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.
Automobile stalling, rough running, loss of power, hard start. Happens all the time with temperature's above 40 degrees F. happened from the day I took it off the lot. Have had it in to VW multiple times, computer "re-flashed" nobody knows what is going on. From what I read on tdi forum's it could be the hpfp high pressure fuel pump, or something in the emissions that just is not right. This is very dangerous because I have had the stall happen on the highway. The ntsb needs to go after VW asap to get a recall on these vehicles, if the hpfp fails it is a 10K fix, that is 50% of the value of the car, unacceptable.
Today is April 2, 2011. I was driving my 2009 Jetta tdi on the highway where my engine died on me right before my coil light went off while doing 60+ miles. I had my car towed to the VW dealership in stratford ct. While waiting I started to look up any information on issues related to mine because my car turned only 2 years old March 15 2011. I had heard on the radio on car talk that tdi were shutting down on the highways and that it was being looked into by the NHTSA. I also read dozens of other stories online with related issues which in the end cost them a few thousand to ten thousand to fix on relatively new car. I have read it is due to hpfp needing to be replaced which was damaged when fueled up with incorrect fuel. Basically VW is saying that metal particulates are in the fuel filters and system due to putting gas instead of diesel. They are telling this supposed catch all to everyone with this issue. I have never put anything other than diesel into my car. The warranty is only good up to 50K. I am at 54K. This is an on going issue for Jetta tdi owners and will continue to be an issue when the mileage climbs. This is also a safety issue that I take personally due to a child being in the car at the time of the break down in the middle of the highway. I wanted to write in concern for my own issues with this and other ct Jetta tdi owners of ct/usa. I don't know if you can help but I wanted to try. Thank you very much for your time.
Engine abruptly stalled entering large multi-lane intersection, as engine repair light came on. Suddenly inoperative power train on the vehicle without any prior warning. Tdi diesel powered vehicle. Towed to dealership and diagnosed with hpfp (fuel pump) & fuel system failure.
On March 6, while driving a 2009 VW Jetta tdi at approximate 70 mph on the highway, the cruise control shut off, the glow plug light came on, and an warning that read "engine failure workshop!" came on. The car would not accelerate faster than 58 mph and I pulled over to the side of the road. The owner's manual did not indicate the meaning of the glow plug warning light. I turned the car off and restarted it and both the glow plug light and "engine failure workshop!" lights were off. I drove the car home and called the dealership the next morning. The dealership service center indicated that the warning light indicated the glow plug. The dealership stated that I could continue to drive my car until a part they ordered for me came in unless I experienced "driveability" issues, at which time I could take it directly to the dealership.
- Jacksonville, FL, USA
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I left my house, approximately 8 miles from the house I stopped at a light. When the light turned green my engine stalled, I saw lots of cars coming up upon me at highway speeds. I got the car restarted got it to the curb. When the car shut down at the light, no warning lights had gone off at all. As soon as I got it stared all the warning lights flashed. I thought it was due to a cold temperature issue it was 8 degrees out. I tried to make it back home: The car quit working approximately 2 miles from my house and, would not start anymore. I waited a few hours for the sun to come up to warm up the car, and performed road side service and I was unable to restart car. I had it towed to a local shop. Informed hpfp had a catastrophic failure. I was informed by VW to bring the car to their shop for further evaluation. At this time I'm waiting for a response? hopefully they stand behind their product, or are they just another corporation that does not care for its customers. Response from VW contaminated in fuel asked for lab report was denied and told.they drew fuel from the car into a glass jar saw that it was cloudy and there fore it was contaminated. Not are problem I have three more years to pay on the green car of the year 2009 tdi diesel please help us before someone dies. Please start holding their corporation on standards instead of them taking advantage of the people.
