2009 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA Complaints

WHILE ON CRUISE CONTROL ON I-55 TRAVELING AT 65 MPH GLOW PLUG LIGHT ILLUMINATED, MFD MESSAGE "ENGINE FAILURE WORKSHOP" APPEARED AND ENGINE DIED. ELECTRICAL POWER WAS NEVER LOST. PRIOR TO COASTING TO A STOP ON THE SHOULDER, MFD MESSAGE WENT AWAY. AFTER COASTING TO A STOP TRIED TO RESTART ENGINE, STARTER COULD BE HEARD BUT ENGINE WOULD NOT START. VW SERVICE DEPARTMENT DETERMINED "MECHANICAL INTERNAL FAULT IN HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. METAL FRAGMENTS FOUND THROUGHOUT FUEL SYSTEM. DIESEL FUEL, MOSTLY FROM INTERSTATE HIGHWAY GAS STATIONS AND STANADYNE DIESEL FUEL ADDITIVE PURCHASED FROM VW DEALERS USED ON EVERY REFILL. ENGINE HAD 37,862 MILES AND WAS PURCHASED NEW FROM A DEALER 23 MONTHS AGO. VW REPLACED THE ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM.

GLOW PLUG LAMP STARTED BLINKING; RECEIVED ERROR MESSAGE - "ENGINE FAULT". BROUGHT CAR IN FOR SERVICE WHICH TOOK 4 DAYS. APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS LATER, THE GLOW PLUG LAMP STARTED BLINKING AGAIN AND THE SECOND TIME, THERE WAS AN ERROR MESSAGE THAT SAID "ENGINE FAULT WORKSHOP!" BROUGHT CAR IN FOR SERVICE AGAIN AND IT REMAINED WITH VOLKSWAGEN FOR 5 WEEKS. I WAS TOLD THAT THE ENTIRE DIESEL FUEL PUMP SYSTEM WAS FAILING AND HAD BEEN CONTAMINATED. VOLKSWAGEN IMPLIED THAT THEY THOUGHT I HAD RECEIVED BAD GAS, BUT I AM EXTREMELY CAREFUL ABOUT MAINTAINING AND FUELING THIS CAR AND CAN SAY WITH 100% CONFIDENCE THAT IT HAS ONLY RECEIVED LOW SULFUR DIESEL FROM REPUTABLE AREA GAS STATIONS. THE FUEL SYSTEM FAILURE DID NOT RESULT IN A CRASH - THIS TIME - BUT IT IS ALSO JUST THE LATEST IN A LONG LINE OF EXTENSIVE PROBLEMS THE CAR HAS HAD SINCE IT WAS PURCHASED NEW, INCLUDING STALLING, ELECTRICAL FAILURES, TRANSMISSION FAILURES, EXTENSIVE LEAKAGE, WATER DAMAGE AND OTHER PROBLEMS.

WAS DRIVING MY 2009 JETTA TDI TO WORK ONE MORNING LAST WEEK WHEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE GLOW PLUG LIGHT WAS BLINKING. THE DASH INDICATOR SAID SOMETHING LIKE ENGINE MALFUNCTION WORKSHOP. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AFTER WORK AND THEY DIAGNOSED THE FOLLOWING: "RECEIVED FAULT FOR PO671A & P0087 GLOW PLUG & FUEL PRESSURE TOO LOW. FOUND REGULATOR LEAKING ON TO GLOW PLUG #4 CAUSING DTC'S FOR GLOW PLUG." I HAD TO HAVE THE GLOW PLUG AND THE FUEL RAIL REPLACED AT MY EXPENSE ($970) SINCE VW WOULDN'T PAY FOR IT AND SAID THE REPAIR WAS NOT UNDER WARRANTY. I RECEIVED THE CAR BACK AFTER THE REPAIR AND THE VERY NEXT DAY, WHILE DRIVING TO WORK, THE GLOW PLUG LIGHT STARTED BLINKING AGAIN FOR AWHILE AND THEN TURNED OFF. SO I WENT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND IT WAS DIAGNOSED AS A P0087 AND THEY SAID IT WAS A BAD HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP - PRESSURE WAS TOO LOW. I CALLED VW OF AMERICA AND LEFT A MESSAGE. VWOA CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP THE NEXT DAY AND AGREED TO COVER THE BAD FUEL PUMP UNDER WARRANTY. THE HPFP HAD NOT YET BLOWN BUT WOULD HAVE ACCORDING TO THE DEALERSHIP IF I'D KEPT DRIVING WITHOUT HAVING THE INSTANCE OF THE GP LIGHT INVESTIGATED. THIS WOULD HAVE CAUSED A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE FUEL SYSTEM WITH A COST OF REPAIR BETWEEN $6K - 10K. SINCE WE CAUGHT IT IN TIME, THE COST IS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF $1600. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA TDI DIESEL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER REFUELING THE VEHICLE AND DRIVING 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE YET THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER AND THEY ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT HE HAD ADDED REGULAR GASOLINE TO THE VEHICLE AS OPPOSED TO DIESEL, WHICH CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE DEALER REPAIRED THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL SYSTEM, THE FUEL TANK AND THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 29,400.

