What 537 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta

Car stalled out while driving, restarted, car said, "check starter system". Restarted again, engine stayed running, no lights at all (brake, headlight or tail light), however the hazards still seemed to work.

NHTSA ODI 11542673

While driving car ignition shuts off. Gas and breaks still work, but no lights, no speedometer, nothing else, ignition completely off. Has happened on 5 different occasions on days the temperature is 90 degrees. Volkswagen dealership aren't able to fix it.

NHTSA ODI 11542708

Ignition gets very hot, when I put the key in the ignition, it also gets very hot, car will run for a minute or so and then lose power. The car shut off could be very dangerous if going down the road. Warning to check starter system came on.

NHTSA ODI 11539719

When the vehicle gets hot, above 85 degrees Fahrenheit the electric system including, speedometer and other internal lighting as well brake lights and turn signals completely stop functioning. Windows and locking system is also affected. The engine remains on. But if the car is turned off, it will not turn back on.

NHTSA ODI 11538943

While driving the 5 miles to the store, we got half way there and an error stating "check starter system" and to find a safe place to pull over. The cars engine remained running, allowing us to get to a grocery store parking lot, but all other mechanical instruments died. Screen backed out. Not able to see speed, non use of signal or break lights. After sitting in the parking lot for a few minutes, we tried starting the car up again. It started back up with no issues. We decided to try driving it back home to see if happened again. After about 2 miles of driving, the same error and screen black out happened again. We were able to safely get home, taking back roads to avoid traffic. Extremely unsafe to not have working tail/break lights or even a speedometer. Since my mechanic was already closed for the day, we looked online to see if we could troubleshoot. Finding this is a known issue and many people arrive reporting heat seems to trigger the issue. It was 103 out yesterday. This is my teen son's first car. We have only had it a couple months and this is the first time this had happened. It's also the first time it's been THIS hot (if that is in fact a factor to this issue), since having the car. I can't believe how many complaints there are for this same exact issue, yet VW is not recalling this. This is a huge safety concern. Very disappointing that my kid saved his money for this car and now it is going to have to sit parked, till we can get it addressed, because I will not allow a new driver to be in this vehicle. Dangerous!!

NHTSA ODI 11538563

While driving, ignition shuts off. Vehicle relays “ignition off” message. Has only happened on 85+ degree days while car is in the sun. No mechanic has been able to diagnose and fix the issue

NHTSA ODI 11537763

The vehicles infotainment or screen often malfunctions creating hazardous conditions. The monitor that is the only way to access certain vehicle setting and systems, intermittently shuts off completely, changes screens or settings, disconnects from cell phone or distorts audio and changes audio volume to inappropriate levels. The suspension during weather changes makes loud creaking noises and during cold months has choppy suspension that makes it difficult to see when going over imprefections or bumps, and during warm months is unreasonably bouncy creating the same issue. The blind spot monitoring seems to not detect a vehicle while it is actually in the blind spot and doesn’t produce the warning light or noise. The blind spot monitoring only detects the other vehicle once it is out of the blind spot and visible from the driver’s peripheral and continues to display until they have fully passed. It’s ridiculous this model year wasn’t fully recalled due to its extensive issues that affect almost all dimensions of the 2019 VW Jetta’s basic functionality, safety, and performance.

NHTSA ODI 11537313

Car shut off while turning left. Display says check starting system. Car restarted

NHTSA ODI 11534961

When vehicle would be in heat of over 80 degrees, car would start, I would start driving, then an alert saying “Check Starter System” would occur and all electrics would shut off. Couldn’t use turn signals or anything. Happened a few times and my car would sometimes even shut off completely if it occurred as I was stopped/at a red light. Took it to a mechanic that said it was the ignition switch/relay that was overheating and causing the problem. So original ignition switch on the car was the problem while under warm weather.

NHTSA ODI 11535160

My VW Jetta 2019 car just stopped twice with “Check Starter System” error and failed to turn on right in the middle of the road which might have lead to some serious accident. Once on a light the steering and brakes both got locked and all the electrics (dash, radio etc) shut off and so had to somehow safely get on the side of the road and had to use the handbrake abruptly to stop the car which was a difficult situation. Tried turning on the engine again but it kept on giving me “CHECK IGNITION” switch and “STARTER SYSTEM” errors and all the electrical parts turned off including the engine. It could have been a fatal accident and calls for serious service negligence on VW part. I see so many complaints in different forums for the same ignition switch and electrical failure on 2019 VW Jetta models but never a recall from VW to fix the issue. That’s a big lapse in safety issue and Volkswagen should be sued for neglecting such life threatening damages which might lead to severe consequences like a fatal accident if car stops with no proper warning beforehand.

