2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI

These are unverified consumer reports filed with NHTSA, shown as submitted.

• 12/30/2022· ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

  Travel assist (ACC)light pops up for any reason, that scares you at the beginning because when you are driving you think is something big and could be if you are driving and crash for put attention to the warning light. I tried to desactivate but the function says is unavailable, I did my homework to investigate a little bit more and there’s more cars like mine doing the same thing. The light goes away for days or hours but later come up again.

• 12/29/2023· BACK OVER PREVENTION

  My 2022 VW GTI recently experienced a malfunction where the Parking Assist feature did not function. This feature appears to encompass the Rear Back-up Camera, Rear Parking Sensors, and Parking Collision Warning system. This failure coincided with the HVAC system control system portion of the infotainment system not booting up. A video can be seen here: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

• 12/27/2022· ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER,BACK OVER PREVENTION

  Electronic issues with the infotainment screen that have caused the backup camera to fail to work on multiple occasions. The parking sensors also don't always work properly.

• 12/26/2022· ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

  The car constantly says the travel and emergency assist do not work. It’s constantly dinging. I bought the car with the expectation of having these safety features. Many if not all of these generation of GTI have this issue and VW has no fix.

• 12/21/2022· POWER TRAIN

  The gear shifter knob came loose during shifts while driving, detaching from the shaft inside of the leather shifter boot, making it difficult or impossible to select a gear.

• 12/16/2022· UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  The shift knob slid right off the top while shifting into 2nd gear. I had to push it back on to shift into third gear while driving in traffic. I could have lost control of the vehicle if I had not acted quicky.

• 12/12/2022· POWER TRAIN

  As I was merging onto a highway, the shift lever popped up and disconnected from the linkage as I was changing gears. This left me temporarily unable to accelerate on the on-ramp with vehicle traffic around me. I was able to push back down on the lever and reinstate shifting capabilities but the connection was still loose to the touch and could be pulled up again when I came to a rest after I finished driving. This particular part was eventually replaced under warranty as it had many cosmetic cracks and chips in it. Unknown if this is related to the loose linkage as that is a separate part of the shift boot. This vehicle is the manual transmission version.

• 12/07/2022· LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION

  Quite often various warnings show on the screen and following features - Maneuver braking function currently not available - Rear Traffic Alert is currently not available - Error: Park Distance Control

• 12/06/2022· ENGINE

  My 2022 Golf GTI SE is part of the recall with NHTSA ID of 22V707 (Radiator and Coolant Hose). The issue is the radiator comes loose causing a hose and housing to make contact with the accessory belt eventually causing a leak. In my particular instance, I caught the problem early. My radiator had become loose (wasn't loose on previous checks) but hadn't dislodged to the point of causing damage. Per this recall, there's no "fix" for my issue as only the house/housing/pulley/belt are fixed if required. This leaves me waiting on on Volkswagen to issue an ACTUAL fix for the underlying problem (radiator mounting) rather than a fix for only the symptoms. At this point, I'm unable to drive my car for fear of failure and potential engine damage.

• 11/21/2024· FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE

  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 driver to look away from the road. After speaking with the maintenance department at my VW dealership, they indicated that this is a widely known problem that is remedied only with the replacement of the steering wheel. There are several other sensors that are triggered by the same issue I was told by the maintenance department. They are uncertain at this time if it impacts the airbag system which is another potential safety concern. The steering wheel can only be ordered after inspection by the maintenance department and there is shortage and/or back order of the part to fix the problem.

• 11/19/2022· POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE

  Poor quality of the shifter knob component and installation from the factory for the 6-speed manual transmission variant of the 2022 VW GTI. The shifter knob can come loose and pop out of the metal shaft while shifting gears in the drive. The poor quality of the knob develops a crack in the corner of the component which can cause the knob to detach from the transmission over time and make the car undrivable. Since taking delivery of the car from the dealership, the shifter knob appears to not be installed properly as the component can feel loose and pop out of the metal shaft and get detached from the transmission. This incident of the shift knob popping out occurred a few times while driving. As changing gears with the shifter knob is a crucial aspect of driving the car, the current component poses a serious quality and safety issue for the car that was overlooked by the manufacturer.

• 11/17/2022· UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  Manual shift knob is starting to crack. Vehicle is just under 4,000 miles.

