10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
4,761 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2019 Volkswagen Jetta drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2019 Volkswagen Jetta Owner Comments (Page 1 of 8)

problem #152

Aug 302024

Jetta

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The dashboard has light on with error message: Only exit vehicle in P position. Please service the vehicle. The light is on and off randomly during driving. Car is drivable even with the light on, but it will have the warning beep which is distractive for driver. There are multiple recalls from VW for other models/years with same error message. The gear shift sensor is malfunctioning in those recalls.

- Shrewsbury, MA, USA

problem #151

Apr 142024

Jetta

  • miles
Vehicle shuts down while driving. All electrical turns off, dashboard goes dark code reads starter system faulty, ignition switched off, please service vehicle

- Bluefield, VA, USA

problem #150

Mar 152024

Jetta

  • 66,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle in a handicapped parking space, the vehicle failed to stop despite the contact's foot firmly depressed on the brake pedal. As the vehicle continued to move forward with the contact's foot depressed to the floorboard, the vehicle drove over the parking barrier, knocked over the handicapped post, and entered the sidewalk. The vehicle eventually decelerated and the contact managed to shift the vehicle into reverse(R) and regain control of the vehicle. The contact was uncertain if any warning lights appeared on the instrument panel during the failure. Despite the property damage and emotional distress suffered by both the contact and the passenger, no injuries were reported and no immediate medical attention was needed. A police report was not filed and the air bags did not deploy as a result of the failure. The incident was reported to the store manager. The contact was able to drive the vehicle back home without incident. The manufacturer nor the dealer had been notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be diagnosed or serviced. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

problem #149

Feb 152024

Jetta

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My son, [XXX], bought a 2019 Jetta on [XXX] from Westside VW in St. Louis Park, MN. It was marked as a Certified vehicle. On [XXX] the clutch started slipping. Later that day it gave out completely, and had to be towed to Westside. After service looked, they said that the clutch was burned out, and that this is a -??wear and tear-?? item like tires so that he was on the hook for the entire cost of repairs, $3,433.16. When we pushed harder, they indicated that the clutch had actually been replaced just before [XXX] bought the car, when it had 43,111 miles. It failed at 52,829 miles. He has been driving manual transmission vehicles for around 15 years. I first handed down a 2000 Passat 5-speed that I bought new, and he drove that until it fell apart with around 150,000 miles and the original transmission. Later he bought a 2015 Toyota Corolla with a manual transmission, and drove that for over 80,000 miles until it was totaled in 2023. The point is that he is an experienced driver of manual transmissions. Westside claimed that he caused the clutch to wear out in less than six months and 9,718 miles. Clearly there is a problem with the vehicle if it needs two completely-new clutches in that period of time and low mileage. We are very disappointed and dissatisfied with both Volkswagen quality and Westside VW for not standing by their product. [XXX] is terrified that, despite his most cautious driving, the clutch will again fail in six months or so. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Minneapolis, MN, USA

problem #148

Aug 082023

Jetta

  • miles
When the 8-speed automatic transmission attempts to shift from 3rd to 4th gear it will slip into neutral causing the engine to redline at maximum RPM. The accelerator pedal does not function and poses a serious safety issue. The vehicle will unexpectedly stall when the auto start stop is used and intermittently requires you to shift into park and restart the engine. The transmission also has difficulty shifting into reverse and puts the vehicle in neutral until it slams into gear.

- Wichita, KS, USA

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problem #147

Nov 032022

Jetta

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated while driving at slower speeds or slowing for traffic signals at approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle would jolt as the transmission automatically downshifted. The contact stated that the vehicle would also jolt into gear and hesitate while depressing the accelerator pedal to accelerate. The contact stated that the transmission in emergency mode warning light recently illuminated during a transmission hard shift failure. The contact stated that almost one year ago the check engine warning light illuminated while the transmission was shifting roughly. The contact stated that the failure had become a recurring failure and the jolting of the transmission while shifting, with the vehicle shaking abnormally. The contact had taken the vehicle to an auto parts vendor who ran a diagnostic test and retrieved the following codes: P0562 (Power Train - System Voltage Low); P0733 (Gear 3 Incorrect Ration); P072B00 (Stuck In Reverse). The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

- El Paso, TX, USA

problem #146

Jun 282023

Jetta

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Ignition system (available for inspection upon request) malfunctioned, which disallowed the engine from starting. After multiple attempts, the engine started and I was able to drive and indicate turns, but there was no dashboard display such as speed, gas level, etc. Since the first incident, this has happened 3 times. At one point while driving with no screen display, I forgot to turn off the option for the engine to stop when the car has come to a complete stop. When I stopped at a light, the engine stopped and I was unable to get it to start again for several minutes, causing me to block traffic. There was no warning prior to the failure, just beeping and a screen notification while it was failing. The problem has not been replicated/confirmed, and the vehicle has not been inspected since the issue began to happen. Each time this failure happens, it is during a hot day after the car has been parked in direct sunlight.

