2012 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA Complaints

ENGINE RUNS ROUGH, SPUTTERS AND STALLS RANDOMLY. WHEN STALLS, SOME LIGHTS FLASH AND STATES SERVICE NEEDED. DEALERSHIP DIDN'T FIND ANY FAULTS. IF STALLS ON HIGHWAY THIS CAN BE LIFE THREATENING. STEERING WHEEL PULLS HARD TO THE LEFT EVEN WITH CAR PROPERLY ALIGNED AND TIRES AIR PRESSURE READING ACCURATELY FULL. JUST HAD CAR SERVICED AGAIN NO FAULTS FOUND. IGNITION ISSUE WITH CAR NOT SHUTTING OFF. 20 MINUTES AFTER PARKING AND TRYING TO TURN CAR OFF WITH NO PREVAIL. HAD CAR SERVICED AND WAS GIFTED A FREE REPAIR SINCE MY 2012 JETTA HAS ONLY 22,000 MILES ON IT. IGNITION REPLACED BUT OTHER ISSUES STILL EXIST. PAID OUT OF POCKET FOR SERVICING THIS VEHICLE MULTIPLE TIMES SINCE ALL THESE ISSUES CAME ABOUT CONVIENTLY AFTER THE WARRANTY PERIOD ENDED.

THE REAR TRAILING ARMS OF JETTA AND BEETLE OF VW IS A DESIGN FLAW. (NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V656000) CHINA AQSIQ (GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF QUALITY SUPERVISION, INSPECTION AND QUARANTINE OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA) CONDUCTED A YEARLONG SURVEY TEST, THE EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS HAVE BEEN OUT : THE REAR TRAILING ARMS OF JETTA AND BEETLE OF VW IS A DESIGN FLAW?THE RECALL OF USA?2011-2013 JETTA VEHICLES MANUFACTURED MARCH 1, 2010, TO NOVEMBER 30, 2012, AND 2012-2013 BEETLE VEHICLES MANUFACTURED MARCH 1, 2011, TO JULY 31, 2013. ?. THE MAIN CONCLUSIONS OF AQSIQ OF CHINA ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. THE REAR TRAILING ARMS OF THE RECALL OF JETTA AND BEETLE OF VW CAUSED A DEFICIT. JUST WHEN ENCOUNTERING OBSTACLES IN REVERSING THE PROCESS, IT WILL CAUSE THE REAR TRAILING ARMS DEFORMED. 2. THE METHOD OF THE RECALL THAT INSTALLING A SHEET METAL CAN?T ELIMINATE DEFECTS. THE INSTALLATION OF A SHEET METAL ONLY ENHANCES THE RESISTANCE TO DEFORMATION OF THE REAR TRAILING ARMS, BUT WHEN THE MORPH TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, THERE IS STILL THE RISK OF BREAKAGE AND LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. AFTER BREAKING, THE SHEET METAL DOES NOT NECESSARILY ALERT OF NOISE. IN THE CASE OF VEHICLES OF MORE THAN 40KM / H, WHEN THE REAR TRAILING ARMS FRACTURE, THE SHEET METAL WILL ALSO BREAK, THE VEHICLE WILL NOT BE CONTROLLED. WE FEAR FOR OUR SAFETY, AND WE NEED NHTSA?S HELP! THANK YOU! THE TECHNICAL REPORTS OF CHINA AQSIQ ABOUT THE JETTA AND BEETLE: HTTP://WWW.DPAC.GOV.CN/XWDT/GZDT/201509/T20150911_57436.HTML CHINA AQSIQ TEST VIDEOS BELOW: HTTP://WWW.DPAC.GOV.CN/VIDEO_XINSUTENG/. *TR

A WOMAN AND A YOUNG CHILD DEPARTED A PRESCHOOL ON A CLEAR, DRY DAY. THE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET 250 FEET FROM THE PRESCHOOL WITHOUT WARNING OR ANY SIGN OF TROUBLE. THE VEHICLE HAD RUN WELL TO DATE. THE DRIVER ATTEMPTED MULTIPLE TIMES TO RESTART THE VEHICLE, BUT IT SHUT DOWN AGAIN WITHIN TWO SECONDS OF STARTING. A GOOD SAMARITAN PUSHED THE VEHICLE TO THE CURB. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A VOLKSWAGEN DEALER, WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE CAUSE WAS DIESEL FUEL SYSTEM FAILURE, NECESSITATING TOTAL REPLACEMENT. THE FUEL SYSTEM IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL IS A KNOWN PROBLEM, FOR WHICH AN EXTENDED WARRANTY APPLIES TO 120,000 MILES. THE DEALER HAD A FUEL SAMPLE TESTED FOR CONTAMINATION. RESULTS WERE ALL STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY WITHIN VW SPECIFICATIONS. VOLKSWAGEN CONTENDS, HOWEVER, THAT THE FUEL SAMPLE FAILED THE TEST DUE TO ITS OWN ROUNDING ERROR AND REFUSES TO HONOR ITS EXTENDED WARRANTY.

