e-Golf: long-term reliability

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on this forum, so I apologize if this question has already been covered on another thread.

My question is: can anybody shed some light on the expected long-term reliability of the e-Golf? I'm thinking about buying a 2017 e-Golf SE (with DC fast charging), but I'm having trouble getting meaningful info on just how long I should expect to be able to drive this car, and how expensive its maintenance should be (roughly) over the life of the car. I realize the e-Golf has only been around since 2014, so as with most current EV's, long-term reliability is kind of an unknown. But based on your experience with this car so far, what do you expect about the reliability and cost of maintenance 5-10 years down the road? In the US, VW has a pretty abysmal reputation for reliability; but then again, the e-Golf is an EV. So, do you expect the e-Golf to be just as reliable as any other VW (ie: not very reliable; very expensive to maintain), or do you expect the e-Golf to be just as reliable as any other EV (ie: very reliable, because it has 1/3 the parts of an ICE car)?

Just some context: I'm a 2016 Honda Civic owner, and I've only ever owned Hondas (3 Civics, 1 Accord). I drove my last Civic (a 2001) for 16 years with very few problems. What I'm looking for in an EV, since I'd be purchasing it and not leasing, is a car that I could count on for at least 7-10 years. I live in the NYC area, my commute is only 22 miles round trip, and I make 250-mile trips to either Boston or D.C. every 1-2 months to visit family (for these trips, I figure I could use the e-Golf in the summers, stopping to fast-charge twice (every 100 miles or so) along the way, then slow charge at my destination, and then fast-charge twice more on the way back 2-3 days later; in the winters, I would use my wife's ICE car for these trips). After say 5-7 years, once the e-Golf's battery degraded to the point where even these medium range road trips became annoying, I would rotate the e-Golf into being purely a commuting/errands vehicle - short, local driving only. But is it realistic to expect the e-Golf to last this long? I've read that VW's parts are expensive, that regular Golfs and Passats are in the shop constantly, and that it's even difficult to just take your VW to a local, non-VW shop to get serviced, since VW requires a lot of their parts and software to be "scanned" at a VW dealer before they work. Has this been people's experience with the e-Golf? Can this car be counted on to serve as an inexpensive, reliable medium-range EV during years 0-5 of ownership, and an inexpensive, reliable short-range EV during years 5-10?

Any insight that anyone has would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Before going down this path, remember when the economics of buying used EVs. Generally speaking, it doesn't make sense to do it in the USA unless you're not eligible for the $7500 tax credit or whatever state and local incentives might be available. It may still be a good option for you, just make sure that the price reflects this. For example a 2017 SE w/ DCFC in California should cost no more than $22k, even if it's in perfect condition with under 1,000 miles.

Maintenance: my 10k mile maintenance was basically a tire rotation and a couple checks, which cost $40. I believe others reported the 20k mile maintenance being in the $100-150 range. Compare this to $100/$300/$700 for 15/30/60 mile maintenance on an similar ICE vehicle and over time you're clearly saving hundreds a year here.

Problems: like others, my only issue has been with the backup camera. This seems to be specific to the 2016 models. If you're thinking of keeping the car over 3 years it's worth looking at the thread on battery degradation and taking in to consideration how losing range as the years go by affects the car's usefulness and resale value.

But the biggest problem with long term EV ownership isn't maintenance or reliability but just technical obsolescence. You will not have your e-Golf for 15 or 10 years, I guarantee it. Even beyond 5 would be extremely rare. By 2020, 200 mile ranges will be the norm and by 2025 we'll all be at 300 miles with ubiquitous 800V fast charging stations. And don't even get me started on self-driving.

I've only had one thing go wrong, and that was the refrigerant pressure switch, so the A/C wouldn't blow cold anymore. That occurred when the car was around 22 months old. Covered under the bumper to bumper warranty.

I also had to bring it in for the safety recall, affecting all 2015's and some 2016's, in which the car would shut down mysteriously while driving.

Nothing else has gone wrong since, but temporary annoyances pop up every now and then. For example, on rare occasions I won't get a video feed from the reversing camera even though I can hear it extending outward. However shutting off the car and restarting it solves the issue. VW uses a digital electrical system, so likely it's a bug in the programming that's causing that. A similar programming bug caused the mysterious shutdown issue mentioned above.

If you're looking for the utmost in reliability, note that VW is not Toyota or Honda. That said, my car is now 33 months and 19k miles old and materials and assembly quality are holding up well. My Leaf started to show wear on the side seat bolster closest to the driver's door by the time I gave it back to Nissan 3 years later, and the carpet on the driver's side was starting to fray near the seat rail, but my seats and carpet (and the rest of the interior) look brand new.

I have a second VW (2017 Alltrack) and NOTHING has gone wrong with that car in the almost 18 months I've had it.

Sorry, I should have clarified: I'm planning to buy a 2017 e-Golf SE new, not used. On the east coast, all the new models are 2017s (unless I'm mistaken, I don't think VW has even said whether there will be a 2018 e-Golf).

