MK7 Volkswagen GTI - Common Problems 

afaik the mk7 has a coolant fluid moves through the turbo and a seperated pump that even activates with engine shutdown.

@@indahooddererste The bearings in the turbo use engine oil. If that turbo has been used hard and is very hot, you don't want to shut down the engine right away. That's a good way to cook those bearings. At a hundred thousand revolutions per minute, those bearings a very important to turbo life expectancy.

Yeah I let it idle so the hot oil can escape and cooler oil can make its way to the turbo. Also may help with radiator hose longevity

I have a 2017 base model Jetta w/MT. I always let the car warm up before I drive. Until I see my RPM's drop to about 8-900, I don't go anywhere. So far, no issues @ 61,500 miles and me being the second owner. I do change my oil every 10,000 miles max and use Castrol Edge Euro Car 5W-40. Also just replaced the fuel filter today and have change the spark plugs (at 40,000 miles) and air filters (both engine and cabin). Next will be brakes and possibly complete coolant flush.

I was nervous about it.. other things broke first and made me sell the car!

I believe this problem is limited only to the 2015 models.

I did the exact same lol. Turbo failure? Yeah... donezo

Wtf Make me think if I really want to exchange my civic si for a gti

lifenz1 it’s rare but only the 2015’s. 2016-up is fine

billythegoat 55 i had the same with my dutch mk7 GTI waterpump and thermostat changed now its gone

Very common, my MK7 had it done in 2017 under warranty and then packed up again just out of warranty, in South Africa

Me too! $1900 (AUS$) to fix it. Better start saving money for the next one soon 😂

the 2016-up GTI’s and the MQB platform is very reliable and some of the best cars they’ve made when it come to reliability. Mines is heavily modified and is perfectly fine.... nothing wrong with VW and I’ll be gettin an Audi next (VAG group) for a different daily

22chachalaca mine was perfect and running fine until i sold it to get a Audi S3. My GTI was FBO tuned and ran perfect for the time I had it , not a single issue.

22chachalaca bought it with 43k miles, kept it until about 58k miles , tuned and modded it at 44k miles... only had it for about a year and a half

Thanks! I hope you have good luck with it, I actually ended up selling mine which I have some videos about on my channel!

That’s awesome, they’re great cars to be in and drive!

If your car failed in the first 4 years then its a very very shit car….

@@nlluke5207 Coming up on six years and still no issues, fingers crossed.

@@opencarry3860 how many miles

@@therandomrobert1842 34,000 miles. It's 95% city driving.

me also....passenger side visor leak

Same to you my friend!

Yeah my car was a 2015 so I wanted to make sure I included them. Thanks!

Unfortunately hot spots are usually caused by driver's air hate to say that 🙄

Glad you've had a good experience other than the sunroof!

Just come across with your comment and I am 100% backing it up. Had a 1979 rabbit, then several be bugs that I have restored, always liked the Gti but after my 2003 vw Jetta bought new nightmares and after watching my brothers 2014 issues, would never buy a vw car again

You’re taking the bulk of the depreciation hit if you own in the first 5 years. It’s been shown buying in that period costs more in depreciation than the maintenance for an older model would. It does give you the convenience of warranty though

@@Hankblue yes, but the depreciation in the first year is a lot for a practically brand new car and you skip all those new car fees.

You’re welcome!

Just gotta take care of the car man. Been loving mine as a daily.

What is wrong with the 2009 mk 6? I wanna buy a mk6…

Enjoy it! I wish you trouble free ownership!

No, that's only for NA models (direct injection only). EU models have both direct and indirect injection, which keeps the inlet clean.

I had that problem on my 09. You’ll be fine until 160,000 miles which is when I did mine. The job took me a day and costed $15 in material

Does that cause vibrations on idle or misfires? I have a slight vibration on idling

Beast Mode for me I had a vibration and misfire (engine light was flashing) at cold starts. It would do it for a few seconds until it got warm then it would be normal

@@habanero5.054 ok mine seems to vibrate on idle for pretty much the whole duration but it's not bad its bearable but I'm wondering do you think it's bad? What could be the causes?

Yes but a car with the price of a ford with the quality of a merc/Audi and the easy tuning and upgrading of plastic parts means its perfection. How’s ur car doing

So I probably shouldn’t buy one then. Sucks because it’s the only car that tick all the boxes for me (affordable, pops and bangs when tuned, and perfect for everyday use, and it comes in auto).

