315 of the
13,865 complaints filed about the Volkswagen Jetta
are about the steering —
2% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2012.
The steering wheel touch sensors has malfunctioned and whenever the steering wheel is grabbed from the bottom half, the lake keeping assist errors out and the car throws a "travel assist unavailble" in the guage cluster. My steering wheel was replaced under warranty less than a year ago for this issue, it seems to have returned (unfortunately my car is out of warranty now). VW seems to be aware that this is a wide-spread issue since they have released an internal TSB for it, but refuse to issue a warranty extension for the same.
NHTSA complaint #11740896 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owned a 2022 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the contact heard a dinging noise twice coming from the instrument panel. The driver assist not avaiable warning light was illuminated. An Independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact mention the failure has occurred on several different occasions. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 75,000.
NHTSA complaint #11740386 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I took this car in a year ago and they replaced the steering wheel because I kept getting a "travel assist" error. Not only is this problem back but has a very load chime every other min that is very distracting while driving. I have taken the car back to the dealer and they state they dont see the problem. yet it seems many VW owners are having this issue.
NHTSA complaint #11730829 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving at approximately 20mph, the front passenger-side steering knuckle suffered a catastrophic structural failure, snapping completely in two. This resulted in an immediate loss of steering and suspension control. Inspection of the fractured part by a mechanic revealed significant orange oxidation (rust) inside the metal cross-section of the break. This internal corrosion on a 2-year-old vehicle indicates a manufacturing defect (casting porosity or inclusion) that allowed the part to weaken and fail prematurely under normal road stress.
NHTSA complaint #11724525 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle decelerated and nearly caused a crash on the freeway. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road, restarted, and the vehicle operated as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V615000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING); one month before the failure; however, the repair failed to fix the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to a local dealer to be diagnosed, and the failure was associated with the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was provided with the cost for a diagnostic test and the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 152,000.
NHTSA complaint #11720919 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I'm not exactly sure on what happened but when using the lane stay assist it doesn't read the lines correctly causing the car to abruptly jerk in a unexpected direction! doing this during certain scenarios would cause an accident for sure. also the headlight auto switching for high beams malfunctions often causing the lights to flicker
NHTSA complaint #11711130 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The steering wheel is the principal reason for this incident. Because when I'm driving on the highway almost to get an exit to the right going at the speed limit of 70 MPH the right tire passes through a high/low on the street, then my steering wheel locked lightly and started to pull to the right like for 2-3 seconds. Causing me hit the wall on the highway. Then straightened itself back, I'm just desacelerate the car and go down to see if the tire is the problem, but not really this is a risky fail on this car i feel insecure to drive it again and take the highway. I feel under risk cause its a highway with a lot of traffic of cargo trucks going more than 75 MPH Im available any day for inspection when needed. This isn't the first time the car do this , but in this case now caused an incident. Before I did the first maintenance on the car for the 10k miles. I took it to the dealer cause since new the car present this issue and they never found nothing wrong on the car supposedly. The specialist technician of the dealer drives with me like 20/30 minutes to verify the issue but the car just do it when it want not always, its like a glitch on the system. It activates some times with the high/lows on the street or speed bumps or on the train rails. The car never present any warning on the dashboard or emergency lights just happen for 2-3 seconds and then goes back to drive normal. Not the first time ,it does since new i got the car since 0 miles and since the 1st week I noticed this but now the fail is worst cause never has do it to me at highway like this time does it just when passes thru speed bumps at low speed.
NHTSA complaint #11706859 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On October 17, 2025, I was driving my 2014 Volkswagen Jetta at approximately 25–30 mph on the bypass in Muscatine, Iowa. Another vehicle cut into my lane and struck the front driver-side of my car. My vehicle suffered significant front-end impact, including wheel/tire damage, bumper and fender damage, and visible suspension impact. During the crash, the driver-side airbag did NOT deploy, even though the impact was directly to the front driver-side area where the crash sensors are located. The airbag warning light did not come on before or after the crash. Because the force of the impact was strong enough to damage the front wheel, suspension components, and bumper structure, I believe the airbag system (airbag module, front crash sensor, or related wiring) failed to detect the crash properly. A collision at this speed and angle should have triggered airbag deployment. This failure put me at risk of serious injury. I am reporting this because the airbag system did not function as intended in a front-end collision, and I am concerned there is a defect affecting the airbag deployment sensors or modules in this model.
