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.
A woman and a young child departed a preschool on a clear, dry day. The vehicle shut down in the middle of the street 250 feet from the preschool without warning or any sign of trouble. The vehicle had run well to date. The driver attempted multiple times to restart the vehicle, but it shut down again within two seconds of starting. A good samaritan pushed the vehicle to the curb. The vehicle was towed to a Volkswagen dealer, where it was determined that the cause was diesel fuel system failure, necessitating total replacement. The fuel system in this make and model is a known problem, for which an extended warranty applies to 120,000 miles. The dealer had a fuel sample tested for contamination. Results were all statistically significantly within VW specifications. Volkswagen contends, however, that the fuel sample failed the test due to its own rounding error and refuses to honor its extended warranty.
I have a 2012 Jetta tdi that is now just out of bumper to bumper warranty, except the 10yr/120K coverage extended on the known poorly designed hpfp (investigated in NHTSA action PE10034). I do a fuel filter change early 15K from the last dealer change at 44500 miles... and I find metal particles in the fuel filter. This is not normal, and indication of wear, and source is almost certainly the hpfp cam and roller/piston which is lubricated and cooled by diesel fuel recirculated to the filter via bypass, and some of this ends up in the fuel tank, and worse can end up in the injectors causing injector failure, even possible burned piston heads and catastrophic engine damage. I assume the path forward is document my findings, I did this with high resolution digital pictures, printed for the dealer, and a pristine white rag turned grey with metal filings, along with the old filter delivered for their inspection (I even provided the vcds diagnostic print out for the vehicles self-diagnosis). Since I did the filter change, and about 100 miles and one day later, there is no more evidence of these metal particles in the system.. the dealer service department tried, VW would not authorize a pump replacement.. so I called and VW explained the situation to them, they did not bother to record name or VIN, clearly not interested in customer care. Official VW policy seems to be to ignore the metal filings and the customer, they offer a bogus explanation that metal filings could come from fill nozzles, or some other source (unlikely, I also own a diesel truck, and with longer service time, with more fuel used, there were no metal particles at nearly 30K miles. I now have a car I cant trust, knowing the hpfp can suddenly fail without warning and leave my family stranded, even cause an accident if it happens in a busy interstate, or when pulling into traffic.
Car lost all power and would not restart.I was driving about 55mph on a rural road, thankfully there was not a lot of traffic at the time the car failed. The glow plug light started flashing as the engine was losing power. There was no warning that the car would fail like this. I was able to pull off the the road in neutral. I suspected a high pressure fuel pump failure since VW had just sent out a letter notifying me that the warranty on that part had been extended to 120K miles. After it was towed to the dealership, they confirmed it was a hpfp failure and I am waiting to find out if VW will cover the repair. Was told that this failure caused damage to the entire fuel system ($8,800usd). I do not see how VW can put a car on the road with a part that could potentially fail and cause this much damage.
While driving the Jetta tdi at 35 mph, all of a sudden dash lights flashed on and off and car stalled. We were able to steer car to side of road. The car would not turn over and was towed to local VW dealership. It was diagnosed with hpfp failure and the metal had contaminated my entire system and needed costly repair. Fuel was sent for testing, and when verified that it was not owner negligence VW repaired the car. The wait was almost 2 weeks.
The car is a 2012 Jetta sportwagon tdi. It has received all appropriate service and maintenance, and only diesel fuel has been used in the car. There was approximately 1/2 tank of diesel left when the incident occurred. While driving on a residential street, the glow plug warning light began to flash. Approximately 30 seconds later the engine began to lose power, and within two minutes died completely. I was able to coast to the curb and park, but the car would not start again. An inspection by a certified mechanic found metal shavings throughout the fuel/propulsion system, and diagnosed a blown high pressure fuel pump. This is a known issue with VW tdi engines.
