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.
While driving at highway speed, 65mph, my '09 Jetta tdi stalled. I looked at the instrument panel, it said "engine failure." After pulling to the side of the highway, the car was towed to the dealership where I bought the car new, and had all recommended services performed. At 35,000 miles, and having just been serviced at 30,000, I feel this car may continue to have this same stalling problem and is unreliable.
In July, 2009 I purchased a 2009 VW Jetta tdi sportswagen. The car is a two liter diesel. At 9900 miles the high pressure fuel pump failed and left my wife stranded in traffic. VW of America replaced the entire fuel system, from the fuel tank to the fuel injectors. The repair retails for approximately $10,000. I have read many complaints on the various websites about this issue and it appears to be a recurring issue. I am concerned about the safety of the vehicle going forward as my wife drives our grandchildren to school in the car daily. Every time we use the car, we pray it will not fail again. It is very stressful. VW was very cooperative and even gave us a loaner vehicle. In my opinion, VW should be required to make a recall of all 2009 tdi diesels for at least a check of the fuel filter to see if it has some metal particles in it, which is an indication of the high pressure fuel pump destroying itself. The deal told me ours was full of metal shavings. Even though VW was cooperative in fixing the problem, they gave me no assurance it wouldn't happen again, in fact they were very vague about it. They insisted on keeping all the replaced parts so the home office could evaluate what went wrong. This indicates to me they know what is going on and are being very sly about jumping into a recall. They should be required to at least inform owners of the danger lurking because the potential for a terrible accident is clearly there. My wife was lucky that she was able to get off the roadway without injury. The car has another issue which can be best described as a "bogging" when accelerating. The bogging happens when trying to accelerate, like when making a left turn in front of traffic. It doesn't happen all the time. I have also read many complaints on the internet about this issue. The dealer's response was that they were not aware of this, which I do not believe and that they could not make it recur when they drove the car-another safety issue!
While my wife was driving our 2009 Volkswagen Jetta tdi sportswagen, the engine, without warning, limped and then stalled almost immediately. The car had been filled with almost a full tank (12.6 gallons) of diesel fuel earlier the same day. The failure has not been corrected and the vehicle still does not run.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta dti. While driving, the service engine light illuminated and seconds later, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that there was a metal particle in the high pressure fuel pump. The dealer replaced the fuel pump and entire fuel system. The contact planned to call the manufacturer. The current and failure mileages were 32,622. Updated 02/10/11 updated 04/21/11
2009 VW Jetta tdi. Engine stalls frequently, with delayed restart. The ECU will shut down the engine if the RPM falls, even momentarily, below some predetermined level, I observe this threshold at about 600 RPM. The key must be cycled to the off position and then back to start to restart the vehicle, but once shut down, there is a brief delay before the ECU will engage the starter, leaving the driver of a stalled vehicle in possible harms way, with the key in the start position waiting for the engine to restart. Discussion of this problem is often obfuscated by shame, denial and recriminations about drivers ability to adequately operate a manual trans and clutch. Very skilled drivers may never see the problem, but may also deny it. Many drivers, new to the car, are often unable to drive the vehicle at all. I, as a moderately skilled driver, after over a year driving the car everyday, still stall the vehicle periodically. The solution is to update the firmware in the ECU so that the low RPM threshold is lower (approx 400 RPM), and/or that a short delay be added to the shut down feature so that brief transient low RPM events do not trigger the shut down.
- Topanga, CA, USA
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My 09 tdi wagon with 27K miles broke down on a road trip one month ago. I was going 70 mph on the dangerous California grape vine pass when I lost power suddenly. The "engine fault workshop" came on the dash screen. I luckily coasted to a rest stop on the busy and dangerous highway. To add to the danger we came to rest under the lebec wildfire of Aug. 24th flying vehicles dropped flame retardant over us. We waited for the VW roadside assistance amidst the smoke and flame retardant dust for 2 hours. The car was towed to the nearest dealer and is still in the shop approximately one month later with some part being on back order. Still under warranty, VW is going to repair the faulty fuel pump that imploded and ruined the fuel system it is a $ 6000 repair covered under warranty but I am very concerned when the warranty will expire in 3K miles. Upon further investigation we found on the blogs that this is happening widely and repeatedly among 09 tdi S when they reach a certain mileage. Further more they will be replacing the part with the same faulty part. The VW service dealer refused to give us the old pump or assure us it is a different part with a different part number. The representative I spoke with at VW of America is aware of this widespread faulty fuel pump problem. You get the sense that VW is performing damage control and almost covering up this dangerous defect.
Car, a 2009 VW Jetta diesel tdi with manual transmission, suddenly stalls with no warning such as stuttering or power loss, just goes from full on to sudden off even when moving at steady speed---does so at a range of speeds mostly from about 15 to 45 mph and over no distinguishing conditions that induce the stall such as hot or cold or time car has been in use from start up -----there is no discernible pattern re this stalling other than most often it occurs between 15 and 45 mph. Car is driven daily about 100 miles mostly at highway speeds and was purchased new in 2009 and now has about 38,000 miles--problem did not occur when first purchased and has occurred over the last year since about the 7500 mile mark and happens at least twice per month. Problem does not appear to be electrical as fan, radio etc do not quit, just engine. Car is as purchased and receives service only from the VW dealer from whom it was purchased. Car replaced a 20051/2 Jetta tdi (also manual transmission) which did not experience any such problem. No accident has arisen from this stalling, however it is a safety concern and I have asked the dealer to check into the problem. To date car has had all required service and dealer has not identified a source and reports no similar problem with other cars of the same type and vintage.