@@niconiconnu It's not as bad as people say, it really has to do with not neglecting the maintenance. If you've seen a VW maintenance schedule, it's incredibly in detail as to when to service what, with several check ups on various components scheduled before the scheduled maintenance for that part itself. I consider a car unreliable when the manufacturer instructions on maintenance say one thing and then problems arise in spite of the manufacturers recommended maintenance. VW problems are for the most part very predictable, as the most common issues (DSG transmissions crapping out, electrical issues from weak battery, etc...) are all things that are scheduled for checkups and maintenance servicing that people try to skip on due to cost. VW's on paper are reliable in the literal sense, as if you follow the recommended maintenance, you won't run into many, if any issues, but reliability in the more colloquial sense refers to the "bulletproofness" of the car and it's ability to withstand neglect. Skip an oil change or recommended maintenance for a Toyota and your car will most likely be fine, as Toyota's in general are usually underpowered for it's durability and have fewer points of failure, but tend to be a more dull driving experience. VW on the other hand tend to have more power, more neat features and gadgets and a better driving experience for the same price, but neglect that same maintenance on a VW and you'll regret it very quickly. I saw a comment in a forum at one point and I think it explains the differences very well... Paraphrasing: "Toyota's are a commuters car and a VW is a drivers car." The average person isn't going to bother with following scheduled maintenance and will just service things at their own convenience or as problems arise... In a Toyota, that means bringing the car in when that weird noise you heard a few months back starts to get louder. In a VW, you're already screwed. To make a long story short, VW's do not take kindly to neglect nearly as well as Toyota or Honda's and are not as inherently reliable as a result. They are as reliable as you make them. If you love driving and take good care of your cars (follow all recommended maintenance, don't cut corners on cost, follow all the manufacturer recommendation for proper usage, use the recommended octane rating for gas, etc...), you'll probably get more satisfaction out of a VW than your typical Japanese economy car. If you are someone who just gets an oil change done when you flip to winters and call it a day, you should avoid VW or any European car brand for that matter.

@@AK-ZL1 simply could not have been said any better...

I’m glad yours has been reliable! The 2016s are certainly better than 2015s. It was a fun and very nice car to own when it was working well

Best of luck with your car! I feared clutch slip with mine around the same mileage. Happy holidays!

You will bro. I’m a former owner.

Doesn't matter where it's made. I've heard people having issues with VW made in Germany as well.

Mine 2015 from Germany too, Full of problems. Worst still, local VW Malaysia dont seem to be helpful!

Your car being “assembled” in Germany has absolutely nothing to do with it being good.

mine was made in Mexico and has been super reliable. That being said I stay on top of maintenance

@@DeniJasmina yes it does. It was made by nazi zombies.

I agree, mine was the first year of the car so it had extra problems, however I got it because it was a 2015 and thought it should have been trouble free!

Well, each generation has new technologies, and those are the ones that go wrong.. Unfortunately

@@GTI_CHHA the turbo shouldn't be going

So by the time that car gets all the bugs fixed...a new model is introduced with new problems

big jak 2015 models had that problem. 2016-up don’t I have a 2016 and maxed my stock turbo out

Is it a certified preowned? If it is it comes with a really good warranty. If not, I wouldn’t be overly worried, but it’s always a risk with a used unwarranted vehicle!

Is.it me or the guy didn’t mention his car’s mileage?

You're "very happy" with it even though the moonroof rattles?

@@arckanum332 Yeah, he just said that. Are you a parrot?

I’m not sure “made in Mexico” has anything to do with that.

The moonroof rattling make you very happy?

The ones made in Mexico are trash. German made was much better

Yeah but only problem it was the turbo but I’m soon doing the is38 swapping or the KO4 I don’t know which one is better but any suggestions I gladly take them !

That's too bad, I hope you get all your issues sorted out with it!

Was it that bad ?

If it’s still under warranty have VW fix it!

You're a lucky one, and I hope it stays that way for you

How about now

@@therandomrobert1842 I replaced my battery a few weeks ago... Annnnnd that's it.

@@futt-bucker true have you gone stage two yet I’m looking for one with low miles and wanna do a 4 inch down pipe an intake fuel rail coils n plugs and maybe a eqt turbo and stage 3 clutch for a nice 340 ish hp or whatever it gives me

@@therandomrobert1842 I have toyed with the option but haven't jumped in fully quite yet. All I need is the downpipe but the thing that is holding me back is I'm not sure if I want to do the is38 swap first because I'd have to retune the car anyways. That's more what I'm leaning towards and just say fk it, do the swap and retune to stage 2 at the same time and call it a day.

You’re lucky, I hope it stays that way!

The bolt pattern should be the same!

Yes I have, it's very common across most VWs and Audis unfortunately

@@CashedOutCars Have you had any water issues with your sunroof? I bought a 2021 GTI SE in April...hoping they've solved the issue by now.

I didn’t! I sold the car shortly after I bought it

Have had an 11yr old mark 7 for 8 months, beautiful car but has water leaks. So far windscreen replaced and sunroof leaking, booked in for water test next week then full valet 2 days later as passenger footwell front and back carpets soaked and mould in boot. Someone told me this car is known for water leaks. Is this right? Will get it fixed but is it worth keeping, will the problems reoccur?

Yes EPC light and check engine were both on

so i had exactly the same , i live in the netherlands, germany production.

It's really too bad that they're like that. Best of luck getting rid of it!

@@CashedOutCars FINALLY traded her in, yesterday!! For a brand new 2020 GTI SE!? 😖 This has gotta be some form of self-harm

Hahahah nice! With a 2020 you should be in much better shape, they’ll have worked most of these bugs out by now

Yup, good point. That’s common across pretty much all VW / Audis

The older 1.8T's ,haha I had a few friends that carried a couple extra coil packs in the trunk.