- Valejo, CA, USA
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Check engine light came on and while driving to dealer for service the car engine failed completely while driving at 60 mph on freeway. Car had no propulsion and came to a rolling stop. Unable to restart car. Towed to VW dealer and they said VW tdi fuel pumps have had issues and could fail. Luckily nobody was injured but could have been very dangerous as engine shut down immediately and failed completely while on freeway. I was very shaken by the incident and was unable to move all the way to side of freeway. Still do not have car back and VW dealer indicated it would be a large repair
Vehicle engine (Jetta 2.0 tdi) abruptly stalled and would not restart. The dealer stated that the high pressure fuel pump had failed; and had disintegrated in a fashion that the debris had contaminated the entire fuel system. Fuel tank, lines and injection system were cleaned, fuel pump and filters were replaced. However, the vehicle has still experienced intermittent stalling problems ever since this warranty repair, and the dealer has been unable to resolve after numerous attempts. The vehicle has been (and currently remains) at the dealer for 33 of the past 40 days.
During February, the 2012 VW tdi Jetta sportwagen with 59,7000 miles stalled twice when trying to start the vehicle. On the third start the vehicle started but the glow plug light was flashing and the car would not accelerate to more than 45 mph. The vehicle limped to the dealership, who found metal flakes in the fuel filter and stated that the in-tank fuel pump had failed. The in-tank fuel pump was replaced and the fuel system was apparently cleared of metal. At 63,000 miles, the glow plug light began to flash while at highway speed and the vehicle began to lose power. I got the vehicle to an exit, stopped it, turned the vehicle off and restarted. The glow plug light was no longer flashing and the car was drivable although it was lacking some acceleration and there was a moan/whine noise coming from the engine. Got the car back to the dealership and learned that the high pressure fuel pump has failed and that the entire fuel system needs to be replaced. There is no mis-fueling issue, and diesel receipts are kept at fill up.
2012 Volkswagen sportwagen tdi. When traveling on the freeway 4/11/15 glow plug light began blinking, we noticed an immediately significant loss of power. At this moment we were traveling on a two lane freeway that happened to have one lane blocked. Vehicles immediately began stacking up behind us. After pulling off the freeway attempted to stop and restart the engine, we had a very difficult time restarting the motor. Was able to drive back to the dealership, however had a significant reduction in power, safety was a concern and was very worried that the vehicle would stall while on the freeway. Because of this we pulled off the freeway and continued to limp towards the dealership on local roads. There was so much reduction in power than driving up a small hill almost brought the vehicle to a stop. Dealership accused us of fueling the vehicle with gas instead of diesel, gas station was able to produce a receipt showing that we had filled the vehicle with diesel. However, VW is covering the repair, and vehicle is ready to be picked up 4/16/15. Did not feel that the fuel pump failure had anything to do with misfueling, and while VW is covering the repair, it appears that this issue is a well documented failure with VW. We do feel that our safety could have been compromised with this failure.
Was driving 40 and was heading down a hill and was coming to a stop when my 2012 VW Jetta sportswagen power flickered, coil light (glow light) came on, it made a loud noise and died. I was unable to move it, could of been a bad situation. Thankfully VW dealership service gave me a number to a local towing company. I was quickly towed to dealership. It sounds like so many others have had this problem. Waiting to hear official diagnostics.
While driving in the freeway at speed of 20 mph due to highway traffic, I smelled diesel fuel through the air vents. The vehicle suddenly began to loose power and the pedal was not functional completely after, the vehicle shut off and stalled on the highway. The mil (malfunction indicator lamp) and battery dash warning lights came on. The car would not start over and was towed out of the highway. I noticed there was a diesel fuel leak underneath the vehicle. The car was then towed to a Volkswagen dealer and diagnosis were made resulting in fuel pump replacement.
Car ceased to continue acceleration while in motion. Dealer assessment concluded particulates in diesel fuel line caused failure to fuel pump and related components. Dealer service department advised that particulates likely originated from diesel fuel storage tanks at gas station. Vehicle was still covered under manufacturer's 50K power train warranty and fuel pump and related parts were replaced at no charge.
While driving on the interstate at 70 mph in the middle lane of three lanes at approximately 10:00 pm through light rain the glow plug indicator on the dash began to flash. Then the engine lost power. I pulled to the emergency lane where the car lost all engine power and would not restart. This all occurred within 20-25 seconds and we were lucky to be able to make it to emergency lane. We have since had the vehicle towed to a VW dealer where they replaced the entire fuel system which was under warranty. After researching this high pressure fuel pump problem most fellow VW owner recommended that I file a complaint.
