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.
I was driving on the expressway when a car on the shoulder pulled out without seeing me. I went to honk my horn and it didn't work. I luckily swerved into the next lane without hitting the car in the next lane. I found out it's not just my horn but the cock spring needs replacing. Nothing on my steering wheel works now and my airbag warning light stays on.
The contact owns a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta. After connecting the seat belt, the fastener detached from the seat from the rear driver side. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but the cause of the failure was not determined. The vehicle was not repaired. Two weeks later, the rear passenger side fastener detached from the seat. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000. The VIN was not provided.
Rear seat belt, behind driver, not working. Stuck in locked position. This seatbelt is used by a 5 year old child on a daily basis. Other side is used by his 8 year old brother. Seatbelt will not pull out. I took it to VW dealer and they want $613 to repair it. They said a new one is required and that the seatbelt mechanism is within a steel case that has explosives in it. I was shocked to hear this and am stuck without a car because I cannot drive with my children. I have priced the seatbelt out at auto bodyshops and the price is around $425. Still not money I had readily available to dish out. After looking into it I found that this is a common occurrence with this make and year of VW Jetta. Something needs to be done about this, it is a life safety issue!!
Seatbelt on drivers side, back seat, broke (locked in slightly extended position). VW quoted 380 to fix. Seatbelt used to buckle a toddler in toddler seat (front facing, belt goes over the toddler while latch system holds seat in place. Car has never been in accident and while it has high miles, seatbelt used infrequently as infant seat with latch was in place prior. Given age of car (3 years old), we are original owners, are current with all service the failure of the seatbelt is a significant concern in a family car. VW forum recommended we report the failure to you- thank you!
After folding down the backseat the center seatbelt will not release and does not function. This is a common problem, yet VW has failed to do anything to make it right.
- Summerville, OR, USA
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Vehicle seat belts fail to release they are fully retracted and will not release to allow someone to wear them. After some research online I found this is a fairly common occurrence, appears to be defective engineering as they will retract past the normal stop point and are then unable to release. We took the vehicle to the dealer and they wanted $1,000 to fix two seat belts in the rear seat, center rear seat and passenger side rear. After some further research on trying to fix them myself I find they have an explosive charge within the retractor and one unlucky individual lost part of his thumb when it exploded in his hand. There is no warning about this explosive device. In summary they manufacture a defective seat belt mechanism with an explosive devise within it and they want an arm and a leg to fix it and you risk loosing a finger if you try to fix it so people are driving around without operative seat belts.
Rear passenger seat belts malfunctioned for the rear middle as well as rear door seat. The middle seat belt would not loosen up ie it was taut and the door side seat was completely loose and would not retract. This poses a serious safety hazard and I had to pay independent mechanic to remove and replace seat belt.
The seat belts buckles are craking in half on my car. The dealer replaced one on the front right of the car. It was totally cracked in half, the plastic cover over the metal bucklet that the strap pass through. The rear buckles are beginning to show the same cracking but they did not replace them because they were not totally cracked in half yet. I think that many parts of the car have to be taken apart to do this work which ruins the interior. I saw other used 2010 cars on the lot that have the same cracking of the seat belt buckle.
The contact owns a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact was driving 50 mph when he was involved in a three vehicle crash. The contact crashed into the rear of one vehicle and another vehicle crashed into the rear of the contact's vehicle. The air bags did not deploy and the seat belts failed to restrain the contact. The contact was thrown into the steering wheel and sustained injuries to the head and chest. The manufacturer was contacted and advised that the air bags were not to deploy because the sensors were not activated. The failure mileage was 32,000.
At approximately 5:00pm on September 8, 2010, my vehicle was stopped heading westbound on golf road in the South or inner lane approximately 75 feet before the stoplight of Washington St and golf rd (il-58). The vehicle had been stopped for approximately 30 seconds when it was impacted by another vehicle (40-45 mph). Upon collision, the driver hit left side of face/jaw on the steering wheel and sustained neck and low back injuries. The driver was wearing her seatbelt. The front-passenger side of the other vehicle crashed into the rear-driver side of the vehicle in an off set rear end impact. I called VW of North America as the seat belt did not lock to prevent the driver from hitting the steering wheel. VW of North America representative, indicated the seat belt was not intended to lock-up in a rear impact when the vehicle is not moving. He called this effect 'spring boarding'. the design of the seat belt's locking mechanism failed to protect the driver from further injury.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Midlothian, IL, USA