I didn’t have them with this specific car but I’ve seen reports of people having it

@@CashedOutCars are these things direct injection now?

Yeah, they have been since the MK5

@@samm9462 just to correct this real quick: The pre-facelift ones are not only direct injected, but multi point injected. This prevents them from getting carbon build up on the inlet valves (like on the MK5 and MK6 GTIs). Same for the facelift non-performance version (230 hp). Don't know if you got those in the US though. They seem to removed this feature with the facelift performance (245hp) and MK8 GTI though.

It sort of seems that way unfortunately

Agreed, I didn't love those hahah

@@CashedOutCars In Europe we had adaptive xenon as standard and later with facelift we had adaptive LED headlights as standard.

Drogenfeld lol!!!! Never heard? A simple google search will get you educated on this topic. Non EU spec? What does that have to do with anything? www.motor-talk.de/forum/turbo-nach-3700km-defekt-t4918547.html

@@DeniJasmina Klar, ich suche jeden Tag nach kaputten Dachfenstern oder irgendwelchem Rasseln. Mein GTI hat keine Probleme bis auf das Rasseln des Dynaudio. Und ich hab noch nie jemand sagen hören, das DACHFENSTER klappern.

Drogenfeld Dachfenster? Hmm. Hab nen mk7.5 GTI, aus Mexico, hier in Amerika und bei mir klappert auch nichts. Kenne auch niemanden wo das Panoramadach klappert, auch niemanden mit defekten Turboladern...

@@DeniJasmina ja, deshalb verstehe ich auch die Aussagen nicht. Aber es könnte durchaus sein, dass in anderen Ländern schlechtere Qualität zustande kommt. Aber muss nicht gegeben sein

You don't get much dsg farts unless you mod the car you need a exhaust,downpipe,tune ect.

@@GOODSATIVA thx mate

Or you buy one before 2017. Bc they did facelift 2017 and the stock dont fart anymore, at least in Germany. I have a 2016 Performance now and the stock does make sound and farts like fuck yeah :D

Just take off the resonator

@@Rocky7181 I had a awe track exahust no resonater on my 2018 gti and the farts were quiet unless you rev to 5k in sport and up now I got a maperformance catted dp and it sounds like gunshots at 4kplus sounds good in normal mode also definitely recommend

There are a decent amount of potential issues, but don’t be too worried, overall they tend to be good cars

Did you buy it used or new?

@@wf0726 used but it hasn't given me any problems, I really love it

Beast Mode great to hear. I’d check to see if the car has a dogbone Mount in it. When I installed mine my car definitely vibrated more

@@wf0726 good advice mate thanks :)

Oh yeah! That’s my brothers car which is on the channel quite a bit!

Huh that’s something I never would have thought of!

Why would they steal them ?

ayokarlos to sell on Facebook.. eBay.. easy money for them

LOL them Eastern Europeans a problem

bro, malaysian vw that bad? i thought kia malaysia bad enough. they denied even you got warranty for the car?

@@frozeball Yes. The air cond also problematic once, and was sent in TWICE. On the third time, the workahop said that there were no histroy the car was ever brought in for air cond complaints/repairs, over only a span of a few months. The WORST are the headlamps in the tropics/rain/carwash where water is sucked in thru defective sealings, acknowledge by VW but denied by their so called famous 5 yr warranty. I offered to PAY for a new set of lamps but VW dare not guarantee! Thats how bad after sales service is.

Hmm..was thinking of getting a 2014 one used. But maybe have to reconsider.

Good luck getting everything fixed! They’re great cars when they run well

CashedOutCars water pump is fixed. Sunroof is getting fixed this weekend Wheels literally got sent off for repairs last week The clutch isnt that bad so I'm not concerned too much Many people may have not knew but but there is a 10 year warranty on the DSG that is separate from the normal 5 year warranty

Impressive that you’re 12 and have a MK7...

@@CashedOutCars Kids these days lol

You do not represent all VW owners. Relook at the comments

Don't hate on a car you cant afford or never driven.... GTI is a great daily and mines has the power to prove it too if you pull up next to it.

Second problem: buying whatever turd you did, instead Third problem: realizing you should have bought the GTI.

Well i gotta said my 03 gti is givin me problems.... cranks but wont start.... i changed everything.... still not starting.... 4 months still trying to get it to start.... WTF im mad. As hell

Javier Meza what have you changed so far

@@killer_vette351 i changed camchaft sensor, crankshaft sensor, all 4 coil packs, new Maf sensor with new air filter, brand new complete fuel pump assembly, new relays for it, every fuse are fine, new sparks plugs, i even call a locksmith just to tell me the keys are ok so the car is not immobilized ($120), oil good, coolant good, nottin is out of place... pleasa can someone tell me WTF is goin on... im about to sell it for a grand... i pay almost 4 thousand.... the car is beautiful with rims, exhaust, system, LED lights, etc ect...

That's too bad to hear. I got rid of this one before I had to deal with it out of warranty

Thank you Mr. Grammer nazi!

@@CashedOutCars better to stay uneducated than learn something you absolute mong

Bye, thanks for coming!