Vehicle has stalled twice while idling, shortly after start-up. Temperature in the 40S. Brought it in to local VW dealer (montesi VW, North haven, ct) service department. I asked them to address stalling and given the open investigation by NHTSA, to check for hpfp failure. They assured me that there were a series of tests that they would run but stated that "people see something on the internet and blow it out of proportion." They claim that they performed an ECM software update, with this software telling the car how much diesel it needs at any particular time given the conditions, e.g. temperature. They claim that they replaced the fuel filter. When we asked them to confirm that there was no debris (or other sign of impending hpfp failure) in the fuel filter they were unable to. They replied that they just remove the fuel filter and throw it away but don't look at or inspect it. I have driven it twice since pick-up, about 100 miles. I have yet to experience further stalling.
While driving 2009 Jetta tdi with approximately 42K miles, glow plug lights flashed and then resulted in engine failure and all power loss while driving approximately 70mph on highway. Vehicle was then towed to local car service. At first we were told there may have been contaminated fuel that caused this problem. Once a mechanic looked at it we were told there were shards of metal through the fuel lines and in the engine, resulting in repairs upward of $10,000. Furthermore I have the last 25 reprinted receipt showing diesel was the fuel put in this vehicle, from a reputable fuel provided. I feel this must be address soon or there is going to be a very serious accident. I believe that this could have been a potential accident and we could have been seriously hurt if not for the engine light coming on and us seeing it soon enough to get it stop and under control. I implore you to please check this closely. I see I am not the only complaint on this issue and I believe as these cars get 40K to 50K miles on them we will see much more failures. [xxx] parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
I was driving a 2009 VW Jetta tdi. I was traveling at a highway speed (around 65pmh) when suddenly the engine stopped. I almost got hit while trying to secure the vehicle to a safe location. This problem is very unsafe. The engine malfunction light came on. The car would no longer turn on. I had the car towed to a dealer who stated that the fuel pump was sending metal shards through the fuel system. The total cost is between 6-10K and the car only has 42,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the fuel light illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the entire fuel system needed to be replaced as it was rusted. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 31,000 and the current mileage was 32,000. Updated 09/02/11
Friday, Feb 18th driving home, on a busy highway, during rush hour, my vehicle started a clicking noise, my dashboard lit up with a message 'flashing glow-plug and check engine light. Seconds later the car stalled and I had seconds to get out of the traffic. The car would not start. The car currently has 24,600 miles. I called VW emergency towing and it was taken to the dealership. Today Saturday the 18th I received a call from the VW dealership of gaithersburg, md telling me there was major damage in the hpfp and fuel system caused by contaminated diesel fuel. I replied that I only utilize 2 diesel gas stations; bp and sunoco. I have never put any other fuel in but diesel and only from a reputable gas station. Now the VW dealership is telling me I must pay for repairs that will exceed $7,000.
2009 VW sportwagon tdi. Proper diesel fuel used. At about 1/4 tank remaining, glow plug light went on and car stalled. Towed to dealer who said that hpfp imploded and metal chips in system. Estimated over $8000 to repair. Since I am good customer and had 75,000 mi on car, they agreed to pay 10%, VW of America 85%, and I had to pay 5%. they verified that diesel fuel was in tank!
Started car to let it warm up.. came out 20 minutes later and the car was off.. had the car towed to dealer to find out that the high pressure fuel pump has failed. The pump sent metal into the fuel system. Dealer has covered replacement of entire fuel system under warranty. Just received a phone call from the dealer stating that they are now hearing a strange noise in cyl # 1.. waiting for a call at this point..
Was driving my 2009 Jetta tdi to work one morning last week when the check engine light came on and the glow plug light was blinking. The dash indicator said something like engine malfunction workshop. I took it to the dealership after work and they diagnosed the following: "received fault for po671A & P0087 glow plug & fuel pressure too low. Found regulator leaking on to glow plug #4 causing dtc's for glow plug." I had to have the glow plug and the fuel rail replaced at my expense ($970) since VW wouldn't pay for it and said the repair was not under warranty. I received the car back after the repair and the very next day, while driving to work, the glow plug light started blinking again for awhile and then turned off. So I went back to the dealership and it was diagnosed as a P0087 and they said it was a bad high pressure fuel pump - pressure was too low. I called VW of America and left a message. Vwoa contacted the dealership the next day and agreed to cover the bad fuel pump under warranty. The hpfp had not yet blown but would have according to the dealership if I'd kept driving without having the instance of the gp light investigated. This would have caused a catastrophic failure of the fuel system with a cost of repair between $6K - 10K. Since we caught it in time, the cost is in the neighborhood of $1600.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta tdi diesel. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle and driving 20 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle yet the failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and they advised the contact that he had added regular gasoline to the vehicle as opposed to diesel, which caused the failure. The dealer repaired the high pressure fuel system, the fuel tank and the catalytic converter. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 29,400.