• 11/13/2022· UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Manual gear shift knob. It has a crack that will potentially loosen and fall off How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? No safety issue yet but at risk of falling off. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? no Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others?No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No

• 11/06/2022· VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

  Manual shifter knob has popped off while driving a number of times with virtually no effort (I'm not a hard shifter at all) and primarily when at speed and other dangerous times. Seems to be a poorly crafted plastic clip that is being reported by numerous manual transmission owners.

• 11/05/2024· STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

  The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen GTI. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact attempted to make a left turn and noticed that the travel assist feature became inoperable. The contact stated that the Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist inadvertently became inoperable. The contact stated that the steering wheel inadvertently made a left turn to ongoing traffic and the contact forcefully turned to the right, making the vehicle difficult to control. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed by the dealer that there was a waiting list for a loaner vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000.

• 11/02/2022· POWER TRAIN

  The manual transmission shift knob has separated from the shift lever multiple times while driving. While shifting between gears, the knob lifts up with the boot off of the actual shift lever and I am unable to complete a shift until reconnecting the knob to the lever. The first time this happened, I was shocked and was nearly hit as I was on a highway entrance ramp and suddenly was not in gear and slowing down in a high traffic situation. Luckily I was able to get it sorted and make a shift with the knob loosely in place and then pull off the road. Firmly pressing the knob down onto the lever seemed to get it solidly attached, but unfortunately this has recurred more than once since then. I'm now aware and conscious to be very careful shifting but to any driver who this happens to the first time could easily be put into a situation of lost control of their vehicle speed or accidentally pull on the steering wheel when the shifter in their hand suddenly is not attached and the movement of their arm to shift results in a jerking of their body since. The shifter in the 2022 GTI (as well as Golf R) is a new design and it appears that multiple owners have experienced the plastic attachment cracking, breaking, or otherwise causing the shift knob to detach. Some owners report having a replacement knob installed and a repeat of the same problem. There seems to be either faulty design or manufacturing of the part, and this is a critical component to car control.

• 11/02/2022· POWER TRAIN

  During regular operation I shifted the car from 1st to 2nd gear (manual transmission) and the shift knob came off of the metal rod that attaches it to the linkage and transmission. There was no loud crack to indicate something breaking at the time. thankfully it happened at low speeds and I was able to pull over and reattach the knob and drive it home but the plastic that attaches it to the car is very much broken

• 11/02/2022· POWER TRAIN

  Shift knob cracked off of shaft during routine driving NOT under "spirited driving" conditions or fast shifting.

• 10/26/2022· POWER TRAIN

  Car has Manual transmission. The gear shifter knob plastic near base where it attaches to shaft is cracking in two places. Cracks are getting worse and seem like they may fail. Dealer inspected and will replace. Appeared within 2 months of ownership.

• 10/23/2025· STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES

  At random times, sometimes at first start, sometimes after its parked and started again, vehicle alerts to below errors: Travel Assist is currently not available Park Distance Control Rear Traffic Alert is currently not available VW has replaced one steering wheel and did some software adjustments but errors are back. Its more noticeable in colder weather

• 10/19/2023· ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE

  I have errors popping up on my dashboard. It says “travel assist is currently not available “ or “emergency assist is currently not available “ . This does not happen every time I drive the vehicle but it happens quite frequently. When it happens It flashes and beeps constantly for a couple of minutes or even longer. Sometimes it beeps during the whole 30+ minutes trip. There is no way to turn it off. This is not just an annoyance but also a safety concern because it’s distracting. I brought my car to the dealership in September and after a couple of days they said that they’re not able to reproduce the problem. The problem still exists

• 10/19/2022· UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  Rear view camera not working, no image on dashboard screen it seems it is an electrical connection issue more than a software issue

• 10/14/2022· ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

  Nearly every morning on my way to work I get error codes warning me of Front Assist Systems not working. It stays on for a while then disappears. It's so sporadic. Sometimes it will stay on the whole way to work. I then park the car for the day and when I come out to start the car to return home, the codes are gone. I'm even getting the error codes on the VW App that communicates with the car. This is a major safety feature with the car and VW has done nothing to correct it. I've had this issue since I bought the car in December 2021.

• 10/13/2024· VISIBILITY/WIPER

  Sunroof exploding in the highway at 70mph. No traffic nearby, no rock hit it. It just exploded super loud

• 10/13/2022· ENGINE

  Shift knob came off of lever. Plastic sleeve broke above metal clamp. Available for inspection. Could have caused an accident if happened while driving. Has not been inspected by dealer yet. Will take it o next visit. Knob was suddenly loose. Happened while backing out of garage. Replaced knob with aftermarket one. This problem has happened to many VW mk8 GTI/R drivers.

