Reliable Auto DB

2013 Volkswagen GTI reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 34 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Volkswagen GTI over 14 years — 4 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 4 GTI years on this site. NHTSA has 2 recalls on file, including Unknown or other and Frontal.

2012 Volkswagen GTI
Photo by Alexander Migl, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

34

Per year

4

Recalls

2

Years on the road

14

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (11 of 34), then Fuel and propulsion system (7) and Powertrain (5). Those filings include 1 that reports a crash, 1 that reports a fire, 1 that reports an injury, and 1 that reports a death.

Next to 2012 and 2014

The 2012 GTI has 40 complaints, 3 per year, and the 2014 has 10 complaints, 1 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

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 2013 Volkswagen GTI. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (2)

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 air bags, frontal 2015-08-04 · NHTSA campaign 15V483000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Volkswagen CC, and Passat, 2010-2013 Eos, 2011-2014 Golf, GTI, Jetta, and Tiguan, and 2012-2014 Jetta Sportwagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, debris may contaminate the air bag clock spring, a spiral wound, flat cable that keeps the air bag powered while the steering wheel is being turned. This contamination may tear the cable and result in a loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install a protective cover over the steering wheel clock spring if the air bag light is off. If the airbag light is on and the steering wheel clock spring requires replacement, dealers will install a new steering wheel clock spring. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on January 15, 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987.

Complaints by component (34 total)

Engine
11
Fuel and propulsion system
7
Powertrain
5
Air bags
4
Electrical system
3
Electronic stability control (ESC)
2
Service brakes
2
Structure
2
Visibility
2
Engine and engine cooling
1
Tires
1
Visibility and wipers
1
Show 4 more Show less
Crash-flagged

1

Fire-flagged

1

Injury reports

1

Death reports

1

Complaints filed per year

220136201432015120165201711201812019320201202112025
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "DSG automatic transmission started going into neutral at various speeds and driving conditions. It feels as though the clutch disengages momentarily, causing the vehicle to slow down and engine to rev. This is…"
    Powertrain · filed 2025-04-22
  • "I'M ON MY WAY TO WORK ON THE HIGHWAY GOING UPHILL AND THE TEMPERATURE RED LIGHT STARTS FLASHING. I DECIDED TO SLOW DOWN BECAUSE THE FLASHING LIGHT HAD ME CONCERNED. THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE STAYED AT NORMAL POSITION SO I…"
    Engine · filed 2021-03-01
  • "I WAS DRIVING AT NORMAL HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND WHEN I WENT TO SLOW DOWN FOR A RED LIGHT MY BRAKES WERE NOT ENGAGING UNTIL MY PEDAL WAS PUSHED WELL OVER HALF WAY DOWN. THIS WAS A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE. I STARTED NOTICING THAT…"
    Service brakes · filed 2020-12-04
  • "SUNROOF SPONTANEOUSLY EXPLODED ON THE HIGHWAY."
    Structure · filed 2020-09-05
  • "INTAKE MANIFOLD WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY IN 2015. IN LATE 2019 THE VEHICLE DISPLAYED A SERVICE ENGINE WARNING WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE THE INTAKE MANIFOLD AGAIN. OUT OF WARRANTY THE SERVICE COST ME IN EXCESS OF $1000.…"
    Engine · filed 2020-02-24

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
GTI 2L, 4-cyl Manual 6-speed Front-wheel drive 21 31 25 MPG $3200
GTI 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (AM-S6) Front-wheel drive 24 33 27 MPG $2950

Compare

Previous year 2012 Volkswagen GTI Next year 2014 Volkswagen GTI See every Volkswagen GTI model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2013 Volkswagen GTI reliable?

Owners have filed 34 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Volkswagen GTI over 14 years — 4 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 4 GTI years on this site. NHTSA has 2 recalls on file, including Unknown or other and Frontal.

What are common problems with a 2013 Volkswagen GTI?

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (11 of 34), then Fuel and propulsion system (7) and Powertrain (5). Those filings include 1 that reports a crash, 1 that reports a fire, 1 that reports an injury, and 1 that reports a death.

Is the 2013 Volkswagen GTI more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2012 GTI has 40 complaints, 3 per year, and the 2014 has 10 complaints, 1 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

Has the 2013 Volkswagen GTI been recalled?

The 2013 Volkswagen GTI has 2 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 2013 Volkswagen GTI?

Owners have filed 34 complaints about the 2013 Volkswagen GTI with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2013 Volkswagen GTI get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2013 Volkswagen GTI is 26 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a 2018 Volkswagen GTI take?

Mk7 (2015-2021) lists SAE 5W-40 for the 2.0L turbo; confirm the VW oil specification in the owner’s manual. Mk8 oil is not yet filled with a sourced grade on this record.

What does NHTSA recall 18V-369 cover on the GTI?

Certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Passat, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Golf, Golf SportWagen and GTI and Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles: brake caliper pistons may have insufficient coating, potentially reducing brake performance.

What does recall 22V-163 cover on Mk8 GTI?

Certain 2022 Golf GTI and Golf R vehicles: high acceleration maneuvers may loosen the engine design cover, which may contact hot surfaces and melt, increasing fire risk.