Glow plug indicator symbol flashing on dashboard. I had just left my house so I decided to drive around the block to get back to my house to check on the symbol. Within one block the car lost power, the glow plug indicator came back on (flashing) as did the engine warning symbol. My car could now only clunk forward at about 5 mph. I made it over to the curbside, grabbed my manual, and walked home. I called the VW dealer and he said that he'd seen a couple of cases like this and that the car would have to be towed in." I had it towed to dealership (this was a Saturday). On Monday I heard that there was a problem with the fuel pump (hpfp) and that the whole fuel system would have to be replaced. Luckily, I was still under warranty. It's a very expensive repair. More luckily, this power failure did not happen on the freeway, which is where I was heading. I could have been killed. Please see this string of complaints about the fuel pump failure - which so far VW is denying is a problem: www.tdi-issues.com/hpfp-cases-tac68/. also, please pursue this as a safety issue and consider a recall. There has been no guarantee from VW that this repair will not stop the problem from occurring again. When my car is repaired, I will still feel unsafe, since VW will not admit the part was faulty and will not clarify that they have replaced the hpfp with a new, improved version.
While driving to work, the engine malfunction dashboard light illuminated while making a left turn, traveling about 20 mph, with slightly less than 1/2 tank fuel from the same filling. The left turn where the malfunction occurred was the last 1/2 mile of my ~15 mile commute to work. Immediately after observing the malfunction light, I could hear a metal-on-metal grinding sound coming from under the hood. The engine did not stop running though the grinding noise persisted for the remaining 1/2 mile of my commute. After turning the car off in the parking lot, I contacted my VW dealer and informed them of the problem. They recommended I try driving the car to the dealer for service, which is about 15.5 miles from my workplace. I stayed at work for the next 3 hours, and around midday set off to drive the car to the VW dealer. The car started, but the grinding noise persisted and the engine malfunction light illuminated within 1 minute of starting. At the same intersection where the problem had originally started, 1/2 mile from work, I was forced to stop at a red light. While stopped, the engine operation became very rough and the engine stopped running. I was able to restart and lightly accelerate when the light turned green, but the car stalled after about 10 seconds, though I had enough momentum to get out and push the car into a parking lot. I had the car towed to the VW dealer. The dealer reported that they found shards of metal throughout the fuel system, especially in the fuel pump. They quoted me VW's statement about gasoline contamination of diesel fuel, and implied that I may have incorrectly fueled the car. However, they took a fuel sample from my tank and reported that it was normal diesel with no signs of contamination. They agreed to replace the entire fuel system. The car has run normally since repairing.
My 2009 Volkswagen Jetta tdi (automatic) has stalled twice while leaving my parking lot at work. I have to go up a small hill to exit the parking lot. When I crest the hill the engine stalls. I make efforts to keep my foot on the gas when I crest the hill and the problem hasn't happened since. I can't do this if cars are coming.
On Jan. 17 2011 I was on a 2 lane highway with cruise control set at 55 M.P.H. the vehicle shuddered and suffered an immediate loss of power. The vehicle display said something like engine workgroup. There was also warning light for glowplug and service engine. I continued approx. 2 miles to work with less power and called Volkswagen who told me to have vehicle towed for service. Vehicle is 2009 VW Jetta tdi. Service reports they found a muddy looking substance and replaced the egr valve. The check engine light was back on within days of this service but has not been returned as of this time. This vehicle has never had gasoline in the fuel system.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lake Forest, IL, USA