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.
The car is making a weird sound when I break. It sounds like liquid is moving around and another sound. The central caution off in my car and the airbags too
My 2019 VW Jetta runs well, but recently there are two safety incidents cause my deep safety concerns. 1)9/20/2023 around 12:15 pm, I parked my VW Jetta in front of Wells Fargo. When I put shifter in reverse, tried to backwards out of the parking lot, suddenly the car lost control and kept rolling forward, there was a deep ditch in front of my car, but the car kept rolling forward. I was very scared. I drove the Jetta to nearby VW Princeton and asked a technician to check the Jetta and find out the system defects, but the technician scanned the Jetta and couldn't find any problems, then suggested to schedule an in depth diagnostics into the Jetta to address my incident. 2) 9/26/2023, around 9:00 pm, I was entering a gate, entered the code, suddenly my car couldn't go forward or backwards, the engine stopped working, the car screen then showed: "Please manually start the engine." After I turn off and then turn back the key again, the engine started. I have texted the Service Advisor at VW Princeton about the new insident today. I would like to report the above two incidents to NHTSA for investigation. Thank you!
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that when depressing the brake pedal the vehicle would lunge forward. While driving approximately 40 mph and suddenly depressing the brake pedal the vehicle lurched forward and crashed into the rear of a second vehicle. During the crash, the driver sustained an injured left hand. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 78,000.
Recurrent, ringing/squealing and grinding of brakes. Rotors and Brake pads are defective warp faster than normal even after being repaired. My 2019 VW jetta needed New brake rotors and the brake pads re-surfaced with only 24,107 miles on the odometer, 3 months later the brakes are ringing/squealing/and grinding again at 27,601 miles. It has only been 3,000 miles. The speed at which the brakes wear out on the VW jetta is excessive and most likely is a vehicle defect. I am now being told that the car needs new brake pads. The dealer has told me I drive the car too hard and brake too hard. I have never had this problem with any other brand of car I have owned in the past. The jetta has low mileage for all these break issues that are never fully fixed. I am awaiting a recall on this by volkswagen or some type of resolution as this seems to be a defect in quality craftmanship.
February 13 2021 I was driving my car back home from a hike going down a grid I had to break because I was approaching cars and my wheels started to shake. I took my car to the dealership ship to get the breaks inspected early morning. Four hours later I get a call saying that my break pads were burnt and that the rotors were warping and had hot spots. I've had the car for about a year and they are burnt already?? not even my dads GMC that he's had for 7 years hasn't changed the breaks pads since he bought it. VW is charging me $700+ to change the breaks pads and rotors because it's' wear and tear' at least that what they told me. I'm feed up having to take my car in every couple months. I've recently had to take it bc the car was low on oil a month and a half after I had just taken it for an oil change. They said that there were no signs of burnt oil or leaks. This is the second time it's has happened. Let's not forget that when I turn to the right the wheel fees like it's hitting something and the steering wheel shakes.
- Oxnard, CA, USA
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Emergency brake engages while driving the car with nothing else on the road. Door locked on her and she had to climb thought the passenger side door. Received several more malfunction alerts. Took the car to my local dealership (200 mile round trip). First I was told the codes were caused by a non-VW diagnostics computer. Then, they said it was a dead battery in the fob. Then they said it was because the car was filthy. It was snowing and I had just driven over 100 miles through snow on a salted road. Of course it was dirty. But, it was clean when I left the house. They refused to do any work except to change the battery in my fob. I changed the battery in my wife's fob when I got home. I also cleaned the car inside and out. As soon as my wife went back to work, all the codes came back on. When the brakes automatically come on while driving on icy roads, this could be a major problem. Also read about a possible class action lawsuit about the brake issues and more.
The brakes after sitting no matter length make horrible noise, and are very stiff. It can be five minutes or over night. This is not safe. I told the dealer within days of purchasing.
Brakes were making noise took into dealership to be check out and was informed front pads low on pad life and rotors warped and need replacement asap. Rotors warped to the point of needing repair, at 30000 miles. The car is kept in Arizona in a dry climate, no rain, no hills, mostly highway driving with little braking and for the last 8 months, minimal use due to stay at home orders. Dealer has no explanation as to why these parts failed when they should last to 60000 miles at least. This is absolutely unheard of on a vehicle that is not even 2 years old and only 30000 miles. Volkswagen needs to do some serious research and possibly issue a recall. Dealership quoted $553 for front brake pad & rotors replacement...
Started vehicle in morning went back inside to grab bags and water while car warmed up. Came back and sat in drivers seat. Car center screen notated - auto/stop error and check engine light on. I put car in reverse to back out of driveway. No brakes at all. I had to push down on brake pedal as hard as I could to stop car. Luckily was not out of driveway. Put car in park and turned off and turned car back on. Same faults came on dashboard and screen. As well as airbag fault.
Rotors warped to the point of needing repair, at under 26000 miles. The car is kept in Arizona in a dry climate, no rain, no hills, mostly highway driving with little braking and for the last 8 months, minimal use due to stay at home orders. Dealer has no explanation as to why these parts failed when they should last to 60000 miles at least.
I suspect that my 2019 VW Jetta computer system/car was hacked/driven remotely on 12/3/2019 that caused an accident (photos attached) that led to my car being a total loss. I sustained injuries and was taken by ambulance to the local er from the accident. This case is still involved in court proceedings as of today. I was driving home and my car speed accelerated without me being on the gas and my breaks were not working. Without turning the steering wheel I drove off to the right hitting a parked car. The police report indicated that after impact with parked car #1, I rolled back 55 feet and hit another parked car on the opposite side of the street. I did not think any of this was possible until I was reading about car hacking and cars being driven remotely. I also did not think that it was possible with the 'impact safety features' on a VW Jetta, I could possibly roll backward after the impact of parked car #1? I am looking to have this issue investigated. I am also sending information to the fbi internet crime complaint center.
