2011 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA Complaints

WHILE DRIVING, I SMELLED A BURNING SMELL FROM OUTSIDE THE CAR. HAD THE SAME OCCURRENCE ON 3 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS ON A PREVIOUS VEHICLE WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE STICKING CALIPERS, SO IMMEDIATELY I CHECKED THE BRAKES. WHAT I FOUND WAS THE SMELL WAS COMING FROM THE REAR DRIVER SIDE AND THE RIM WAS VERY HOT. *TR

I PURCHASED A USED 2011 VW JETTA SPORTWAGEN TDI ON MONDAY, JULY 28, 2014 AND 5 DAYS LATER ON AUGUST 2ND, THE CAR DIED. I HAD BEEN DRIVING FOR ABOUT AN HOUR MOSTLY ON THE HIGHWAY AND THEN SOME MODERATELY WINDING FOOTHILL ROADS. I STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN AND WHEN I ACCELERATED INTO THE INTERSECTION THE ENGINE ABRUPTLY DIED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. THE ENGINE TURNED OVER WHEN THE KEY WAS TURNED, BUT IT WOULDN'T START. FORTUNATELY, PEOPLE IN THE VEHICLES BEHIND ME HELPED PUSH MY CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. IT WAS TOWED TO A NEARBY REPAIR SHOP SPECIALIZING IN FOREIGN CARS FOR EVALUATION. THEY FOUND THE DIESEL FUEL PUMP HAD FAILED AND THEY SAID THERE ARE METAL SHAVINGS THROUGHOUT THE FUEL SYSTEM. *TR

I BOUGHT A 2011 JETTA IN FEBRUARY 2011. TODAY, I AM TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT 'SOME WIRES' LOCATED UNDER THE SPARK PLUGS ARE SHORT-CIRCUITING AND NEED TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $830 + TAX. NOW, WHY ARE THERE 'SOME WIRES' UNDER THE SPARK PLUGS THAT ARE NOT SUFFICIENTLY INSULATED? AND, WHY ARE 'SOME WIRES' UNDER THE SPARK PLUGS ANYWAY? I WAS GOING DOWN I-24 AT 55 MPH AND THE CAR 'CUT OFF'! THE ONLY THING THAT SAVED MY LIFE IS THAT IT WAS RUSH HOUR AND THE TRAFFIC WAS BUMPER TO BUMPER. I WAS AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED. I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!!! SUCH A DESIGN OF 'SOME WIRES' UNDER THE SPARK PLUGS IS NOT GOOD CRAFTSMANSHIP OR PROFESSIONAL DESIGN. THE VEHICLE IS NOT EVEN PAID FOR AND I HAVE TO REPLACE 'SOME WIRES' UNDER THE SPARK PLUGS ALREADY. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ITEM BECAUSE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THE VEHICLE CUTTING OFF WHEN DRIVING AT FULL SPEED, IN TRAFFIC ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY. EVERYONE WITH A 2011 JETTA NEEDS TO BE MADE AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THIS SAME 'INSTANT SHUT DOWN OF ENGINE' HAPPENING TO THEM. THERE WAS NO WARNING SUCH AS THE ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON OR THE CAR STALLING WHEN TRYING TO START THE ENGINE. IN FACT, SOME ONE MAY BE DISILLUSIONED WHEN CAR RESTARTS AND DRIVES LIKE THERE IS NOTHING TO IT!!! IT TOOK THE DEALER 2-DAYS TO FINE THE PROBLEM SO EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE MADE AWARE OF THIS GROSS DANGER!! *TR

THE 2011 VW JETTA TDI MAIN SOURCE OF COMMUNICATION IS THROUGH THE RADIO (DELPHI PREMIUM 8). I WAS DRIVING AND THE RADIO COMPLETELY WENT OUT AFTER A POP. I HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH AND AS A 2011 AUTOMOBILE, THIS SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING 3 YEARS AFTER A NEW CAR IS PURCHASED. THIS IS A LARGE SAFETY HAZARD WHILE DRIVING AND NOT HAVING THE VEHICLES MAIN COMMUNICATION ACCESSIBLE. PLEASE LOOK MORE INTO THIS. THIS IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE WITH THIS RADIO MODEL. *TR

KEY STUCK IN IGNITION MULTIPLE TIMES HAVING GREAT DIFFICULTY TURNING ON AND OFF CAR. PROBLEMS APPEARS TO OCCUR ON A MORE FREQUENT BASIS, CAR DEALERSHIP INDICATED NOT A PROBLEM WHILE UNDER WARRANTY TOLD JIGGLE THE KEY WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM. PROGRESSIVELY WORSE AS MY WIFE CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR FOR FEAR OF BEING STUCK, SHE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM JULY 6, 2014 AS SHE HAD TO WALK HOME. TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL, MOVING THE TRANSMISSION IN AND OUT OF GEAR AND MOVING THE KEY AROUND WILL EVENTUALLY ALLOW THE KEY TO MOVE INTO A ON/OFF POSITION.

