2008 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA Complaints

DRIVERS SIDE DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR FAILED TO LOCK OR UNLOCK THE DOOR, ALARM HORN FAILS TO SOUND WHEN ALARM IS ACTIVATED. REAR DRIVER'S DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR FAILED TO LOCK OR UNLOCK THE DOOR. THE REAR DRIVERS DOOR DOESN'T HAVE AN EXTERNAL KEY HOLE TO UNLOCK DOOR AND THE ONLY WAY TO OPEN THE DOOR IS FROM THE INSIDE. IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT WITH A CHILD IN A CHILD SAFETY SEAT, THIS COULD RESULT IN A DELAY OF REMOVING THE CHILD FROM A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THE VOLKSWAGEN MANUFACTURER/DEALERSHIP CHARGES BETWEEN $450 TO $550 PER ACTUATOR. AFTER AN EXTENSIVE SEARCH OF THE INTERNET AND NUMEROUS FORUMS, THIS ACTUATOR REPAIR IS MORE COMMON THAN VOLKSWAGEN WOULD LIKE ANYONE TO BELIEVE. THIS PART IS KEPT IN STOCK AT DEALERSHIPS AND THEY ARE VAGUE WHEN QUESTIONED ABOUT THE FREQUENCY OF REPAIR. THIS APPEARS TO BE MORE A PROBLEM WITH NEWER MODELS. I'VE OWNED A USED 2003 VW JETTA FOR OVER 5 YEARS NOW AND HAVEN'T NEEDED AN ACTUATOR YET. *TR

I WAS TOLD BY THE VW DEALERSHIP THAT THERE IS KNOWN DEFECT WITH THE MOTOR THAT IS PART OF THE AIR INTAKE MANIFOLD WHICH CAUSES THE VALVES TO STICK AND NOT ALLOW THE PROPER MIXTURE OF AIR/GAS, CAUSING THE ENGINE TO MISFIRE....AT TIMES, THE MISFIRE CAN BE INTENSE AND COULD POSSIBLY CAUSE SOMEONE TO LOSE CONTROL OF THEIR VEHICLE ("BUCKING SENSATION"). I FOUND MANY THREADS ON THE INTERNET REGARDING THE VW JETTA (2.0T ENGINE) AND A PROBLEM WITH THE AIR INTAKE MANIFOLD, BUT YET, VW HAS NEVER ISSUED A RECALL FOR THE PROBLEM. *TR

I WAS DRIVING TO WORK ONE MORNING AND IT STARTED TO SMELL LIKE SOMETHING WAS BURNING. I THOUGHT MAYBE IT WAS JUST A WEIRD SMELL IN MY VENTS BUT WITHIN 10 MINUTES OF DRIVING A CLOUD OF SMOKE FILED THE DRIVER SIDE OF MY CAR. LUCKILY I WAS NOT ON THE HIGHWAY YET AND I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND SHUT OFF THE CAR. NOT KNOWING WHERE THE SMOKE CAME FROM I IMMEDIATELY GOT OUT OF THE CAR. IT WHEN THEN THAT I LOOKED DOWN AND SAW THE SOURCE OF THE SMOKE, THERE WAS A QUARTER SIZE HOLE IN MY DRIVER SEAT. I HAD BEEN DRIVING WITH THE SEAT HEATER ON AND IT CAUGHT FIRE. LUCKILY I WAS NOT INJURED AND WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY GET OFF THE ROAD AND DISCOVER THE ISSUE HOWEVER I HAVE READ OTHER COMPLAINTS OF SIMILAR EVENTS AND YET NO RECALL. *TR

SIDEWALL TEARING APART IN TWO SECTIONS AS WELL AS CENTER TREADS CONTAIN SEVERE CRACKING. *TR

THE 08 JETTA SE STALL W/O ANY WARNING, USUALLY AFTER 30 MINUTES OF DRIVING AND SOMETIME AT STOPLIGHTS. *TR

I HAVE A 2008 JETTA AND I STARTED EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH 1 DOOR. MY CAR WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND THE LOCK WAS REPLACED AT THE DEALERSHIP. THEN ONLY MONTHS LATER I STARTED HAVING SIMILAR PROBLEMS RANDOMLY (THE LOCK WOULD WORK SOME TIMES BUT NOT OTHERS). EVERYTIME I STOPPED AT THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE IT FIXED THE LOCK WORKED- THEREFORE THEY COULD NOT DIAGNOSE WHICH DOOR HAD A PROBLEM. THE LOCK FAILED EVERYTIME AND WHEN I RETURNED TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE CAR WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. THE DEALERSHIP SAID THE LOCKS CAN GO BAD AND QUOTED ME A COST OF $400 TO REPAIR. AFTER HAVING ONE DOOR "FIXED" ONLY TO HAVE ANOTHER LOCK FAIL AFTER MONTHS LATER SEEMS EXCESSIVE. AT THIS POINT I HAVE NOT REPLACED THE SECOND LOCK. IT IS FRUSTRATING TO SEE A CAR WITH FOUR DOORS HAVE PROBLEM WITH TWO OF THE DOORS! AT A COST OF $400 TO REPLACE I FELT THERE MUST BE A LARGER ISSUE THAT NEEDS ATTENTION. WE KEEP OUR CAR IN THE GARAGE, THE DOOR THAT IS NOW IN NEED OF REPAIR IS RARELY USED. THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE AS THE LOCKS SERVE AS THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE IN PERSONAL PROTECTION AND ANTI-THEFT. AFTER SEARCHING ON LINE AND SEEING OTHERS WITH SIMILAR ISSUES, I FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO REPORT THIS. I TRUST YOU WILL PROMPTLY FOLLOW UP AND ASSIST ME IN RESOLVING THIS ISSUE. *TR

