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.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta tdi. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the fuel pump was disintegrating from the inside, sending metal shavings through the fuel system. As a result, the higher pressure fuel pump became defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and they decided to cover the cost of the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 90,205.
Was driving along and car lost power, engine quit and would not restart. Had car towed to dealer where they diagnosed the problem as a high pressure fuel pump failure. All injectors, fuel lines, and associated parts to be replaced. Tank has to be drained and flushed. Dealer said volkswagon would cover all costs releated to repair!
I was coming to a stop off a highway off ramp. My car died while coming to the stop. This has happened before and I've taken it to the dealership several times for this and stalling out while accelerating from a complete stop, and I was told there was nothing wrong. Today the car would not stay started after starting 8 times. I started from P and N, but once I put the car in D or S it would immediately shut down. Putting the car in R made a huge clunk. I was stuck and blocking a huge line of traffic! I am going to the dealer to find out what's going wrong, but this is unacceptable for any car to die for no reason.
Car appeared to be sluggish as I was driving back to the office from lunch. As I approach the last major intersection before getting on the highway, the car started to make a very loud ticking/knock sound that was rev dependent. As I accelerated on the highway two faults came up on the instrument cluster. They were a flashing glow plug light and the phrase engine fault workshop. I was just reaching the speed limit at this time but power began to fade (in heavy traffic, luckily I had not yet moved into other lanes). I managed to drive at 40 to 45 mph to the next exit and safely parked the car. The car was towed to the local VW dealer who noted that the hpfp (high pressure fuel pump) had failed and taken out the entire fuel system (the car is diesel powered). The diesel fuel in the tank was tested and came back uncontaminated. It had been 54 miles since my last fill up on 2/2/2013.
- Round Rock, TX, USA
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This car is a VW Jetta tdi (turbodiesel). Driving on I-96 between lansing and brighton the Jetta began to run roughly with a loss of power. The traffic was very slow due to a snowstorm, so I was able to continue driving. The car ran increasingly rough and eventually stopped. The car was towed to my local dealership, germain VW in ann arbor. The report was fuel system failure due to the hpfp breaking apart. The entire fuel system will need to be replaced and the fuel tank fully cleaned of metal fragments.
Driving up a mountain highway, the car lost all power (even with the gas pedal to the floor). Once pulled over, the vehicle wouldn't start again. The high pressure fuel pump in the tdi failed catastrophically and sent metal shrapnel throughout the entire fuel system.
I was making a left turn entering North bound traffic on greenfield road South of baseline road on Wednesday January 16, 2013. Traffic was very heavy and upon entering traffic the engine suddenly began to loose power, run very rough. It seems like all of the dash warning lights flashed several times before the engine completely died. After the engine died, I lost power steering and was unable to safely negotiate my way to the side of the road. I was almost struck two times before I was able to coast into a parking lot on East side of greenfield road. The repair of the vehicle is currently underway. The failure was due to the high pressure injector pump failing, creating metal shavings that clogged and contaminating the entire fuel system. The car has 104,000 miles on it and there was no prior indication of fuel system problems. The failure was catastrophic. There was no other contamination of the fuel.
Jetta tdi was running fine with no indications of any problem. Following a routine oil change, the car just stopped running and would not restart. Local VW dealer service manager indicates issue is with fuel pump and ensuing debris in engine. Cost to repair in excess of $5,000. VW to date unwilling to acknowledge defect and contribute towards cost of repair, or show any concern for the safety issues this sort of problem presents.
This is the second complaint filed on this car. The ref # for the first NHTSA complaint is voq 10484807. On Nov 26, 2012 (date taken from dealer repair invoice) I picked the car up at the dealership after the initial failure repairs. I reset the trip meter (I don't remember the exact mileage the vehicle had when I picked it up). Later that same day (26 Nov 12) I took the car back to the dealership and told them the engine was making a weird sound. The mechanic agreed that the engine was making a weird sound and said he thought it was the new secondary fuel pump making the noise. The dealership agreed to order a new secondary pump for the car and they told to continue driving the car until the new pump arrived. On or about 12 Dec 2012, the car suffered another rapid deceleration failure identical to the one that occurred on 26 Sep 2012 with the exception that the engine did not completely quit. I was able to limp the car home (top speed was approximately 20 mph) using side streets and staying off the freeway. The trip meter had 349 miles on it when I got home. I called the dealership and had the car towed to them. They replaced the fuel tank pumps (apparently there are two pumps in the fuel tank). While they were test driving the vehicle, to return it to me, they experienced a rapid deceleration (from their description it appeared as the same failure I had just experienced). The dealership called me and told me they were at a loss to explain the failure and they would have to call the VW tech line for help. VW told them they thought the problem was the hpfp. In total, all three fuel pumps were once again replaced. To VW and hoy-fox credit these repairs were done at no cost to me (except for the tow bill). The car is now on its third hpfp in less than four months. Bottom line, in my opinion, the VW tdi hpfp is a safety hazard and should be recalled.
