There are 9 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2019 Volkswagen Golfin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2019 VW Golf. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V604000(Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced the failure. The VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Several times now, my 2019 VW Golf Alltrack S while driving has flashed a warning saying "ignition switched off" and then "check starter system". I can still apply the brakes, steer, and accelerate, but various electrical systems stopped working, including the speedometer. I've brought it to a VW dealer, but they said they couldn't find an issue. Several places online say that this is an ignition switch issue and that it was fixed once they replaced the ignition switch.
While driving, all vehicle gauges and HVAC suddenly stopped working. Car beeped, and screen said "pull over safely" (or something like that), and then said "Check starter system". Turned car off, and then eventually it turned back on. Same thing happened again, but I was able to continue driving (engine kept running), with no HVAC, no speedometer, no tachometer, nothing. I don't know if turn signals or exterior lights were working.
On July 5, 2023 the electronics in our 2019 VW Golf Alltrack S, stopped working, while that car was been driven on a highway. The following was no longer operational, (while the car was still in motion): gauges such as speedometer, tachometer, fuel indicator and engine temperature; controls such as turn signals, wipers, dashboard and car indicator lights, also the infotainment system, used at that time for driving directions, was no longer operating. The car engine was still running; however, safely pulling to the side of the road was hardly possible, as the turn signals and lights no longer worked. After the car was stopped and the engine was turned off and on few times, the above-listed electronics started working again. Prior to this incident, the car has been driven daily and has not been parked for an extended period of time; it also has been serviced in accordance with the manufacturer requirements. A few weeks prior to this incident, the car was serviced / inspected by an authorized VW dealer. The same dealer examined the car, next day after the incident, and determined that a faulty ignition was the cause of the issues. Replacing that part (under warranty) required few days, as an incorrect part was ordered by the dealer. The loss of key controls and gauges mentioned above, and required for a safe vehicle operation, created a dangerous situation, which should be investigated, in order to determine if design issues exist and require further actions, to prevent such incidents.
After being in hot sunlight all day(95+ degrees), car started and about three minutes into drive the engine and all electronics died while going approximately 15mph, warning display flashed up on center lcd display that ignition was off, please pull over, and then to check the starter. The power steering turned off so I had very limited steering. The car would not restart, took about 5 minutes of waiting and had to remove the key and reinsert it before it would start again. I was only going 15mph on an empty residential road, so no damage, but if it happened on a busy highway it might have resulted in a crash. Dealer could not reproduce the fail, but read codes that showed the ignition switch was faulty, and they replaced that. The car was at the dealership to look at another issue(the blind spot monitor lights not turning off), and I picked it up from the dealership minutes before this ignition switch issue occurred. They found no issues or error codes with the blind spot monitoring or any other electrical system, the ignition switch issue only occurred after the car was sitting outside in direct sunlight for 5 hours. I believe the heat was the issue, I have found multiple online forum posts where owners of 2019 VWs of different models have the same issue on hot days.
The contact owns 2019 Volkswagen Golf. The contact stated that while a complete stop, the Auto Start/Stop feature failed to engage and a message advising to manually start the vehicle by turning the ignition key was displayed. The contact stated that as he attempted to turn the ignition key, the key was stuck and the key fob fractured, causing the vehicle to go into Safe Mode. The anti-theft warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to push the vehicle to the side of the road with the assistance of bystanders. The vehicle was towed the contact’s residence. The contact notified the dealer of the failure and ordered a new key. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
* "Starter system faulty", currently the supposedly damaged part has already been replaced * When this fault appears, all the vehicle's electrical instruments stop working, lights, radio, air conditioning, reversing camera, security systems, but the vehicle's engine remains on, this happens a few minutes after starting the car and the cabin. is above 90 degrees temperature. * part 5Q1.905.865 is defective under high temperatures. * No, but you can search for information on the Internet with the part number 5q1 905 865 and you will find hundreds of complaints from VOLKSWAGEN vehicle owners with this same problem. * The warning appears on the dashboard screen and in 3 seconds all the vehicle's electronic instruments turn off but the engine continues to run
KEY FOB LEFT ON TOP OF CAR WHILE TRYING TO PUT CAR SEAT IN, WHICH ALLOWED CAR TO START (PUSH TO START) AND MOVE, HOWEVER KEYS FELL OFF CAR DURING MOVEMENT. WHEN DONE WHILE PARKED THIS WILL NORMALLY LEAD TO A BEEPING SOUND AND A WARNING THAT THERE IS NO LONGER A KEY IN PROXIMITY, AND TWO BIG YELLOW LIGHTS COME UP ON THE DASHBOARD. HOWEVER, AS THE KEY FELL OFF THE ROOF WHEN THE CAR WAS ALREADY IN GEAR/MOVING, NO WARNING SOUND OR DASHBOARD LIGHT CAME UP (CAR ACTED AS IF EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO LONGER A KEY IN RANGE). THIS LED TO A SET OF LOST KEY FOB/HOUSE KEYS AND BEING STRANDED ONCE PARKED.
Multi-system failure - multi incidents; Dealership has confirm and 'corrected' but several electrical/engine issues persist. Vehicle has been inspected by three VW dealerships (Royal Motor Sales in San Francisco, Serramonte, CA and Kalispell VW in Montana). Several issues were observed while driving - multiple system failure warnings, and also engine failure multiple times. The last time the engine failed while driving 75 miles an hour and there was no where to pull off nor shoulders.
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