THE CAR'S OWN KEYS COULD NOT BE INSERTED INTO THE IGNITION. THE DUST CAP INSIDE THE IGNITION CYLINDER/ SWITCH WAS BLOCKING THE KEY FROM ENTERING. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED BECAUSE OF THE IGNITION KEY NOT ABLE TO ENTER THE IGNITION SWITCH. ALSO THE TRANSMISSION COULD NOT BE MOVED FROM PARKING BECAUSE OF THE ABOVE REASON. AS A RESULT, WE WERE ALL STRANDED ON THE ROAD FOR SEVERAL HOURS BECAUSE THE CAR KEYS COULD NOT BE INSERTED TO THE IGNITION. HAD TO TOW THE CAR TO VW DEALERSHIP AND THE DEALERS WANTED TO CHANGE THE ENTIRE IGNITION SWITCH. LATER FOUND OUT THAT IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANY VW JETTA BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE CYLINDER HAS BEEN DESIGNED BY VW AND VWOA DOES NOT WANT TO MAKE ANY RECALL AND CHANGE THIS DESIGN. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CAR IS ONLY 4 YEARS OLD, USED ONLY BY ME VERY GENTLY, AND THE IGNITION SWITCH DESIGN IS FAULTY. *JB

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE KEY WOULD NOT INSERT INTO THE IGNITION AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR AN INSPECTION AND THEY STATED THAT THE CYLINDER LOCK WAS BLOCKED AND THE IGNITION SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND THEY TOOK A COMPLAINT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 47,000.

2008 WOLFSBURG EDITION JETTA: STARTED EXPERIENCING ISSUES WITH ONE DOOR LOCK AND THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT THE LOCKS CAN GO BAD AND NEED TO BE REPLACED, COSTING $450 FOR THE REPLACEMENT. AFTER HAVING THIS FIXED, ONLY TWO MONTHS LATER, ANOTHER LOCK STARTED HAVING AN ISSUE. I HAVE NOT YET REPLACED THIS LOCK, BUT NOW A THIRD LOCK IS STARTING TO EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS ON THE SAME VEHICLE. AT THIS RATE, I EXPECT THE FOURTH AND FINAL LOCK TO START HAVING ISSUES. AT $450 FOR EACH LOCK REPLACEMENT, THIS SEEMS EXCESSIVE. ON A SINGLE CAR THAT IS KEPT IN A GARAGE, WITH ONLY TWO ADULTS (NO CHILDREN) USING THE FRONT DOORS, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE HOW THREE DOORS CAN EXPERIENCE LOCK ISSUES, UNLESS THERE WAS SOME LARGER ISSUE WITH THE LOCKS. THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE AS THE LOCKS SERVE AS THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE IN ANTI-THEFT. AFTER SEARCHING ONLINE AND SEEING OTHERS WITH SIMILAR ISSUES, I DECIDED TO REPORT THIS. *TR

THIS VEHICLE (2008 VW GLI) SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER SB-69-11-01 AS WELL. THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT HAS COME UP. VW JETTA GLI IS A SPECIAL MODEL BASED ON THE VW JETTA 2008. I THINK THERE IS AN OVERSIGHT FOR NOT PLACING THIS SAME TYPE OF VEHICLE UNDER SB-69-11-01. GLI IS ESSENTIAL A SPORTS MODEL UPGRADE OF JETTA MODEL, WHY ISN'T THIS VEHICLE COVERED BY THE SAME TSB? MAKE / MODELS: MODEL/BUILD YEARS: VOLKSWAGEN / EOS 2007-2008 VOLKSWAGEN / GTI 2006-2008 VOLKSWAGEN / JETTA 2005-2008 VOLKSWAGEN / NEW BEETLE 2004-2008 VOLKSWAGEN / NEW BEETLE CONVERTIBLE 2004-2008 VOLKSWAGEN / PASSAT 2006-2008 VOLKSWAGEN / PASSAT WAGON 2006-2008 VOLKSWAGEN / R32 2006-2008 VOLKSWAGEN / RABBIT 2006-2008 SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER: SB-69-11-01 NHTSA ITEM NUMBER: 10038665 SUMMARY: VOLKSWAGEN: AIR BAG LIGHT IS ON WITH AN INTERNAL TROUBLE CODE STORED. THIS COULD BE A WIRING PROBLEM. *RM