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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)

4 of 537 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Mar 18, 2024Transmission & drivetrainCrash2 injuries

The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle in a handicapped parking space, the vehicle failed to stop despite the contact's foot firmly depressed on the brake pedal. As the vehicle continued to move forward with the contact's foot depressed to the floorboard, the vehicle drove over the parking barrier, knocked over the handicapped post, and entered the sidewalk. The vehicle eventually decelerated and the contact managed to shift the vehicle into reverse(R) and regain control of the vehicle. The contact was uncertain if any warning lights appeared on the instrument panel during the failure. Despite the property damage and emotional distress suffered by both the contact and the passenger, no injuries were reported and no immediate medical attention was needed. A police report was not filed and the air bags did not deploy as a result of the failure. The incident was reported to the store manager. The contact was able to drive the vehicle back home without incident. The manufacturer nor the dealer had been notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be diagnosed or serviced. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.

NHTSA ODI 11577941

Aug 5, 2020Transmission & drivetrainEngineCrash1 injury

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

Dec 13, 2019SuspensionTransmission & drivetrainBrakesCrash1 injury

SINCE DAY ONE CAR IS SHAKING LIKE A BOAT, WHEN I DRIVE IT ON A HIGHWAY MAKING IT NOT STABLE. BRAKES SQUEAK AND I SEE SIGNS ON THE BRAKE DISK.I AM WITH THE ORIGINAL BRAKES. CAR IS SHUTTING DOWN WHEN I PARK. WHEN I SWITCH AGAIN TO DRIVE, IT IS COMPLETELY OFF FROM ITSELF, KEY IS INSIDE AND I HAVE TO TURN THE KEY OFF AND THEN START THE CAR AGAIN. AIR CONDITION IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY VW SAID THEY HAVE BETTER 8 ZONES AIR CONDITION. I HAD OIL LAMP AROUND 5000-6000 MILES THEY SAID THAT THE CAR SHOULD NOT HAVE PROBLEMS TILL 10 000 MILES. I HAVE PROBLEMS ACCELERATING, I AM LOOSING POWER. I HAVE GRINDING SCRAPING NOISE FROM THE TRANSMISSION. ALSO TRANSMISSION JUMPS WHEN I DRIVE, SLOW RESPONSE. THE ENGINE IS GIVING ME LAG WHEN I AM AT TRAFFIC LIGHT, VIBRATION AND SHAKING. I MAKE MULTIPLE CALLS TO THE DEALERSHIP AND VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA TO TOW AND FIX MY CAR THAT I LEASED. I EXPLAIN THAT THE CAR IS NOT SAFE. I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN MULTIPLE ACCIDENTS. I AM NOT FEELING SAFE OPERATING THIS VEHICLE. IT'S BEEN MORE THAN HALF YEAR AND NOT ONE PROBLEM IS FIXED.

NHTSA ODI 11288963

Feb 22, 2019Transmission & drivetrainBody & structureEngine1 injury

FIRST, TRUNK OF THE CAR. IT'S UNSAFE AND DOESN'T LOCK UNLESS U OVEREXTEND IT OPEN. I HAVE BEEN HIT IN MY HEAD TWICE BEFORE I LEARNED MY LESSON. SECOND, TRANSMISSION. IT MAKES A GRINDING NOISE WHEN OPERATED AT SLOWER SPEEDS. I AM REACHING 9,500 MILES AND NOISE IS STILL THERE SINCE DAY ONE. THREE, THE ENGINE. I BELIEVE THERE IS A INTERNAL DEFECT BECAUSE TODAY I WAS DRIVING A THE ENGINE OIL LIGHT CAME ON. ONCE I CHECKED THE OIL I SAW THAT THE DIPSTICK WAS CLEAN, NO OIL, NADA. WHERE HAS ALL THE OIL GONE ON A NEW 2019 JETTA? IT SURE HASN'T BEEN LEAKING ON THE GROUND OF MY GARAGE BECAUSE THERE IS NO FLUIDS.

NHTSA ODI 11182044

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 →