diff --git a/autoload/go/config.vim b/autoload/go/config.vim
index 9a073eb6c8..1f7260a4dd 100644
--- a/autoload/go/config.vim
+++ b/autoload/go/config.vim
@@ -278,12 +278,12 @@ function! go#config#SetAsmfmtAutosave(value) abort
   let g:go_asmfmt_autosave = a:value
 endfunction
 
-function! go#config#ModfmtAutosave() abort
-	return get(g:, "go_modfmt_autosave", 1)
+function! go#config#ModFmtAutosave() abort
+	return get(g:, "go_mod_fmt_autosave", 1)
 endfunction
 
-function! go#config#SetModfmtAutosave(value) abort
-  let g:go_modfmt_autosave = a:value
+function! go#config#SetModFmtAutosave(value) abort
+  let g:go_mod_fmt_autosave = a:value
 endfunction
 
 function! go#config#DocMaxHeight() abort
diff --git a/autoload/go/mod.vim b/autoload/go/mod.vim
index 1c5d940685..0f4b5a85d7 100644
--- a/autoload/go/mod.vim
+++ b/autoload/go/mod.vim
@@ -1,11 +1,24 @@
+let s:go_major_version = ""
+
 function! go#mod#Format() abort
+  " go mod only exists in `v1.11`
+  if empty(s:go_major_version)
+    let tokens = matchlist(go#util#System("go version"), '\d\+.\(\d\+\) ')
+    let s:go_major_version = str2nr(tokens[1])
+  endif
+
+  if s:go_major_version < "11" 
+    call go#util#EchoError("Go v1.11 is required to format go.mod file")
+    return
+  endif
+
   let fname = fnamemodify(expand("%"), ':p:gs?\\?/?')
 
   " Save cursor position and many other things.
   let l:curw = winsaveview()
 
   " Write current unsaved buffer to a temp file
-  let l:tmpname = tempname() . '.go'
+  let l:tmpname = tempname() . '.mod'
   call writefile(go#util#GetLines(), l:tmpname)
   if go#util#IsWin()
     let l:tmpname = tr(l:tmpname, '\', '/')
@@ -88,13 +101,12 @@ function! s:parse_errors(filename, content) abort
   " list of errors to be put into location list
   let errors = []
   for line in splitted
-    let tokens = matchlist(line, '^\(.\{-}\):\(\d\+\):\(\d\+\)\s*\(.*\)')
+    let tokens = matchlist(line, '^\(.\{-}\):\(\d\+\):\s*\(.*\)')
     if !empty(tokens)
       call add(errors,{
             \"filename": a:filename,
             \"lnum":     tokens[2],
-            \"col":      tokens[3],
-            \"text":     tokens[4],
+            \"text":     tokens[3],
             \ })
     endif
   endfor
@@ -108,7 +120,7 @@ function! s:show_errors(errors) abort
   let l:listtype = go#list#Type("GoModFmt")
   if !empty(a:errors)
     call go#list#Populate(l:listtype, a:errors, 'Format')
-    echohl Error | echomsg "GoModFmt returned error" | echohl None
+    call go#util#EchoError("GoModFmt returned error")
   endif
 
   " this closes the window if there are no errors or it opens
@@ -116,13 +128,13 @@ function! s:show_errors(errors) abort
   call go#list#Window(l:listtype, len(a:errors))
 endfunction
 
-function! go#mod#ToggleModfmtAutoSave() abort
-  if go#config#ModfmtAutosave()
-    call go#config#SetModfmtAutosave(0)
+function! go#mod#ToggleModFmtAutoSave() abort
+  if go#config#ModFmtAutosave()
+    call go#config#SetModFmtAutosave(0)
     call go#util#EchoProgress("auto mod fmt disabled")
     return
   end
 
-  call go#config#SetModfmtAutosave(1)
-  call go#util#EchoProgress("auto fmt enabled")
+  call go#config#SetModFmtAutosave(1)
+  call go#util#EchoProgress("auto mod fmt enabled")
 endfunction
diff --git a/doc/vim-go.txt b/doc/vim-go.txt
index 33015f40bb..31a3a76e61 100644
--- a/doc/vim-go.txt
+++ b/doc/vim-go.txt
@@ -806,6 +806,11 @@ CTRL-t
 
     Toggles |'g:go_fmt_autosave'|.
 
+                                                     *:GoModFmtAutoSaveToggle*
+:GoModFmtAutoSaveToggle
+
+    Toggles |'g:go_mod_fmt_autosave'|.
+
                                                      *:GoAsmFmtAutoSaveToggle*
 :GoAsmFmtAutoSaveToggle
 
@@ -880,6 +885,13 @@ CTRL-t
           }
       }
 <
+                                                                  *:GoModFmt*
+:GoModFmt
+
+    Filter the current go.mod buffer through "go mod edit -fmt" command.  It
+    tries to preserve cursor position and avoids replacing the buffer with
+    stderr output.
+
 ==============================================================================
 MAPPINGS                                                        *go-mappings*
 
@@ -1097,6 +1109,10 @@ Calls `:GoImport` for the current package
 Generate if err != nil { return ... } automatically which infer the type of
 return values and the numbers.
 
