The 2018 Volkswagen Golf R has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 754 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 13 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
UNKNOWN OR OTHER21V3210002021-05-0546 affected
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…
Consequence
Vehicles that do not meet all regulatory requirements may have an increased risk of injury, crash, or fire.
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.
UNKNOWN OR OTHER20V5610002020-09-1623 affected
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…
Consequence
Vehicles that do not meet all regulatory requirements may have an increased risk of a crash or injury to vehicle occupants.
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.
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.
SEATS18V8030002018-11-14169 affected
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. …
Complaints by component
POWER TRAIN
3
SERVICE BRAKES
3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
1
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
1
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
1
WHEELS
1
Total complaints13
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“After starting the car and then beginning to drive, the transmission falls into neutral when it should have shifted from 1st to 2nd gear. In order to recover, the driver has to stop applying the accelerator and then wait a second or two for the rpm’s to approach idle rates before the…”
“The contact owns a 2018 volkswagen golf r. The contact stated that the headlights had become significantly dim while driving due to moisture accumulation inside the headlights housing. The contact stated that the failure had reduced the visibility of the roadway while driving at night. The vehicle…”
“Around 5 times now over the last year or two, most recently yesterday, the (dsg automatic) transmission has dropped out of gear into neutral when pulling away from a stop. Note that the shifter was not moved and did not move - but the transmission pops out of gear. Every time this has been when…”
“When driving the car it occasionally slips into neutral when it should be making the 1st to 2nd shift. Happens rarely; about 12-15 times in 60k miles. More common after filling up with gas, but has happened at other times. Very dangerous as one pulls out to merge into traffic to have the car do…”
“Exiting a parking lot with a 15% incline @3mph merging into the road, the front park assist sensors beeped and the vehicle automatically applied brakes instead of accelerating. The engine stalled since I had the clutch fully released, incoming traffic had to stop when they noticed the vehicle not…”
“Exiting a parking lot with a 15% incline @3mph merging into the road, the front park assist sensors beeped and the vehicle automatically applied brakes instead of accelerating. The engine stalled since I had the clutch fully released, incoming traffic had to stop when they noticed the vehicle not…”
“Front collision warning sounds when leaving parking lots with small dip where the road meets the exit. 25% of the time my emergency brakes activate stopping the car when I want to exit. The car thinks the road is an obstacle because of the dip. This happen often and in different parking lots. Very…”
“Front collision warning sounds when leaving parking lots with small dip where the road meets the exit. 25% of the time my emergency brakes activate stopping the car when I want to exit. The car thinks the road is an obstacle because of the dip. This happen often and in different parking lots. Very…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationRQ23007 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…
InvestigationRQ23007 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…
InvestigationRQ23007 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…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2018 Volkswagen Golf R as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.