Jetta wagon tdi clean diesel vehicle was being driven about 35 mph on busy road with full tank of fuel. Vehicle started stumbling and losing power. Within 30 seconds of stumbling vehicle then stalled. Initially was able to be restarted but was stumbling severely and was only able to creep a few feet before stalling. Vehicle was unable to be restarted and had to be towed 23 miles to nearest dealership where the intercooler (charge cooler) was found to have iced up and contain ice and water. This seems to be known issue with the vehicle as VW has a tsb out on the issue. The dealership stated that they actually had another vehicle with the same issue come in the day after ours and last winter had many with this issue. This appears to be a known issue and is clearly a safety issue if it can cause the vehicle to suddenly and unpredictably loose power and stall. VW tsb # 21 11 06 / 2025464 references this issue.
VW Volkswagen Jetta sportwagen tdi 2009. Was driving about 35 mph when engine loses most of its power. A glow plug indicator light turned on and I saw an engine fault/workshop error. I quickly turned onto a side street and stopped the engine. After a couple minutes I restarted the car but it still had low power. After about 10 seconds it stalled and could not be restarted. Had it towed to a VW dealership and 5 days later they ran diagnostics and said it was a failed fuel pump and that metal shards were throughout the fuel system and everything needed to be replaced.
Car: 2009 Volkswagen tdi sportwagen on December 16th at approximately 1230pm, I entered interstate I-95 via exit 19 in southport, ct heading southbound. As I accelerated and merged into the lane from the onramp as I got up to speed (@60 mph) the "glow plug light" came on and then the engine light came on. The car immediately began losing power and I pulled over to the side of the very busy interstate. It was dangerous as I lost power and had to maneuver between passing cars in order to get to the shoulder to pull over. I turned off the engine and let the car rest for a minute or so. I turned the engine back on and the check engine light came on again. I attempted to accelerate and the car had very limited power so I immediately stopped the car again and turned off the engine. I got out of the car, opened the hood, and noticed what appeared to be gasoline coating the engine as well as trailing behind the car. I called aaa and had my car towed to the riverbank Volkswagen dealership in stamford, ct which was closed due to the fact that it was Sunday. The following day I spoke with the service manager and was informed that the car would not be looked at until Friday December Dec 21st when a "specialist" from VW would arrive to inspect the car. I have performed my own diligence and have found that similar issues with the 2009 Jetta tdi's have been fairly common and I expect (hope) VW will cover all repair and rental car costs for me in this matter.
I started my car and for the first time ever, it hesitated and failed to start. I restarted my car and it started. I proceeded to drive home and about a half mile into the drive it hesitated and lost much of its power. A flashing glow plug warning light came on and then a quick message on the display about an engine failure and bring to service. I was about a mile from my VW dealership and drove towards it. About a quarter of a mile later, the car (still hesitating - now I know it is called "limp mode") made a grinding noise from the passenger side of the engine bay, and the car lost all power and stopped in traffic. I had to have it towed to the dealership, where they diagnosed a high pressure fuel pump failure. The entire fuel system (fuel tank, 3 pumps, all fuel lines, common rail fuel delivery system, fuel filter holder, fuel filter, fuel injectors) were replaced under power train warranty. I am the only person to fill this car with diesel fuel and always do so at reputable stations. The fuel was tested and did not contain gasoline or any additives. This car was first purchased in North Carolina and is a us vehicle. I bought it from the original owner (at 6200 miles) and drove it to Canada. It is registered in Ontario. I have had all service done in buffalo NY at northtown VW while under warranty and this repair was also performed (as per VW of America restrictions) in buffalo NY. I had to pay the expense of having it towed from toronto to buffalo.
