This Problem Across All Years
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.
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.
On Wednesday October 15th, 2025 something occurred either via an update or on the back-end of VW's connected services platforms that started causing infotainment system crashes on various VW-brand vehicles across the United States. At this time, 3 days later, the infotainment system will boot up, freeze, reboot again, freeze again, do this 2-3 more times before fully crashing and not turning back on. With this offline access to the following features becomes inaccessible: forward collision avoidance, forward and rear cross traffic avoidance, adaptive cruise control, reversing camera, emergency SOS function, road sign detection, emergency notifications, blind spot monitoring, HVAC controls including defroster switches, navigation, AM/FM/Satellite/Online radio, Apple Carplay, and Android Auto. VW has acknowledged a problem exists (https://www.vw.com/en/help-center.html/__app/article/000010441.app), however, they have not provided any information to customers about what the actual cause is or what their plans to resolve the issue are. As of October 17th local dealership service centers were blaming SiriusXM for the problem and telling owners there was nothing that could be done currently and to just wait it out.
On Wednesday October 15th, 2025 something occurred either via an update or on the back-end of VW's connected services platforms that started causing infotainment system crashes on various VW-brand vehicles across the United States. At this time, 3 days later, the infotainment system will boot up, freeze, reboot again, freeze again, do this 2-3 more times before fully crashing and not turning back on. With this offline access to the following features becomes inaccessible: forward collision avoidance, forward and rear cross traffic avoidance, adaptive cruise control, reversing camera, emergency SOS function, road sign detection, emergency notifications, blind spot monitoring, HVAC controls including defroster switches, navigation, AM/FM/Satellite/Online radio, Apple Carplay, and Android Auto. VW has acknowledged a problem exists (https://www.vw.com/en/help-center.html/__app/article/000010441.app), however, they have not provided any information to customers about what the actual cause is or what their plans to resolve the issue are. As of October 17th local dealership service centers were blaming SiriusXM for the problem and telling owners there was nothing that could be done currently and to just wait it out.
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.
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.
There wasn't a proper "Problem Parts" option for my issue. My car has a manual transmission and VW has decided that adding a brake hold feature whenever the car is stopped at an intersection or in traffic etc. would be a good idea. I'm hear to tell you I have almost become part several accidents with this car even though it only has 40 miles on it. This is a well know issue with these cars that has been designed into them. I have been driving manual transmission cars for over 20 years without this issue. The problem is when I come to a stop the car holds the brake for an additional three Mississippi seconds. This screws up timing when pulling out into traffic which will likely cause an accident at some point. I have stalled the car trying to pull out into traffic and while in stop and go traffic. Luckily the person behind me was able to slam on their brakes before ramming me. I have considered rolling though stop signs to avoid stopping and possibly stalling the car. There have been many complaints about this online. The problem could easily be fixed with a software update from VW. Realistically if there was a brake hold with only 1 Mississippi hold time it would be great or none at all.
There wasn't a proper "Problem Parts" option for my issue. My car has a manual transmission and VW has decided that adding a brake hold feature whenever the car is stopped at an intersection or in traffic etc. would be a good idea. I'm hear to tell you I have almost become part several accidents with this car even though it only has 40 miles on it. This is a well know issue with these cars that has been designed into them. I have been driving manual transmission cars for over 20 years without this issue. The problem is when I come to a stop the car holds the brake for an additional three Mississippi seconds. This screws up timing when pulling out into traffic which will likely cause an accident at some point. I have stalled the car trying to pull out into traffic and while in stop and go traffic. Luckily the person behind me was able to slam on their brakes before ramming me. I have considered rolling though stop signs to avoid stopping and possibly stalling the car. There have been many complaints about this online. The problem could easily be fixed with a software update from VW. Realistically if there was a brake hold with only 1 Mississippi hold time it would be great or none at all.
VW Front Assist is the safety feature that is supposed to warn the driver of the danger of an imminent front collision. Initial aural and visual warnings are followed by autonomous braking if the driver does not respond. I have had my new car for 14 days, and have received the warning "Front Assist not available; impaired sensor" 5 times during these 14 days. I have taken the car to the dealer three times. Their current verdict is the the system is not malfunctioning but rather the sensor is sensitive to weather. Two times the system became unavailable during misty weather; twice the system became unavailable during sleeting weather; once the system became unavailable during humid weather after a rainstorm. In one instance, the system did not reboot for 3 days despite cleared weather. The outages did not occur during what I would call severe weather, just somewhat inclement conditions. Essentially Front Assist has not worked for approximately 30% of my first two weeks of ownership. I believe a safety feature that does not work during rain, mist, and sleet is dangerous.
VW Front Assist is the safety feature that is supposed to warn the driver of the danger of an imminent front collision. Initial aural and visual warnings are followed by autonomous braking if the driver does not respond. I have had my new car for 14 days, and have received the warning "Front Assist not available; impaired sensor" 5 times during these 14 days. I have taken the car to the dealer three times. Their current verdict is the the system is not malfunctioning but rather the sensor is sensitive to weather. Two times the system became unavailable during misty weather; twice the system became unavailable during sleeting weather; once the system became unavailable during humid weather after a rainstorm. In one instance, the system did not reboot for 3 days despite cleared weather. The outages did not occur during what I would call severe weather, just somewhat inclement conditions. Essentially Front Assist has not worked for approximately 30% of my first two weeks of ownership. I believe a safety feature that does not work during rain, mist, and sleet is dangerous.