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What 158 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 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 (158)Crash / fire / injury (20)Fuel system (41)Electrical system (33)Engine (31)Airbags (21)Brakes (15)Steering (14)Transmission & drivetrain (14)Speed control (7)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (5)Lights (5)

5 of 158 complaints match · Electronic Stability Control (esc) · clear filters

Jun 4, 2020SteeringSpeed controlElectronic Stability Control (esc)

I HAVE A 2017VW JETTA WHICH SUDDENLY 'LOCKS' AS I AM DRIVING. MY CAR SUDDENLY STARTS REDUCING SPEED AND THE BREAKS BECOME STIFF. I SEE SEVERAL LIGHTS FLASH ON THE DASHBOARD, SUCH AS THE EPC LIGHT, TIRE WARNING LIGHTS, AND MOTOR LIGHT. AFTER THE MATTER, IF I WANT TO START THE VEHICLE AGAIN, THE BREAK AND SHIFT STICK BECOME STIFF AND I CAN'T START THE IGNITION. I RECALL THIS HAPPENING TO ME ONE YEAR AFTER BUYING THE VEHICLE BUT ALL I DID WAS TURN OFF THE CAR AND THE LIGHTS WENT AWAY. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE MY CAR WITHOUT THAT HAPPENING FOR A YEAR OR SO AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN. SAME THING, I WOULD HAVE TO PULL OVER, TURN THE VEHICLE OFF AND WAIT FOR ABOUT 20-30 MIN FOR THE VEHICLE TO START. YESTERDAY THIS HAPPENED TO ME WHILE DRIVING TO WORK. I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 70MPH ON THE FREEWAY AND I NOTICED MY STEERING WHEEL BECAME STIFF AND MY CAR STARTED REDUCING SPEED ON ITS OWN. I NO LONGER HAD CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE FORCING ME TO PULL OVER ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY AT A VERY LOW SPEED ALMOST CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. I HAD TO WAIT ABOUT 15 MIN FOR MY CAR TO START AND WAS ABLE TO GET DOWN OF THE FREEWAY BUT IT KEPT ON HAPPENING ON MY WAY HOME AND I HAD TO PULL OVER ABOUT 6 TIMES WAITING 10-15MIN EACH TIME FOR MY CAR TO START. I SCHEDULED A SERVICE APPOINTMENT WITH MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP SO THEY CAN TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND HOPEFULLY FIX THIS PROBLEM. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO GET ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11327216

Dec 7, 2019Electronic Stability Control (esc)Engine

CAR STARTS TO SHAKE EPC LIGHT AND ENGINE LIGHT COME ON HAVE TO PULL OVER FOR IT TO STOP SHAKING

NHTSA ODI 11287627

Sep 23, 2019Electrical systemElectronic Stability Control (esc)

A RANDOM NOTICE APPEARS ON THE DASH DISPLAY, "DRIVER ASSISTANCE BUTTON IS DISABLED". THEN WINDSHIELD WIPERS RANDOMLY ACTIVATE, DOOR LOCKS CLICK LOCKED AND UNLOCKED, AND CRUISE CONTROL DISABLES ALL WHILE DRIVING. HIGH BEAMS NO LONGER FUNCTION AND OCCASIONALLY ALL ELECTRIC DISPLAY, RADIO SOUND, AND LIGHTS GO BLACK WHILE DRIVING. YOU MUST PULL OVER, SHUT OFF THE CAR, AND WAIT APPROXIMATELY 5 MINUTES BEFORE RESTARTING TO RECOVER TO NORMAL. VOLKSWAGEN SERVICE CLAIMS NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE CAR BECAUSE IT DOESN'T SHOW UP ON THE DIAGNOSTIC REPORT.

NHTSA ODI 11257535

Jun 5, 2019Electronic Stability Control (esc)

FRONT ASSIST DOES NOT WORK

NHTSA ODI 11218143

Jan 23, 2018Electronic Stability Control (esc)

VOLKSWAGEN DOES NOT OFFER AN OVERRIDE FOR THE TRACRION CONTROL ON THE 2017 JETTA 'S' MODEL, DUE TO THIS I HAVE BECOME STUCK MULTIPLE TIMES IN SNOWY CONDITIONS, WHICH COULD LEAD TO A COLLISION

NHTSA ODI 11064521

Working with the data? Download all 158 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 2017 Volkswagen Jetta Hev verdict →