Home · 2011 Volkswagen Jetta Hev · Complaints

What 639 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta Hev

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (639)Crash / fire / injury (43)Electrical system (200)Fuel system (96)Engine (93)Fuel System, Diesel (82)Transmission & drivetrain (55)Lights (46)Airbags (38)Brakes (28)Engine & cooling (26)Speed control (26)

28 of 639 complaints match · Brakes · clear filters · page 2 of 2

Sep 18, 2012Brakes

BRAKE LIGHT STARTED TO FLASH EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. BROUGHT MY CAR INTO THE DEALER AND THE MASTER CYLINDER WAS LEAKING INTO THE VACUUM CHAMBER. NO LEAKS ON THE GROUND AS THE LEAK WAS CONTAINED IN THE VACUUM CHAMBER - I WAS SLOWLY RUNNING OUT OF BRAKE FLUID. THE DEALER FOUND THE SEALING SURFACE OF THE MASTER CYLINDER WAS NOT SMOOTH - THEY FIGURED IT WAS LEAKING FROM NEW. SHOP REPLACED MASTER CYLINDER AND VACUUM CHAMBER UNDER WARRANTY. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10475899

Oct 7, 2011Brakes

I PURCHASED A NEW VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 2011, IT HAS 3700 MILES ON BOARD, DURING MY TRIP TO WORK (MY SPEED WAS ABOUT 35M/H) BEFORE THE INTERSECTION I TRIED TO BRAKE ON RED LIGHT, AND MY BRAKES DID NOT WORK, THEY JUST STOPPED WORKING, I PRESSED BRAKE PEDAL 3 TIMES TILL IT BEGAN WORKING AGAIN. I PASSED THE INTERSECTION LINE AND FORTUNATELY THERE WAS NO ANY CARS IN FRONT OF ME AND VERY FORTUNATELY MY SPEED WAS LOW. WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF I WERE ON HIGHWAY? THAT EVENT HAPPENED AFTER 3 DAYS I PASSED SERVICE CHECK AT DEALERSHIP. MY CAR WAS TOWED TO DEALERSHIP AND IT WAS CHECKED. AFTER I WAS CALLED FOR TEST DRIVE AND THEY WERE CONVINCING ME THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE WITH THE CAR, COMPUTER REALLY SHOWED 0 PROBLEMS. I DID NOT WANT TO PICK UP MY CAR AND ASKED THEM TO TEST THE CAR TILL THE PROBLEM APPEARS AGAIN, BECAUSE I THINK THAT IS VERY MAJOR PROBLEM. IN THE END THE PROBLEM OCCURRED, AND THEY REALIZED THAT THE PROBLEM REALLY HAD PLACE. I WAS GIVEN A REPORT FROM VOLKSWAGEN SERVICE AND I SAW THAT THE CAUSE WAS: INTERNAL FAILURE AT BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER, SO THEY REPLACED: 1 MASTER CYLINDER, 2 BRAKE FLUID AND 1 GASKET WERE REPLACED. IT MEANS THAT CAR REALLY HAD A PROBLEM IN SPITE IT IS NEW. NOW I AM AFRAID THE SAME PROBLEM NOT TO OCCUR AGAIN. I AM TRYING TO REPLACE THE CAR, BUT VOLKSWAGEN DOES NOT DO THAT, THEY TELL ME THAT THE CAR WAS REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY. NOW, WHEN I AM DRIVING THAT CAR, I ALWAYS TRY MY BRAKES, BEFORE INTERSECTION, ON HIGHWAYS AND EVERYWHERE. I DO NOT WANT TO DRIVE THAT CAR ANYMORE, I ALWAYS THINK THAT THE SAME PROBLEM MAY OCCUR AGAIN AND IT CAN CAUSE A REAL ACCIDENT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10429091

Nov 15, 2010Brakes

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

NHTSA ODI 10365866

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Working with the data? Download all 639 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 26, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Volkswagen Jetta Hev verdict →