- Ponchatoula, LA, USA

problem #145

Jul 092023

Jetta

  • miles
Vehicle at 40,000 miles needs a clutch repair. I have owned a standard vehicle my whole life and never had this issue. Looking online there are tons of reports of others having the same issue and Volkswagen not saying there is an issue.

- Towanda, KS, USA

problem #144

Jan 082023

Jetta

  • miles
Jan 2023-check engine light for oil came on-just had oil change November 21, 2022 and only went 3000 miles. No oil in engine so it was topped off at a local Volkswagon Satellite and inspected for leaks no leaks found. Mid Feb 2023 had to put 2 quarts oil in car and high pitch noise/humming coming from car when driving. Mar 2023 went to VW dealership and explained noise and oil. They said noise was bad wheel bearings and it was ok to drive until backorder came in to replace. Was told the oil consumption is normal for VW despite us telling them it-??s not normal consumption and they told us to read the owners manual. They couldn-??t find leak, they topped it off and sent us on our way. April, May 2023 humming noise louder and a creaky, clanking, cricket chirp noise began and gear shifting became delayed. Made an appoint with VW dealership for June 2023 for wheel bearings to be replaced and told them about oil (we had to put 2 quarts in June)and new noise, and shifting. Wheel bearings are replaced, noise continued and they replaced front axle, different noise continued and now they are replacing transmission. They said they were going to prep car for oil consumption test but DO NOT have my car back from the shop to drive it to determine the cause. Called sales to get quote on extended warranty as mine is about to expire in about 8000 miles. I was -??told it is not an inexpensive car to warranty and was quoted $5749 for a 4 yr 60k warranty (it-??s in an email I have) My worry is -??what else is going to break or even possibly hurt or kill my daughter-??. This was her graduation present to get her through college and on her feet with a job. She attended undergrad out of state and now attending her graduate school out of state. 97% of her miles 62-64k are highway miles. She has kept up with all service requirements for her vehicle and has never been in an accident (carfax). All her records are in her car and can upload once we get her car back. Car is at Sheehey

- Hagerstown , MD, USA

problem #143

Jun 012019

Jetta

  • miles
When vehicle is at a stop and then goes to accelerate, between 25 and 30MPH there is a low growl from the engine area and a lag in acceleration and a drop in power, which has proved dangerous when trying to avoid a collision when someone ran a stop sign and I had to try and hurry through to avoid being hit. Sometimes if foot is not on accelerator letting the vehicle coast and then reapplied with vehicle going a decent speed there is also a jumping/jerking motion. Also, the blind spot censor illuminates when nothing is present.

- New Columbia, PA, USA

problem #142

May 102023

Jetta

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

At ~44,000, in a vehicle we bought 3 months earlier from OffLeaseOnly, the clutch burned out and the car ceased forward propulsion on a deserted country road driven by a very experienced manual car driver who had not burned through a clutch in his driving career. There were no warning lights. It put three people at risk. OffLeaseOnly - had done a full inspection AND stood behind their sale by paying for the new clutch assembly. The clutch and associated mechanism was fully replaced by 12/17/2021 by Niello VW. Vehicle was driven from January - August by same driver. There were occasional clutch burning smells but mechanical inspection did not reveal any issue. The car was not driven regularly from Sept - March 2023. Prior to our daughter driving it starting at the end of March, we had it reviewed by a local mechanic who found no issues with the vehicle. At ~54,000 miles, on May 10, the vehicle was being driven on US HWY 280 between San Carlos and Redwood City, CA. Suddenly, the vehicle would not shift and would not go above 40 mph. The very new driver was able to successfully maneuver to the shoulder and bring the car to a stop. Her safety was definitely at risk as 280 is a congested, fast moving highway where the average speed is 75 mph. The clutch was burning. CA HWY Patrol pulled the car to a park in Woodside where it was collected by a flatbed and brought to Boardwalk VW. Once again, the clutch is completely burned out. Boardwalk VW is tearing down the transmission to see if there is a cause for the multiple clutch burnouts. We have multiple manual vehicles - this is only happening with the VW Jetta. I-??ve driven manual cars since 1987 and this has NEVER happened with any of them. We are awaiting Boardwalk VW assessment of the cause. There were no warning lights. There were no symptoms of the problem until the car ceased to operate. Both times, we have brought the car to a VW dealer for inspection and repair.

- Burlingame, CA, USA

problem #141

May 192022

Jetta

  • miles
Vehicle has auto hold feature which activates on an incline. UNABLE TO TURN OFF. when driving a manual transmission car, this is causing premature clutch wear. Brake will be engaged for 3 seconds even when gas pedal is depressed. people unaware of this feature can let go of gas pedal and brake causing a roll back into another vehicle or object.

