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2012 GTI 187k miles. Daughter call a few weeks back with what I thought was dead battery. Checked it, it was 4 years old and would only show around 9-10 volts on meter. Changed battery and problem fixed. Well, now she gets in and nothing. Inside lights work key fob locks and unlocks car. But dash is dark and push button does nothing. Play with it a little. Not sure what but after a few minutes everything comes on and boom it will start and do fine. I cleaned up a few ground connections and thought maybe that was it. But it did it again a few days later. Swapped cars with her and I’m driving it to try and further diagnose. Done fine for about a week. And was fixing to give it back to her. But the other morning. It did it to me. Finally got it to start. And less than a half a mile from home. The dash started acting weird. Dash went black. Only miles were showing lit up. But not scrolling(counting up). . Then the das said brake failure stop! But had brakes so I kept driving. It went away
What makes this problem better or worse?
Thenno oil pres.&stop.kept going fuelkept going from1/2to3/4to0&at 0tell me low fuel.signals,brake lamps,headlamps Everything was working.got to work. hit button cut of .dash lights came on & started
How long has your 2012 Volkswagen GTI had this problem?
More than a week
1 Reply
Hi, I'm one of the auto experts on RepairPal's Car Genius team! Wow, thanks for all that detail, it really helps paint a picture! What you're describing on your 2012 VW GTI, the intermittent no start, erratic dash behavior, false warning messages, and fluctuating gauges, are all classic symptoms of an unstable power or ground connection rather than multiple individual failures. Even though you've already cleaned some grounds, VW and Audi vehicles from this era are notorious for having multiple ground points throughout the car that can corrode and cause exactly this kind of widespread and seemingly random electrical chaos. Sometimes the fusebox it self can fail. A failing or loose positive battery cable connection at the fuse box or chassis is another strong suspect that can be easy to overlook. Given the complexity and intermittent nature of this issue, and the fact that it's showing up as false safety warnings while driving, I’d strongly recommend having a qualified shop with VW specific diagnostic experience do a thorough inspection of the entire charging system, all ground points, and the main wiring harness connections before your daughter gets the car back. This type of electrical gremlin on a VW really benefits from someone with VW/Audi experience and the right scan tools who can monitor the system in real time when the fault occurs. If you need any further advice or would like help finding a trusted RepairPal shop in your area or even getting an appointment booked, please feel free to call us at 877-913-1554 or check out https://repairpal.com/certified