Volkswagen Golf Mk.6 (2010-2012)

These cars are not reliable. Ok, they are fun to drive, good on fuel, look like good quality inside, but in my experience avoid an older vw golf. They are too unreliable. Actually, they are VERY unreliable. Mine made it to 160 000km, then the transmission totally kicked the bucket. And at the worst possible time. And the mechatronics had been… Read more

replaced. No one wants to fix it, because it looks like fixing it will cost more than the cars worth. Even the transmission shops won't touch it. Golfs are suppose to last. Mine was well maintained and didn't. I thought Golfs were great. Not anymore.

It must be tiring for Volkswagen to constantly read negative reviews about their Golfs. I’ve owned three of them, and all have had issues with water leaking into the cabin and boot, as well as roof linings collapsing. But the latest one really takes the cake. My 2010 Mk6 Golf has only 126,000 km on the clock, yet it's cost me an absurd amount of… Read more

money. The roof lining was the least of my worries; here’s a breakdown of the more costly failures: • 29/06/16: Renewal of DSG clutches at 44,903 km • 17/08/16: Removal and replacement of all four pistons, reassembly, and reinstallation of the engine—just 19 days after the clutches were replaced • 20/03/25: Mechatronic unit replacement needed The failure of the mechatronic unit occurred while I was crossing a road at night, the car literally died. This failure could have resulted in a serious accident, causing death or injury to myself or another driver. Despite the gravity of the situation, Volkswagen has refused to assist with the mechatronic replacement. At this point, I’m done investing any more money into this car, only to see what will fail next. Do yourself a favor and never, ever buy a Golf. Trust me, you’ll be better off. Of course if VW would like to get in touch with me please feel free but I won't be holding my breath but feel free to prove me wrong...

My TDI is a great little car – In 2019, I purchased a 2013 TDI with only 40k on the speedo and after 2 years, it's been perfect and reliable. Admittedly I probably over service my cars and use a VW specialist Audvolks in Melbourne. I got the dsg and timing belt/water pump done as a precaution and do a weekly country drive. So far the only issues are a few dash rattles and the… Read more

clear coat coming off around the rear licensed plate. Costs over 2 years other than servicing ($500-$800) has been a set of quality tyres, polish and wiper blades. I average 7l in the city and 5l in the country. The car has so far exceeded my expectations as I was a bit worried about VW reliability after coming out of a Mercedes B class. Make sure you buy one that has been looked after, driven gently and serviced by a VW specialist.

The best all-rounder hatch on the market – I bought my Golf GTD manual turbo diesel after doing a ton of online research and I can confidently say it's the best do-it-all small car I've ever owned. For the entire 60000kms I've done in it it's never once broken down or had any issues. Servicing is quite affordable and only every 15000kms. Fuel efficiency is phenomenal and on flat freeways… Read more

is realistically 5.5L/100km. Even when towing a trailer and 300kg payload, fuel consumption will only go up to 6-7L/100km. The turbo diesel is wicked fun and has a great take off feel. The leather bucket seats are comfortable and have that low set go-kart feel you'd expect from a hot hatch. Problems? The automatic windscreen wipers are not terribly intuitive, the little plastic clip that covers part of the rear view mirror stem keeps popping off, and for a premium car it could do with some better standard features like reverse sensors. Do yourself a favor and buy one!

Super cute – Bought about a year ago and have had no issues! Love it so much and is sooo zippy and good on fuel. Best hatch on the market by far and would recommend to everyone Show details

do not buy a Volkswagen Golf – Do not buy one of these cars. I purchased one with 90,000 km. Full service history, had all the recalls done (including the mechatronics which is a know fault). Thought I was doing the right thing with buying an immaculate, meticulously maintained vehicle. Mechatronics failed (after recall replacement) and left my 18 year old daughter stranded… Read more

for 7 hours in the middle of nowhere with no phone service. $5,000 later it was still not comfortable to drive with the jerky gearbox. In owning over 40 cars in my life this was without a doubt the biggest disappointment and most costly, relevant to the value of it. Yes it was a 12 year old car however you would think that full service history and replacement of known faults would be ok. Do not go near this car.

