE EXPOSED WIRES WITH ELECTRICAL TAPE. HAVE NOT YET CHECKED INTO THE AVAILABILITY OF A REPLACEMENT WIRING HARNESS. *JB
CONSTANT NOISE FROM THE STEERING COLUMN. AIR BAG SPRING CHANGED TWICE. STEERING COLUMN STILL MAKING NOISE. *JB
1) WHILE DRIVING, DOOR AJAR LIGHT SUDDENLY CAME ON FOR NO REASON. NO DOORS WERE AJAR. AFTER PARKING, THE FACTORY INSTALLED ALARM SYSTEM CAME ON SEVERAL TIMES FOR NO APPARENT REASON. 2) THE INSTRUMENT PANEL DEFECT RELATES TO A PERSISTENT BUZZING NOISE FROM THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026