How Reliable is the MK7 GTI? 

Mk7 gti here. Just crossed 180k mikes and no major issues so far either besides the timing chain cover that the dealership cracked while it was in for an oil change. All I can say is keep up with the maintenance and the car will take care of you.

If you like it and don't regret having it, then why are you giving it a thumb down in the video thumbnail , a clickbait probably ?!

I've had a similar experience with my mk7R. Absolutely fantastic car and has been rock-solid for 78k miles. Keep up with maintenance and these cars will treat you very good! also hope the work trip is easy 🤟

Been wanting to sell my GTI when the market was up (could have broke even with almost 2 years of ownership), but she's treated me so good that now I'm thinking of driving it to the ground.

I had my 2017 GTI S (not modified) for 4-5 years with 82k miles before I traded it in. Oil every 10k miles and gas were the only maintenance costs. Not a single problem, didn't even need brakes. Best car ever. After a couple years of owning an Audi, I learned my lesson and bought a 2019 Rabbit edition.

took mine on a 1200 mile road trip from Philly to Toronto a few weeks back and car was amazing the entire trip

72k in, 7 years in, no issues whatsoever. it's solid as fuck.

Glad you’re still making videos!

Keep up with the maintenance and check online for common problems and be proactive and replace them with better quality aftermarket parts. I think that would be the recipe to make this car rock solid

Keep you car well maintained and you are fine. I have driven my GTI from the midwest to the east coast 15 hours one way... no issues... it's a 2015 and had 60K miles on it. Stage 1 APR from 55K miles. Driven it to Canada multiple times too.

My mk7.5 golf R has 148k miles in stock form and still runs like a dream these new golf’s are so damn reliable

Why is the thumbnail a thumb down...? A thumb up would have been honest and I feel like it still would have created the same clicks.

ive had a 2015 gti since 2015. full stage 3 is38 with a eurodyne tune. main problems ive experienced are related to the water pump leaks. make sure you're doing carbon cleanings! 120k miles going strong. dont want any other car.

2016 Golf R here. And also a 2011 GTI. I still have both and drive them both regularly. Upgrades have long been done. Now it's just oil changes, sparkplugs, coolant, trans fluid, etc. Regular maintenance.

just hit 100k in my mk7 gti and besides a tiny coolant leak it runs almost suspiciously well

I had the same issue with my mk7 wastegate got stuck so I said fuck it and upgraded to a is38 with a 3.5 downpipe and unitronic intake with stage 2+ and now the car feels brand new. See how long it lasts 😅

I was a former owner of an mk6 GTI, 2012. It was a nightmare as soon it reached 100.000 km. I sold it. In short, my main problems were the constant misfiring and rough idling. I was fixing one issue and another was appearing. From, pcv valve, crank breather valve, etc. I love the GTI but after that period I’m really reluctant to own another VW. I don’t know. Some say that it was just my car. But on the other hand, it was a well maintained car, every service at the official VW dealership, and I’m a 45 old guy. I wasn’t abusing it. Thank you for your video bro. Keep them coming

Dude that so cool to know that even the mk7 were still reliable. Yeah the water pump will give out at some point, maybe something else minor will give out. But the car still holds up. I just got a mk8 base manual and hopefully it holds up for 100k+. Thank you for the reassurance!

120k on my 2015 Mk7 and no problems really to speak of. Nothing major at least. I had a coil pack replaced under warranty around 30k miles that went bad but short of that, only actual repair I ever did outside of basic maintenance was replacing my PCV hose. The stock one leaked and i put an ECS billet one on. No other repairs or issues otherwise. Original water pump, no turbo or DV issues either. For reference, I've been APR stage 1 since around 60k miles and do my oil changes every 7k or so.

