What 537 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta

I stopped at a red light and when it turned green the car wouldn't move and the RPM's were hung. I was almost rear ended and stuck in an intersection due to this failure. After getting the car to go about 5 MPH without being able to switch gears I was able to pull over to a safer location. I had the car towed to my dealer but they deemed it was a wear and tear issue and blamed bad driving style and cost $3,130 to replace the clutch and flywheel. There were no signs of wear on the clutch and no vehicle indications from the control panel. In addition, the car was brought in for a tire rotation and complementary VW multi-point inspection with no issues cited just a week before this failure.

NHTSA ODI 11457327

2019 VW Jetta SE 1.4 tsi *82000 miles *regular car maintenance There is a weird grinding/ whirring noise when accelerating around 1500-2500 rpm id say 2ed or 3ed gear so around 25-35mph. I havent got any warning lights and from what i can read online from numerous others with the same year make and model i have this is a known problem. Ive tried getting it into the dealership but they keep telling me they dont have any loaner cars for me to use because 2021 customer's are priority reason for the loaner is because it takes 3 days for them to be able to proform a full diagnosic on the car but i have took the car to the VW dealer in union city ga 2 times the first time they said the noise was the turbo wastegate and after 8 long hours in the waiting room i get the car back and the dar after the noise is back (on the paper from them the part number isnt a wastegate repair its a boost sensor and my research shows the turbo that VW puts on the car dont make just the wastegate to repair the whole turbo has to be replaced) the second time i took it up there for the same problem they lied about having a loaner car and made me waste a hour drive and gas and i had to ask for the day off to do this. The safty issue concerned with is that when this noise happens its like the car has low power the the specified rpm/mph and when it passes that threshold it takes off and jerks my head back to the headrest reguardless how much the gas pedal is being pushed with the sudden power it could cause me to rear end someone. Another thing im concerned about is that this problem could be due to another car component failing witch could become something serious to be a newer car i dont believe this should be happening ive tried to get it seen about and have had nothing but problems and feel like its getting worse is there anything that could be done to get this looked at and again there are numerous reports online about the same exact problem im having with the 2019 VW jetta se 1.4tsi

NHTSA ODI 11429945

NOISE ON DRIVELINE 25 TO 35 UNDER LIGHT THROTTLE ESPECIALLY IN ECO MODE. SOUNDS LIKE METALLIC RATTLE. MOMENTARILY LOSES POWER AT THAT TIME. ALSO, WHEN IN ANY SELECTION EXCEPT SPORT MODE IT DOESN'T SHIFT DOWN UNY GEARS UNTIL ALMOST WOTH THROTTLE FLOORED. THEN SHIFTS DOWN 2 OR 3 GEARS AND RACES AT A FAST SPEED.

NHTSA ODI 11387348

TRANSMISSION MAKING A RATTLING NOISE, LIKE LOOSE METAL. ENGINE LAGS POWER BETWEEN 35 - 45 MPH. THEN THE NOISE FADES AWAY. ITS MORE NOTICEABLE ON ECO MODE. VOLKSWAGEN IS AWARE ABOUT THIS SITUATION, THEY HAVE SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR THE TORQUE CONVERTER TO HELP THE POWER LOSE ISSUE. ALSO THE TRANSMISSION SEEPS OIL AT THE MATING SURFACE WITH THE ENGINE. DEALER SAYS IT'S NORMAL NOISE FROM THE TRANSMISSION AND THE OIL LEAK IS NOT BIG ENOUGH FOR THEM TO FIX IT. I DON'T THINK THAT'S NORMAL, I HAVEN'T HAD A CAR THAT MADE A NOISE LIKE THAT, IT'S NERVE WRECKING I DON'T WANT MY YOUNG SON GET STUCK ON THE FREEWAY ITS DANGEROUS

NHTSA ODI 11386729

TRANSMISSION IS MAKING THIS AWFUL GRINDING NOISE AND WHEN IT MAKES THE NOISE THE VEHICLE HAS LITTLE POWER TO ACCELERATE. THE DEALERSHIP SAID THIS WAS NORMAL. IVE NEVER HAD A CAR MAKE SUCH AN AWFUL NOISE FROM THE TRANSMISSION CAUSING IT TO LOSE POWER. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE 2000 MILES IT NEVER DID THAT PRIOR TO THE 2K MILE MARK. THE CAR HAS 6800 MILES ON IT AND IT DOES THIS EVERYTIME I DRIVE NOW.