Unfit for purpose – If you are in Australia read it and weep, AVOID, or you will get a 5K engine rebuild and be told it's all Australia's fault and has nothing to do with the product being unfit for purpose in the Australian environment. Engine rebuild at 120K. https://genesiswestend.com.au/our-services/vw-118tsi-engine-problems/ Show details

Great to drive but going wrong a lot and hard to repair yourself – The good: Smooth and easy driving and very good on fuel. The bad: Headliner has completely delaminated. Fuel door open wire has broken /jammed (approx $400 to repair) Fuel system gave up (bluemotion) - needed complete rebuild - replacing. Cost absolutely thousands. Clutch actuator seal leaked - $900 Had to replace all brake disks as well as… Read more

pads. Aircon Compressor seal perished - must replace whole compressor. This vehicle has ability to lock someone inside it while not being able to get out using the exit handles (disabled for anti theft I am guessing). Potentially deadly in the tropics if you have a brain fade go to the shops and forget your partner in the car to chill rest without the keys... or in this case - neither of you at teh time actually know the car locks itself and can trap you inside in it with the heat increasing to potentially deadly levels in minutes - very scary situation. Has bluetooth but Bluetooth Audio to play music from a Bluetooth device was an optional extra - bizzare.

You need far more specialist tools than other vehicles (eg varied torx security drivers)- it is as if they really don't want you to fix it yourself to make sure you use them to fix it. It says use an authorised dealership to replace a fuse and that a diagram of what fuse is where was unavailable at the the time the manual went to print.

Despite being Low km (bought at 78k) and not clocking up too much on the clock. the cost of ownership and time being repaired has unfortunately far outweighed fuel savings and a comfortable drive.

Brilliant small car – Diesel engine goes forever. Easy to park and feels as safe as a tank. Great city or country drive. Has plenty of power over taking. Even survived kangaroo encounters on country roads. Brilliant car. 10/10 Show details

Run for the hills #lemon – I am at my wits' end with this vehicle - I bought it on a whim and have regretted it ever since. As soon as it comes back from it's latest X thousand dollar repair I'm putting it straight into the auction house! Part of the problem was that I was used to owning a Honda, so I'm probably used to cars that just tick along with regular servicing.… Read more

Alas, this is too much to ask from a VW.

Purchased vehicle in July 17 with about 55k on it, received 1 year warranty from dealer. Had to take it back within this time with brake problems (always reassuring when they don't work) and traction control/ABS issues.

A month after warranty was up it started making odd sounds every so often on startup. After taking it to mechanic, it cost over $2k to fix the timing chain tensioner. Apparently this is a wee quirk of the engine and can lead to engine write off if left too long and cam chain slips. Some poor people have had this happen with single digit mileage! So that made me grimace a bit.

A few months later I received a recall letter from VW, so in it goes again for surgery on the transmission. So many of them needed to be done that it was three months before the dealership could do the fix. At least that was free and they vacuumed it really nicely for me... Cheers, guys. A couple of weeks after getting it back there was a visit from the engine light and lo and behold the timing chain issue rears its ugly head again - just under a year from when it happened before. At this stage it is unknown whether my mechanic will be able to get a warranty claim or if I'll have to pay, but it's looking likely that I will have to pay another $2k+.

Regularly serviced with AA Platinum services, so god only knows what else would have happened if I hadn't done that every year.

It's peppy as hell and super fun to drive, but I've ended up loathe to drive it because of all the problems. Also you have to be very careful not to park on any sort of incline if you happen to have about 1/4 tank of gas or less, it won't start.

Avoid at all costs - owning this car has been such a stressful experience!

2010 TSI 118 was good until the engine failed, then a write off – 70K on the clock when the TSI 118 suffered compression loss on one cylinder. VW said it's too old (even with the low km) so they are unlikely to assist. It's effectively a write-off. The car had some good power, and if it hadn't failed, it'd be good value for the small wagon (not many around in AU). It's DSG doesn't do well for low speeds (such… Read more

as give way signs on a hill - would get a shudder and hesitation) and is laggy on full throttle. I found the delay between throttle and acceleration unbearable after my manual Mazda SP23. But most other auto drivers might find it ok.

All over I was moderately happy with the car for the price and performance until it failed.