Damn bro 7 years and only 60k miles. I bought my 2021 GTI in July 2021 with 4 miles and I have 40k miles lol. I'm from NYC but I drive EVERYWHERE! Drove from Florida to NYC. That was an amazing drive. I also drive from NYC to Maryland alot. Love this car

Since people who might be looking into these might read this id thought I'd give another perspective as an owner. I daily the car stage 1 APR (~300whp I think bc I have downpipe as well) these cars are very fun and mines been tuned for over 20k miles with no significant issues. If you want one and are okay with working on your own car (its kinda expensive bc German car) just buy it. Its extremely practical (i do deliveries with mine for a living) and don't sleep on the 6MT its really fun but if you'd rather the DSG is one of the best I've felt. As far as reliability its 99% of the time something that usually breaks on all of them (wastegate actuator, waterpump, ect.)

My 2015 GTI just hit 295k kms (183k miles) and it has given me 0 mechanical issues until now as its AC gave out :( . Would not sell it for anything else.

60k? Your car is still a baby! 😉 My 2017 (11/2016) has 190,000 miles now and still treating me well. When will the party end? 🤑 Good to see you! -Scott

Mk7 Sportwagen here, 120k miles. It drinks oil like a drunken sailor drinks rum. By my calculations a quart every 1000 miles sometimes even less. The engine also knocks at low speeds and the transmission is laggy when I put my foot in it. To the point where it seems almost dangerous. Also been getting an EPC light every once in a while. No codes and it clears after I take my foot off the gas?? I don't even have to restart the car? I guess we got a lemon, but I'd never recommend someone buy one of these. Total crap shoot.

100 miles is a "road trip"? Sounds like a daily commute, tbh.

Am I the only one that has a DSG that shift Up and Down noticeably at low speeds? City driving and traffic jams? 7.5 GTI DQ250 I believe (six speed)

nah man its still new

been thinking about a gti for my next car but idk if i should considering that i got my license 4 months ago and dont have much experience working on cars and dont know if it would be a good choice would it be good for my next car or no

Am I taking crazy pills? Everyone is talking about reliability yet you listed off some pretty major problems. Water pump leak? Plastic oil pan? Coolant leak (one so bad it dumped all your coolant)? Cracking coolant reservoir? A TURBO REPLACEMENT?! AT 60k miles?! I’m sorry but this is just horribly unreliable in every sense of the word. Thank god the GTI has a timing chain or that would be blowing up next. Good video. I sincerely wish you luck with this car lol

Ive had almost no issues after 20 years in my accent.

i got my mk7 tdi back in 2015, own it till today at 62k miles, i did nothing but oil change at 5k interval, also daily drive it on crappy nyc roads, i have had no problems, 30/45mpg, i drive it hard, and love it. been through the dieselgate and done all the "fixes", still love it. it was my first VW, i never had any positive or negative expectations prior, but my experience with the mk7 and VW in general has been overall positive. prior to purchase, i've had people telling me that it had been made in Mexico, i should probably not buy it lol, but that was none sense. mk7 golf is very reliable to me at least

What year is your car and what exactly is the name of it?

2012 Civic Si here. I’m clocked @ 223,000 miles bone stock lol.

I got 2015 MK7 GTI with 136k miles (no mods). My only issue is that I had to change my windshield 3 times, might be 4th this summer. I do most of the maintenance on it myself and only failure I had was the starter around 90k. It is mostly highway miles as I take it hiking and ski/riding (with winter tires) almost every weekend. It got beat up on horrible north NJ roads and it has been off roading when I visited some remote parts of PA. I think I just got lucky with lot I got as I have heard some horror stories from others who owned MK7.

I have a 7.5 R and just crossed 53k miles. Yeah the maintenance is more than the honda civic I had but come on that should be expected. Was tempted to sell it when prices went up. Still under warranty but still runs great, just usual maintenance. I was most surprised when I drove up the coast, avg. mpg was 32!! Glad I kept it. I should have waited a little for the Spektrum colors but happy with my Lapiz Blue. If I see an Irish green, or Magma Orange I may part with mine.

Made in Wolfsburg, no problems. This seems to be true with the Mexico made ones.

