There are 1 stored owner reports matching the visibility & wipers leading-label group for the 2009 Volkswagen GTI in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 1 of 1 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)2009 VOLKSWAGEN GTI (AND VARIOUS OTHER MODELS 2006-2009) WINDSHIELD INTERIOR DEFROSTER AIR DISPERSION GRILL DIRECTS AIR TO RIGHT AND LEFT PORTIONS OF WINDSHIELD ONLY. NO SEGMENTS OF THE AIR DISPERSION GRILL LOCATED AT THE BASE OF THE WINDHIELD DIRECT AIR UP THE CENTER OF THE WINDSHIELD, THIS CREATES A LARGE PATCH OF FOG/CONDENSATION ON THE INTERIOR OF THE WINDSHIELD BELOW THE REARVIEW MIRROR AND CAUSES DRIVER FIELD OF VISION TO BE REDUCED. CAN BE "FIXED" BY RUNNING AC AND DEFROST-ONLY W/ FAN SPEED ON "3", THIS IS VERY NOISY INSIDE THE CAR AND THE DRY AC AIR OUTPUT MAY CRITICALLY AFFECT DRIVER EYES/OTHER MUCUS MEMBRANES WHEN DRIVING FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME. THIS DEFECT IS CORRECTED IN THE MY 2010 GTI WHERE THE CENTER TWO VANES OF THE AIR DISPERSION DEFROSTER UNIT HAVE BEEN MADE TO POINT STRAIGHT UP RATHER THAN TO EITHER SIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD. VW DEALER WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR A YEAR AGO REFUSES TO TRY AN '10 PART ON MY '09 VEHICLE TO SEE IF THE NEW AIR DIFFUSER UNIT WILL FIT. A COOWORKER HAS THE SAME MODEL YEAR CAR I DO AND HAS THE SAME COMPLAINT. THIS IS ESPECIALLY PRONOUNCED IN THE WINTER MONTHS AND IN HUMID WEATHER AND CREATES A LARGE AREA OF BLURRED GLASS DIRECTLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WINDSHIELD, VERY HAZARDOUS WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT OR WHILE LOOKING SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT WHEN APPROACHING A RIGHT HAND TURN IN THE ROAD. TW*
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.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.