2016 Volkswagen E-Golf Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other E-Golf years
- Far more complaints than other years 2nd of 5 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 5 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 18 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Volkswagen E-Golf. That ranks 2nd out of 5 E-Golf model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is electrical system (11 complaints, 61%), typically at around 5,974 miles. Complaints mention 1 injury. There are 5 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 1 defect investigation involving it.
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- 18owner complaints
- 5safety recalls
- 1NHTSA investigations
- 0complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2016 Volkswagen E-Golf problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 11 | 61% | 5,974 | — | — |
| Engine | 5 | 28% | 600 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 5 | 28% | 500 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 2 | 11% | 2,248 | — | — |
| Power Train | 2 | 11% | 5,150 | — | — |
| Steering | 2 | 11% | 40,624 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 2 | 11% | 39,640 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 1 | 6% | 280 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 1 | 6% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2016 Volkswagen E-Golf recalls (5)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2016 Audi TT Roadster, TT Coupe, S3 Sedan, R8 Coupe, A3 Sedan, A3 Etron, A3 Cabriolet, 2016 Golf Sportwagen, Golf R, Golf GTI, Golf A7, and E Golf vehicles. During air bag deployment, the front passenger air bag may explode or deploy improperly.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking occupants, resulting in serious injury or death. An improper air bag deployment may not properly restrain the occupant, increasing their risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the front-passenger air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69DY and 61C1.
Unknown or other
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Eos, 2012 Passat, 2012-2016 CC, 2015-2016 e-Golf, 2011-2015 Touareg, 2012-2015 and 2017 Tiguan, and 2011-2016 Golf and 2011-2013 GTI vehicles. Modifications made while the vehicles were in an internal evaluation period may cause the affected vehicles to not comply with all of the applicable regulatory requirements.
Risk: If the vehicles do not meet all regulatory requirements, there could be an increased risk of a crash, fire, or injury.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles to make them fully compliant or Volkswagen will repurchase them if necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Seat belts:pretensioner; air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module; air bags:side/window; air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2017 Audi A7, A4, A6, Volkswagen Golf and Tiguan vehicles and 2016 Volkswagen e-Golf vehicles for driver frontal air bags, passenger frontal air bags or head air bags that may not deploy properly. Additionally, certain 2017 Audi Q7, A4 Sedan, A4 Allroad, and 2018 Audi Q5 vehicles are being recalled because the seat belt pretensioners may not activate properly.
Risk: In the event of a crash, if the air bags and/or the seat belt pretensioners do not inflate or function properly, the vehicle occupants have an increased risk of injury.
Fix: Volkswagen and Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected air bags and seat belt pretensioners, free of charge. The recall began April 2017. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.
Latches/locks/linkages
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2016 CC vehicles manufactured January 12, 2016, to February 3, 2016, Golf R and Tiguan vehicles manufactured November 25, 2015, to January 28, 2016, and e-Golf vehicles manufactured November 25, 2015, to January 11, 2016. Vibrations, such as those created by opening and closing a vehicle door, may cause the rear child door locks to disengage, allowing a child to open a rear door while inside the vehicle.
Risk: If an unrestrained child unexpectedly opens a door, they may fall from the vehicle increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the child lock(s), free of charge. The recall began on August 22, 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 58C9.
Electrical system:propulsion system:traction battery; engine and engine cooling:engine
Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 e-Golf vehicles manufactured May 21, 2014, to March 1, 2016. Oversensitive diagnostics for the high-voltage battery management system may falsely detect an electrical surge resulting in the vehicle's electric drive motor shutting down unexpectedly.
Risk: An unexpected vehicle shutdown can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will update the battery management software, free of charge. The recall began March 15, 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 93B4.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Pedestrian alert sounds (DP22005) — opened Jan 27, 2023, closed Aug 7, 2023, led to recall 22V063000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
The regenerative braking system on my car shut off for about half a second before re engaging automatically. I was slowing down at a red light and had a car in front of me. As I applied the brakes, I hit a bump in the road and the brakes completely stopped working, causing me to almost hit the car…
While the vehicle is attached to A/C power for charging, the forced air heating system does not warm the car. This can leave the occupants without heat for an extended period of time while charging in a remote location which could be life threatening. There used to be a "work around" using CarNET…
Two miles into my morning commute, I accelerated to 65 mph when the following message appeared on the instrument display "Error: electrical system. Stop!" At the same time, the vehicle lost all electrical motor drive and began to coast and decelerate. As I coasted there was a clicking noise in the…
The contact owns a 2016 Volkswagen E-Golf. The contact stated that while charging the vehicle with the level 3 charger, the female connector on the vehicle became loosened due to a failure with the 4 tabs holding the connector in place on the vehicle. The level 3 charger loosened and exposed the…
I was driving down the road and the car halted all of a sudden. An error appeared on the dashboard that said electric failure. Stop. Luckily no cars were behind me or it would have been an accident. The car would not start back up for 30-40 minutes.
Other Volkswagen E-Golf years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 E-Golf | 6 | 0 |
| 2018 E-Golf | 1 | 1 |
| 2017 E-Golf | 1 | 2 |
| 2016 | 18 | 5 |
| 2015 E-Golf | 29 | 3 |
See all Volkswagen E-Golf problems by year, every Volkswagen model, or the Volkswagen VIN decoder.
Similar Volkswagen models
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2016 Volkswagen E-Golf?
Owners most often report electrical system, engine, unknown or other problems. The top one, electrical system, accounts for 11 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2016 Volkswagen E-Golf?
Yes, 5 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2016 Volkswagen E-Golf a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other E-Golf model years, the 2016 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.