• 10/11/2022· POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  While shifting the manual transmission, the shift knob and boot came up and off the shifter. Being totally unexpected, I was temporarily shocked, surprised and confused. Luckily, I was on a country road with no other traffic around me and coasted to a stop. I realized what happened and was able to still shift the transmission and get home. Been waiting two months for the part to come in at dealership.

• 10/04/2022· ENGINE

  Low coolant light appeared on dashboard. Radiator assembly had became dislodged and caused a coolant leak. Required immediate pullover on the interstate.

• 10/02/2022· POWER TRAIN

  Radiator/coolant line busting all over engine. Dealership had no clue but deduced it was the incorrect mounting of the radiator. Then came across an article about this scandal. In the shop for a week-dealership was terrible too. Included a photo after problem was fixed, but the dealership neglected to clean the engine. You can see where the coolant dried.

• 10/01/2025· FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE

  1) Yes, the Travel Assist warning light comes on and says, "Trave Assist is currently not available." It then clears the warning and flashing again repetitively and loudly while driving blocking the instrument cluster and distracting the driver. This warning indicator is not accurate as the travel assist functions of the car remain working while this light and ding continue to repeat. 2) The warning light blocks the instrument cluster and continues to flash repedetively as a loud "ding" sometimes 5 or 10 times in a row, which is highly distracting and is a false warning for actual problems the car could be experiencing especially during highway driving. 3) Yes, I have video of this and there is ample evidence of other vehicle drivers of the Mk8 VW GTI (2022-2025) with this same issue. Some have replaced multiple steering wheels, like I have without a permanent solution and others have started selling an aftermarket KLR module to replace the VW one. 4) Yes, the vehicle maintains constant annual inspections and is covered still under warranty with VW inspecting the problem. 5) Yes, the issue appeared about 6 months into ownership and then has repeated constantly throughout. Somehow VW claims they are not aware of the issue despite the endless online communication on VW forums about this issue and even an entire aftermarket for a replacement KLR module. I am only filling this out because VW claims to be unaware of this issue as a larger problem outside of my car despite the endless cases I have found online. They told me that this is the method of informing them, hence my submission.

• 09/30/2022· POWER TRAIN

  During operation, the manual transmission shift knob will become detached from the shift lever and the driver is unable to shift gears. This has occurred while the vehicle was in motion at city and highway speeds.

• 09/26/2024· STEERING,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE

  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 driver to look away from the road. After speaking with the maintenance department at my VW dealership, they indicated that this is a widely known problem that is remedied only with the replacement of the steering wheel. There are several other sensors that are triggered by the same issue I was told by the maintenance department. They are uncertain at this time if it impacts the airbag system which is another potential safety concern. The steering wheel can only be ordered after inspection by the maintenance department and there is shortage and/or back order of the part to fix the problem.

• 09/26/2022· POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

  My shift knob would pop out of place easily almost everyday. One day it popped out of place and when I popped it back in it wouldn’t go into any gear at all. I was stuck on the side of the road until it eventually let me go into 1st, 3rd, and 4th but not 2nd. It took longer for it to even let me into 2nd. My car is also having electric issues. Out of nowhere it’ll say that my front sensors aren’t working. My parking brake also has gone out a few times to where I can’t even safely exit my car worried it’ll roll away. The car had a sound coming from the engine and come to find out a sensor was causing an oil leak and oil was getting on one of my belts. My shift knob also has a crack on it and it’s been there since before I hit 1k miles. My car has been at a VW shop for 2 months with no eta on parts.

• 09/26/2022· FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,BACK OVER PREVENTION

  Each time the vehicle is started its throwing a safety warning alarm and malfunction. I’ve called VW America to file a complaint as well as the dealer and it seems like they just do care to take these software issue’s seriously. I’m truly nervous when I drive the car that in the event of a emergency on the road the systems will not function as designed and I’ve asked numerous times when are they doing a software update and or taking a serious look at the issues with no success

• 09/26/2022· POWER TRAIN

  The shift knob for the manual transmission cracked at the base, causing it be become dislodged from the transmission during use. I still have the broken knob for later inspection. This was a safety risk as I was unable to put the car in gear while in an intersection. This made me unable to continue my motion out of the intersection until the problem was identified and fixed. The specific incident resulted in no further damage as there were no other vehicles at the intersection at that time. The vehicle has been brought to a certified VW dealership and identified as a problem with the hardware (meaning the technician recognized it was not due to improper use). Neither the vehicle nor the broken shift knob have been inspected by any other official bodies (i.e. manufacturer, police or insurance representative). There were no warnings of any type prior to the problem occurring, nor have there been any indicators signaling a problem since (no warning lamps or messages).