NHTSA ODI 11385811

VEHICLE MAKES AN INFREQUENT AND INTERMITTENT GROWL AT ABOUT 25 MPH UNDER MILD ACCELERATION.

NHTSA ODI 11377025

HAS HAD A GRINDING SOUND IN TRANSMISSION BETWEEN 35-45 MPH. WHEN THIS SOUND IS HEARD THE VEHICLE LOOSES POWER AND IS VERY RELUCTANT TO DOWNSHIFT, SINCE DAY ONE. IT CAN BE HEARD IN ANY DRIVING MODE BUT IS WORSE IN "NORMAL" AND ALMOST NOT DRIVABLE IN "ECO". MANY HAVE SUBMITTED THIS ISSUE, AND HAVE RECEIVE THE SAME RESPONSE FROM THE DEALERSHIP, "IT'S NORMAL" BUT IT IS ANYTHING BUT NORMAL FOR A CAR TO BEHAVE THIS WAY.

NHTSA ODI 11376841

HAS HAD A GRINDING SOUND IN TRANSMISSION BETWEEN 35-45 MPH. WHEN THIS SOUND IS HEARD THE VEHICLE LOOSES POWER AND IS VERY RELUCTANT TO DOWNSHIFT, SINCE DAY ONE. IT CAN BE HEARD IN ANY DRIVING MODE BUT IS WORSE IN "NORMAL" AND ALMOST NOT DRIVABLE IN "ECO". MANY HAVE SUBMITTED THIS ISSUE, AND HAVE RECEIVE THE SAME RESPONSE FROM THE DEALERSHIP, "IT'S NORMAL" BUT IT IS ANYTHING BUT NORMAL FOR A CAR TO BEHAVE THIS WAY.

NHTSA ODI 11376843

I WAS GETTING READY TO PULL OUT OF TACO BELL (JUST LEFT DRIVE THRU WINDOW AND PULLING UP TO CROSS THE STREET) WHEN THE ERROR MESSAGE "ONLY EXIT VEHICLE IN P POSITION" & "SERVICE VEHICLE SOON" POPPED UP AND HAS THE ORANGE TRIANGLE(WITH EXCLAMATION MARK IN IT) LIT UP

NHTSA ODI 11374199

GRINDING / SCRAPING NOISE SHIFTING FROM AROUND 3RD TO 4TH GEAR WHEN TRAVELING AT LOW SPEEDS.

NHTSA ODI 11372288

SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR IN MARCH OF 2020, THERE HAS BEEN A SCRAPING NOISE AS IF METALS WERE GRINDING FROM THE TRANSMISSION. IT HAPPENS WITH SLOW ACCELERATION BETWEEN 20MPH AND 35MPH. POSSIBLE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 3RD AND 5TH GEAR. THIS NOISE HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE I HAVE BOUGHT THE CAR NEW FROM THE DEALER. IT WAS NEW WITH 9,000 MILES AS IT WAS BEING USED AS A LOANER CAR (WAITING TO BE SOLD.)

NHTSA ODI 11362469

2 SECOND DELAY FOR TRANSMISSION TO DOWNSHIFT WHEN PASSING CARS. DANGEROUS WHEN PASSING CARS ON 2 LANE HIGHWAY DUE TO LACK OF POWER. .