GLOW PLUG INDICATOR SYMBOL FLASHING ON DASHBOARD. I HAD JUST LEFT MY HOUSE SO I DECIDED TO DRIVE AROUND THE BLOCK TO GET BACK TO MY HOUSE TO CHECK ON THE SYMBOL. WITHIN ONE BLOCK THE CAR LOST POWER, THE GLOW PLUG INDICATOR CAME BACK ON (FLASHING) AS DID THE ENGINE WARNING SYMBOL. MY CAR COULD NOW ONLY CLUNK FORWARD AT ABOUT 5 MPH. I MADE IT OVER TO THE CURBSIDE, GRABBED MY MANUAL, AND WALKED HOME. I CALLED THE VW DEALER AND HE SAID THAT HE'D SEEN A COUPLE OF CASES LIKE THIS AND THAT THE CAR WOULD HAVE TO BE TOWED IN." I HAD IT TOWED TO DEALERSHIP (THIS WAS A SATURDAY). ON MONDAY I HEARD THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE FUEL PUMP (HPFP) AND THAT THE WHOLE FUEL SYSTEM WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. LUCKILY, I WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. IT'S A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR. MORE LUCKILY, THIS POWER FAILURE DID NOT HAPPEN ON THE FREEWAY, WHICH IS WHERE I WAS HEADING. I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. PLEASE SEE THIS STRING OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE FUEL PUMP FAILURE - WHICH SO FAR VW IS DENYING IS A PROBLEM: HTTP://WWW.TDI-ISSUES.COM/HPFP-CASES-TAC68/. ALSO, PLEASE PURSUE THIS AS A SAFETY ISSUE AND CONSIDER A RECALL. THERE HAS BEEN NO GUARANTEE FROM VW THAT THIS REPAIR WILL NOT STOP THE PROBLEM FROM OCCURRING AGAIN. WHEN MY CAR IS REPAIRED, I WILL STILL FEEL UNSAFE, SINCE VW WILL NOT ADMIT THE PART WAS FAULTY AND WILL NOT CLARIFY THAT THEY HAVE REPLACED THE HPFP WITH A NEW, IMPROVED VERSION.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA TDI.(NA) THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH AND MERGING INTO TRAFFIC, THE VEHICLE STALLED SUDDENLY WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER WHO OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 11 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 30,000.

MY 2009 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA TDI (AUTOMATIC) HAS STALLED TWICE WHILE LEAVING MY PARKING LOT AT WORK. I HAVE TO GO UP A SMALL HILL TO EXIT THE PARKING LOT. WHEN I CREST THE HILL THE ENGINE STALLS. I MAKE EFFORTS TO KEEP MY FOOT ON THE GAS WHEN I CREST THE HILL AND THE PROBLEM HASN'T HAPPENED SINCE. I CAN'T DO THIS IF CARS ARE COMING. *TR

WHILE DRIVING TO WORK, THE ENGINE MALFUNCTION DASHBOARD LIGHT ILLUMINATED WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN, TRAVELING ABOUT 20 MPH, WITH SLIGHTLY LESS THAN 1/2 TANK FUEL FROM THE SAME FILLING. THE LEFT TURN WHERE THE MALFUNCTION OCCURRED WAS THE LAST 1/2 MILE OF MY ~15 MILE COMMUTE TO WORK. IMMEDIATELY AFTER OBSERVING THE MALFUNCTION LIGHT, I COULD HEAR A METAL-ON-METAL GRINDING SOUND COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. THE ENGINE DID NOT STOP RUNNING THOUGH THE GRINDING NOISE PERSISTED FOR THE REMAINING 1/2 MILE OF MY COMMUTE. AFTER TURNING THE CAR OFF IN THE PARKING LOT, I CONTACTED MY VW DEALER AND INFORMED THEM OF THE PROBLEM. THEY RECOMMENDED I TRY DRIVING THE CAR TO THE DEALER FOR SERVICE, WHICH IS ABOUT 15.5 MILES FROM MY WORKPLACE. I STAYED AT WORK FOR THE NEXT 3 HOURS, AND AROUND MIDDAY SET OFF TO DRIVE THE CAR TO THE VW DEALER. THE CAR STARTED, BUT THE GRINDING NOISE PERSISTED AND THE ENGINE MALFUNCTION LIGHT ILLUMINATED WITHIN 1 MINUTE OF STARTING. AT THE SAME INTERSECTION WHERE THE PROBLEM HAD ORIGINALLY STARTED, 1/2 MILE FROM WORK, I WAS FORCED TO STOP AT A RED LIGHT. WHILE STOPPED, THE ENGINE OPERATION BECAME VERY ROUGH AND THE ENGINE STOPPED RUNNING. I WAS ABLE TO RESTART AND LIGHTLY ACCELERATE WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN, BUT THE CAR STALLED AFTER ABOUT 10 SECONDS, THOUGH I HAD ENOUGH MOMENTUM TO GET OUT AND PUSH THE CAR INTO A PARKING LOT. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE VW DEALER. THE DEALER REPORTED THAT THEY FOUND SHARDS OF METAL THROUGHOUT THE FUEL SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY IN THE FUEL PUMP. THEY QUOTED ME VW'S STATEMENT ABOUT GASOLINE CONTAMINATION OF DIESEL FUEL, AND IMPLIED THAT I MAY HAVE INCORRECTLY FUELED THE CAR. HOWEVER, THEY TOOK A FUEL SAMPLE FROM MY TANK AND REPORTED THAT IT WAS NORMAL DIESEL WITH NO SIGNS OF CONTAMINATION. THEY AGREED TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM. THE CAR HAS RUN NORMALLY SINCE REPAIRING.