NHTSA ODI 11534707

On hot days in the summer, when I start driving the car, a notice that states “systems start failure” appears. The air conditioning turns off. The speedometer turns off. The brake lights don’t work, and the turn signals do not work. The car still drives, but due to the brake lights turning off and turn signals not working, I believe this poses a safety risk to myself and others. I believe this to be an ignition switch problem, as many others have stated online that getting a replacement for the ignition switch has solved the problem. The problem has been reproduced by a service center. The problem has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives.

NHTSA ODI 11534874

While driving the Please “check starter system” error and “ignition switch error” popped up and the dashboard died , AC died, no brake lights, no speedometer but the car kept running. There is no check engine light. I live in Texas where temperature is 105+ which could be the reason. This only happens if my car is sitting in the sun for hours, verses me driving it in the morning and then throughout the day. This is dangerous because I was on a busy highway, and should be a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11534699

The ignition switch for my 2019 Jetta randomly went out, while driving the vehicle in the middle of summer, temperature on dash read 111, I'm assuming this caused the ac and radio to go out, as well as the speedometer and other tracking system's on the dashboard to display as if the car was not on when the engine was still running. I have read online in several places that this is a common issue for the 2019 Jetta's and at this point the ignition switch failure should be treated as a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11534455

My car started fine, but turned off in the middle of my drive. I live in Las Vegas, NV so the extreme heat and a faulty car is very dangerous. There has been many issues with the ignition switch on the 2019 Jettas. Unfortunately the switch is on backorder.

NHTSA ODI 11534165

Driving at 30 mph in 100 degree heat, a/c shut off, and a "check the starter system" warning appeared on my display. The temperature gauge flattened to cold as well.

NHTSA ODI 11533324

The ignition switch for my 2019 Jetta randomly went out, while driving the vehicle in the middle of summer, this caused the AC and radio to go out, as well as the spedometer and other tracking system on the dashboard to display as if the car was not on when the engine was still running. I have read online in several places that this is a common issue for the 2019 Jettas and at this point the ignition switch failure should be treated as a recall. Volkswagon service initially diagnosed as faulty battery which did not resolve the issue and the same thing happened 7 days and $300 later. I was able to find the issue with a quick google search.

NHTSA ODI 11533075

Hot day (~107f), car started fine but after a mile of driving ALL ELECTRICAL systems appeared to STOP with the following error: "Starter System Faulty. Please Service Vehicle." The engine kept going, and the car was driven home (with no signals, speedo, air conditioning, lights etc.) If this had happened in a more demanding situation (e.g. weather, night or traffic) there could have been an accident. There are numerous threads online about this happening to 2019 Jettas in hot weather, and the ignition switch being blamed. I recreated the issue in the heat of the day, but the car worked fine later on when the day cooled down.

NHTSA ODI 11532838

Ignition system (available for inspection upon request) malfunctioned, which disallowed the engine from starting. After multiple attempts, the engine started and I was able to drive and indicate turns, but there was no dashboard display such as speed, gas level, etc. Since the first incident, this has happened 3 times. At one point while driving with no screen display, I forgot to turn off the option for the engine to stop when the car has come to a complete stop. When I stopped at a light, the engine stopped and I was unable to get it to start again for several minutes, causing me to block traffic. There was no warning prior to the failure, just beeping and a screen notification while it was failing. The problem has not been replicated/confirmed, and the vehicle has not been inspected since the issue began to happen. Each time this failure happens, it is during a hot day after the car has been parked in direct sunlight.

NHTSA ODI 11532844

Car shut off but still running while driving. Check the starter system came on. Did it twice. Not sure because of heat but dash board and a/c shuts off but car still running.

NHTSA ODI 11532619

As I was driving the vehicle the car just randomly shut off. It turned off the air conditioning and wiper blades as it was raining. It said to check starter system or ignition system or something like that. I recently had the software update recall done at the dealer also had a new battery installed by the dealer between two days. Also said something about checking the key battery. It has happened on two separate occasions this week alone.

NHTSA ODI 11532302

When it's really hot outside my car while just shut off while driving. Then I get a "Please check the starter system" message. The radio,ac, and eveything electrical turns off as well. This is the second time it has happened in a month.

NHTSA ODI 11532382

Left my work parking lot and my jetta said there was an ignition problem and “starter system failure”. Then all electronics systems went dark but the engine kept running, until I came to a stoplight and stopped. I pulled over and turned it off. Then restarted. This is VERY DANGEROUS

NHTSA ODI 11532119

My 19 year old was driving down the road and all electrical systems in the car shut in the car and told her to check starter system.

NHTSA ODI 11531215

Car turns off with a message relaying on the screen “please check starter system”

NHTSA ODI 11530816

When interior gets hot, check starter system message displays and all gauges, air conditioning system, infotainment system and all associated systems become inoperable. This becomes especially dangerous as it will happen while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11530013