10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
100,998 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

1996 Volkswagen Jetta windows / windshield problems

windows / windshield problem

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1996 Volkswagen Jetta Owner Comments

problem #4

Jul 202007

Jetta 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 125,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Driving home from school (12 minute drive) at night and the air coming from the vents smelled funny, like coolant. I turned off the fans but still smelled funny. I turned the fans back on and white 'smoke' was coming out of the vents and it smelled heavily of coolant. My windshield began to fog up while I was on the highway. I rolled down my windows and sunroof and tried everything I could to get the window to defog, but it only got worse. I could barely see and felt like I was in a very dangerous situation so I pulled off on the nearest county road. The car began to overheat and I still couldn't see anything so I opened the door and drove to a safe spot and turned the car off. Found out later that there was coolant all over on the floorboards and that the heater core has failed.

- Battle Ground, IN, USA

problem #3

Jun 222006

Jetta 6-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • miles
:the contact stated while driving on an interstate highway at 70mph, there was stinging/burning sensation to the contact's foot. When the foot was removed from the gas pedal, a steaming liquid was observed on the foot and on the floor around the pedals. The liquid was spewing from an area under dashboard above the gas, break and clutch pedals. Steam/vapor also appeared to be coming out of the defroster vents on the dashboard. The accessories were immediately turned off and the vehicle was moved over and off the road. The hot liquid continued to spew and burn the contact's foot as the brakes were being applied. The vapor of the liquid filled the vehicle interferring with the contact's vision.

- Lexington, KY, USA

problem #2

Jan 122006

Jetta 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 114,500 miles
On January 12, 2006, as I was driving my car at 65 mph on the highway an opaque white gas was quickly released from my heater vents and within seconds effectively turned the passenger compartment of my car into a gas chamber. The engine temperature increased after I was able to safely remove the vehicle of the highway. My car was sold with a permanent maintenance free pink VW antifreeze. The documentation that came with the car indicated that other than topping off the antifreeze periodically that no maintenance was necessary. It was determined that my heater core failed; the dealer says it failed because of lack of maintenance. If the system is maintenance free then how can a component fail because of lack of maintenance" I originally thought the vehicle had been vandalized, but the dealer differed. I was unable to find any warnings of the possibility of this occurring in service bulletins or any other VW literature. If the catastrophic failure of a heater core is possible doesn't the manufacture have a duty to warn the purchasers of its products"

- Landover Hills, MD, USA

problem #1

Mar 252005

Jetta 6-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 164,493 miles
Heater core ruptured, causing the coolant to spill over the driver's feet. This eventually caused the windshield to fog up, making the ability to see the road difficult. While consumer was driving the vehicle, he hit a bump and hot coolant fell on his feet. The steam from the hot coolant fogged up the windows and escaped through the vents. The consumer pulled over to parking lot to avoid crashing because of the steam on the window. Volkswagen agreed to repair heating core.

- Downey, CA, USA

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