• 09/25/2022· POWER TRAIN

  Shift knob cracked at union with dust boot. Concerned that continued use will cause knob to break off the stem or cause cuts/lacerations of fingers or hands. Issue has been reported on VW GTI Group Pages/forums impacting many owners. Repair of existing OEM part under factory warranty does not fix issue as the cracks will occur with the replacement part a second time. Seems the only option is for an aftermarket solution.

• 09/24/2024· ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE

  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. It is worse when temperatures are warm outside. The flashing lights and associated rapid beeping indicating the failure is extremely distracting while driving. It will some times ding 20 times in a minute with associated warning display on the dash. 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 driver to look away from the road. Quick internet research and discussions with the dealer show this is a widely experienced issue with this model of car (among others). After speaking with the maintenance department at my VW dealership, they indicated that this is a widely known problem that is remedied only with the replacement of the steering wheel. My steering wheel was replaced when the car was just over a year old. The "fix" was temporary and has now recurred. There are several other sensors that are triggered by the same issue I was told by the maintenance department. They are uncertain at this time if it impacts the airbag system which is another potential safety concern. The steering wheel can only be ordered after inspection by the maintenance department and there is shortage and/or back order of the part to fix the problem. It took two months last time to get the steering wheel. Despite there being the same issue this time, they suggest a different part. Volkswagen not doing anything to remedy this problem Waiting on steering wheel and not permit fix has put this car outside the lemon laws in my state.

• 09/22/2022· UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  The car has a manual transmission. The car has roughly 100 miles on it (brand new). The shift knob (gear knob, gear lever, etc) comes loose periodically and pops off of the gear selector, which is very dangerous as it makes it impossible to shift the car into gear. This has happened at least 3 times in the past 100 miles. All times were at slow speeds with no unusual force applied to the shift knob. There were no warnings and it hasn't been inspected. I'm not interested in having the car inspected but simply want to report the safety issue.

• 09/19/2024· SERVICE BRAKES

  This is in regard the hill hold assist on the manual transmission vehicles. The hill hold assist holds the brake for 2-3 seconds after the brake has been released, causing a delay in movement which if trying to make a quick maneuver, could cause a delay in start which could cause an accident if the driver was not prepared for it. Personally, it caused me to stall the vehicle on a hill, stopping the flow of traffic for a further 3-5 seconds as I started the vehicle back up. This seems to be a common problem in 2022-2024 model manual GTI’s and Golf R’s reported on many VW and Reddit forums that nobody seems to have a solution for, and VW has not acknowledged or addressed the issue.

• 09/15/2022· ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

  The radiator fell out of it's harness, which cause the coolant hose to rub against a belt. The cooling hose broke, causing all coolant to leak out of the car. The car is now unable to be driven. This is a prevalent issue I heard about throughout the community, but has not been addressed by Volkswagen in any way. The only warning I received from the vehicle was that the car was low on coolant.

• 09/13/2022· ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

  Radiator hose hit the serpentine belt and caused full loss of coolant. I currently have 1,483 miles on my car bought new from the dealership. I haven’t even opened my hood until today when I was alerted to low coolant levels and had them all spilling out on my driveway.

• 09/11/2022· POWER TRAIN

  As I was shifting into second gear to merge onto the highway, the shift knob detached from the gear selector resulting in me being temporarily unable to select a gear. I was able to partially reattach it, but it is still very loose and comes off easily. It is available for inspection, but I will be trying to bring it to my local VW dealer ASAP. My safety was put at risk by virtue of being unable to accelerate while merging on the highway. Yes, the problem has been been reproduced by myself - the shift knob is still loose and will come detached if extreme care is not exercised when shifting. I have not had a chance to bring it to my local VW dealer yet, but plan to ASAP. There were no warnings that a malfunction was imminent until the knob came detached.

• 09/07/2022· POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  Shift knob broke off.

• 09/07/2022· ENGINE

  Radiator came loose allowing the lower return hose to contact the AC pulley and become damaged. Car lost substantial amount of cooling fluid and had to be parked. Eventually it was driven a short distance to the dealership for repair involving replacement of the radiator and hose. Dealer did not advise on any modification past returning car to previous state.

