The defect
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."
The risk
Removing the key while the shift lever is in a position other than "Park" increases the risk of an unintended vehicle rollaway that may result in personal injury or a crash.
The 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.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Volkswagen Golf | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
Components: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:ANTI-THEFT:CONTROL MODULE | STEERING:COLUMN LOCKING:ANTI-THEFT DEVICE
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Golf | 2015 | 131 | 12 |
| Volkswagen Golf | 2016 | 85 | 9 |
| Volkswagen Golf | 2017 | 117 | 5 |
| Volkswagen Golf | 2018 | 29 | 6 |
| Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen | 2015 | 59 | 3 |
| Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen | 2016 | 51 | 3 |
| Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen | 2017 | 38 | 4 |
| Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen | 2018 | 12 | 5 |
Other electrical system recalls in 2018
105 of the 912 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2018 concerned the electrical system; Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. filed 321 campaigns in all.
| 18V946000 31 Dec 2018 | Arcimoto Inc |
| 18V933000 27 Dec 2018 | Forest River, Inc. |
| 18V930000 21 Dec 2018 | Daimler Trucks North America LLC |
| 18V929000 21 Dec 2018 | Daimler Trucks North America LLC |
| 18V917000 20 Dec 2018 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
| 18V921000 20 Dec 2018 | Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) |
| 18V895000 19 Dec 2018 | Dennis Eagle Inc. |
| 18V909000 19 Dec 2018 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2018