While driving the dash warning lights illuminated and the car stalled causing complete loss of all power steering almost causing me to lose control and wreck. I was able to steer car to side of road and stop. Once stopped was able to get car to restart but was barely able to drive home (periodically died and had to restart, wouldn't stay running or idle). Had car towed to repair shop. They have diagnosed problem as low rail fuel pressure caused by failed high pressure fuel pump. This failure caused metal shavings to be dispersed throughout entire fuel system. I'm told that the hp fuel pump, low and high pressure fuel regulators, and tank fuel pump all must be replaced along with a complete removal and cleaning of all fuel system components. Estimated cost to repair is between $7,000 and $10,000. This car is a diesel tdi.
I was driving on the interstate, at about 68 mph, when the engine completely shut down without any warning whatsoever. The car, having a manual transmission, was still in gear and slowed down very quickly without any warning to other drivers (no brake lights). I tried to push in the clutch and coast to the shoulder, and successfully made it off the highway. The car restarted, and I made it a few miles towards the dealer before it happened again, luckily on a low-traffic street. The car was towed the rest of the way towards the dealer and diagnosed as a failed high pressure fuel pump, causing catastrophic fuel system damage. The fuel rail, injectors, pump, tank, and all lines will need to be replaced as the result of the pump failure caused bits of metal flakes to circulate about the fuel system. The diagnosis and listed repairs were determined by the Volkswagen dealer.
On September 26, 2012 while traveling in Arkansas, eastbound on interstate 30, at 75 miles per hour, my 2009 VW Jetta sports wagen tdi suffered a high pressure fuel pump failure. I was told by the little rock VW dealership that I had contaminated fuel. I filed an insurance claim. The insurance company had an independent lab do an analysis on the fuel. The insurance company denied my claim because the fuel was not contaminated. The insurance company informed me that the NHTSA has revived numerous complaints about high pressure fuel pump failures on Volkswagen tdi engines. I want to add my vehicle to that list with an independent lab analysis stating that the fuel was not contaminated. It is definitely a safety hazard when your vehicle stops on a congested highway. Additionally, with repair bills for this failure ranging from $6,000 to $10,000 the NHTSA should require VW to recall their vehicles with the tdi engines.
I was on the exit ramp of the interstate and the go to workshop warning came on along with the glow plug warning light. Vehicle lost power, I was able to get to a side street and turned off vehicle, it restarted and seemed fine drove about 2 miles and stopped for a light, car stalled and warning lights came back on. Car did not restart had push to side of road and tow home. Towed to dealer first of week. Found to be high pressure fuel pump failure of the diesel engine. This is the second one to go bad first one at 135380 miles and now at 228605 miles only 93225 miles on repair job. VW repaired the first one, replaced entire fuel system at no charge, do to faulty hpfp. Even though this pump has less miles they will not help with repair cost. Both times car died at a major intersection and had to be pushed to side of road.
While starting to accelerate after a stop, my 2009 Jetta tdi shuddered and died with a "major engine failure" error and would not restart. The car was blocking traffic at a major intersection. Had to have the car pushed out of the traffic lane and then waited for a tow truck to tow it to the local dealer. After one day they said the had no idea what was wrong with it. On the second day the dealer called to say that they found the fuel pump had blown apart and there were metal shards throughout my entire fuel system and it would need to be completely replaced (approx $8-9000 in repairs). They also said that the warranty would not cover it unless I could prove that I only put diesel fuel in so had to provide receipts for my recent fuel purchases as well as fuel samples. Still waiting for the warranty company to decide whether or not they will cover the repair so I am without a vehicle while they haggle. Luckily I was almost stopped when it happened or it could have been a bigger safety issue (although I was in a car in a busy intersection causing a major traffic jam with many potential crashes all around me -- the honking horns and swerving cars attest to that -- as I sat waiting to be pushed out of the way).
Tdi diesel engine. Entered highway, car stuttered, engine died, displayed workshop code problem, glowplug light flashing. Restarted one time, traveled to parking area, engine died and would not restart. Code was P0087, fuel pump pressure failure. No previous problems or hints of this issue. Sudden engine failure. Very dangerous, was driving uphill, the one restart allowed me to leave road. Dealer noted no fuel contamination. System was properly primed on fuel filter changes. Used a ross-tech cable and software. Repair is expected to be about $7000. Previous diesel 2001 model was still running with 332,000 miles when this one was purchased. Tdiclub.com website has noted many of these failures, search hpfp, high pressure fuel pump. VW is not furnishing pumps designed with the us diesel fuel quality in mind. VW needs to correct this problem, there have been a lot of these failures.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Jupiter , FL, USA