+                                                                *(go-mod-fmt)*
+
+Calls |:GoModFmt| for the current buffer
+
 ==============================================================================
 TEXT OBJECTS                                                 *go-text-objects*
 
@@ -1287,7 +1303,15 @@ doesn't break. However it's slows (creates/deletes a file for every save) and
 it's causing problems on some Vim versions. By default it's disabled. >
 
   let g:go_fmt_experimental = 0
+
 <
+                                                     *'g:go_mod_fmt_autosave'*
+
+Use this option to auto |:GoModFmt| on save. By default it's enabled >
+
+  let g:go_mod_fmt_autosave = 1
+<
+
                                                *'g:go_doc_keywordprg_enabled'*
 
 Use this option to run `godoc` on words under the cursor with |K|; this will
@@ -1497,10 +1521,10 @@ that was called. Supported values are "", "quickfix", and "locationlist".
 Specifies the type of list to use for command outputs (such as errors from
 builds, results from static analysis commands, etc...). When an expected key
 is not present in the dictionary, |'g:go_list_type'| will be used instead.
-Supported keys are "GoBuild", "GoErrCheck", "GoFmt", "GoInstall", "GoLint",
-"GoMetaLinter", "GoMetaLinterAutoSave", "GoModifyTags" (used for both
-:GoAddTags and :GoRemoveTags), "GoRename", "GoRun", and "GoTest".  Supported
-values for each command are "quickfix" and "locationlist".
+Supported keys are "GoBuild", "GoErrCheck", "GoFmt", "GoModFmt", "GoInstall",
+"GoLint", "GoMetaLinter", "GoMetaLinterAutoSave", "GoModifyTags" (used for
+both :GoAddTags and :GoRemoveTags), "GoRename", "GoRun", and "GoTest".
+Supported values for each command are "quickfix" and "locationlist".
 >
   let g:go_list_type_commands = {}
 <
@@ -1874,6 +1898,13 @@ filetype.
 The `gohtmltmpl` filetype is automatically set for `*.tmpl` files; the
 `gotexttmpl` is never automatically set and needs to be set manually.
 
+==============================================================================
+                                                    *gomod* *ft-gomod-syntax*
+go.mod file syntax~
+
+The `gomod` 'filetype' provides syntax highlighting for Go's module file 
+`go.mod`
+
 
 ==============================================================================
 DEBUGGER                                                            *go-debug*
diff --git a/ftdetect/gofiletype.vim b/ftdetect/gofiletype.vim
index 8cd1148d84..acb061d7db 100644
--- a/ftdetect/gofiletype.vim
+++ b/ftdetect/gofiletype.vim
@@ -31,8 +31,9 @@ au BufReadPost *.s call s:gofiletype_post()
 
 au BufRead,BufNewFile *.tmpl set filetype=gohtmltmpl
 
-au BufNewFile *.mod setfiletype gomod | setlocal fileencoding=utf-8 fileformat=unix
-au BufRead *.mod call s:gofiletype_pre("gomod")
-au BufReadPost *.mod call s:gofiletype_post()
+" make sure we explicitly look for a `go.mod` and the `module` starts from the
+" beginning
+au BufNewFile,BufRead go.mod
+	\ if getline(1) =~ '^module.*' | set filetype=gomod |  endif
 
 " vim: sw=2 ts=2 et
diff --git a/ftplugin/gomod/commands.vim b/ftplugin/gomod/commands.vim
index d04fd50a81..d6a7285fce 100644
--- a/ftplugin/gomod/commands.vim
+++ b/ftplugin/gomod/commands.vim
@@ -1 +1,3 @@
 command! -nargs=0 -range GoModFmt call go#mod#Format()
+
+command! -nargs=0 GoModFmtAutoSaveToggle call go#mod#ToggleModFmtAutoSave()
diff --git a/plugin/go.vim b/plugin/go.vim
index a19175e3bb..78f7e5b570 100644
--- a/plugin/go.vim
+++ b/plugin/go.vim
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ endfunction
 
 function! s:modfmt_autosave()
   " go.mod code formatting on save
-  if get(g:, "go_modfmt_autosave", 1)
+  if get(g:, "go_mod_fmt_autosave", 1)
     call go#mod#Format()
   endif
 endfunction
diff --git a/syntax/gomod.vim b/syntax/gomod.vim
index 969df5172f..3679e2cdf5 100644
--- a/syntax/gomod.vim
+++ b/syntax/gomod.vim
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@ highlight default link gomodReplaceOperator Operator
 
 
 " highlight semver, note that this is very simple. But it works for now
-syntax match gomodVersion "v\d\.\d\.\d"
-syntax match gomodVersion "v\d\.\d\.\d-.*"
+syntax match gomodVersion "v\d\+\.\d\+\.\d\+"
+syntax match gomodVersion "v\d\+\.\d\+\.\d\+-.*"
 highlight default link gomodVersion Identifier
 
 let b:current_syntax = "gomod"