There are 6 owner-reported fuel system complaints for the 2013 Volkswagen Golfin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILURE - CAR STALLED OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NORMAL OPERATION, DRIVING DOWN THE STREET, NO SIGNS OR WARNING PRIOR.
THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILED AT 130,000 MILES COSTING $5000 TO REPLACE THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP AND 4 INJECTORS. THIS IS A DIESEL ENGINE, SO 130,000 HIGHWAY MILES IS NOTHING. I HAVE HAD MULTIPLE DIESEL POWERED CARS AND TRUCKS IN THE PAST THAT HAVE GONE PASSED 300K MILES BEFORE A MAJOR REPAIR WAS NEEDED. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A "ECONOMY CAR" AS PER WHAT THE SALESMAN STATED. I DO NOT KNOW OF ANY OTHER VEHICLE THAT COST'S $5000 TO REPLACE A HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. $5000 IS 1/3 THE VALUE OF THE CAR. THE CAR STALLED ON ME IN THE MIDDLE OF A INTERSECTION WITH MY KIDS IN THE CAR. RECOMMENDED MAINT ON THE CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN DONE AT THE CORRECT TIME AND MILES. I HAVE FOUND NUMEROUS CASE'S ON THE TDI FORUM THAT MANY OTHER VW TDI OWNERS HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM, SOME EVEN TWICE. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM AND NOT TO MENTION BUT A SERIOUS MISLEADING OF THE PUBLIC IN WHAT A ECONOMY CAR" SHOULD BE. SO WITH ALL THIS BEING SAID NOW, I HAVE TO ADD THAT I CAN NOT AFFORD THIS "ECONOMY CAR" ANY LONGER AS THAT I CANT TRUST IT TO BE SAFE AND RELIABLE TO DRIVE. RECENTLY, I HAVE TRIED TO TRADE THIS CAR IN THE VARIOUS NEW CAR DEALERS ON A MORE SIMPLIFIED SAFE VEHICLE TO NO AVAIL. THE DEALERS HAVE ALL TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD TAKE THE CAR IN ON TRADE, BUT WOULD GIVE ME ONLY AT THE MOST $1000 ON A TRADE BECAUSE THEY STATED THEY CAN NOT SELL IT AS USED WITH THE DIESELGATE BLACK CLOUD ON THIS CAR. SO I AM ON THE HOOK TO VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA STILL MAKING PAYMENTS ON A CAR THAT IMO IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE, AND THAT HAS NO RESALE VALUE DUE TO VW OF AMERICA CHEATING ON THE VEHICLE EMISSIONS SYSTEM.
VEHICLE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WHILE DRIVING. DRIVER IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER, TURNED ENGINE OFF. DRIVER RESTARTED ENGINE, CHECKED UNDER HOOD. ENGINE STARTED, BUT THERE WAS A STRONG VIBRATION AND HIGH PITCH METAL ON METAL SOUND. VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALER. DEALER DIAGNOSED A FAILURE OF HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. FUEL PUMP AND ALL COMPONENT PARTS NEEDED REPLACEMENT. NOTE: DIESEL FUEL ONLY USED ON THIS VEHICLE. *TR
WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 2 MILES AFTER STARTING MY CAR THE DIESEL GLOW PLUG WARNING LIGHT STARTED FLASHING AND IT FELT LIKE I LOST POWER. I GOT TO A SAFE PLACE ABOUT 500 FEET AFTER, PULLED OVER, TURNED OFF THE CAR AND STARTED IT AGAIN IT SEEMED OK FOR A MINUTE BUT THEN IT STARTED FLASHING AGAIN THEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, I TURNED IT OFF AND IT WOULDN'T START, IT MADE A LOUD WHINE & CLICKING NOISE. IT WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER, THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE BEARINGS FAILED IN THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. *TR
I WAS ENTERING THE FREEWAY AND ACCELERATING WHEN I REALIZED THAT MY CAR WOULDN'T GO FASTER THAN 40MPH. I PULLED THE CAR OVER AT THE NEXT EXIT AND THE CAR WOULD NO LONGER ACCELERATE. IT WOULD NOT LET ME GO PAST THE SLOWEST SPEED THAT I HAD REACHED WHILE EXITING. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND IT WOULD NO LONGER START. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE NEAREST VW DEALERSHIP WHERE IT TOOK NEARLY A WEEK TO GET THE CAR FIXED. THERE WERE METAL SHAVINGS IN THE FUEL LINES; THE FUEL PUMP AND ALL LINES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I HAD MY CAR FOR LESS THAN A YEAR AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT AND THE VEHICLE HAD LESS THAN 15000 MILES ON IT. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT "SOMETIMES THESE THINGS HAPPEN" AND THAT I WAS FORTUNATE IT WAS COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY (+$5K WORTH OF DAMAGE). THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD HAVE DONE TO PREVENT IT, OR PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING IN THE FUTURE. MY CAR IS A VOLKSWAGEN GOLD TDI (DIESEL). *TR
I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 5 MILES PER HOUR AND MY CAR STARTED LOSING POWER......LIKE IT HAD A CLOGGED FUEL FILTER. BRAND NEW 2 WEEKS OLD I THOUGHT NOT POSSIBLE. I TRIED TO SAFELY GET IT TO THE LEFT LANE DODGING TRAFFIC WITH MY SLOW MOVING CAR. IT WENT TO 20 MPH AND IT DID NOT COMPLETELY STOP BUT REFUSED TO GO FASTER THEN 20 MPH. GOT HOME WITH IT LET IT SIT HALF AN HOUR. STARTED RIGHT UP AND RAN FIND. DEALER CHECKED HPFP DISINTEGRATED INSIDE ITSELF SENDING METAL SHAVINGS THROUGH OUT. COMPLETE FUEL SYSTEM REPLACED.....NICE FOR A 2013 BRAND NEW CAR. WHAT HAPPENS THE SECOND TIME IT HAPPENS WILL THE DEALER REPLACE AGAIN? *TR *JS
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