Jeff, I recently had the same experience with a 2008 VW EOS 2.0 gasser engine.
Long story short, on those vehicles the Fan Control Module (FCM) and maybe the ECU, get the cue to turn on the fans from two different Coolant Temperature Sensors (CTS). On that engine, one CTS is located at/near the end of the head on the transmission side and the other one is located on the front (toward front of car) side of the engine near the oil dip stick on a smaller return coolant hose.
The issue was the electrical connector to the CTS on the end of the head wasn't pushed in deep enough to make contact...... problem solved.
And, for what it is worth, the FCM is built into or part of the fan motor on one of the fans at the radiator.
Edit: is in red (sorry about that)