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while stopped on an incline, the hill assist feature caused the vehicle to stall intermittently without warning. The failure occurred when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the stall lasted approximately 3 seconds. The vehicle was taken to fiore Volkswagen (1000 S logan blvd, hollidaysburg, pa 16648), on three separate occasions. The contact was informed that the vehicle performed as designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.
Metal plates in the road trigger the the car's front-assist sensor to activate the autonomous emergency braking system in the vehicle, despite the absence of any obstruction. The result is a jarring deceleration from ~20mph to a complete stop in a matter of feet: Effectively minor accident. There is no advanced warning, only a simultaneous buzzer and dashboard signal. It poses a significant risk to all vehicle occupants, especially passengers who are unaware of the hazard or otherwise unable to prepare themselves (e.g. infants). This problem is persistent, disruptive, and dangerous for the vehicle's occupants as well as any trailing vehicles that may consequently crash into the unexpectedly halted vehicle. Volkswagen claims that this is "expected behavior" of the sensor, as the vehicle manual warns of "unwanted" behavior when "there are...metal plates in the road." Nevertheless, while it may be "expected, " it is still patently unsafe. Volkswagen's suggested resolution is to permanently disengage the front-assist safety feature of the vehicle. This is unacceptable because it exposes the vehicle's occupants to other safety hazards that might otherwise be avoided with an engaged front-assist system. Furthermore, the system must be disengaged anew on each vehicle restart, which leaves room for potential operator oversight. I experienced this unsafe behavior nearly daily for almost 18 months due to construction in my neighborhood, and I have documented it 3 times with timestamped videos. As this site does not permit video files to be uploaded, I can provide those upon request. A BBB auto line case was opened again Volkswagen. Vehicle repurchase was denied based on Volkswagen's warning of "unwanted" behavior in the vehicle manual. Nevertheless, the decision affirmed that "the front assist issue substantially impairs the use, value and safety of the vehicle."
Vibration and grinding noises at low speeds. Started around 200-300 miles on the odometer. Originally only occurred in eco mode now happens all the time. It has gotten progressively louder and more severe over the last 4-5 months I've owned the vehicle. Took it to the dealer twice and they told me it's normal but it sounds and feels terrible. The car feels very unsafe. Sometimes it accelerates very slowly and other times I barely press the pedal and it takes off and the tires spin. When driving in eco mode the internal computer seems to forget and switches back into regular drive mode but the eco mode button will stay illuminated even though the dash display says it is in drive. At higher speeds the grinding becomes more of a low growl or scrape and also vibrates much more especially when turning or accelerating. When I first start the car to leave home or leave work my brakes screech the first 3-4 times I apply them. It's so loud that my neighbors have complained multiple times. No matter what kind of driving I do or where it is the vehicle feels unsafe and makes loud grinding noises when accelerating or cruising.
Car makes grinding noise when going between 20-40mph, every car I test drove made this noise so I assumed it was normal. Not as loud in the sport mode but noticable in eco mode more. My car has 4000 miles on it. VW says it is a normal sound. Also breaks squeal very loudly when backing up, again they say normal.
When putting my car in reverse and backing out of a spot brakes make a high pitch ringing. Also, when parked muffler/ tail pipe on the left side, it gurgles as if water is boiling in it. Car is less than a year old.
I have a manual transmission 2019 Jetta gli. Because I have a manual transmission, I engage the emergency brake whenever I park. If the emergency brake is on for a period of 3 or more hours, it will not disengage when I attempt to do so with the electronic button. The electronic button shows it is off, but the brakes are still engaged. I have to try to move the vehicle in order to "break" the pads away. It produces a very violent "boom" from the brakes as they pull away. The dealer says this is "normal" because condensation sticks the pads to the calipers (or whatever, I don't know the terms), but it seems very violent to me and feels like the brakes are being compromised every time I use my emergency brake. The dealer will do nothing about this.
I was waiting for a parking space and was placing the car in reverse to give more room for the person to back up and the car would not move. I put the car in drive and again the car would not move. I placed the car in park then back in reverse and the car would not move. I again put the car in park, turned the engine off, restarted the car put the car in reverse and the car went in reverse..this happened to me twice. The other incident was I was reversing out of a parking spot and the vehicle brakes jammed on..I checked for vehicles/people prior to backing up and there were no vehicles/pedestrians present but the brakes engaged anyway. The second time this occurred I was traveling at 40 mph and the brakes jammed on again for no apparent reason. I called the dealership and they said they had heard about this "phantom" braking" but didn't know why and as far as the vehicle not moving, just shutting down they said that they received an email saying that there is an issue with the computer chip and I am still waiting to hear the outcome.
Since day one car is shaking like a boat, when I drive it on a highway making it not stable. Brakes squeak and I see signs on the brake disk.I am with the original brakes. Car is shutting down when I park. When I switch again to drive, it is completely off from itself, key is inside and I have to turn the key off and then start the car again. Air condition is not working properly VW said they have better 8 zones air condition. I had oil lamp around 5000-6000 miles they said that the car should not have problems till 10 000 miles. I have problems accelerating, I am loosing power. I have grinding scraping noise from the transmission. Also transmission jumps when I drive, slow response. The engine is giving me lag when I am at traffic light, vibration and shaking. I make multiple calls to the dealership and Volkswagen group of America to tow and fix my car that I leased. I explain that the car is not safe. I have been involved in multiple accidents. I am not feeling safe operating this vehicle. It's been more than half year and not one problem is fixed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Stone Mountain, GA, USA