ON JAN. 17 2011 I WAS ON A 2 LANE HIGHWAY WITH CRUISE CONTROL SET AT 55 M.P.H. THE VEHICLE SHUDDERED AND SUFFERED AN IMMEDIATE LOSS OF POWER. THE VEHICLE DISPLAY SAID SOMETHING LIKE ENGINE WORKGROUP. THERE WAS ALSO WARNING LIGHT FOR GLOWPLUG AND SERVICE ENGINE. I CONTINUED APPROX. 2 MILES TO WORK WITH LESS POWER AND CALLED VOLKSWAGEN WHO TOLD ME TO HAVE VEHICLE TOWED FOR SERVICE. VEHICLE IS 2009 VW JETTA TDI. SERVICE REPORTS THEY FOUND A MUDDY LOOKING SUBSTANCE AND REPLACED THE EGR VALVE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS BACK ON WITHIN DAYS OF THIS SERVICE BUT HAS NOT BEEN RETURNED AS OF THIS TIME. THIS VEHICLE HAS NEVER HAD GASOLINE IN THE FUEL SYSTEM. *TR

I AM AN AEROSPACE ENGINEERING CONSULTANT. MY 09 JETTA HAD REAR PASSENGER CALIBER, ROTOR, AND BRAKE LINE REPLACE AT 10,000 MILES FOR EXCESSIVE WEAR. 1ST NOTICED WHEN GOING AROUND CORNERS APPLYING BRAKES A DRAGGING EFFECT WOULD COME FROM REAR PASSENGER BRAKE. DEALER COULD NOT GIVE ANY REASON FOR THIS HAPPENING AND REPLACE ROTOR, CALIPER, AND BRAKE LINE AT 10K. SUMMER TIME WEATHER. CAR EXHIBITED THE SMELL OF HOT BRAKES AND RUBBER SEVERAL TIMES BETWEEN THE NEXT FAILURE. THE NEXT FAILURE OCCURRED AT 34000 MILE. DRIVER SIDE ROTOR WAS SO PITTED AND WARPED FROM EXCESSIVE HEAT DEALER REPLACE ROTOR AND CALIPER AND GAVE NO REASON PROBLEM. SUMMER TIME WEATHER. AT 37080 MILE ON FEB 10 2011 AT 4:30 AM WITH OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE AROUND 20F DEGREES I RELEASED PARKING BRAKE AND STARTED DRIVING TO JOB SITE. THE CAR FELT LIKE IT WAS STRAINING TO ACCELERATE. WITHIN TWO MILES FROM THE HOUSE THE CAR PULLED VIOLENTLY TO LEFT , THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR STOPPED INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND WOULD NOT MOVE. I SHUT THE ESP SYSTEM OFF CAR STILL WORK NOT MOVE FORWARD. I DROVE IN REVERSE BACK TO HOUSE ABOUT 1.5 MILES. WHEN I LOOKED AT REAR BRAKE ROTOR ON DRIVER SIDE SINCE IT WAS STILL DARK THE ROTOR WAS GLOWING RED LIKE THE BURNER ON ELECTRIC STOVE. SMELL OF BURNING MATERIALS WAS IN THE AIR. CALLED DEALER WHICH IS ANCRIA OF SAN ANTONIO, TX. DAN MINOR THE SERVICE MANAGER THINKS IT WAS THE EMERGENCY BRAKE CABLE SPRING NOT RELEASING BRAKE. CAR WAS DROPPED OF FRIDAY FEB 11TH 2011 AT DEALER. A CASE HAS BEEN OPEN WITH VW ENGINEERING. VW DEALER IS CLUELESS AS TO WHY THIS IS HAPPENING. I SUSPECT THE GOOD GERMAN ENGINEERS ARE TOO PROUD TO SAY WE HAVE A PROBLEM FIX WHAT SEEMS TO BE A WELL DOCUMENTED PROBLEM WITH 09 JETTAS. SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET HURT AND NO ONE IS LISTENING. THANKFULLY THE DEALER HAS BEEN REPLACING THINGS TO DATE.