NHTSA complaint #11702637 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that for the past eight months, the contact was unable to remove the key from the ignition. Several warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that to start the vehicle, the contact had to plug in the two fuse boxes and connect the battery cable. The contact feared the vehicle might catch on fire. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V615000 (Electrical System, Steering). The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the contact was informed that pre-existing repairs needed to be performed before the recall repair could be performed. The contact stated that the dealer had not provided an official repair estimate, however the total repair cost was provided. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The manufacturer confirmed that the pre-existing repairs needed to be performed prior to the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 131,260. Parts distribution disconnect.
NHTSA complaint #11675172 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Had the steering wheel replaced once for a sensor at around 38,000 miles and the issue now popped up again around 80,000 and now it’s 90,000 still there
NHTSA complaint #11671786 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I bought this 2022 Jetta new on August 2022. The dealership replaced brakes on their own on July 1, 2023. This was 11 months after I purchased the vehicle. Vehicle had 10, 900 miles on 7/1/2023. On August 26, 2024 I brought the vehicle to the dealership and reported issues with the breaking system. The service technician discovered worn-out pads and break rotors needed replacement. The service department refused to complete the work because the vehicle was out of warranty. A claim was filed with Volkswagen Corporation(case #06407327). Claim was declined. Break pads and rotors are being worn-out within 11-15 months. This is a safety issue. Volkswagen Corporation refuses to recognize the mechanical issue.
NHTSA complaint #11652587 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed with adaptive cruise control on, the vehicle inadvertently applied the brakes completely bringing the vehicle to a complete stop in the middle of the roadway, after which the vehicle then shifted into the parked position. The contact also stated, that later while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle suddenly steered itself to the left towards oncoming traffic before the contact was able to regain control of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact was informed that the manufacturer was aware of possible issues with AI driving. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was not available.
NHTSA complaint #11632476 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When driving the vehicle, the steering wheel while jiggle violently while an electrical noise is heard. This happened while driving on the interstate at 70 mph and I had to hit my breaks as I was fearful I didn't have control of the vehicle. It then continued to do it even at lower speeds. The vehicle has been to a service department where they state the steering rack and pinion has failed. There are no warning lights, lamps or messages. The vehicle is at 72k miles.
NHTSA complaint #11615555 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I drove over a commercial-grade water hose unraveled in the middle of the lane. It had metal couplings on it and my oil pan was damaged due to the low riding body of the VW to the road. The vehicle was drivable for 5 minutes afterward & the low engine pressure light turned on, but I was in a dangerous area with traffic during rush hour in the evening. It was congested with multiple avenues of transportation via buses, scooters, and pedestrian crosswalks. I started to lose power steering and the gas pedal would not accelerate the car, but the brakes still worked. I was able to coast the car to a stop & nearby a Midas car shop. Midas replaced the damaged oil pan and did not have any other damage reported. Midas informed me that my vehicle would not start, but failed to mention that the safety of my vehicle was compromised with rolled down windows. I inspected my car on 8.20.24, the battery was still working & powered the lights but the window power and engine would not operate. On 8.22.24 I paid for the work & noticed the windows were now rolled up & Midas said an employee used the power from the battery to override the window system but the car still would not start and needed to go to a dealership to access the engine codes for this hybrid vehicle. Towed the vehicle to VW, who said that Midas was not accurate in their description, as there were no access codes needed for the vehicle & it should have started once the oil pan was replaced. The VW diagnostic results showed a “bad” battery and the transmission failed/ stopped engaging and needed a replacement of the transmission along with the battery which would total $11K! The VW agent recommended that I contact other car repair companies to rebuild it for a more affordable solution. Midas and VW were the only car repair companies to evaluate my car and it is currently at VW where it can be inspected if needed. The safety recall code: 34J6, of 2015 VW Jetta Hybrids somehow exclude some VINs until owners had issues.
NHTSA complaint #11612065 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The power steering on my vehicle malfunctioned, never giving me a warning as stated in the owner manual with a yellow steering light. As I was coming down a hill, the red steering light came on accompanied with a loud beep, and I lost power steering, nearly causing an accident. I had a mechanic look at it and the DTC codes he received were B200FF0 and B200F2 The dealership and independent service center I was recommended are unable to service the car for another 3 weeks. The only inspection done on my vehicle has been by a private mechanic There were no warning lights prior to the failure. The owner manual states a yellow steering wheel will illuminate to warn of an issue, then turn red if it's not addressed. This never happened. It went directly to red, and I lost steering during transit.
NHTSA complaint #11604042 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.