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 the 2010 Jetta sportwagen tdi the glo-plug light came on with a check engine now warning. Dealership was called and they said bring it in for inspection. Two miles later the car quit running while stopped at a traffic light. Car was towed to dealership who called and said that the high pressure fuel pump - hpfp - had experienced a catastrophic failure and metal was present in the fuel system. A day later VW agreed to repair the car even though well outside of the warranty period. Early in the life of the car, the fuel pump located under the parking brake handle failed. After the first fuel pump failure a fuel injector failed, followed by 2 more fuel injector failures. The hpfp failure was the final failure in the fuel system.
Driving around city street. Jetta began to lose power and the glow bulb indicator began flashing. After turning off and restarting the car I drove for another two blocks then the glow bulb indicator came on again paired this time with the red battery indicator. After that the car rolled to a stop and would not turn back over.
Traveling South on hwy 101, 55 miles North of san louis obispo, ca at an approximate speed of 65 mph, the engine lost power, and the vehicle came to a stop. The engine could not be restarted. The vehicle was towed to perry Volkswagen in san louis obispo, ca. The vehicle was diagnosed as a failure of the high pressure fuel pump sending slivers of metal throughout the fuel system. The service representative stated that this was not an uncommon issue with the turbo diesel model and that they currently have two vehicles in their shop with the same issue. We have always fueled the vehicle with lower sulfur diesel fuel in California and have never fueled the vehicle with gasoline. VW previously had a recall to install a "device" to prevent fueling with gas nozzles from the service station pumps. The service representative indicated that VW knows of the problem and will fix the vehicle at no charge. We also have a 2009 VW Jetta tdi that experienced the same problem in June 2014, which was repaired at commonwealth VW in santa ana, ca. I am reporting that incident in a separate report. It is my position that VW should be recalling all of these vehicles to fix the problem before it happens rather than fixing one at a time after it happens; exposing consumers to potential fatal accidents on highways.
The contact owns a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that the fuel pump failed while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician diagnosed that the fuel system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 33,700.
Was driving my 2010 VW Jetta sportwagon tdi at approx. 55 miles per hour when my service engine light came on and glow plugs started flashing. Car began to buck as if not getting any fuel through the system. Car stalled out on highway within a minute of the service lights flashing and will not restart. Luckily the cars behind me barely avoided hitting me as there was zero warning. Had to be towed to my garage, expect diagnosis tomorrow but after reading up on other complaints I am pretty sure they will report back that it is a hpfp issue and the system will need replaced.
- Tappahannock, VA, USA
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While on the freeway the car lost all power and died. The codes indicate that it is the fuel pump. This seems to be a common issue on the tdi engines. 000135 - fuel rail/system pressure P0087 - 000 - too low freeze frame: Fault status: 01100000 fault priority: 2 fault frequency: 1 mileage: 140659 km time indication: 0 date: 2118.14.04 time: 01:27:53 freeze frame: RPM: 2208 /min inj. Quantity: 21.7 mg/str (no units): 5.0 pressure: 1400.0 bar pressure: 1112.0 bar temperature: 52.2C tank cont.: 24.4 L
The car lost power and could not drive faster than 20 mph, drove if off of the highway and into a gas station where the car died and could not be restarted. Towed it to a Volkswagen dealer, they reported it was a fuel pump failure and that the entire fuel system would need to be replaced at a cost of $6100.
I was driving on the highway and the check engine light came on. The vehicle would not hold speed or accelerate. I pulled off the highway and the vehicle stalled out and would not restart. We replaced the high pressure fuel pump and fuse box. The car still will not start after a new fuel pump and fuse box, and we have been told that the wiring harness needs to be replaced.
2010 Jetta sportswagen tdi April 2012 - 50K miles - fuel pump system failure. VW found metal shards throughout whole system, all had to be replaced. Cost over $7,000 paid for by VW. Fuel was tested and found no fault of driver (I.e., no gas). Faulty fuel pump. February 2014 - 97K miles - second fuel pump failure. Same issue, metal shards through entire system, all had to be replaced. Cost over $8,000 paid for by VW. Fuel tested again and no fault of driver. Had to tow our car home from vacation several hours away. There should be a recall for these cars. It's dangerous to have your car stop working all the sudden, and it will leave you stranded. Not to mention, you can anticipate it happening every 50,000 miles. Not a dependable car.
Upon changing the fuel filter, the mechanic noted that there were visible metal particles in the filter housing. This is the second fuel filter change to show metal filings. Two different certified mechanics noted that this is a symptom of high pressure fuel pump failure and if the fuel pump fails at high speed it could be a safety hazard. Volkswagen refuses to proactively replace the failing fuel pump.
Summary: While driving on the highway in the high speed lane in traffic at night in a unlit area of rt 84 in willington ct. Going to pickup my teenage daughter and her 2 friends after a concert car without warning lost all power. I had to navigate through 3 lanes of traffic without power steering or power brakes to the breakdown lane. I made it to the breakdown lane but ended up close to the road in a rural dark unlit part of the highway. The car would not restart and had to be left leaving me stranded late at night and I am disabled with diabetes and several other serious health issues.I could feel my blood sugar was dangerously low with nothing in the car to stablize it. I had problems contacting help because of the time of night and lack of cell service in that area. Upon further investigation it was found that the problem with the car was the high pressure fuel pump exploded sending metal throughout the entire fuel system. I think it is unaceptable for this to happen without warning. My daughter and 2 friends were also stranded 60 miles away in worcester MA.VW is aware of many thousand of this same event but won't recall. I think the ntsb should demand a recall. I am sure people have died and been seriously injured in similar events. Cost of repair $11,000 or more to replace the entire fuel system.I called vwoa for support and they said they wouldn't cover the repair. I then called the dealer who sold me the car VW of hartford ct. And they were rude as they told me I would have to pay for any repairs.I am low income and with my health issues I thought this car would outlive me. I don't have the money to fix this and I shouldn't have to. VW is covering these issues even out of warranty to quiet the ntsb but won't cover mine the poor disabled man.