NHTSA ODI 11361194

RECENTLY PURCHASED A 2019 VW JETTA AND HAVING THE SAME ISSUES THAT MANY OF THE OTHER OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING. UNDER LOW ACCELERATION IT STALLS AND MAKES A GRINDING, WHIRRING SOUND BELOW 20-30 MPH. IT MAKES ME TIMID TO DRIVE IT BECAUSE IT HAS ALMOST CAUSED PEOPLE TO REAR END ME DUE TO THE STALL. IT FALLS ON ITS FACE WHEN YOU NEED IT TO MOVE. I'M CONCERNED AS THE NOISE HAS GOTTEN LOUDER THE LAST FEW MONTHS. I HAVE NOT TAKEN IT TO THE DEALERSHIP YET, BUT NOW UPON READING ALL OF THE CONCERNS, IT SEEMS TO BE A WASTE OF TIME TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER.

NHTSA ODI 11360647

GRINDING SOUND IN TRANSMISSION BETWEEN 35-45 MPH. WHEN THIS SOUND IS HEARD THE VEHICLE LOOSES POWER AND IS VERY RELUCTANT TO DOWNSHIFT. IT CAN BE HEARD IN ANY DRIVING MODE BUT IS WORSE IN "NORMAL" AND ALMOST NOT DRIVABLE IN "ECO". VW REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE ISSUE AND SAYS IT IS NORMAL, BUT IS IS ANYTHING BUT NORMAL FOR A CAR TO BEHAVE THIS WAY.

NHTSA ODI 11353079

FIRSTLY, THERE IS SOME GRINDING NOISE THAT COMES FROM THE POWERTRAIN/ ENGINE WHEN THE CAR SPEED INCREASES FROM 24-35MPH. THIS NOISE IS VERY SCARY AS IF SOME METAL PIECES ARE BEING SCRAPED TOGETHER. WHEN I CONTACTED THE DEALER, HE INFORMED ME THAT THIS NORMAL WHICH DEFINITELY ISN'T. SECONDLY, THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR RATTLES WHEN LISTEN TO BASS HEAVY MUSIC. WHEN REPORTED TO THE DEALER THE DEALER INFORMED ME THAT IS THE WAY HOW THE CAR DOOR WAS BEING BUILT. BUT THIS ISN'T SOME REASON THAT THEY WOULD GIVE FOR A PERSON BUYING A BRAND NEW CAR. BOTH THE ISSUES WHERE HAPPENING SINCE THE FIRST WEEK AFTER I PURCHASED MY CAR.

NHTSA ODI 11350406

THE TRANSMISSION HAS ALWAYS GROUND GOING INTO REVERSE. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME IT WAS NORMAL FOR THE JETTA'S. WHILE DRIVING, I WILL PUT IT INTO 1ST GEAR AND START MOVING, AND THEN IT WILL EITHER GET "STUCK" INTO FIRST OR SECOND GEAR, I CAN TAKE IT OUT OF GEAR BUT CANNOT ENGAGE ANOTHER GEAR. WHEN THIS HAPPENS, YOU CAN SMELL THE CLUTCH BURNING. TOOK IT INTO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY ASSURED ME MY TRANSMISSION AND CLUTCH WERE FINE. DOESN'T HAPPEN ALL THE TIME, ONLY ABOUT ONCE A MONTH AND IT HAPPENS IN VARYING WEATHER CONDITIONS. NO TWO TIMES WERE THE CONDITIONS THE SAME. I HAVE NOT CHANGED MY DRIVING, I AM NOT HARD ON MY VEHICLES. MY 2014 FIESTA ST HAD THE STOCK TRANSMISSION AND CLUTCH UNTIL I SOLD IT IN 2019, NEVER SLIPPED OR GROUND INTO GEARS, ALONG WITH MY 6 OTHER MANUAL TRANSMISSION VEHICLES I'VE OWNED. I FEEL LIKE VOLKSWAGEN JUST DOESN'T WANT TO FIX THEIR TERRIBLE TRANSMISSIONS AND CLUTCHES AND TRIES TO BLAME IT ON USER ERROR.