MY IGNITION LOCK CYLINDER HAS FAILED ON MY 2012 VW JETTA. LONG STORY SHORT, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET THE KEY OUT OF THE IGNITION. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH "TURNING THE WHEEL TO UNLOCK IT". IT IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THESE VOLKSWAGENS. I FELT UNSAFE BECAUSE IF I EVER HAD TO SHUT MY CAR DOWN IN AN EMERGENCY, SOMETIMES IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE. SO I GO TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR ANOTHER ISSUE, AND NOW THEY WON'T FIX MY CAR UNTIL I GET THIS IGNITION LOCK CYLINDER FIXED. IT COSTS $650 AND I HAVE TO WAIT 7-10 DAYS TO GET THE PART FLOWN IN FROM GERMANY. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY NO QUESTIONS ASKED, I DON'T FEEL SAFE BEING IN THE CAR IF I CAN'T TURN IT OFF.

2012 JETTA WAGON - WHILE DRIVING ON A RECENTLY PAVED HIGHWAY (EG. SEEMINGLY PRISTINE ASPHALT), MY WIFE AND I NOTED A STRANGE VIBRATION SENSATION IN OUR CAR. THERE WAS NO DRAG, VEERED STEERING, ABNORMAL HANDLING, OR WARNING ON THE DASH. WE HAD ACCELERATED TO APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH WHEN AT THE UPCOMING INTERSECTION THE LIGHT CHANGED TO RED. IT WAS A NORMAL BRAKING/STOP MANEUVER. ON STOPPING, NO UNUSUAL BRAKING SENSATION, AGAIN NO ABNORMAL PULL. WE NOTICED SMOKE COMING ALONG THE DRIVERS SIDE WHILE STOPPED. THERE WAS A FAINT SMELL OF HOT METAL AS WELL. MY WIFE STATED "I HOPE THAT'S NOT US". SEVERAL CARS HONKED AND FLASHED LIGHTS TO GET OUR ATTENTION AND ON ROLLING THE DRIVERS WINDOW DOWN, A DRIVER ADJACENT YELLED "YOUR CAR IS ON FIRE". I QUICKLY EXITED THE DRIVERS SIDE AND NOTED A SMALL FLAME AT THE DRIVERS REAR BRAKE. BY SIMPLY BLOWING, IT WENT OUT. THE ROTOR WAS GLOWING RED/ORANGE. EXTREME HEAT WAS COMING FROM THIS. NO OTHER BRAKE WAS INVOLVED. I VERIFIED THE PARKING BRAKE WAS NOT ENGAGED AT THE TIME. WE HAD TRAVELED PERHAPS 2 MILES PRIOR TO THIS OCCURRENCE. ONCE COOLED, I SLOWLY DROVE TO A NEARBY CLINIC PARKING LOT AND LEFT THE CAR. THIS CAR HAS HAD ALL SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE IN A TIMELY MANNER. IT HAS NOT BEEN CRASHED. RECENT WORK INCLUDED DEALER BRAKE FLUID CHANGE AT 47,918 MILES. *TR ## VIN PASSED ## VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 2012 TDI SPORTWAGEN ##

THE FIRST TIME MY RADIO CAUGHT ON FIRE, IT WAS THE SUMMER OF 2014. MY CAR WAS PARKED IN A PARKING LOT WHILE I WAS AT WORK. WHEN I ENTERED THE CAR TO DRIVE HOME, I TURNED STARTED THE VEHICLE AND THERE WAS A EXTREMELY LOUD SOUND, MUCH LIKE AN EXPLOSION. THE MIDDLE DASH WHERE THE RADIO IS LOCATED BEGAN POURING SMOKE. AFTER THE INCIDENT, I CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP, WHO "FIXED" THE PROBLEM (THEY REPLACED THE STOCK RADIO FOR ANOTHER VW STOCK RADIO). SPRING OF 2015, THE SAME EXACT THING HAPPENED. MY CAR WAS PARKED AT WORK, I STARTED THE CAR AND THE RADIO BEGAN POURING SMOKE. I AGAIN, HAD THE ISSUE "FIXED" BY THE DEALERSHIP. AUGUST 2015, AGAIN THIS HAPPENED AND SEPTEMBER 2015 AGAIN. WHEN I INSISTED THAT VW MUST FURTHER INVESTIGATE THE UNDERLYING ISSUE, THEY CLAIMED TO HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM AFTER THE AUGUST 2015 INCIDENT. WITH THIS INCIDENT NOT ONLY DID THE RADIO BURN OUT, MY BATTERY WAS DRAINED OUT. THE EXPLANATION I WAS GIVEN WAS THAT THE POWER LINE TO THE RADIO WAS NOT SHUTTING OFF, THEREFORE THE RADIO WAS OVERHEATING AND THE BATTERY WAS BEING DRAINED. WITH THIS PARTICULAR INCIDENT, I RECEIVED MY CAR BACK ON A MONDAY AND THE RADIO AGAIN CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNED OUT ON THE FRIDAY OF THAT SAME WEEK.