I dont know man im starting to think i got the only reliable vw ever made because i see so much hate, and i love my car,(mk5 jetta manny), should i stand down a bit next time defending any vw product? Lol 😂😢

Not terrible at all, like they say it's all about the smiles per miles. 🏎️

Great information, bro. Thank you!!!!

dealership says every 10k so you can come back and buy a new gti lol

Bought my gti new back in Feb 17 and now it currently has 100100 miles on it. Only problem I had was at 85k miles a fuel injector went out and saw my water pump had a minor leak so I replaced it before it got too bad. Also did a walnut blast at the same time. Did everything myself for less than 1200$. It still burns no oil surprisingly. Went piggyback jb4 at 30k stage 2 at 55k stage 3 at 70k.

It was only 100 miles, just send it bro

DSG Mechatronic Failure will have you crying!!! LOL

I love mine i drove mine from oregon to Tennessee and back thats 4700 miles absolutley amazing

I’m trading my 2021 4Runner with 40k for a gti with 100k L O L i like reliability of fun over reliability

What’s up guys 7.5 gti here. Have any of you guys had a problem when the cabin smells like gas But there’s no leak. The engine bay has no smell with it’s literally just the inside of the car. Love your Video’s Lucas 🤞🏾

2015 GTI SE, I’ve taken that poor car through everything. From snow in Europe, stone roads, 1000+ mile trips, off roading etc.. great car with little issues like water pump, coolant leaking and rn EVAP system code. At 133K miles the car has hold on pretty well, overall I’m happy with my GTI

Ford guy here well Focus rs mk1 to be exact lol - Always flirting with a white mk6/7 gti cloth, nav etc - but i can tell you after building two mk1 rs' and owned an abarth 595 dont matter what car it is - something goes wrong just fix it - just don't drive your track car to work and everything will be fine - don't leave stuff to be fixed - put emphasis on big services ie brake fluid change fully - if you have a turbo change the oil feed and return as part of the service - i know a guy who went thru 3 turbos on a diesel family owned etc 4th turbo the new mechanic as practice changed the oil feed and no problems....its how you treat the car - look after the car and the car will look after you - oh yeah did London to Istanbul in Focusmk1 T250 , Rsmk1 twice and back again !!!

Wait till your balance shafts seize....or your cam chain skips or totally grenades.

105k miles with a 2018 TSI 1.8t with a stage 1 unitronic since it hit 25k miles and no major issues so far just brakes sparkplugs, coils and a o2 sensor once. I live in the rust belt.

Yeah I think I'll with my RSX😂😂. My only major I've had is a popped tire, dying battery and power steering pump leaking.

i have a 2016 vw GTI 77k miles. No problems up until this year. It’s turning into a money pit. My gas mileage has been HORRIFIC and unexplainable driving worse than a v8. My EPC light keeps coming on . I’ve changed the coils , spark plugs, filters . My car last month out of no where wouldn’t turn on and was completely broken down, Germaine auto specialist mechanic stated it was “ carbon in the valves ….” New fuel injectors, fuel pump good… I don’t know where else to turn. If you have heard of these things or have any ideas of what could be going on or anyone in the comments has had these problems?

german engineering will be reliable as long as you follow all the rules the engineers want you to follow, ie keep up with maintenance. Biggest difference between german/japanese engineering is german expect you to follow the rules and japanese base the car around how they know ppl drive

In regards to your oil pan - it's not the crappy roads / it's the lowering of the car that puts that at a significantly higher risk. That first DP you purchased for cheap (that failed) was cheap for a reason (even when new). Cheap welding and at the wrong bends on the pipe. With under >60K mi on the turbo and having to replace it was relatively early on in the IS20 production - but, seeing as to your region - the WG arm would be rusting up. Once a year, go under with the engine cold and spray some silicone on the actuator arm and use a toothbrush on the movement joints - It will go further.

mk7.5 daily driver here. at 103k and all I've done is a water pump and spark plugs. as long as you keep up with the maintenance their great cars. about to go in for my 120k timing chain early. Canadian so I'm in kilometers. car hibernates from December to march and drive the wife's 2018 SQ5

I had a 2016 GTI from 34k to 126k and about 7 years. The only major thing I did to it was walnut blast the intakes and that is preventative maintenance. I did 3 DSH services, 3 sets of spark plugs, regular oil changes, 2 set of coilovers, and some other bits and bobs. It never left me stranded and I never had a major repair.