NHTSA ODI 11349761

THE CLUTCH IS WEARING OUT IN 6,000 MILES. THE ORIGINAL CLUTCH WAS REPLACED AROUND 6,000 MILES. THE SECOND CLUTCH IS NOW IN NEED OF REPLACEMENT AFTER ANOTHER 6,000 MILES.

NHTSA ODI 11348529

2019 JETTA S. BEGAN STALLING AFTER 6 MONTHS OF OWNERSHIP. CAR WAS PURCHASED BRAND NEW WITH 62 MILES. BROUGHT VEHICLE TO DEALER 09/27/2019 AND THEY STATED IT WAS FINE NO ISSUES COULD BE FOUND. ON 05/18/2020 THE CAR STALLED AGAIN IT HAD 15452 MILES ON IT. IT WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY KEPT THE CAR UNTIL 07/25/2020 TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THEY STATED IT WAS FIXED. ON 07/30/2020 THE VEHICLE STALLED AGAIN, AND THIS TIME THE BRAKES FAILED AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED AND I LOST CONTROL AND CRASHED INTO A CENTER MEDIAN WITH LARGE BOULDERS IN IT. IF THEY WERE NOT THERE I WOULD HAVE CONTINUED INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. I WAS TRAVELING AT 45 MPH WHEN THE IMPACT OCCURRED. THE VEHICLE SAFETY SYSTEMS DID NOT DEPLOY BECAUSE THE CARS ENGINE WAS NOT RUNNING AT THE TIME OF IMPACT.

NHTSA ODI 11343433

TWICE NOW ON CITY STREETS ACCELERATING FROM STOPS TO EITHER GO STRAIGHT OR TURN LEFT THE CAR HAS KIND OF STALLED OR LOST POWER CAUSING POTENTIAL CRASHES WITH ONCOMING AND REAR VEHICLES.

NHTSA ODI 11342451

THE EIGHT SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION MAKES A LOUD GRINDING NOISE IN THE MID GEAR RANGE WHEN UNDER ANY SORT OF LOAD. OCCASIONALLY THIS NOISE PREVENTS A PROPER DOWNSHIFT UPHILL, PREVENTING THE PROPER AMOUNT OF POWER TO BE DISTRIBUTED, AND AS A RESULT THE CAR SLOWS. THE LACK OF POWER, AS A RESULT OF A DELAYED DOWNSHIFT AND GRINDING OF THE TRANSMISSION, CAN ALSO BE NOTED WHEN TRYING TO OVERTAKE ON A HIGHWAY. WHEN TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND THE THROTTLE IS DEPRESSED TO SPEED UP, THE TRANSMISSION GRINDS AND PRODUCES POWER ONLY AFTER A DELAY. THIS IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS WHEN TRAFFIC IS CLOSELY FOLLOWING BEHIND MY VEHICLE. IT HAPPENS IN ALL DRIVING MODES (NORMAL, SPORT, ECO, CUSTOM). THE NOISE IS VERY DISTRACTING TO THE DRIVER. VW HAS STATED THIS IS A NORMAL NOISE, AND OFFERS NO FIX FOR THE PROBLEM. THE NOISE BEGAN WITH ONLY 150 MILES ON THE CAR, AND HAS BEEN GETTING WORSE EVER SINCE. PLEASE CONDUCT AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS DEFECT.

NHTSA ODI 11342042

SHORTLY AFTER PURCHASING MY NEW 2019 VW JETTA I HEARD A GRINDING SOUND COMING FROM THE ENGINE BETWEEN 20 AND 40 MILES PER HOUR FROM A STOP. I DO NOT HEAR IT ONCE THE CAR IS GOING. AFTER ONLY 1200 MILES IT IS ALSO LOW ON OIL. IT IS NOT EVEN DUE FOR AN OIL CHANGE YET.CAR WAS PURCHASED DECEMBER 29TH OF 2019.