I HAVE A 2012 JETTA TDI THAT IS NOW JUST OUT OF BUMPER TO BUMPER WARRANTY, EXCEPT THE 10YR/120K COVERAGE EXTENDED ON THE KNOWN POORLY DESIGNED HPFP (INVESTIGATED IN NHTSA ACTION PE10034). I DO A FUEL FILTER CHANGE EARLY 15K FROM THE LAST DEALER CHANGE AT 44500 MILES... AND I FIND METAL PARTICLES IN THE FUEL FILTER. THIS IS NOT NORMAL, AND INDICATION OF WEAR, AND SOURCE IS ALMOST CERTAINLY THE HPFP CAM AND ROLLER/PISTON WHICH IS LUBRICATED AND COOLED BY DIESEL FUEL RECIRCULATED TO THE FILTER VIA BYPASS, AND SOME OF THIS ENDS UP IN THE FUEL TANK, AND WORSE CAN END UP IN THE INJECTORS CAUSING INJECTOR FAILURE, EVEN POSSIBLE BURNED PISTON HEADS AND CATASTROPHIC ENGINE DAMAGE. I ASSUME THE PATH FORWARD IS DOCUMENT MY FINDINGS, I DID THIS WITH HIGH RESOLUTION DIGITAL PICTURES, PRINTED FOR THE DEALER, AND A PRISTINE WHITE RAG TURNED GREY WITH METAL FILINGS, ALONG WITH THE OLD FILTER DELIVERED FOR THEIR INSPECTION (I EVEN PROVIDED THE VCDS DIAGNOSTIC PRINT OUT FOR THE VEHICLES SELF-DIAGNOSIS). SINCE I DID THE FILTER CHANGE, AND ABOUT 100 MILES AND ONE DAY LATER, THERE IS NO MORE EVIDENCE OF THESE METAL PARTICLES IN THE SYSTEM.. THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT TRIED, VW WOULD NOT AUTHORIZE A PUMP REPLACEMENT.. SO I CALLED AND VW EXPLAINED THE SITUATION TO THEM, THEY DID NOT BOTHER TO RECORD NAME OR VIN, CLEARLY NOT INTERESTED IN CUSTOMER CARE. OFFICIAL VW POLICY SEEMS TO BE TO IGNORE THE METAL FILINGS AND THE CUSTOMER, THEY OFFER A BOGUS EXPLANATION THAT METAL FILINGS COULD COME FROM FILL NOZZLES, OR SOME OTHER SOURCE (UNLIKELY, I ALSO OWN A DIESEL TRUCK, AND WITH LONGER SERVICE TIME, WITH MORE FUEL USED, THERE WERE NO METAL PARTICLES AT NEARLY 30K MILES. I NOW HAVE A CAR I CANT TRUST, KNOWING THE HPFP CAN SUDDENLY FAIL WITHOUT WARNING AND LEAVE MY FAMILY STRANDED, EVEN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT IF IT HAPPENS IN A BUSY INTERSTATE, OR WHEN PULLING INTO TRAFFIC.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE EPC WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL FAILED TO RESPOND EACH TIME THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CONTACT INDICATED THAT THERE WAS A DRASTIC REDUCTION IN SPEED. THE CONTACT HAD TO TURN THE VEHICLE ON AND OFF MULTIPLE TIMES IN ORDER TO RESET THE EPC CODE. THE VEHICLE WAS TO BE TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR INSPECTION AND DIAGNOSIS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 92,000.

CAR LOST ALL POWER AND WOULD NOT RESTART.I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 55MPH ON A RURAL ROAD, THANKFULLY THERE WAS NOT A LOT OF TRAFFIC AT THE TIME THE CAR FAILED. THE GLOW PLUG LIGHT STARTED FLASHING AS THE ENGINE WAS LOSING POWER. THERE WAS NO WARNING THAT THE CAR WOULD FAIL LIKE THIS. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF THE THE ROAD IN NEUTRAL. I SUSPECTED A HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILURE SINCE VW HAD JUST SENT OUT A LETTER NOTIFYING ME THAT THE WARRANTY ON THAT PART HAD BEEN EXTENDED TO 120K MILES. AFTER IT WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, THEY CONFIRMED IT WAS A HPFP FAILURE AND I AM WAITING TO FIND OUT IF VW WILL COVER THE REPAIR. WAS TOLD THAT THIS FAILURE CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM ($8,800.00USD). I DO NOT SEE HOW VW CAN PUT A CAR ON THE ROAD WITH A PART THAT COULD POTENTIALLY FAIL AND CAUSE THIS MUCH DAMAGE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE VEHICLE IN FRONT SUDDENLY STOPPED WITHOUT WARNING CAUSING THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO THE REAR END OF THE VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED AND NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.