If you have to worry about reliability, you already know the car make is junk. I drive Toyota's for a reason, I don't want to go broke buying car parts.

Just happened to see this video with YT algorithm and glas I did. Didn't know about the plastic coolant adapter issue. I had go check my '19 MK7.5 GTI has same plastic piece at dead of night with flash light after your video. 😂 I will be replacing it with that EMD aluminum part in near future as preventative maintenance.

I appreciate your video and your experience with your car. I gotta say after hearing your story I think your issues with your car have more to do with the things that have been done to it that would not be recommended by VW. AFTERMARKET COOLANT FIXES? TUNING? "RELIABILITY," is not something I think can be judged based on your vehicle due to the number things that have been "touched" by NOT VOLKSWAGEN.

I’m in New York about 30 minutes from Danbury We should link up! I got a mk7 e85 golf r

My 2019 GTI MK7.5 performance has now 130.000 km and no issues till now. Well maintained with 12.000km oil change /w filters and only 98 or 102 gas here. Best car I had till now

You can't load your car full of cheap junk and complain about the car's reliability.

I bought my gti from carvana in Dec with 63k. I'm at 102k and the water pump is now just giving up, and basically just been doing oil changes, for the time being, probably need to do the carbon cleaning

2016 here also bought brand new, no issues oil changes and tires, utronic tunes, 6 speed manual

Watching this while driving my mk7 gti wondering why I hear my turn signal noise😂🤦‍♂️

Drove my mk7 2 hours to work everyday 100-110mph average with no coolant… it took 2 months for it to blow up.

Owned my 2015 GTI for 18k miles (99k-117k) when I got EPC and flashing check engine light. Dealership discovered spark plug failure. They warrantied a new long block, turbo, and downpipe. I even got free labor on a new clutch install. I was tuned by the dealer Stage 1 APR, and spark plugs were due to be changed at 120k miles. If my car didn't have a dealer maintenance history I would've been out $10k+. CHANGE YOUR SPARK PLUGS EVERY 20-30K IF YOU'RE TUNED.

The low budget downpipe should not be considered a GTI issue because it was an aftermarket part.

Mk7 GTI FBO & (IS38 swap) sitting at just shy of 94k on the clock. I’ve had some coolant line issues, and some door latch failures, and one waste gate failure, the rest has been smooth sailing.

2016 GTI just hit 160k I just recently had to replace high pressure fuel pump but that's it besides oil changes.

I was unfortunate when I bought my GTI used. I am the third owner on my 2015 GTI, I love the car its been a car I've always wanted. But when I first bought it I had it for maybe three months before the engine decided to blow and destroyed my turbo. I have a new engine on it now and just hit 70k on the odometer with maybe 12,000 miles on the new motor. I want to do some small mods to it but I still have two years of warranty on the car. What would be some simple mods to do to the GTI that wouldn't void the warranty. Also on your wheels and tires do you still have 18" wheels. With the roads here the car rides to rough, I was thinking about going down a bit in wheel size. Or seeing if I can get a thicker tire to see if that will help the ride comfort.

This just sounds like routine maintenance I’m switching over from a bimmer lol

Has your speed sensor every caused you problems, I have 2016 GTI AUTOBAHN and I had to replace one at 87K

81,000 miles salvage title only problem i've had was my water pump and ebrake button breaking (random)

Just bought a 2016 GTI PP with 90k miles so I hope you're right.

