Reliable Auto DB

2016 Volkswagen Golf reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2016 Volkswagen Golf has 85 complaints with NHTSA after 11 years, or 7 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Golf years here — over the median of the other years, which is 5. NHTSA has 9 recalls on file, including Fuel system, gasoline, Inflator, and Control module.

2012 Volkswagen Golf
Photo by Vauxford, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

85

Per year

7

Recalls

9

Years on the road

11

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Fuel and propulsion system (29 of 85), then Engine (18) and Air bags (10). Those filings include 1 that reports a crash and 2 that report an injury.

Next to 2015 and 2017

The 2015 Golf has 131 complaints, 16 per year, and the 2017 has 189 complaints, 19 per year. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2016 Volkswagen Golf. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (9)

Recall Fuel system, gasoline 2024-02-14 · NHTSA campaign 24V110000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain front-wheel drive 2015-2020 Audi A3 Sedan, 2015-2019 Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Volkswagen Jetta GLI, 2018 Golf Sportwagen GP, 2018-2019 Golf Sportwagen A7, 2015-2017 Golf Sportwagen, 2015-2020 Golf GTI, and 2015-2020 Golf A7 vehicles. Due to a problem with a suction jet pump seal inside the fuel tank, fuel may flow into the evaporative emissions (EVAP) system and possibly leak out of the charcoal canister.
Remedy Dealers will replace the suction pump, free of charge. Final owner notification letters for Audi owners were mailed on July 25, 2024. Final owner letters for VW owners were mailed on August 13, 2024. 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 VW: 20UF/Audi: 20YF. Vehicles that were previously recalled under 16V-647 will need to have the new remedy completed. This recall expands and replaces previous recall number 16V-647.
Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2022-07-27 · NHTSA campaign 22V543000
Summary 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.
Remedy 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.
Recall electrical system, ignition, anti-theft, control module 2019-08-22 · NHTSA campaign 19V615000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2019 GTI, 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 Golf, 2012-2019 Beetle and Beetle Convertible, 2017-2019 Golf SportWagen and 2011-2018 Jetta vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission, manual handbrake and keyless entry. A build-up of silicate on the shift lever micro switch contacts may enable the key to be removed from the ignition when the transmission shift lever is not in "Park."
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional switch and circuit board, free of charge. The recall began November 19, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 37M2.
Recall suspension, rear, springs, coil springs 2019-03-06 · NHTSA campaign 19V188000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Golf Sportwagen, 2019 Jetta, 2015-2019 Golf, and 2018-2019 Tiguan vehicles. The rear coil springs may prematurely fracture.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear axle coil springs, free of charge. The recall began April 12, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 42J5.
Recall steering, column locking, anti-theft device 2018-07-11 · NHTSA campaign 18V464000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Volkswagen Golf and Golf Sportwagen vehicles. The build of silicate on the shift lever micro switch contacts may enable the key to be removed from the ignition while the vehicle shift lever is not in "Park." As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional switch and circuit board, free of charge. The recall began March 19, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 37L5.
Recall Unknown or other 2018-05-16 · NHTSA campaign 18V329000
Summary 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.
Remedy 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.
Recall Fuel system, gasoline 2016-09-07 · NHTSA campaign 16V647000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Volkswagen Golf, Golf SportWagen, GTI, Audi A3 sedan and A3 Cabriolet vehicles. Due to a problem with the suction pump inside the fuel tank, fuel may flow into the evaporative emissions (EVAP) system.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the suction pump, free of charge. The recall began November 2016. Volkswagen owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298, Audi owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 20Y6 and 20Y5. This recall has been fully superseded by recall 24V-110.
Recall gasoline fuel system, fuel injection, fuel rail 2016-06-06 · NHTSA campaign 16V403000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2016 Jetta vehicles manufactured October 31, 2015, to January 21, 2016, 2016 Passat vehicles, equipped with 1.8T engines manufactured November 13, 2015, to December 9, 2015, and 2016 Golf vehicles manufactured November 5, 2015, to November 11, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the fuel rail may detach from the cylinder head and result in a fuel leak.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the cylinder heads, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 15F7.
Recall Engine 2015-10-26 · NHTSA campaign 15V705000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Jetta, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Passat, Golf and Golf SportWagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the camshaft lobe that drives the brake vacuum pump may shear off, resulting in a loss of brake assist.
Remedy Volkswagen dealer will update the engine control module (ECM) software. The recall began March 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 23R1.