- Vienna, NJ, USA

problem #140

Nov 192022

Jetta

  • miles
I bought the car October 1 2022 around October 15th it shut off without and warning while crossing over a intersection on November 19th I was on i95 north and it shut off again with no warning I got to the side of the highway and it started I got about a mile up the highway and it shut off a 3rd time this time it said error stop/start

- Essex, MD, USA

problem #139

Sep 192022

Jetta

  • miles
I have had to replace two manual transmission clutches. The first was at 19,261 miles. The second was at 50,358 miles. Both times the engine excessively revved up while driving without shifting and there was a putrid and foul smell of burning rubber along with smoke. VW repair shop isn't taking ownership of a defective transmission, defective clutch, or defective material. I had to have the vehicle towed both times because the vehicle was not safe to drive.

- Huntsville, AL, USA

problem #138

Jul 082022

Jetta

  • 75,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle would stall upon the depression of the accelerator pedal, with the ignition switch warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the gear shifter would intermittently fail to move out of park(P) and the windows would fail to operate as needed. The manufacturer and the dealer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

- Palmetto, FL, USA

problem #137

May 312022

Jetta

  • miles
Had a 2019 Jetta 1.4 Turbo and kept hearing the same grinding noise over and over that everyone says. I couldn-??t determine if it was coming from the transmission or torque converter or something else. I took it to the VW dealership twice and both times they claimed they couldn-??t hear anything and kept my car all day long without calling me or anything. They also said it was normal. I know quite a bit about cars and that-??s not normal. It-??s kinda like the dealership didn-??t want to help. They kept saying it-??s still under warranty, so we are documenting it. Ok, I get that, but that-??s not helping me at all. They are not worried about it because it-??s not their car. Got to the point I finally got fed up with it and sold it. I traded a perfectly good car in to have a newer one only to have problems. It-??s gone now of course, but I will never get my other perfectly good car back. Not pleased with Volkswagen and will never buy another one.

- Tyler , TX, USA

problem #136

Mar 132022

Jetta

  • miles
I stopped at a red light and when it turned green the car wouldn't move and the RPM's were hung. I was almost rear ended and stuck in an intersection due to this failure. After getting the car to go about 5 MPH without being able to switch gears I was able to pull over to a safer location. I had the car towed to my dealer but they deemed it was a wear and tear issue and blamed bad driving style and cost $3,130 to replace the clutch and flywheel. There were no signs of wear on the clutch and no vehicle indications from the control panel. In addition, the car was brought in for a tire rotation and complementary VW multi-point inspection with no issues cited just a week before this failure.

- East Northport, NY, USA

problem #135

Jun 132021

Jetta

  • miles
2019 VW Jetta SE 1.4 tsi *82000 miles *regular car maintenance There is a weird grinding/ whirring noise when accelerating around 1500-2500 rpm id say 2ed or 3ed gear so around 25-35mph. I havent got any warning lights and from what i can read online from numerous others with the same year make and model i have this is a known problem. Ive tried getting it into the dealership but they keep telling me they dont have any loaner cars for me to use because 2021 customer's are priority reason for the loaner is because it takes 3 days for them to be able to proform a full diagnosic on the car but i have took the car to the VW dealer in union city ga 2 times the first time they said the noise was the turbo wastegate and after 8 long hours in the waiting room i get the car back and the dar after the noise is back (on the paper from them the part number isnt a wastegate repair its a boost sensor and my research shows the turbo that VW puts on the car dont make just the wastegate to repair the whole turbo has to be replaced) the second time i took it up there for the same problem they lied about having a loaner car and made me waste a hour drive and gas and i had to ask for the day off to do this. The safty issue concerned with is that when this noise happens its like the car has low power the the specified rpm/mph and when it passes that threshold it takes off and jerks my head back to the headrest reguardless how much the gas pedal is being pushed with the sudden power it could cause me to rear end someone. Another thing im concerned about is that this problem could be due to another car component failing witch could become something serious to be a newer car i dont believe this should be happening ive tried to get it seen about and have had nothing but problems and feel like its getting worse is there anything that could be done to get this looked at and again there are numerous reports online about the same exact problem im having with the 2019 VW jetta se 1.4tsi

- Carrollton, GA, USA

problem #134

Nov 032020

Jetta

  • 9,000 miles
Noise on driveline 25 to 35 under light throttle especially in eco mode. Sounds like metallic rattle. Momentarily loses power at that time. Also, when in any selection except sport mode it doesn't shift down uny gears until almost woth throttle floored. Then shifts down 2 or 3 gears and races at a fast speed.

- Warner Robins, GA, USA

problem #133

Oct 012018

Jetta

  • 1,700 miles
Transmission making a rattling noise, like loose metal. Engine lags power between 35 - 45 mph. Then the noise fades away. Its more noticeable on eco mode. Volkswagen is aware about this situation, they have software update for the torque converter to help the power lose issue. Also the transmission seeps oil at the mating surface with the engine. Dealer says it's normal noise from the transmission and the oil leak is not big enough for them to fix it. I don't think that's normal, I haven't had a car that made a noise like that, it's nerve wrecking I don't want my young son get stuck on the freeway its dangerous

- Glendale, CA, USA

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