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.
I drive a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta and in 2008 it began smelling of crayons. The smell has slowly progressed over the years to the point of nauseating myself and my passengers. On my drive to work the smell is so potent that I am not able to ust the A/C as it has the smell stuck in it and when the windows are up the smell is very bad. If you even sit in the car for a minute when you exit your clothes and hair and skin smell like crayons. When the car gets hot from sitting in the sun the smell is very very strong. When other passengers enter my car, they experience head aches, extreme allergy symptoms, and sick to the stomach feelings. I've reached out to Volkswagen through both dealer and the VW of America website. Dealerships say there is no fix for this smell (caused by an outgassing of sound deadening material). Volkswagen denies claims of this being an issue. However, if you type "my Jetta smells like" into any search engine it immediately populates with "crayons". I am frustrated that my car physically makes me sick and the manufacturer remains purposefully oblivious to what could only be described as a design flaw. I'm posting this claim as a public record to a design flaw in older models of vws.
While driving with the air-conditioning running there was foam coming out of the air vents, hitting the face and eyes and causing a near miss on the highway. The problem has since worsened and foam gets all over your clothes and in your car. The problem has gone so far that the air blend is affected. The airflow comes from all vents regardless of what section you have selected. Contacted Volkswagen of America and they are saying that there is no danger and no reason for a recall.
I drive a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta and in 2008 it began smelling of crayons. The smell has slowly progressed over the years to the point of nauseating me and my fellow passengers. This morning on my drive to work the smell was so potent that I had to pull over twice to throw up. When other passengers enter my car, they experience head aches, extreme allergy symptoms, and sick to the stomach feelings. I've reached out multiple times to Volkswagen through both dealer and corporate media. Dealerships say there is no fix for this smell (caused by an outgassing of sound deadening material). Volkswagen denies claims of this being an issue. However, if you type "my Jetta smells like" into any search engine it immediately populates with "crayons". I am frustrated that my car physically makes me sick and the manufacturer remains purposefully oblivious to what could only be described as a design flaw. I'm posting this claim as a public record to a design flaw in older models of vws.
There is a terrible smell that my car has on the interior now. It smells of melting burnt crayons. It is worse in the summer or when I run the heat. The smell stays on my clothes and other people smell it on me. It gives me headaches. (I am not the only one). Apparently it is from the sound-proofing and firewall? I read this in a forum. The smell is something that has developed over time and did not exist when I first purchaced the vehicle, used (not new), in 2006. I have seen many other complaints in forums and possible solutions and it seems that VW should just fix the problem or maybe not create the problem in the first place. If I had known that this would happen, then I would have never purchased this car. I will never buy another VW and I have even talked someone else out of buying a VW because of this. Maybe if VW cared a little more about fixing the problems and less about fattening their wallets!
The contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta. While driving approximately 65 mph, the contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact did not inform the dealer or manufacturer of the failure. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who inspected the vehicle and advised the contact that the timing belt was fractured and would need to be replaced. Also, the tensioner and engine may have been damaged and the contact was awaiting the results. The current and failure mileage was approximately 94,000.
- Deptford, NJ, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
My 2004 VW Jetta 1.8 turbo which I purchased new is having transmission problems. My cat has only 66,000 miles in it and has been well maintained. In the past two years I have replaced the fuel pump, battery, catalytic converter, numerous vacuum leaks ect...but a transmission"??" Volkswagen needs to issue a recall as this is way to common!! please help!
The contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that the vehicle overheated because the water pump failed. The contact stated tah the rim on the water pump made of plastic broke in two pieces. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were approximately 56,000. Updated 02/10/11 updated 10/12/11
The contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact had to replace the ignition coils and the cylinders in the engine. The coils were replaced several times and failed again after one month. The mechanic stated that this was a major problem with this make and model vehicle. The first failure occurred in February 2010 when the vehicle caught fire. The vehicle was repaired six times within a year. All of the coils do not fail at the same time, but the all four coils have been replaced more than one time. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 101000 and the current mileage was 135000.
Volkswagen Jetta (all VW) have plastic impeller water pump that breaks, causing rapid overheating and possible engine seizure. Engine seizure may result in rear end collision. Volkswagen knows of this problem but refuses to recall the vehicles. New water pump is required to repair the condition. The parts costs over $200. Fairly easy to replace but the plastic parts could also break loose and get pumped through the engine and turbo and cause catastrophic failure.