I'd avoid the older, low km TSI 118 because of this issue. You are paying for an implied reliability and longevity that isn't there. Better off getting a newer one with more km, which VW might assist with - a better gamble.

75000km and then take it to the junkyard – 2011 model. Beautiful to drive.....reconditoned engine needed at 67000km ($6000). New water pump 74000km...($1200). Other random coolant leaks....a dog. Seems these problems are pretty common, read the other reviews! Was never driven hard. I'll never buy a VW again. Don't buy one of these second hand. Show details

Owner and driver of 4 years~! – Have owned my mrk6 GTI for almost 4 years and done 110,000kms since buying, only major issues I've had owning it has been the water pump needed replacing @ 60,000kms (which is VERY common) and new coil packs @ 100,000kms (also common VW issue), other than that, its ran perfect! No gearbox issues, very reliable on fuel doing over 700kms to a 55L… Read more

tank. Very quick daily, good to have power when you need it and don't get stuck in trouble getting out of places. Love my little red rocket to the moon and back!

But its not a Golf GTI, mine is – Car has commuted, school run, family holiday, camping, you name it we have Golfed to it. The car is used daily and the DSG has not missed a beat in 11 years. The car I used daily and is fantastic to drive, quick when required, comfortable sporty I love this car. Serviced initially by VW then by EMW it continue to go past 150K KMS. Its starting to get an oil leak and other problems on a ball joint but what service she has given me. Show details

Car turned into a lemon overnight – Our VW Golf Wagon drove mostly fine for 6 years but then started coughing and spluttering so we took it to our local mechanic. He advised there are problems with the compression system and that to investigate it further would cost circa $2,000 and then to repair it might be many thousands more. We took this up with VW Australia to say we didn't… Read more

expect this for a car which is supposed to be reliable with less than 90,000kms on the clock. VW were totally unhelpful and said we could pay the further fee and that they may pay some of it depending on what the findings of the testing were although they're not obliged to. They referred us to the 3 year warranty (expired some time ago), which in my opinion is a poor excuse. You buy a VW expecting that it will be worth something after 6 years or that you could drive it for a further 6 years! Very disappointing and frustrating.

Very unstable and problematic gearbox – We just use the car for a regular commuting to work and home. 8 years only 60K km. But the gearbox has been mulfunctioned for a few times. Recently got a very serious problem Show details

MK6 GTi, the perfect little hatch – After some time now with our Mk6 Gti Golf with 6spd DSG we have come to the conclusion it is a brilliant small hatch and one of the most rewarding cars out there for a very reasonable price. From commuting to work daily, grocery shopping or 800klm roadtrips doesnt matter what it is, the Golf just does the job easily. We have owned a Mazda 3 and… Read more

a Corolla over the years and the Golf is by far the much better car for overall quality and refinement, not to mention the comfort. Surprisingly for a small car, adults can actually sit in the back in comfort with more than adequate head and legroom.

As far as fuel consumption, our real world figures average 8-9L/100klm (usually sits around 8.5) doing a 50min each way city commute daily in heavy traffic. Once on the hwy the fuel consumption varies from high 6's to 7L/100klm

We purchased this 2nd hand from the original owners some time ago, and have not had one issue. It did have full service history which is essential.

These seem to have a bad reputation for poor reliability and expensive repair bills and while things can go wrong with any car it pays to keep up the maintenance. If you neglect the servicing then it is at your own risk. VW service depts can be quite expensive so for servicing it is worthwhile checking out a local Euro car specialists as they are more likely to charge reasonable prices.

The main thing that can go wrong with these is the DSG gearbox. It is essential that it is serviced as scheduled which is every 60,000klm or more frequently in stop start city driving as we do.

As far as a fun, exciting to drive allrounder then you cant go past one of these, they are especially great value for money if you can find a very well looked after model with low klms as we did.

Terrible! – Had this car for 6 months and the gearbox started to shudder going between 1-2 gears. The dual clutch system was diagnosed to be faulty and was quoted 5k to fix!! Also blew a lot of oil from the turbo! Would never buy from Volkswagen again as they refused to fix either of the problems!  Show details

DSG mechatronic and clutch pack issues are real – VW have scandalously got away with sub standard quality on the transmission on these vehicles and the ACCC seem to be toothless in forcing them to stump up for repairs. Our model had all the recall work done on it and yet the mechatronic still failed and cost me $4000 to repair. VW offered me a complementary service ~ $450... Now there is… Read more

the shuddering at pull-off from standstill. Don't know if this means the already replaced clutch packs (under recall) are gone again or not. VW want $187 to do a road test on it! That's customer service for you! NOT.

