After 5 years, 5.5 months, with 39,000 miles, the clutch failed completely, rendering the vehicle inoperative. Car had been serviced every 12 months by the dealer. No maintenance problems until this occurred. No warning signs that the clutch was worn (e.g., no slipping, shaking, odors, or difficulty shifting). Driven only by my wife and me, who both have decades of experience driving manual transmissions.
I had the car towed to the dealership. Dealer asked for $250 for an initial inspection, which they later waived. After this inspection, the dealer said there were no problems observed with the hydraulic system, which seemed strange, since the clutch pedal failed to rise up off the floor when this happened. He said the next step was to tear down the clutch, at a cost of $2,250. Only at that point would they be able to determine whether any of the damage would be covered by the warranty. I declined to have the tear down performed.
I sold the car to a private party for approximately $8,000 less than the Kelly Blue Book price at the time. The buyer later told me that the entire transmission had been ruined by the clutch failure, and he sent me pictures of the parts that were damaged and had to be replaced.
Purchased a new 2019 Jetta (Manual trans) in 2020. I took great care of the car with only dealership maintenance every 10,000 miles and didn't have any previous issues. One night while driving down a highway, the transmission popped itself out of gear and wouldn't allow it to put into any gear. I had to coast to a safe spot on the highway, which I barely made, and thought it just needed to be turned off and on. The clutch could no longer go all the way down. If I could get the engine started, it made a lot of noise and shook the car.
Towed it to a VW dealership where they diagnosed it as a worn-out clutch that caused $3,500 in damage! They claimed it's not covered under the warranty because the clutch is a "wear item" like brakes, I pushed back that brakes don't cost $3,500 to replace. The service person was sympathetic but said "it is what it is." Which is code for... it sucks to be you.
I very disappointment in VW's handling of this problem that they seem to be very aware of, and even fighting a class action suit in response (look up Dickinson and Conroy v. VW Group of America). My next step of to contact VW Cares and see how much they "care." But definitely looking into that class action suit. VW must recall their manual transmission now!
I own a Jetta 2019 that has not even 40,000 km. Last month, I've been told that the clutch had to be replaced and that the cause of the problem was only usury and therefore, the replacement won't be covered by the warranty. I've been driving manual cars for 20 years and I never had to change the clutch even after 100,000 km. I find it completely unacceptable that I had to pay 2000$ US to replace the clutch on a vehicle that has not even 50,000 km when clutches last usually at least 100, 000 km.
I have a 2019 VW Jetta I purchased May of 2022. Just last week was at a red light and turned green my Jetta wouldn't shift and the RPMs we're high turned off my car thinking that would help. Took it to a VW dealer they stated it would cost roughly $3900. They state wear and tear. My A- -!! I have about 47000 miles. I am 53 years old and my first vehicle was a 83 Chevy stick. I'm very angry and think it a crock of sh*t that they won't cover it!! Let's see what we can do to get them to cover our loss!!
Neither the dealership nor VW would stand behind fact the Jetta has subpar parts and isn't worth owning. After arguing with the dealership and VW corporation, they are willing to cover half the cost of the clutch replacement. The clutch failed at 9960 miles. For a clutch to go out at such low miles is crazy. I should have bought another Honda. I have a 1994 Honda Del Sol with 260,000 miles on it and still has the original clutch... so much for german engineering.
I think they need to have them all recalled and have some quality parts put into them, hell, even their automatic transmissions are failing. VW should be reimbursing all owners of Jettas for the hassle of time and money lost dealing with their low quality vehicles...
If anyone starts a class action lawsuit, post info in here.
- Richard P.,
Rogersville, TN, US
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I have had my 2019 Jetta for 15 months. This is my 4th manual Jetta - the first 3 were great and I kept them 9, 8, and 12 years. The 1st 2 I traded in for a good price and the 3rd sold to a friend. One night I stopped at a red light and when it turned green the car wouldn't move and the RPM's went crazy. After sitting through a few lights I finally got it to go about 5 mph to pull over to a safer location.
I had the car towed to my dealer. The car was purchased with a "6 year bumper to bumper warranty" which is useless for "wearable parts". Also "I probably don't know how to drive a manual" - I've been driving them for 40 years. Aren't all parts wearable? Their warranty is garbage and the quality of this car is so less superior than my former Jettas. Pretty much they cut quality to recoup costs after their diesel lawsuit.
this is the same problem reported here -> https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2020/vw-engine-class-action-lawsuit-alleges-vehicles-stall.shtml. Car stalls and gears are stuck. Dealer wants $2K+ to make a diagnostic, alleging that this is a "wear" issue. Called VW customer support, they don't have a recall nor recognize that NTHSA has an investigation open on the matter. If this becomes a recall, then VW will reimburse costs. For now, I'm stuck with a car that I can not rely on (nor many others), and VW is not really assuming that there is a problem
After leasing a BRAND NEW Jetta, 2019, the problems started from DAY 1. I should have returned it, but hindsight is 20/20... First the trunk; which I had fixed 3 times, then the faulty USB, the rain guards messing with rolling up windows, then the other rain guard flew off on the highway??? Had to replace the key fob within 2 months, and a million other issues... Then comes last week. I had just hit 8k miles, and the clutch blew while driving on the interstate! After getting the vehicle towed, I noticed that the oil (?) had leaked all over my driveway. Over the past 2 months, the low oil indicator had come on; I have had to replace 2 quarts of synthetic. I am 41 years old, and have been driving manual transmissions for all of my driving life.
After spending 2+ weeks in the shop and contacting VW of America; they have come to the conclusion that NOT ONLY is there NO OIL LEAK (it is SUPPOSED TO BURN THAT MUCH OIL?) BUT that the badly blown Clutch is MY FAULT! They are hitting me with a $3,000 bill and I am FURIOUS!!! If ANYONE is having the same problem, PLEASE contact me at mslynne78@gmail.com. I have had no choice but to resort to hiring an attorney. I WILL NEVER, EVER BUY A VW AGAIN- AND THIS IS THE 7TH I HAVE HAD; I HAVE DRIVEN THEM ALL MY LIFE!!!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
After 5 years, 5.5 months, with 39,000 miles, the clutch failed completely, rendering the vehicle inoperative. Car had been serviced every 12 months by the dealer. No maintenance problems until this occurred. No warning signs that the clutch was worn (e.g., no slipping, shaking, odors, or difficulty shifting). Driven only by my wife and me, who both have decades of experience driving manual transmissions.
I had the car towed to the dealership. Dealer asked for $250 for an initial inspection, which they later waived. After this inspection, the dealer said there were no problems observed with the hydraulic system, which seemed strange, since the clutch pedal failed to rise up off the floor when this happened. He said the next step was to tear down the clutch, at a cost of $2,250. Only at that point would they be able to determine whether any of the damage would be covered by the warranty. I declined to have the tear down performed.
I sold the car to a private party for approximately $8,000 less than the Kelly Blue Book price at the time. The buyer later told me that the entire transmission had been ruined by the clutch failure, and he sent me pictures of the parts that were damaged and had to be replaced.
- Jim B., Mill Valley, US