Have been looking at getting one since living in the UK but have recently moved to the USA down in florida, and ive been looking at sorta getting my first car out here yes i did drive and have my license for over a year in the UK but ive just been trying to find something that is nice looks nice is abit sporty so i can have my fun and mod it but something that is also reliable. Would you recommend getting one of these its either between a mk7 gti or a mk6 gti or i was and had been looking at bmw 3 series and 2 series. Any help would be awesome man!🙏🏽

120k miles mk7 gti bought brand new. Never had any issues besides carbon cleaning.

I have a 2016 MK7 TSI DSG Trans with 171K on it. Has an oil consumption problem.

Mk6 had so many issues my mk7.5! Has no problems as of yet and I may keep it because the new car is to techy 👨‍💻 for my tast 70000 miles so far 😊

I just bought a 2014 mk7 and it has 40k miles on it ! Should i change the dsg oil or not since the car is 9 years old ? I am a bit worried! And i have no idea if the previous owner did it

Planned obsolescence is higher in some batches of all cars makes

That's a lot of issues for only 60K miles as expected with vw 🤣

My MK7.5 which has 80,000 modern world kilometers on it and tuned for 2 years hasn't had an issue.

I have 70k miles on my 2016 GTI with a Stage 1 APR tune. I've only had to replace one wheel bearing and the recommend maintenance.

2015/2016 were the shitty years, but not bad overall.

My car threw its first EPC today..hope it’s not going to be too expensive.

is this car 3rd generation ea888,? i heard they sovle burn oil and timing chain elongated.

Mk7-7.5 are solid as a rock, regular maintenance wil keep them running for a long time, waterpump is a known VAG problem, just replace it along with the timing belt and your good. Mk6 gti are way worse btw, those tend to drink heavy oil at some point and give out, doesn't help either these types of cars often fall into the wrong hands.

I wonder if its water pump is easily leaking. Is the engine oil radiator, gearbox oil radiator, oil filter base, and valve cover gasket reliable? my a4b7 changed all that , its an ea113 engine.

my last highway trip a month ago i was getting 39mpg in my gti

Yo great video. Yeah I got my 2017 1.8 tsi used and it had a broken water pump. I don't trust dealerships, especially the ones in the Bronx lol. I paid like 10k above the listed price, I was young and easy to scam. I'm at 107k miles. Did an inlet pipe change MST I'm probably going to do the down pipe next.

Was the arial shot taken at Floyd Bennett Field? I’ve had a mk5 GTI stage 2 for a few years now with no major issues (except suspension, same NYC streets). Been considering of going to mk7.5 but have been concerned about reliability. I’ve been told they’re worse than the mk5s.

Hell yeah brotha i just bought a 2020 MK7.5 Golf. Sadly i couldn't get the GTI or anything else but i'll save that for the future ;). Added a forged carbon wing yesterday and i wanna do an exhaust but not one thats to loud and wanna stay within my warranty that i'll have for 50k miles and also put 18x8 on the car

In 9 months of owning my MK7 I've had to replace, battery, alternator, serpentine belt, water pump, purge valve, complete flush of cooling system and cooling reservoir. I love my MK7 no matter what.

Sorry.... You have a VW GTI

Just drove my MK7 from NC to MN then back (over 2400 miles) and all I did was top off my oil and buy some to take with me just in case lmfaoooo

Intake valves are about to get caked

Just got my mk7 at 90k miles. I've already done minor mods to it. Would like to hear anyone's input if they have a higher mileage gti and their experiences.

I drive a 2019 base DSG GTI. I still have a bit of warranty left so im waiting for that to run out, but I want to stage 1 tune and get some springs and maybe some body mods for the extra steeze. I am not really looking for crazy fast or anything. I just want a little extra juju if you know what I mean. My friend drives a stage 2 GTI and its too crazy for me. The mods he has with the pop tune is so not a day to day car imo. He loves it and thats cool, but not for me. I bought it used with 35000km on it. Also, how did you replace an entire turbo for $200.

218000kms and climbing stock clutch only thing I've changed on it is tires and oil and oil filters and my oul pan to metal and i dont baby it from mk5 to mk8 they are worth every repair first cars ive ever owned and never been moved to sell theyre just so good !