1while driving on the highway in the high speed lane in traffic at night in a unlit area of rt 84 in willington ct. Car without warning lost all power. I had to navigate through 3 lanes of traffic without power steering or power brakes to the breakdown lane. I made it to the breakdown lane but ended up close to the road in a rural dark unlit part of the highway. The car would not restart and had to be left leaving me stranded late at night and I am disabled with diabetes and several other serious health issues. I had problems contacting help because of the time of night and lack of cell service in that area. Upon further investigation it was found that the problem with the car was the fuel pump exploded in the fuel tank sending metal throughout the entire fuel system. I think it is unacceptable and dangerous for the fuel pump to explode in a tank of fuel without warning. VW is aware of many thousand of this same event but won't recall. I think the ntsb should demand a recall. I am sure people have died and been seriously injured in similar events. Cost of repair $11,000 or more to replace the entire fuel system. Updated 11/24/2014
I had what appears to be a fuel system failure. I was turning left after stopping at a red light. I was traveling at @20 mph. 100 yards down the block, the engine lost power, the check engine light came on, as did the diesel coil icon. The car was dead instantly. There was no warning, no gradual failure, no time to get out of the street. Please note, I had my vehicle regularly serviced at the VW dealership, including installing the fuel intake coupling that was the subject of a recall about a year ago. The service manager said there was some bad diesel going around in the county where I live, but when pressed admitted the bad fuel had not been traced to any particular brand, but had appeared randomly. He did say that my entire fuel system would be replaced on VW's dime, even though I am long out of warranty, and that it could take 2 days to a week to perform the service. There is nothing on VW's website about this problem, nor are there reports of bad diesel fuel in the county. The blogosphere has reports of problems in the design of the high pressure fuel pump that causes it to break down and shed bits of metal throughout the fuel system. I am very lucky that this happened at 20 mph on a town street in the middle of the morning and not at 65 mph on a highway with lots of traffic. I am glad VW is covering the cost of repairs. But I have personally recommended this otherwise terrific car to many people, some of whom have chosen to buy it. I am now worried that someone might get dead because of this, especially since VW is evidently only correcting this design problem after an entire system failure. I am also unable to confirm that VW engineers have redesigned the fuel pump that they are in theory installing in my car as a repair. Do you have any information?
The contact owns a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road. The vehicle did restart after a few attempts, however, the vehicle did not accelerate above 50 mph. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the number two fuel injector needed to be replaced. There was a recall under NHTSA campaign id number 11V490000( fuel system, diesel). The VIN was not included and the vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
Vehicle indicated a check engine light, and flashing glow plug indicator. Driving vehicle to repair shop, and vehicle suddenly stopped in traffic and would not restart. Very dangerous situation as morning traffic was heavy and aggressive. Managed to get vehicle to side of the road without injury or property damage. Vehicle towed to dealership. Preliminary evaluation is failed high pressure fuel pump.
I was driving down the street when dash lights came on...within minutes I lost power and eventually my car shut down. My hpfp went out and has sent shards of metal throughout the system. Apparently to the grand total of at least $7500 possibly more. I've been reading and see this is an is with the VW tdi motors I drive a 2010 VW Jetta tdi... at this point the fuel system needs flushed and or replaced I'm questioning the condition of the rest of my motor if metal pieces have been flushed through it.
Note to engineers investigating 2009-2010 VW Jetta high pressure fuel pumps: I am a semi-retired automotive engineer that investigates insurance claims. I currently have one of these issues with metal flakes appearing on the filtering screen for the hpfp located under the pressure transducer. Obviously, this issue has been building for some time in order for this amount of metal flakes to accumulate (vehicle would barely run--idled to dealer). This is not affecting just VW's. I see the same issue in Dodge, GM, Ford, Audi, and many other models. The problem lies with the ultra-low sulfur fuel. Sulfur is a lubricating molecule under high pressure applications. Problems began cropping up after switch to ultra-low sulfur fuel. The older low-sulfur fuel would still lubricate. The fix is to either harden the pump faces to a much higher degree such that no lubrication is required. Or, add a 5% mix of biodiesel to the petrodiesel to restore lubricity to fuel. Some additives also accomplish this same lubricating effect. I have now handled around 40 cases of differing makes where this same issue crops up. However, I only see the cases where an insurance claim is filed with an insurance carrier. In all cases, I go back to the station where the customer fuels the vehicle to obtain sample. This is to rule out contaminated fuel being dispensed at a filling station. So far, no contamination found from filling stations.
The contact owns a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while traveling approximately 65 mph, the vehicle suddenly lost acceleration power and stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was found that the fuel system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number 11V490000 (fuel system, diesel). The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.
The contact owns a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while traveling 65 mph, the vehicle suddenly lost acceleration power. The contact also mentioned that fuel was smelled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was found that the high pressure fuel pump had failed. The vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 58,000. The VIN was unavailable.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Crestwood, KY, USA