• 09/04/2022· ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

  Common problem on 2022 VW GTI models - radiator comes loose from upper clip mount on passenger side of vehicle, causing radiator to fall out of place. This causes the lower radiator to move enough so that the coolant hose rubs against a nearby serpentine belt, resulting in a hole in the hose and loss of coolant. This happened to me on Saturday, August 6. I was alerted with a LOW COOLANT warning in the dashboard. I immediately pulled over to check it out, saw the problem, and drove straight to dealer. Technician looked at it and said, "yep, I've done two of these already in the last month". This is a widespread issue as reported on vwvortex.com and the VW Mk8 group on Facebook. My car has been at Stohlman VW for over four weeks now, awaiting parts. Some owners have had the issue multiple times.

• 09/03/2022· LANE DEPARTURE

  Lane assist error And shift knob is going up and down and cracked

• 09/01/2026· ENGINE

  While driving, the vehicle developed uneven acceleration and an audible metallic rattling/buzzing sound. Shortly after, the engine locked up, stalled, and jerked the car to a stop while in traffic. A Volkswagen dealership has confirmed the engine failed and locked up, at 26,127 miles, but could not yet identify the specific internal components which failed. They indicated the engine cannot be turned over and the oil is full of metallic flakes. This created substantial danger to myself and others as the vehicle suddenly died in traffic, not only losing power, but suddenly jerking to a stop. Fortunately I was slowing down and not in an intersection, or on a highway or crossing train tracks. Multiple vehicles had to swerve to avoid hitting my car when it stalled, and the vehicle was stuck blocking traffic on a main road for an extended period causing dozens upon dozens of cars to need to take action to avoid my vehicle until police arrived to push the vehicle onto a side street. The vehicle is currently in the hands of and being evaluated by Volkswagen of Huntington 838 E Jericho Tpke, Huntington Station, NY 11746.

• 09/01/2022· ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

  When driving at highway speeds, coolant sensor light stated there was a problem. Pulled off of freeway and noticed that coolant was spewing everywhere. Opened hood and radiator had come loose and damage to coolant lines when coming in contact with belts.

• 08/30/2022· POWER TRAIN

  The Radiator was loose when I inspected it. Seems the radiator clips were not in place causing the radiator to become loose. Which would cause it to fall against the accessory pulley while running causing a hole in the radiator thus creating a over heating problem. Luckely I caught the issue before it became competently dislodged. So far it seems VOA doesnt have a recall or a permanent fix for the issue so the DIY community has come up with a temporary fix which is not ideal. My car was manufactured in may 2022. If the radiator would come loose driving it could cause an accident on the highway putting other motorist lives in jeopardy.

• 08/28/2022· ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

  July I broke down with a "low coolant" light, I pulled tot the side of the road, opened the hood and had a low coolant level. After further inspection of why - my radiator had come loose, pushing parts of it into the serpintine belt causing coolant to splew all over the engine bay. After a month of being at VW, they "Fixed" it. I picked up my car after they had called me yelling about the rental car they had given me, to bring it back at x date and time. So I had to break my Vacation in Oregon short which was about a 959 mile drive for me and get my car. Which, a week later broke down again from the same issue and left me stranded for 24 hours. I have pictures/videos of this.

• 08/25/2024· UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  Lost my key fob during a hike. The key was attached to my belt through the key ring. Must have accidentally brushed release button for the emergency key, which dropped the key fob somewhere along a ten-mile (16 K) hike. Thought I could start the car using the emergency key. That is not possible. I became stranded. The key fob for 2022 GT1 includes an “emergency” key. The emergency key contains a metallic loop, which is the only way to attach the key fob to a key chain. The emergency key is released by pushing an exposed button on the side of the key fob (see attached picture). Unfortunately, the emergency key only unlocks the driver’s side door. It cannot start the car. In fact, the brakes are lock and the car cannot even be towed without the key fob. I believe losing the key fob was a direct result of faulty design and this problem should have been anticipated by VW. I routinely go for a long hikes from staging grounds that have no cell phone reception and are miles away from any place where I could get help (example: 37.5362566,-121.8474412). After a long hike on a hot day, I am exhausted, low on food, water and endurance. Being past retirement age, I am not equipped to further extend my hike. I believe this is a safety defect that should be rectified through recall if necessary. Fortunately, this time on July 28, I could get cell reception from my parked car. However, I do think my safety was imperiled by the poor design of the key. A single, unintentional motion disconnected the key and left me stranded. I have been unable to contact Volkswagen. Have not found any usable email address. Tried calling the listed phone number, 800-822-8987. After a 40 min. hold, it hung up on me.