The Used Car Index

2018 Volkswagen Golf R problems

NHTSA lists 9 complaints for the 2018 Volkswagen Golf R, 0 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-09.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R.

At a glance

Complaints
9
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
4
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
516
Investigations
1
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
470

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
POWER TRAIN333.3%
SERVICE BRAKES333.3%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM111.1%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)111.1%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING111.1%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM111.1%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER111.1%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL111.1%
WHEELS111.1%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
loss of control333.3%0.55
mechanical failure333.3%0.65
electrical electronic222.2%0.64
visibility or lighting111.1%1.00
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate888.9%0.87
low111.1%0.45

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 9 tagged complaints of 9 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

4 recalls.

21V321000

Date: 2021-05-05. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Touareg GP, Tiguan, Golf A6, E-Golf GP, CCF, 2016-2017 Passat GP, 2018-2019 Golf R GP, and 2018 Atlas vehicles. These internal-use vehicles were sold without confirmation that they were built to all applicable regulatory requirements and may have been modified prior to sale. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with t (excerpt)

Consequence: Vehicles that do not meet all regulatory requirements may have an increased risk of injury, crash, or fire. (excerpt)

Remedy: Volkswagen will repurchase the vehicles. Owner notification letters were mailed May 20, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 01F1. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

20V561000

Date: 2020-09-16. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Golf R and Atlas, 2017 Golf Alltrack and E-Golf and 2016-2018 Passat vehicles. These internal use vehicles were sold without confirmation that they were built to all applicable regulatory requirements and may have been modified prior to sale. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of var (excerpt)

Consequence: Vehicles that do not meet all regulatory requirements may have an increased risk of a crash or injury to vehicle occupants. (excerpt)

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners and will repurchase the vehicles. The recall began October 6, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 01E9. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

18V864000

Date: 2018-12-05. Systems: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Golf R vehicles. The fuel hose quick connector may detach from the fuel supply line in the engine bay, resulting in a fuel leak.

Consequence: A fuel leak in the engine compartment can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will secure the fuel line connection, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 11, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 20Bi.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

18V803000

Date: 2018-11-14. Systems: SEATS.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen e-Golf and Golf R vehicles, and Audi A3 Sedan and RS3 vehicles. The rear seat frame head restraint guide sleeves may be incorrectly welded to the seat frame.

Consequence: If the guide sleeves are incorrectly welded, in the event of a crash, the rear seat head restraints may have reduced stability, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners, and dealers will inspect the guide sleeves for incorrect welds, replacing the rear seat frame, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began December 28, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 72H8 (VW) and 72H9(Audi).

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

1 investigations; 0 open.

RQ23007

Opened: 2023-12-12. Closed: 2024-07-01.

Fuel Leak due to Suction Jet Pump Failure within Fuel Tank (Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 16V647)

On December 12, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened RQ23-007 to investigate the remedy repair effectiveness and scope of Volkswagen (VW) recall 16V-647. Recall 16V-647 was issued on September 2, 2016, for a defective suction jet pump (SJP) inside the fuel tank. Failure of the SJP could lead to a fuel leak from the vehicle. This recall covered certain model year (MY) 2015-2016 V

Systems: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE.

Linked campaign numbers: 24V110.

Manufacturer communications

470 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT171
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM98
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING70
ENGINE59
UNKNOWN OR OTHER39
POWER TRAIN26
SERVICE BRAKES18
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY17

11038146

Date: 2026-09-17. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Suggested fuel additive

11038143

Date: 2026-09-09. Type: Other. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.

11036878

Date: 2026-08-27. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES.

Repair or Replace Information

11036874

Date: 2026-08-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

Replacement instruction

11036868

Date: 2026-08-06. Type: Other. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Permission to change Daily Order upgraded to RED Order

11036870

Date: 2026-08-04. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Differences between a leak and seepage

11035772

Date: 2026-07-15. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A software fix is needed to correct the issue: DA 0019 - Hotfix 12-V battery test(s) a No battery diagnosis - Inconclusive test result.

11035762

Date: 2026-07-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Oil Consumption Measurement and Electronic Oil Consumption Measurement

11034613

Date: 2026-06-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Lubricating engine components before reassembly.

11034614

Date: 2026-06-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Instruction, how to lubicate engine before initial start.

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
GOLF R9

Same model, other years

All model years | All Volkswagen models

Other Volkswagen models, 2018

Sources

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