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.
When pulling into work, my airbag light came on along with a message that said "airbag fault!" I have since had this diagnosed as a failed clock spring (located in the steering column), which VW will not replace because the car is over mileage and too old for any kind of goodwill replacement of the part. Since this is a critical safety system, I am disappointed that it failed on an effectively new car, when none of the 15-20 year old beaters I've driven have ever had a clock spring failure.
Rear driver side door will not lock. The door can not be locked with the remote or manually. This is a very serious safety issue. Have also noticed that the alarm will not beep when armed with the remote.
While traveling on rt 287 @ 10:30 pm all of sudden the lights on passenger side went out from front to back of vehicle (headlights, markers, blinkers, and brake light. And then the the other side went out also I found myself in the dark which is a safety concern when you have tractor trailers traveling around you at excessive speeds. Which I almost got hit. The next day everything was working again then it went off again. I can only drive this vehicle before sunset. ( there should be recall on this before someone gets killed as it almost happen to me.) if you research this you will notice that others are having same issue.
The fuse box melted causing failure to many of the vehicles functions. Had I been moving or in a crash - I would have been unable to unlock doors, open windows etc. They fuse box issues started with shorting out the headlights (another safety issue). VW refuses to acknowledge the severity of this issue. I know this has happened with many other owners as well. I am very disappointed and concerned for my safety as well as others.
I noticed first that the alarm will not chirp when activated however the lights will flicker. As a result it was the rear driver side door will not lock. After the rain season the problem went away. It did happen every year till it stops working all together. I found out by other owners that it is a common problem and that I was lucky that the lock was jammed unlock, if it was jammed locked it was unable to repair without damaging the door. I feel if so many owners are having the same problem in a fairly new car it seems a manufacturing defect and not wear and tear.
- Doral, FL, USA
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Seat belt warning light and chime come on and off randomly even when the seat belt is engaged. This occurs when the vehicle is both in motion and at a standstill.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The failure occurred three different times intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 48,000.
Door locks began to malfunction. Locks will not lock or release with key fob or door locking mechanism. This problems was identified by the service tech at the dealership as normal and a regular replacement for model years 2006-2010.
Melting fuse box...lights on one side of car stop working. All of them. Very obvious fire danger. Fuse box has been replaced once and now needs to be replaced again after only 6 weeks.
I had just left my VW dealership it have an unrelated issues looked at, I had a service that wed. I pulled out of the dealership drove about a mile and my car flashed so kind of warning. I turned around to go back to the dealership and it died. I was less than a mile away from getting on the interstate where I would have been traveling at 70 mph.
We were driving on a two lane highway. The cruise control was set. Out of nowhere the car just quit. The gauges went to zero. The car didn't have power. We coasted until we found a clearing where we could pull off the road. We were able to apply the brakes to come to a complete stop. We were very lucky we were able to coast far enough to find a spot to pull off. There was not an emergency lane on the road. The closest town was 18 miles away. We put the car in park and tried to start it without any luck. After awhile it did turn back on and we were able to drive to the dealership.
First incident in July 2011 but same ongoing issue and at the dealership at least 8 times in 11 months. Currently at the dealership again for almost 3 weeks now. Its always the same "symptoms" but always told its another problem..... as follows: -sputters and jerks -exhaust or gas fumes overcome the car -engine revs but the car wont move, then jolts forward. -stalls when trying to start, it jerks violently making a putting noise as if it can't get fuel then dies. -there's a beeping noise coming from something in the engine when it stalls that no one seems to know what it is. I have replaced: -intake manifold -all fuel sensors -low pressure fuel pump -high pressure fuel pump -melted fuses with unknown cause -two batteries -other smaller items related to fuel system.
I turned my car on, and the airbag warning light came on. The owner's manual states to take it immediately to a dealer. I did so, as quickly as possible, for computer diagnostics. I was told the pods system had failed on my passenger side. My passenger airbag does not turn on when I have a passenger in the car. VW told me they would not pay for the part because I was out of warranty, due to mileage. However, I was also told that wear and tear on a vehicle does not impact the functioning of the airbags. Now, VW has a nationwide backorder of the part to repair my vehicle, with no indication of when I will be able to repair my vehicle. As of now, my vehicle is unsafe for passengers. According to the driver's manual, airbag failures may also reduce the effectiveness of the restraint system in the event of a crash. For the price of this vehicle, I would not expect the airbags to fail, ever, let alone in barely three years.
My car caught fire today.car was parked while I was at the doctors, girl came into the office asked if anyone had a white car and that it was on fire. We called 911. The fire department put out the fire. Yesterday I received a recall notice and I called the dealership today to set up a date to get it fixed. I asked if it was safe to drive. I guess it wasn't. the fire dept. Thinks it might be electrical but the recall was for fuel injectors. The dealership sent out a flatbed to tow the car back to there garage. Not sure how it will turn out.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact was driving 25 mph during rainy weather when the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road and had the vehicle towed to a dealer. The dealer ran a diagnostic test and but did not show any defect codes. The contact took the vehicle to another dealer where the dealer found the defect and advised that a faulty sensor caused the vehicle to stall. The dealer replaced the sensor but did not explain to the contact how the sensor caused the failure. The failure mileage was 30,000. Updated 11/25/11 updated 11/30/11
I picked the car up from the dealer on Friday Sept. 30 for repairs from the earlier incident and drove the car approximately 95 miles. On sat. Oct 1 I drove 5 miles and as I turned into my drive way the car shut off in the same manner as before, the doors unlocked and the dash board lights went black. Only this time it did not restart after waiting. I had the car towed to the dealer again, and this time it was a faulty climate control switch in the electrical unit. I contacted VW America again about the issues with the car. See compliant #10428913. I expressed my issues the safety of the car and that the car was suddenly shutting off. VW America covered the cost of the second repairs but not the first.
I was traveling along the outer loop of 495 beltway in the right center lane at approximately 7:15am when the car suddenly shut off. The doors locks clicked unlock and the dash lights went black. The car drifted to the shoulder of the road. After about 5 minutes the car started and I drove 1/2 mile and shut off again in the same manner. The car was towed to Volkswagen of waldorf where they cited a electronic control unit in the steering column was faulty.
My Jetta gli stalled on me while I was on the highway in 5th gear. The epc warning light came on prior to the car stalling. I was unable to start the car after.
I have a VW 2009 Jetta 2.0T wolfsburg series, and it has been happening stallings from nothing. A lot of times when I start the car, it stalls by itself from nothing and sometimes would not start again. Yesteday my wife was driving on the highway, and sudderly the car started to loose power unitl she was running at 20 milles per hour, when from nothing again. The car started running normally again. After she got home I took the car for a ride, and, one more time nothing happened. She drives the car for the most of time, but I had stalled with me, but I was able to restart the car right way. Howerver, losing power on the highway is a new event, and I think is "very dangerous". I had been at the VW dealership that I bought the car, wich is reeves imports at tampa, Florida. When we took the car there for the scheduled maintenance, they were not able to find out what happened with the car. In fact, the car works perfectly, but it concerns me a lot that we have a car that can stall from nothing. I am aware that nthsa have received a lot of complains about these events, and I am pretty sure that VW knows about the problem, but it does make me worry, when nobody does nothing about that situation. What do they want happen" a event that can cause an accident with fatal victims". I think the government has to take care that situation for the safety of the people that had purchased that vehicle.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Tulsa, OK, USA