DRIVER SEAT BELT LATCH FAILURE. THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT CANNOT BE ENGAGED IN THE LATCH, SOMETHING BROKE INSIDE THE LATCH MECHANISM. THE SEAT BELT IS NOT FUNCTIONAL!! *JS

CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE PROPERLY, REQUIRING THE PEDAL TO BE COMPLETELY DEPRESSED TO ACHIEVE ANY ACCELERATION EVEN TO LOW SPEEDS. AT THIS POINT, A BRAKE WARNING LIGHT APPEARED FOR THE FIRST TIME. VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT TO DEALER, JIM ELLIS VW IN THE ATLANTA AREA WHO TESTED THE MODEL AND DETERMINED THE ABS MODULE HAD FAILED. AFTER REPLACING THE ABS MODULE THE BRAKES LOCKED DURING A TEST DRIVE BY THE SERVICE STAFF. SUBSEQUENTLY THE BRAKE BOOSTER AND BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER WERE REPLACED. OWNER BELIEVES THAT THIS EARLY FAILURE OF SO MANY COMPONENTS ON A NEWER, VERY LOW MILEAGE VEHICLE LIKELY REPRESENTS MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND COULD HAVE RESULTED IN SERIOUS INJURY. *JS

THIS COMPLAINT IS FOR THE 2011 VW JETTA SPORTWAGON TDI . THERE IS A MANUFACTURE DEFECT THAT CAUSED THE FUSE BOX UNDER THE HOOD TO MELT. THIS CAUSED MOST OF THE LIGHTS ON THE EXTERIOR TO FAIL, WHICH INCLUDED THE HEADLIGHTS, TAILLIGHTS, BRAKE-LIGHTS, ECT. THERE WERE RECALLS ON SIMILAR MODELS, BUT NOT THIS SPECIFIC CAR. THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL ON THIS CAR TO PREVENT POTENTIAL INJURIES. *TR

GLOW PLUG LIGHT STARTED BLINKING, THEN THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. SHIFTING BECAME ERRATIC. PULLED INTO A SERVICE STATION, AND ONCE THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF, IT WOULDN'T RESTART. AFTER BASIC CHECKS, THE FUEL PUMP WAS PULLED FOR INSPECTION AND METAL SHAVINGS WERE FOUND. IN RESEARCHING THE REPAIR, THE INDEPENDENT STATION SUGGESTED PUTTING THINGS BACK TOGETHER, AND HAVING IT TOWED TO THE DEALER, AS IT WAS SUSPECTED TO BE A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE BOSCH HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. IN FACT IT WAS, AND WHILE THE CAR WAS TWO MONTHS OUT OF WARRANTY, THE DEALER WENT AHEAD AND COVERED THE REPAIR UNDER THE UNRELATED DRIVETRAIN WARRANTY. I CONSIDER MYSELF INCREDIBLY LUCKY THAT THIS WASN'T 15 MINUTES EARLIER, WHEN I WAS TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, ON AN INCREDIBLY FULL FREEWAY. IT COULD'VE BEEN A MAJOR ACCIDENT IF I HAD SUDDENLY LOST POWER. CONSIDERING THERE ARE ENTIRE WEBSITES DEVOTED TO TRACKING THIS ISSUE, I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL. *TR

SINCE THE END OF MARCH, 2014, MY 2011 JETTA HAS COMPLETELY SHUT OFF WHILE IN IDLE. UNTIL RECENTLY IT HAS SHUT OFF WHILE IN DRIVE AT LOW SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE BEGINS BUCKING AND HAVING LITTLE HICCUPS, AND THEN IT JUST SHUTS OFF, SOMETIMES ABLE TO GET IT TO RESTART, OTHER TIMES IT DOES NOT TURN RIGHT BACK ON. I HAVE ALREADY HAD THE FUEL PUMP REPLACED, AND THE CRANK SENSOR, AND HAVE PAID HUNDREDS IN TESTING THUS FAR. I AM EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED AT THIS POINT. THE CAR HAS BEEN TO 2 DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS, TWICE EACH, AND THE FIRST TIME IT WENT IN ANYWHERE WAS A LOCAL AUTO SHOP, BUT EVERY TIME SINCE IT HAS GONE TO AN AUTHORIZED VW DEALER. NO ONE CAN SEEM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS GOING ON WITH MY CAR. THIS IS A VERY SCARY SAFETY ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED, AND READING OTHER PEOPLES COMPLAINTS IT SEEMS I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO IS HAVING ISSUES WITH THEIR CAR SHUTTING OFF. *TR