Page 13 of 13 · complaints 601–607 of 607

2011 Volkswagen Jetta complaints

Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2011 record →

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Nov 29, 20103,000 milesAZ

1 RECENTLY PURCHASED A (2011) VW JETTA AT "CHAPMAN VOLKSWAGEN" IN TUCSON, ARIZONA.IT SEEMED TO RUN WELL THE FIRST DAY I DROVE IT,BUT ON THE SECOND DAY OF PURCHASE I MADE U-TURN TO PROCEED ONTO THE HIGHWAY AND IT MYSTERIOUSLY DECELERATED. I PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER AS I WAS GOING ONTO THE ON-RAMP AND NOTICED THAT THE LOW FUEL LIGHT WAS LIT. WHAT STUCK ME AS BEING MOST PECULIAR WAS THAT THE REGULAR FUEL GAUGE WAS READING NEARLY HALF FULL. THE VEHICLE DID NOT STALL AND THE GAUGE RETURNED TO NORMAL FUNCTIONING, BUT IT LEFT ME WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE. I WAS WONDERING IF OTHER SIMILAR VEHICLES HAD SIMILAR ISSUES AND IF THEY WERE RESOLVED. THE REPRESENTATIVES AT THE DEALERSHIP ARE NOT RETURNING MY CALLS AND HAVE OFFERED NO EXPLANATION FOR THE INCIDENT. *TR

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Nov 28, 20101,200 milesMD

MY NEW 2011 VW JETTA SPORTSWAGEN DECELERATED SUDDENLY WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY. THE ENGINE LOST MOST OF ITS POWER AND THE CAR COULD ONLY GO AT ABOUT 30 MPH. THE CAR REGAINED ALL ITS POWER AFTER THE ENGINE WAS SHUT OFF. I CONSIDER THIS A CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE WITH THE CAR.

Fuel System, Diesel
Filed Nov 15, 20104,000 milesTX

MY 2011 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA SPORTWAGEN TDI HAD IT'S FUEL PUMP FAIL LEAVING MY WIFE AND CHILD STRANDED. THE CAR WAS STARTED AND SUDDENLY LOST POWER ON THE ROADWAY. CAR WAS TOWED TO DEALER WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE FUEL PUMP HAD FAILED. PUMP FAILURE WAS CATASTROPHIC SENDING METAL SHARDS THROUGHOUT THE FUEL SYSTEM (TANK, FUEL LINES, FILTERS, ETC.) THIS HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED BY MANY OTHERS WITH THIS ENGINE (BACK TO 2009). AS OF YET THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL BY VW. VW IS CURRENTLY TESTING MY FUEL AND HAS ORDERED PARTS FOR REPAIR. THE REPLACEMENT PART WILL BE THE SAME PART # AS THE ONE THAT FAILED. MOST PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN WHILE OUT ON THE ROAD, ESSENTIALLY STRANDING THEM IN A DANGEROUS ENVIRONMENT. I LOVE MY CAR, BUT I WANT IT TO BE SAFE. *TR

Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Filed Nov 15, 201076 milesCA

I BOUGHT A NEW VW JETTA 2011, ON 11/11/10 NEXT DAY I FELT A PROBLEM WHEN BRAKING. THE DEALER SAID THE BRAKE DRUMS WERE DAMAGE, IT WAS A FACTORY DEFECT. NOW I FEEL UNSAFE AND DISAPPOINTED DRIVING IT. *TR

Power Train › Manual Transmission
Filed Nov 3, 2010900 milesRI

TWICE THE CAR GOES INTO REVERSE IN ALL SIX GEARS. IT HAPPENS WHEN I TRY TO COME OUT OF A FULL STOP. IT HAPPENS ON FLAT GROUND. THE FIRST TIME IT SEEMED TO FIX ITSELF AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES OF MY FIDDLING, BUT I CAN'T SEE WHAT I DID TO MAKE IT WORK. I HAD STOPPED QUITE A FEW TIMES BETWEEN ONE TIME AND ANOTHER AND IT WORKED PERFECTLY WELL. THE TIME BETWEEN THE FIRST INCIDENT AND THE SECOND WAS 13 DAYS. *TR

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Oct 28, 2010400 milesVA

THIS IS AN ADDENDUM TO COMPLAINT ODI# 10362604 AND REFERENCES 6 ADDITIONAL "GLOWPLUG" WARNING LIGHT ODI COMPLAINTS FILED FOR THE 2009 MODEL YEAR. (THE 3 REFERENCES IN THE ORIGINAL COMPLAINT WERE ONLY FOR THE 2010 MODEL YEAR.). THIS BRINGS THE TOTAL TO 9 OTHER VOLKSWAGEN JETTA SPORTWAGEN TDI INCIDENTS THAT ARE SIMILAR OR IDENTICAL TO MY OWN. BASED ON THESE MULTIPLE REPORTS, THERE CAN BE NO QUESTION BUT THAT VOLKSWAGEN HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS HAZARDOUS AND COSTLY DEFECT FOR AT LEAST 3 YEARS. ADDITIONAL ODI COMPLAINT NUMBERS: 10356900, 10355519, 10354353, 10315932, 10297692, 10295191. *TR

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Oct 27, 2010400 milesVA

18 DAYS AND 400 ODOMETER MILES AFTER PURCHASING MY 2011 JETTA SPORTWAGEN TDI, THE 'GLOWLIGHT' WARNING LIGHT CAME ON WHILE DRIVING. THE FOLLOWING DAY, THE 'GLOWLIGHT' BEGAN TO BLINK, THEN THE 'CATALYTIC' WARNING LIGHT ALSO BEGAN BLINKING. CAR WAS TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP THE SAME DAY. AFTER (REMOTE) DIAGNOSTIC ASSISTANCE FROM THE MANUFACTURER, DEALER REPORTED THAT THE 'CRANK SENSOR' NEEDED REPLACING. AFTER 2 DAYS, THE DEALER INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS NOT THE 'CRANK SENSOR' AFTER ALL. DAYS LATER, A MANUFACTURER'S REP INSPECTED THE CAR AT THE DEALERSHIP AND DETERMINED THAT AN ONBOARD COMPUTER WAS THE PROBLEM, AND THAT ONE WOULD ARRIVE FROM GERMANY IN 10 TO 14 DAYS. DEALER LATER REVISED THAT TIME ESTIMATE TO 35 DAYS. IF DEALER'S ESTIMATE IS CORRECT, MY NEW CAR WILL HAVE BEEN IN THE SHOP FOR WELL OVER 40 DAYS. NOTE: U.S. DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION DATABASE SHOWS AT LEAST 3 SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FOR 2010 JETTA TDI'S. SEE ODI ID # 10359939, 10359434, 10353544. SO WHY HASN'T VOLKSWAGEN CORRECTED THIS KNOWN PROBLEM? *TR

Reading these

NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Full record for the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta → · Every Jetta year → · How the figures are calculated →