Why is Ford being slugged $10M yet VW getting away scott free? Go figure....

I think the key here seems to be get rid of a new VW before warranty expires.

mk6 gti perfect daily driver – great daily sports car thats not to thirsty and provides great fun for your dollar. I can average about 7.5L from daily commuting and can get over 600kms with a tank. This is great for a turbo 2L engine and the DSG transmission is a pleasure to use especially with the paddles.  Show details

good car but it does have its problems – Have had this car for a while now, and i can see why the dsg transmission is sucha problems for these. Everything else is very good, ride quality, confort, space inside the car, petrol consumption anbd overall quality of trim. The only problem is the DSG. taking of uphill and going at low speeds it is very stuttering and does not seem to… Read more

know when to shift into 1st and 2nd gear. sometimes feels like it stalls the engine.

Also never leave it parked ona steep hill with not much fuel as you wilkl have problems starting the engine!

Other than the transmission, mechanically it is a very sound car. Perhaps get a manual instead or one after the dsg issue has been fixed.

Fun car to drive – No regrets purchasing the golf compared to some cheaper hatchback competitors. The interior has a well designed and quality finish - no cheap plastic dash or trimmings. Spacious as well - its seen a couple of camping trips, full of tents, a mattress, sleeping bags etc. Great handling around corners and very fun to drive in the city. Nicely grips the road.  Show details

Cracking good little car – We looked at a number of other comparable small cars including Toyota Corolla and Hyundai I30 before unanimously deciding on the VW Golf. It was superior in every respect including fit and finish, cabin room and driving refinement. The turbo diesel is incredibly frugal averaging around 5.0L per 100km mixed driving and under 4.0L per 100km out on… Read more

the Hwy. It has plenty of torque which makes driving effortless. I think the Mk 6 is the nicest looking of the Golf models and so far this car has performed flawlessly. The DSG gearbox does take some getting used to but the gear changes under acceleration are lightning fast and almost imperceptible. Once drivers understand that is is not an automatic transmission but a mechatronic dual clutch system, they will understand why it behaves in a slightly different way. There is a reason VW has overtaken Toyota as the world's largest manufacturer - they make much more exciting cars!

Dont buy VW – Broke down many times after one year. Many problems sun roof broke they did replace with a new one,windscreen wipers always made loud noise ,VW coudnt fix it. After 5 years had to have full transmission overhall, dont buy VW transmissions are of low quality. VW dont care, very poor customer service.  Show details

DSG problem – I should have researched more about this car before purchasing it. I loved the stability of the car especially on highway. It was so enjoyable to drive with the seamless DSG until the terrible shuddering started to occur. Apparently this DSG problem on golf mk6 was notorious. Since the car was out of warranty I was quoted around $3000 for fix. … Read more

I chose to sell the car rather than fixing it, because firstly it's too expensive, secondary apparently this DSG problem comes back after while even if it's fixed.

I don't think it's fair that VW doesn't cover the cost of fixing this DSG problem even for the car out of warranty.(I hear they extended warranty for the car with DSG in China. Why not in Australia)

I will never buy a car from VW after this experience.

Great car would recommend VW – Great car to drive, smooth on road, wish we didn't get black has great brakes don't like the plastic silver trim on inside of doors, we paid ex for paint protection but here never claim, great on high way love VW so much we brought a second car a polo  Show details

Major engine failure - golf repaired for free – Major engine failure on my 118 TSI petrol manual golf. Piston failure. Complete engine replacement - <50K on clock. Golf came to the party on 100% parts and labour despite car being 1.5 yrs out of warranty. Driven around town only. One 500km round trip longest drive. Full service history in time limits undertaken by golf dealers  Show details