2012 VW Jetta sportwagen tdi had high pressure fuel pump hpfp catastrophic failure on the highway. Was able to coast without power to an off ramp. 1 week of repairs but the near collision issue is amazing.
I drove the car to work win I get out of work start the car put in reverse and the car staled out cant star towed to the dealer I whose told at that time car have fuel contamination no warranty. Towed it home my husband check car found fuel filter sum metal rust change filter clean line and filter housing and all parts connected to fueling car start fine for a 3 months same ha pin did same now car staled as I whose driving with no start tow home an we are in contact with VW to see were this going. Culprit is hpfp.
My car is a 2012 VW Jetta tdi, clean diesel. I was driving from san diego ca to las vegas nv. It was over 100 degrees. I was traveling on interstate 15 North about 70 miles per hour. 80 miles from las vegas, glow light indicator came on, car lost power. I pulled over and car stalled, would not restart. Called VW, told them about the glow light indicator. They agreed to tow the car to lv. We sat on the road side for more than 4 hours in 100+ degree heat. VW repaired the car in 6 days, no cost to me except rental car. Cause was described as 'metal shavings in fuel system' later referred to as high pressure fuel pump failure. VW replaced the entire fuel system (injectors, lines, filter, fuel pump etc). However at this time I do not know if the same type of hpfp was used or a newly redesigned one. I am trying to clarify that. This is obviously a design flaw of some type. It can not be caused by bad fuel. The fuel filter would have caught any metal shavings. Any metal in the fuel downstream of the fuel filter had to come from the car itself. Not only that, having followed the recommended maintenance schedule for my car, my fuel filter was replaced at 20K miles. pics.tdiclub.com/data/516/2012_jetta.pdf similar complaint (NHTSA action number : EA11003) does not seem to cover 2012 models so I am filing this one instead.
With no prior indication, the engine glow plug light began flashing while driving on the highway. Within few minutes, the engine light came on and car started to loose power. Engine noise pitch changed, and was able to pull the car of the main freeway and barely made it to the dealership. As soon as we made it to the dealer parking lot, the engine cut off. Diagnostic of the car showed that the car suffered a catastrophic hpfp failure which caused debris contamination throughout the entire fuel system. 4 days later, the engine had its hpfp, fuel lines, injectors, and auxiliary pump replaced. Fuel tank was flushed and cleaned out from debris. Cost under warranty was $5500. The dealer said that they've had 50 cars exhibiting similar conditions. Cause of the failure is under investigation by VW. As owners, we have no clues what to do or when this will re-occur again which does not give me ant sense of confidence. I always fill at the same chevron station so it is not the quality of the diesel.
33,600 miles with no problems at all on VW tdi sportwagen. Los angeles to lake havasu, AZ Friday, afternoon July 11, 2014, 300 miles in 110 degree weather. Parked for 2 hours, drove to market. Glow plug light came on, engine stumbled, died, no restart. Walked to 2nd home. Next day - no start, called VW, towed 150 miles to las vegas, rented car in AZ for weekend and drive back to la. Lv VW dealer says "out of fuel". reply "impossible, only drove 300 miles". on Monday, dealer calls to say it may take a week, it is the fuel pump and he is working on getting coverage for work from VW. Reply "still under warranty, why wouldn't VW cover". no answer. On Wednesday calls to say have to order parts, metal particles in the fuel system, may be longer.(final count 11 days from failure to repair). With additional days on rental, out of state drop of fee, hotel room, etc. About $800 in outlay (not counting time to travel to las vegas to pick up car and back to la).
The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated while driving various speeds, an unusual noise and vibration emitted outside of the vehicle. The failure occurred whenever the accelerator pedal was engaged. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who was unable to duplicate the problem. There was a recall related to the failure under the NHTSA campaign id number 11V490000 (fuel system, diesel) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The failure mileage was unavailable.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Charleston, SC, USA