And as for my reliability question, I'm not asking about the battery so much, I'm asking about all the other little things that can go wrong in a car besides the battery.

Minor A/C issues, backup camera issues, etc., I could live with - I don't really use the A/C much, and I've never really grown accustomed to trusting that backup camera anyway (always find myself still looking over my shoulder the old-fashioned way).

Thanks.

the only "issue" with our 2 year old 2015 SEL is the rear brake rotors are a bit rusty from the fact they just aren't used that much with the regenerative braking. We're in rural NH where they use a lot of salt/sand. It's passed inspection but the fellow that inspects our cars commented on it. If they get bad enough I'll just change the rotors. Otherwise it's been faultless. 24 months 11.6K miles so far. It's a great car for all our local driving. We use our Passat TDI for going a distance.

Here are all the problems I recall from this forum. Approximately in order of frequency, highest first.

Charge port lock becomes stuck, immobilizing the car and impossible to tow if connected to a public charger. Need to get a pointy thing to force the hard to reach pin back in. Preventative application of automotive silicone lubricant could reduce the chances of this happening.

Air conditioning gets into a state where it won't cool, or SEL with heat pump, won't heat either. This is frequently fixed by clearing codes and software updates, but could also be a valve malfunction.

Backup camera image is intermittent or missing. Sometimes loose contact, sometimes camera module has to be replaced.

CarNet connectivity doesn't work. This used to happen more before the app and back end servers were revamped. However, my car had to have the "CarNet router" replaced when new in order for it work at all. For 2015 cars, CarNet is necessary in order to set the charging and pre-conditioning timers. 2016+ cars have the ability to make these settings on the infotainment screen.

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Car won't charge. Onboard charger failed, replace JX1 Power Control module.

Car loses power while driving. 2015 cars had a recall for this issue, which was a firmware update that allowed the car to ignore a spurious current reading, allowing the car to avoid freaking out and shutting down. However, it is still possible for the driver inverter power electronics to fail. JX1 Power Control module also contains the drive inverter.

Charge port is tight and repeated moderately forceful plugging and unplugging breaks the charge port mounting tabs. Replacing the charge port is a big job because the traction battery has to be dropped from the car.

*** Keep in mind that forums amplify the perception of problems. In general, I think the e-Golf is pretty reliable. The charge port locking logic is a perpetual annoyance and the lock solenoid failure seems to be pretty common. Everything below my dash line separator is quite rare.

I will add one thing that occurred on our 2015 SEL, that is probably unique: the otherwise virtually perfect LED headlights (which are amazing!) got aimed downward in wet conditions. The cause was a moisture leak in a 30" wiring harness in the back, where the angle sensor was located. The section of harness was replaced and the problem was fixed. The headlights were "aimed" up and down depending the angle of the car.

NeilBlanchard said:

I will add one thing that occurred on our 2015 SEL, that is probably unique: the otherwise virtually perfect LED headlights (which are amazing!) got aimed downward in wet conditions. The cause was a moisture leak in a 30" wiring harness in the back, where the angle sensor was located. The section of harness was replaced and the problem was fixed. The headlights were "aimed" up and down depending the angle of the car.

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I will echo my sentiments on the AMAZING part of the LED headlights on the 2015 SEL version e-Golf. They make driving at night much easier for these old eyes. Very, very glad I upgraded to the SEL for the LED headlights, cruise control, hands free steering wheel, leatherette seats that rarely stain and better heater unit. Now if they could just add Home Link for the garage door opener.

JoulesThief said:

Now if they could just add Home Link for the garage door opener.

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VW has an official accessory mirror with Homelink: https://www.vwserviceandparts.com/accessories/enhanced-rearview-mirror-homelink/

Note there's two versions, one for cars with the rain sensing wipers, and another for those without.

Thanks, everyone, for those specifics.

"If you're looking for the utmost in reliability, note that VW is not Toyota or Honda."

The comparison to Honda is an interesting one, because of their Clarity PHEV. It's not at all clear to me what one should expect to be more reliable long-term, the Clarity PHEV or the VW e-Golf. If the comparison was between a Civic and a regular Golf, that would be easy (Civic). But because the Clarity PHEV is essentially 2 powertrains crammed into one platform, and the e-Golf is a much "simpler" BEV with way less overall parts, which one should have less problems 5-10 years down the line? I honestly don't know how to answer that question.

Kieran973 said:

The comparison to Honda is an interesting one, because of their Clarity PHEV. It's not at all clear to me what one should expect to be more reliable long-term, the Clarity PHEV or the VW e-Golf. If the comparison was between a Civic and a regular Golf, that would be easy (Civic). But because the Clarity PHEV is essentially 2 powertrains crammed into one platform, and the e-Golf is a much "simpler" BEV with way less overall parts, which one should have less problems 5-10 years down the line? I honestly don't know how to answer that question.