Letter from congressman carter on behalf of constituent regarding a situation involving his VW Jetta recall announcement (dot/I # 2010-2106) on January 18, 2010 the consumer took his vehicle to the dealer because of a recall received, however the dealer stated nothing could be done since the check engine light was not on. Six days later, the engine failed while the consumer was more than 450 miles away from home. The consumer had the vehicle towed to repair shop and the service was completed. The consumer then submitted a claim for reimbursement once he returned home, but to date has not received a response from VW.
Volkswagen Jetta (all VW) have plastic impeller water pump that breaks, causing rapid overheating and possible engine seizure. Engine seizure may result in rear end collision. Volkswagen knows of this problem but refuses to recall the vehicles. New water pump is required to repair the condition.
I have a 2001 VW Jetta. When it gets hot outside (sometimes) the vehicle loses power while driving then regains it. Also when it starts acting up if U stop the car will shut off and U gave to restart it. I have took the care to VW they don't know what is wrong with it. Replaced several parts (throttle body, dwn flow 02 sensor, coil pack plugs, catalytic converter) still don't know. The only thing the computer is showing is cooling system performance. One VW dealer said there was a wiring problem that sometimes causes similar problems. If this is the case why is it not a recall since the wiring is from dealer. The inside temp on the care never runs hot or the radiator. Thank you for your help.
I have a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta tdi diesel, which has the pd type engine. This pd design has a well-known defect; specifically, an extra load is placed on the camshaft because it drives the fuel injection system, as opposed to previous VW tdi models in which an external rotary pump drove the fuel injectors. Because of this defect, VW instituted a special oil requirement for this car to satisfy the additional lubrication demands of this design. Initially that oil specification was VW 505.01; most recently it has been changed to VW 507 or castrol oe professional 5W/30. I bought this car used with 80,000 miles on it in July, 2006, and have always had my oil changes done at VW dealerships: One in merrillville, in and one in bensenville, il. On all but one occasion, both dealerships documented the use of VW $505.01 compliant oil in my car. On the one occasion in which VW $505.01 oil was not used, the dealer in bensenville, il put a generic oil in my car that had no identifying characteristics, other than its dramatically lower price per quart. I did not notice this at the time, because at this February 23, 2008 service the dealer had also pointed out that I needed to have all 4 brake rotors and pads replaced, so I did not have a lower service cost to alert me; this service cost far more than usual and I did not realize at the time that I could tell exactly what oil they were putting in my car from the part number on my invoice; I thought that part number corresponded to the oil change service itself. On August 8, 2008, I had a catastrophic engine failure of the sort the VW service manual warns about if the wrong oil is used, "...even if only a small amount of incorrect oil is added to the correct oil to top off the level." I did not have an accident, and there were no other cars around me when the failure occurred, but I incurred about $8,000 of repair costs due to damage to my camshaft, valve lifters, total egr-intake system and turbocharger.
Clutch failed at 52K miles, was told it was not covered under warrant due to wear and tear, mechanic deemed it a faulty part, VW said it only covered manufacturer defects up to 50K miles, paid $1500 to replace clutch. Trunk pops open randomly and latch makes clicking noises. Air cooling sensor needs to be replaced, my car is reading a running temp of -54 when it should be 160. Car stalls if I turn it off after driving more than a few miles then doesn't turn over if the engine cuts off. Black smoke pours out of tailpipe and it burns double the gas it should. Luckily they extended the factory warranty on the sensor last week and it can be fixed for free at a VW dealership only.
Car began making loud popping noise. Took car to dealership. After three days of evaluation, the dealer had to contact VW technician for assistance. The VW technician informed the dealer to check the camshaft as they have been noticing problems in the field in vehicles with 80,000 - 150,000 miles. They stated that there was a problem with the metal being too thin and wearing too quickly.
1. coolant light came on (1st time). 2. brought the car to the dealership, they pressure tested the system and reported no leaks. They topped the system and charged me $100 3. coolant light came on (2nd time). 4. brought car back to dealership, they now report that problem as the egr cooler. They suggested I contact VW of Canada to discuss this failure as it is becoming very common. 5. called vwoc and they would not assist with this very expensive repair.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Honolulu, HI, USA