NHTSA ODI 11341588

WHEN THE CAR IS IN MOTION, AND THE AISIN TRANSMISSION IS SHIFTING, THE VEHICLE MAKES A SCRAPING OR GRINDING NOISE FROM THE POWERTRAIN (TRANSMISSION) AND IT ALSO HESITATES WHEN STOPPING AND TAKING OFF AT A RED LIGHT OR STOP SIGN.

NHTSA ODI 11340127

I WAS DRIVING WHEN I WENT TO SHIFT FROM SECOND TO THIRD THE CLUTCH WOULD NOT RETURN. HAD THE CAR FOR LESS THAN 400 MILES THE CAR HAD ALREADY 2600 MILES ON IT WHEN I BOUGHT IT. I WAS ASSURED THERE WERE NO OTHER PROBLEMS WITH IT AND THE DEALER IS TRYING TO MAKE IT THAT I HAD BURNED THE CLUTCH I.E A WEAR ISSUE AFTER DRIVING FOR TWO WEEKS. THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY THIS COULD HAPPEN AFTER SUCH A SHORT TIME. I AM IN DEALINGS WITH BOTH VOLKSWAGEN AND THE DEALERSHIP TO GET THIS ISSUE FIXED. IT WAS VERY SCARY TO HAVE A CAR GIVE OUT LIKE THAT WHILE DRIVING AND SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330242

I CURRENTLY DRIVE A 2019 VW JETTA GLI 6MT. MUCH LIKE OTHER CONCERNS REPORTED, MY VEHICLE HAS ENGINE CUTTING, MASSIVE ENGINE POWER LOSS DURING THE SUMMER RESULTING IN THE VEHICLE ALMOST STALLING, AND ROUGH IDLE. I COMPLETED THE MANDATORY RECALL BACK IN DECEMBER PER VW'S RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO FIX EXACTLY THE CONCERNS I HAVE. THEY DO NOT. VOLKSWAGEN ADMITS THAT MY VEHICLE HAS WHAT IS REFERRED TO AS ENGINE TIMING RETARDATION. THEY HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO REPLICATE THE VEHICLE'S POWER LOSS, BUT SAYS THAT RUNNING ANYTHING LESS THAN PREMIUM IN THE CAR CAN CAUSE THIS (EVEN THOUGH THEY ADVERTISE THE VEHICLE AS BEING ELIGIBLE FOR REGULAR FUEL). VOLKSWAGEN HAS OPENLY ADMITTED THAT THEY ARE HAPPY TO SELL A VEHICLE WITH ENGINE TIMING ISSUES, BORDERLINE STALLING, HEAT SOAK ISSUES, AND FALSE ADVERTISING PERTAINING TO THE FUEL THE CAR TAKES. IN VOLKSWAGEN'S OWN WORDS, 'THE VEHICLE IS OPERATING TO SPEC.' I WILL BE DEMANDING A BUYBACK. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11329100

JETTA S MANUAL TRANSMISSION. CLUTCH IS BURNED AFTER 10K MILES/14 MONTHS OF USAGE. HAS SHOWN PROBLEMS FOR A WHILE, DEALER CLAIMS NOT ABLE TO REPRODUCE. THE ISSUE IS THAT CLUTCH GETS STUCK AFTER STARTING TO MOVE, AND A STRONG BURN SMELL COMES FROM ENGINE. THIS TIME CAR STALLED WHILE ENTERING HIGHWAY (1ST GEAR, 2ND GEAR FAILS TO ENGAGE, CAR GOES IN NEUTRAL AND LOSES SPEED). DEALER SAYS CLUTCH IS BURNED DUE TO WEAR ISSUE, ASSUMES DRIVER HAS BEEN RIDING THE CLUTCH (FALSE, I'VE DRIVEN MANUAL CARS FOR OVER 30 YEARS), AND WANTS AUTHORIZATION TO VERIFY FLY WHEEL BUT WARNS IT WILL BE AT LEAST $2,200 TO FIX, UNLESS SOME SPECIFIC PROBLEM IS FOUND. DEALER SAYS THERE ARE NO ISSUES REPORTED BY VW. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11327844