Good car but BECOMES expensive – 2 warranty recalls, 1 warranty repair (and a snow trip cut short in the middle of the trip), in 6 years and 60,000 km, left indicator replaced (AUD 450), rear hood light stopped working (not worth spending AUD 265 to fix it), and clutch replaced (AUD 2,560), none of them related to aggressive driving (there was never any). The maths - cheaper to fix the car than buy another one! Does it make you happy though? No.!!  Show details

Don't buy a VW – VW undoubtedly make a fantastic driving car, unfortunately they also make cars with inbuilt manufacturing faults which they then refuse to acknowledge once the car is out of warranty. If this was only a small percentage of the cars made it may not be an issue but there are far too many cases of owners having to foot ridiculous repair bills for… Read more

mechanical failures on low mileage fully dealer serviced cars. My own experience was with my MkVI GTI with 79000km's and which had only ever been serviced by VW dealers, when the timing chain tensioner failed, I was left with a $3000 repair bill for what is a common problem for this model (VW even issued a dealer bulletin #TB-15-12-01 in 2012 to highlight the problem). But in my dealings with VW and their dealers I found they arrogantly dismissed my claims for Goodwill by simply stating the car is out of warranty. Buying a VW is a gamble it's like playing Russian roulette but in this case too many barrels are loaded. The only way to send a message to VW to change their way s and attitude is to stop buying them.

This is fabulous car every car after this on is going to be VW Golf – Performance, leg room, spacious boot, small easy to park anywhere. Being dissel, easy to get in and out for elderly, lots on the road.ver solid and sturdy on the road , its very nice family car, the wagons are great for baby pushers , and prams and family groceries bags  Show details

Don't do it! – Bought our Mark6 golf 7 months ago and it is by far our biggest regret in our lives (honestly) I have just traded it in and come home to a vodka on the rocks to celebrate!!! Let me start off by saying we bought into the golf knowing about the common clutch pack fault with this model. When we bought privately for such a cheap price we thought we… Read more

would take a risk! The clutches had been replaced 2 years before we bought it so we figured it would be fine...

The car had 73000kms on it when purchased.

I went over this car with a fine tooth comb and all looked good, this is what happened.

50kms timing chain tensioner broke (common problem)-$4100 to fix

-this caused the again common problem with the twin charged motor and found out no compression in cylinder four-$8200 to fix (complete rebuild) vw covered $1400 lol!!!

2000kms- engine light came on, $150 to diagnose (demanded vw pay for this and they did) n75 solenoid valve shot-$280 to fix

5000kms- car started shuttering on take off, clutch packs shot at a cost of $3200 to replace (didn't do)

8000kms-car radiator fan sounded like a jumbo jet taking off! Found out small radiator fan had blown so large one went into insane mode to compensate-$1100 to fix.

By this point we had well and truly had enough! We couldn't palm it off to someone else so we traded it in at an approximate loss of $10500!!!

If you're considering buying one don't, even then if you're still considering buying one don't

Last of all do yourself a big favour and don't buy one!

This model (and many others) are the worst vw has ever built which is crippled with common problems that vw don't want to know anything about!

Do yourself a favour and don't do it! Please!

Major design flaws that can cause major engine failure – Purchased a Golf GTI MK6 2012 Auto and have had her for two weeks. Recently dropped her off for the 70,000km service ( only has 66000kms with full-service history) and found out that the rattle noise from start-up is not my cam tensioner as I have the revised version where the original was a design fault ( can cause the chain to jump teeth… Read more

engine damaged occurs) but it is a non-return valve that is inside the cylinder head. To get to this part you have to either have the whole engine out then the head off to access it if it fails due to a design flaw or the engine can stay in the engine bay, however, the head has to come off still. This is an 8-hour job charged at $150 an hour for labour for a design flaw by Volkswagen?!?! If this part fails, you will also need to check the camshafts, cylinder head and bearing saddle for scoring. Called Customer Service who stated that I'd have to pay the upfront fee's and they might consider a goodwill case and reimburse some of the money. Absolutely horrid, all of your VW Technicians know this is a design flaw and you are trying to charge the consumer for a design flaw by VW. Shame on you!

Great drive while it lasts – This is a great car to drive. It's comfortable, handles well and has plenty of power. Then the third piston cracks (wish I'd read those forums before I bought it) and it costs $15,000 to replace the engine or $8000 to recondition it. Do yourself a favor and get something reliable.  Show details