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Honda also makes a full-electric version of the Clarity.

True, but only in CA and OR, and it's expensive, and it only goes 89 miles....

I guess what I'm asking is:

1. What should be more dependable (be in the shop less frequently) during years 5-10 of ownership, a Honda Clarity PHEV or a VW e-Golf?

2. What should cost less to maintain during years 5-10 of ownership, a Honda Clarity PHEV or a VW e-Golf?

Thanks.

VW's weak points in the last 2 decades seem to be electrical, and anything plastic. Unfortunately for recent vintage VAG products, that includes the window regulators, which use a cable and plastic pulley system, rather than the metal scissors-type like the old days. I had one on my 2006 Audi fail after about 10 years, and it's a common malady for VAG products starting with the Mk IV series which came out in the late 90's.

The older turbo engines suffered from high oil consumption even when new, and failed high pressure fuel pumps. Obviously these will not apply to an eGolf.

It didn't stop me from buying out the lease on my eGolf though. I did spend for the "certification" process which extended the bumper to bumper warranty by another 2 years, up to 100k miles.

Thanks for that tip, RonDawg. Probably not the same thing, but my wife used to have a used, late 90's BMW where the power windows would get stuck in the open position - really miserable when this happens on long winter road trips, when it's snowing, etc.

So that extended warranty: was that an 8 year, 100K miles, bumper to bumper warranty? Can I ask roughly how much they charged you for it? And could someone buy a similar warranty on a new e-Golf, or do the new and used/CPO e-golfs have separate warranty options? Thanks.

Kieran973 said:

So that extended warranty: was that an 8 year, 100K miles, bumper to bumper warranty? Can I ask roughly how much they charged you for it? And could someone buy a similar warranty on a new e-Golf, or do the new and used/CPO e-golfs have separate warranty options? Thanks.

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VW's Certified Pre-Owned Warranty extends the original bumper to bumper warranty an additional 2 years and 24k miles, up to 5 years/60k (sorry not 100k as I originally mentioned, I was conflating that with the CPO warranty of my 06 Audi) miles from in-service date and zero miles on the odometer; the difference is that after the original bumper to bumper warranty is over, the CPO warranty has a $50 deductible. The 5/60 powertrain and the 8 year battery defects/degradation warranty remain as when purchased new.

They didn't break down the price for me, but by subtracting the sale price of the car (you have to "buy" the car as if it were on the dealer lot) from my lease payoff, I figured it was around $1950. That did include however 2 new tires, which from the service receipt was worth around $300, and new wiper blades. They also did the battery check, which saved me from having to do the annual service. So I figured I got about $400 worth of free work done, so the net cost of the added warranty coverage was about $1500.

Extended warranty (beyond that of the CPO) options are also available, like with any other car.

Great, thanks for that info. So it seems like it wouldn't be unreasonable to bargain for an extended warranty on a new 2017 e-Golf that costs roughly $1500 and extends the original factory warranty to 6 years/72K miles (which I believe is the standard warranty on most other new VW cars).

Kieran973 said:

So it seems like it wouldn't be unreasonable to bargain for an extended warranty on a new 2017 e-Golf that costs roughly $1500 and extends the original factory warranty to 6 years/72K miles (which I believe is the standard warranty on most other new VW cars).

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FYI, a dealer in a different state that sells the official VW Drive Easy Warranty at a discount quoted $2360 to extend the factory warranty on my 2017 Alltrack to 6 years/100k miles; the dealer who sold me the car quoted a figure close to $4k, which I declined despite his repeated attempts to sell it to me. I don't know if they have a 6 year/72k version for the eGolf (since that's the factory warranty now for other VW's), but it may not be that much of a discount if they do. For example, it was only a bit over $400 extra to extend coverage to 10 years/100k miles. He also quoted 120k mile options but the price goes up significantly for those extra 20k miles, $1100 extra in the case of the 10 year option.

BTW the quoted extended protection period is from date in-service and zero miles on the odometer. The quotes were good as long as my Alltrack had less than 10k miles on it at the time of warranty purchase. Prices will change (presumably go up) after 10k miles. So presumably you can wait until the car is closer to (but not over) the 10k mark before buying it, though like with any product you risk the price going up if you wait. In this dealer's case you also risk VW pulling his ability to sell extended warranties unless the dealership also sold the car; when researching him I read on a forum that he was no longer allowed to sell a certain manufacturer's (forget which one) extended warranties unless he also sold the car as well. As it is he's not allowed to sell the VW Drive Easy warranty on CPO cars; only the dealer doing the certification can do so.

BTW this is his website: http://www.fd-warranty.com/volkswagen/volkswagen_index.html

Cool, thanks. 4K is indeed a lot of cheddar for an extended warranty. There is also of course Consumer Reports' advice: put whatever you were going to spend on that warranty into an interest-bearing account; then, if you end up needing that money for repairs, fine, spend it, but if not, boom, savings.