Complaints by component (85 total)

Fuel and propulsion system
29
Engine
18
Air bags
10
Electrical system
8
Structure
7
Powertrain
5
Forward collision avoidance
3
Fuel system, gasoline
3
Service brakes
3
Speed control
3
Steering
2
Suspension
2
Wheels
2
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
Engine and engine cooling
1
Exterior lighting
1
Hydraulic brakes
1
Visibility
1
Visibility and wipers
1
Show 11 more Show less
Crash-flagged

1

Fire-flagged

0

Injury reports

2

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

1201552016820176201842019520201020211420221820231120242202512026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "I am reporting a severe safety system failure regarding the airbag deployment force on a 2016 Volkswagen Golf SE. The vehicle was involved in a collision where the frontal/side air bag safety systems engaged. While the…"
    Air bags · filed 2026-06-08
  • "The EPC light has luminated 3 times in the last several months. The vehicle stutters and will not accelerate past 25 MPH. Shutting off the engine and restarting it clears the light and vehicle drives normally. The check…"
    Powertrain, Engine, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2025-09-20
  • "I was driving my vehicle on the highway when a driver stopped me and warned me that my vehicle was leaking a huge amount of gasoline. I had a technician inspect the car to see if it might be a fuel line, the technician…"
    Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2025-04-23
  • "Car began spraying fuel upon turning the key in the ignition. Recall work pertaining to the suction jet pump was recently performed and is the only likely cause of this issue. Car did not leak when fuel pump was…"
    Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2024-11-27
  • "My EPC light began to appear randomly in early 2024. I received a recall notice on the gear shift trim around the same time, so called Jack Ingram VW in Montgomery to schedule a time for them to fix it (and also ensure…"
    Engine, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2024-11-05

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Golf 1.8L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 25 35 29 MPG $2250
Golf 1.8L, 4-cyl Manual 5-speed Front-wheel drive 25 36 29 MPG $2250
Golf R 2L, 4-cyl Manual 6-speed All-wheel drive 22 31 25 MPG $3200
Golf R 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (AM-S6) All-wheel drive 23 30 25 MPG $3200
Golf SportWagen 1.8L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 25 34 29 MPG $2250
Golf SportWagen 1.8L, 4-cyl Manual 5-speed Front-wheel drive 25 35 28 MPG $2300

Specs and fitment

Mk7 (US), 2015–2021
Body styles Hatchback
Oil VW 502.00/504.00 5W-30 or 0W-20 (engine dependent) , 4.8 qt capacity
Tire size 225/40R18

Known issues for this generation

NHTSA safety recall 22V815000 covers affected vehicles after the agency found that volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan LWB, Golf Sportswagen A7, Golf Alltrack, Golf R GP, Audi Q3, Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas, Golf A7, Audi A3, 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021 Atlas FL vehicles. The tire pressure monitoring system may not detect an air pressure loss in adequate time when deflating occurs among all four tires simultaneously. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems.". An undetected sudden loss of pressure in all four tires increases the risk of a crash. Remedy: Dealers will update the TPMS software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.

Compare

Previous year 2015 Volkswagen Golf Next year 2017 Volkswagen Golf See every Volkswagen Golf model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2016 Volkswagen Golf reliable?

The 2016 Volkswagen Golf has 85 complaints with NHTSA after 11 years, or 7 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Golf years here — over the median of the other years, which is 5. NHTSA has 9 recalls on file, including Fuel system, gasoline, Inflator, and Control module.

What are common problems with a 2016 Volkswagen Golf?

The complaints owners file most often name Fuel and propulsion system (29 of 85), then Engine (18) and Air bags (10). Those filings include 1 that reports a crash and 2 that report an injury.

Is the 2016 Volkswagen Golf more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2015 Golf has 131 complaints, 16 per year, and the 2017 has 189 complaints, 19 per year. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017.

Has the 2016 Volkswagen Golf been recalled?

The 2016 Volkswagen Golf has 9 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2016 Volkswagen Golf?

Owners have filed 85 complaints about the 2016 Volkswagen Golf with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2016 Volkswagen Golf get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2016 Volkswagen Golf is 27.5 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What engine oil does a Volkswagen Golf use?

US Golf manuals list the approved VW oil standard and viscosity for your engine in the maintenance chapter.

What generation is the 2018 Volkswagen Golf?

Mk7 (US, 2015-2021).

What tire sizes does a Volkswagen Golf use?

Mk6 US pages often list 225/45R17; Mk7 pages commonly list 225/40R18.