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Volkswagen · NHTSA safety record

2022 Volkswagen Golf R

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 10 safety complaints about the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R with the US government. Of those, no death is recorded. 5 recall campaigns are open against it.

The most complained-about system is forward collision avoidance, named in 5 complaints, 50% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers January 2023 to October 2025 · How this is counted

What is on file

10 complaints on file

10

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 · 50%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 · 40%
STEERING 3 · 30%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 · 10%
STRUCTURE 1 · 10%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 · 10%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 · 10%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 · 10%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 10.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 7.

8 6 4 2
23 24 25

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2023 to 2025.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

5 on file

BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE

24V480000 · June 27, 2024

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VW) is recalling certain 2022-2024 Golf R, Golf GTI, 2024 Atlas, and 2024 Atlas Cross Sport vehicles. The rearview camera image may be delayed or deactivated after shifting into reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
A rearview camera with a delayed or deactivated image reduces the driver's view of what is behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury or crash.
The remedy
Dealers will update the infotainment system software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 15, 2024, and July 16, 2024. Owners may contact VW customer service at 1-800-893-5298. VW's number for this recall is 91US.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 84,432 vehicles across all model years covered

BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION

22V823000 · November 2, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Golf R A8, Audi S3, RS3 Sedan, Q4 E-Tron SUV, A3 Sedan, and 2022-2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI, and ID4 vehicles. The rearview camera image may be blank or unresponsive when the vehicle is placed in reverse gear or when the park function is manually activated. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
An inoperative rearview camera display can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed to Audi owners February 14, 2023. Volkswagen owners will receive an owner notification letter once remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Volkswagen) 91EK and (Audi) 91EL.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 2,607 vehicles across all model years covered

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:RADIATOR ASSEMBLY

22V707000 · September 21, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022-2023 Golf R A8 and Golf GTI vehicles. The radiator may not have been attached correctly to the intercooler, which can result in a damaged coolant hose.
The risk
A damaged coolant hose can leak, causing the engine to overheat, and increasing the risk of fire. In addition, large amounts of coolant spilling onto the roadway can increase the risk of a crash to other vehicles.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect the radiator and replace any damaged parts, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 18, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 19Q8.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 8,038 vehicles across all model years covered

VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY

22V542000 · July 27, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Golf R A8 and Golf GTI vehicles. The touch switch for the sunroof may be too sensitive, allowing it to be inadvertently pressed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."
The risk
A sunroof switch that is inadvertently pressed can result in unintended auto-closure of the sunroof, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the roof module switch, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 23, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 60F6.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 2,238 vehicles across all model years covered

ENGINE

22V163000 · March 16, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Golf GTI and Golf R vehicles. Certain driving situations, such as high acceleration driving maneuvers, may loosen the engine design cover.
The risk
A loose engine design cover may contact hot surfaces in the engine compartment and melt, increasing the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will remove the engine design cover, free of charge. Once parts become available, Volkswagen will provide a free updated engine design cover under a separate Service Action. Owner notification letters were mailed by March 29, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 10H5.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 4,269 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While stopped at a stoplight, the infotainment system went blank and all sorts of errors showed on dashboard display. The infotainment system continued to turn on and off approximately every 30 seconds. No audio, no backup camera and limited to no functionality via the infotainment system. According to VW Dealership, VW is currently working on a fix. No fix to date!

NHTSA complaint 11694355. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
This vehicle constantly displays and announces erroneous “Emergency Assist Is Currently Not Available” and “Travel Assist Is Currently Not Available” warnings. These warnings distract drivers and put the safety of the driver, passengers, and the public at risk because drivers have to take photographs of these erroneous warnings while they are occurring. Drivers have to document this defect through photographs because the dealerships deny the existence of the defect or request documentation when the defect does not appear as a fault in the vehicle's electronics modules . This is a widespread problem with this vehicle model and apparently is caused by a defective steering wheel. Dealerships

NHTSA complaint 11595286, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING
Travel Assist is disabled which includes Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist. The warning lights flash on and off, sometimes multiple times a second, sounding a loud beeping each time. It is triggered at engine start and persists through all speeds. I have experienced it 0-70 mph. The flashing lights and associated rapid beeping indicating the failure is extremely distracting while driving. Warning lights and warning sounds are designed to alert the driver to a potential safety issue so ignoring the lights and sounds is dangerous in the event it is a different caution/warning.

NHTSA complaint 11591997. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Travel Assist is disabled which includes Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist. The warning lights flash on and off, sometimes multiple times a second, sounding a loud beeping each time. It is triggered at engine start and persists through all speeds. I have experienced it 0-70 mph. The flashing lights and associated rapid beeping indicating the failure is extremely distracting while driving. Warning lights and warning sounds are designed to alert the driver to a potential safety issue so ignoring the lights and sounds is dangerous in the event it is a different caution/warning. However, also not ignoring it is dangerous because of the frequency of the warnings which causes the

NHTSA complaint 11588920, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
The "Travel Assist is currently not available" warning and chime constantly comes on. The chime and constant alerts are extremely distracting and from looking it up online it appears other drivers are experiencing the same issue. It happens randomly and cleaning the sensors has not solved the issue.

NHTSA complaint 11586724. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Car’s GPS appears to loose location while navigating. Head unit display will behave erratically causing distractions along side noises. Additionally, car will display warnings on dash with additional noises again causing distraction. Eventually after losing GPS location car will snap back onto correct location on map. Self correction can happen between 30 seconds and 20+ minutes.

NHTSA complaint 11585458. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Volkswagen Golf R

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 12 1 —
2018 9 4 —
2017 15 0 —
2016 12 4 —

Other 2022 Volkswagen models

Every Volkswagen on this site — 155 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst