The Used Car Index

2021 Volkswagen Golf problems

NHTSA lists 7 complaints for the 2021 Volkswagen Golf, 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 2026-10-10.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as VOLKSWAGEN GOLF.

At a glance

Complaints
7
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
1
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
32,048
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
423

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
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM342.9%
SERVICE BRAKES228.6%
AIR BAGS114.3%
ENGINE114.3%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING114.3%
POWER TRAIN114.3%
SEAT BELTS114.3%
STEERING114.3%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER114.3%
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
electrical electronic342.9%0.90
visibility or lighting228.6%0.96
loss of control114.3%0.81
restraint or airbag114.3%0.92
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate685.7%0.88
low114.3%0.39

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 7 tagged complaints of 7 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.

1 recalls.

20V716000

Date: 2020-11-18. Systems: BACK OVER PREVENTION.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas Cross Sport, Tiguan LWB, Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas FL and Arteon vehicles. The rear view camera could malfunction during an ignition cycle, leading to a black screen or infotainment system freeze. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 11 (excerpt)

Consequence: A black or frozen rear view image reduces the driver's visibility when reversing, increasing the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the infotainment system software, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91BB/91BC. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

423 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT142
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM94
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING81
ENGINE54
UNKNOWN OR OTHER39
POWER TRAIN24
STRUCTURE22
SUSPENSION18

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
GOLF7

Same model, other years

All model years | All Volkswagen models

Other Volkswagen models, 2021

Sources

Get this record as JSON

The free rate-limited demo needs no key.

curl "https://api.theusedcarindex.com/v1/demo/vehicle_risk?make=Volkswagen&model=Golf&year=2021"

Paid endpoint: https://api.theusedcarindex.com/v1/vehicle_risk. MCP endpoint: https://api.theusedcarindex.com/mcp.