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What 537 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta

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 (537)Crash / fire / injury (34)Transmission & drivetrain (161)Electrical system (149)Engine (144)Brakes (29)Fuel system (29)Lights (26)Visibility & wipers (23)Body & structure (22)Airbags (16)Speed control (16)

1 of 537 complaints match · Fuel system · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jun 22, 2020SuspensionEngineFuel systemFire

I HAVE A 2019 VW JETTA GLI BOUGHT NEW FROM VW DEALER. WHEN YOU FIRST START THE CAR IN THE MORNING OR AFTER ITS BEEN SITTING, BASICALLY COLD, IT IDLES VERY ROUGH. THE WHOLE CAR VIBRATES AND SHAKES. AFTER THE CAR WARMS UP THIS GOES AWAY. THE RIDE OF THE CAR FEELS LIKE THERE IS NO SUSPENSION. YOU FEEL EVERY BUMP IN THE ROAD. I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN MOTION SICK FROM A VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING. THIS CAR GIVES ME MOTION SICKNESS EVERY TIME I DRIVE IT. I HAVE HAD OTHERS DRIVE THE CAR AND REPORT THE SAY THING. I HAVE HAD PASSENGERS IN THE CAR AND THEY CAN'T BELIEVE HOW HARD THE RIDE IS. I HAVE TRIED ALL THE MODES ECO, NORMAL, SPORT AND THEY ALL HAVE A HORRIBLE RIDE QUALITY. THE WORST THING IS I WAS DRIVING THE CAR HOME AFTER WORK AND WHILE SITTING AT A RED LIGHT THE A/C STOPPED BLOWING COLD AIR. AFTER COMING OFF THE RED LIGHT I STARTED SMELLING FUEL COMING FROM THE A/C SYSTEM. THE A/C SYSTEM WAS ON MAX A/C WITH THE RECIRC ON, SO WAS NOT ON FRESH AIR. PULLED OVER, OPENED THE HOOD AND SAW FIRE COMING FROM BETWEEN THE ENGINE AND FIREWALL ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. I DROPPED THE HOOD AND THE FIRE BALL SHOT OUT THE SIDE PASSENGER SIDE RIGHT BEHIND THE PASSENGER FRONT TIRE. THE SIDE AND UNDER CARRIAGE OF THE CAR WAS ON FIRE AND IS BURNT UP. I CONTACTED THE DEALER THEY SAID TO DRIVE IT IN AND THEY WILL TAKE A LOOK AT IT. DRIVE IT IN???? AFTER IT WAS ON FIRE??? *TR

NHTSA ODI 11329999

Working with the data? Download all 537 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 11, 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 2019 Volkswagen Jetta verdict →