Shortly after starting up, the car stalled abruptly while still in driveway. There were no warning signs (low power, rough running, etc), and it was unable to start afterward. This was diagnosed as a failure of the high pressure fuel pump. There was no evidence of fuel contamination or other environmental concerns that may have contributed to the failure. The pump was replaced under warranty.
While driving on the freeway in my 2009 Jetta tdi sportwagen, I experienced a "clunk", a loss of power and a coil light on the dash that said "engine fault - workshop". I managed to keep going to a reasonable exit. As soon as the car stopped at a light, it stalled and would not start again. Car was towed to the dealer, who called it "fuel contamination".
2009 VW Jetta tdi fuel pump explodes sending mental shaving into the fuel system and engine. Causing the vehicle to stall in the middle of the interstate while driving. Dealership gave me repair quote of $10,000. I don't have the money to get my car fix. I was told that this is an ongoing issue with these cars.
I took my 2009 VW Jetta tdi into byers imports, whitehall oh for it's 20K miles service. I had read online that there were issues with the fuel pump throwing metal flakes into the fuel system and I wanted to have them note if there were flakes present when they changed the fuel filter. Metal flakes were observed in the fuel line. They refuse to replace the fuel system even though they commented that there are other cars in the shop with the same issue.
2009 VW Jetta tdi hesitates severely when accelerating quickly from slow movement, such as while turning left in heavy traffic from the center turn lane. We have had several near crashes from this very situation. The car has been to the dealer 3 times for this problem. The dealer finds nothing wrong and no issues show up on the computer. I bought the car new. It now has 13,000. Miles on it. People on the tdi club forum suggest there is a problem with the dsg transmission. I don't know what is wrong, just that in certain situations when you need to accelerate quickly the car just doesn't go. I actually find myself pumping the gas to try to get it going. I am afraid that sooner or later someone is going to have a crash.
Vehicle stalled in middle of a crossroad on a busy highway and would not restart. Pushed out of intersection and called aaa for tow to dealer. Dealer reported hpfp catastrophic failure due to contaminated fuel. $8-10K to repair, over half value of 2009 car. Vehicle was VW Jetta tdi. 27 days later repair still awaiting parts because of high demand from multiple failures.
On July 25, 2010, while we were out of town, the 2009 VW Jetta incurred a major engine malfunction. The mechanic in the local area diagnosed the problem as contaminated fuel but could not make the repair. The car was towed back to charlotte where it was determined that the high pressure fuel pump failed and in its failure damaged beyond repair the fuel injectors. The mechanic in charlotte performed extensive repairs, including the fuel pump and injectors. The car was returned to me on September September 2, 2010. On September 7, 2010, on another out-of-town trip, the engine malfunctioned again, and with the exact same symptoms as occurred during the first incident. The car will be towed back to charlotte, to Carolina VW, a VW dealer. The mechanic who performed the repairs believe that the mechanical failure is rooted in a design flaw with the mechanical pump.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta diesel. While driving with the cruise control set at 65 mph the warning light illuminated and the cruise control deactivated causing the vehicle to slow down. The second failure occurred when he merged into the intersection and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who confirmed that the failure code was associated with the high pressure fuel pump which contaminated the fuel system. The vehicle was taken to a dealer out of the area for further examination. The manufacturer filed report 100295867. The failure and the current mileages were 51,400.
Driving on busy street when I heard a chime & a pigtail shaped light started flashing on dashboard. Vehicle stalled in middle of street. VW sent a tow truck & towed vehicle to nearest dealer. I was told the fuel pump had come apart & metal flakes may be throughout the entire fuel system. Vehicle was repaired under warranty.
My 2009 Jetta tdi sportwagen stalled at an exit ramp and I assumed I'd let the clutch slip. When I turned it back on, the check engine light came on. After parking and being away from the car for a couple hours, the light didn't come back on. A week or so later, the same sequence of events happened and, since the car was due for its 30K service, I took it to the dealer to be checked out. They hooked it up to the diagnostics and said it needed a software update, which they did. I picked the car up the next day, and on the way home from the dealer, the engine died and the check engine light came on, again. I took it back to the dealer, where they ran the diagnostics once more, and said it was a faulty sensor, so they replaced the sensor. The next day, the light was back on. The third time I took the car in, I realized the connection between the engine stalls, and the check engine light, and told that to the service associate. After checking things out, they called and said they would be keeping it for at least a week, because they'd found metal bits in the fuel system, and had ordered parts to replace the entire system.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta. While driving approximately 30 mph the vehicle stalled and a check engine light illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle would not start and it was towed to an authorized dealer where he was informed that the entire fuel system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 59,000.
On August 6, 2010, while driving on the freeway at about 65mph, the glow plug light on my 2009 diesel Jetta sportwagon began to flash. The car lost power and I exited the freeway and came to a stop. The car stalled and could not be restarted. It was towed to the dealership where I bought it. I was told the high pressure fuel pump had failed and that there were metal filings in it and that these fillings had been dispersed to other aspects of my fuel system. It was initially blamed on fuel contamination, but further analysis of the fuel did not show any significant contamination. The expensive repair was finally paid by the VW warranty. This entire incident can be much more extensively documented if this is needed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Atascadero, CA, USA