Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, AIR - DISC - PADS | |||
| 12/29/2007 | 19247 | 1 | 03/15/2007 |
| Rear brake pad wear worn out at 19k. dealer says there is nothing wrong and wants $272.72 for the pair. *cn | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRIC | |||
| 11/20/2008 | 60000 | 1 | |
| The brake light switch began to fail at ~ 60,000 miles. brake lights would remain on at times without brake being pressed. brake lights would come on at night randomly and drain battery. intermittent at first becoming more common. purchased new brake light switch from dealer. the same switch has been a problem for vw in prior year model cars and resulted in a recall for some models. *tr | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 10/20/2011 | 110000 | ||
| While traveling in rain at 70 mph with cruise control engaged the speedometer dropped to zero, the brake and abs/esp warning light came on and there where three chimes. a second later all went back to normal. this happened 6 times that day, and has happened at irregular intervals since at least 7 times. there is no correlation anymore between wet and dry conditions, cruise control does not have to be engaged, i do not have to be traveling at a constant speed. there are no trouble codes stored in the vehicles computer, and the local dealership is unable to help. | |||
| 09/23/2010 | 96000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 volkswagen jetta tdi. the driver stated that he was involved in an accident because while driving at 25 mph, the brakes did not engage when depressed. the vehicle rear ended another vehicle. the air bags did not deploy until after the accident. a police report was filed. the driver sustained abrasions from the air bags. also, the air bags cracked the windshield. the contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the current and failure mileages were approximately 96,000-bk | |||
| 06/06/2010 | 60000 | ||
| 2006 vw jetta 2.5l value edition my car is at 60,000 miles and i have changed the brakes 3 times already. now the brake pad warning light is on again. i have already spent 1,000 dollars in fixing the brakes. checking different web forums, and a lot of jetta owners are complaining about the same problem. | |||
| 08/14/2009 | 42000 | 1 | |
| Driving on i-95 in jacksonville, fl, it was raining with some pounding (approx. 1 inch of water) on the roadway. i was maintaining a speed of 35-45 mph when the epc and traction control warning lights illuminated on the dashboard. at first the car behaved normally but after about 5 minutes it lost power and would not accelerate above 1500 rpm. fortunately i was able to quickly take an exit ramp off the freeway and coast into a gas station, the car continuing to refuse to accelerate. i turned the car off and waited for about 5 minutes. i started up again and drove around the gas station and things seemed normal again, although the epc light was still illuminated. stopped again and waited another 5 minutes. upon starting up again, both warning lights were gone and the car behaved and accelerated normally. this defect could have caused me to get stopped in traffic on a busy freeway possibly causing a crash and injuries. i was very lucky that it happened where it did and i was able to pull off to safety. *tr | |||
| 02/01/2007 | 20000 | 1 | |
| The rear brake pads, on the vehicle side with the emergency brake cable attached, wear very prematurely. the dealer indicated this type of vehicle has faulty brake adjusters. they would not replace under warranty. this is a severe safety hazard. *tr | |||
| 05/07/2009 | 10000 | 1 | |
| This letter is to express my dissatisfaction with rear brake performance on my 2007 jetta. the summary is extremely rapid rear pad wear, while then front, which have the wear sensor, remain unscathed. this is a known issue and the dealer admits its part of a ?safe braking? design that tries to make the car squat rather than dive. the problem is, this is an unconventional method of brake application (rear biased when physics has the fronts normally doing more work), combined with a conventional brake design that has smaller parts and no wear sensors in the rear. the result of this ?safety feature? is that i can expect to wear out rear pads faster than front, in as little as 9-10k miles. the problem is a reasonably minded person would not come to this conclusion, and the lack of a rear pad wear warning system creates a potential safety issue. the user manual does not warn that rear pads may wear faster, and in fact indicates they should be inspected each 10 k, or when the front wear sensor illuminates. both of these cases may be too late, leading at best to expensive repairs when the rotors are damaged, or worse, to unpredictable braking in an emergency. if i have my car inspected at 10k, and the rears are still serviceable, i do not believe they would make it to 20k. the dealer admits its a common complaint, and that there is nothing than can be done. i feel this is a design defect and that pressure should be applied for a real fix. i am not alone: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f16f1f6/11 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080205103511aa06feq http://rabbitownersclub.com/vw/showthread.php/12-000-mile-and-my-11363.html http://www.myvwlemon.com/ubb/forum1/html/000342.html http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?p=803924 http://rabbitownersclub.com/vw/showthread.php/excessive-rear-brake-dust-6947.html http://www.carcomplaints.com/volkswagen/jetta/2005/brakes/premature_rear_brake_and_rotor_replacement.shtml. *tr | |||
| 11/12/2008 | 20000 | 1 | |
| My 2006 vw jetta 2.5l required a brake and rotor change at only 20,000 miles. the next brake change had to be done again at 36,000 miles. i have checked a lot of forums and other jetta owners are complaining the same. vw dealers keep on saying that there is nothing wrong with the brakes and its my own driving style that causes this. *tr | |||
| 12/15/2008 | 70000 | 1 | |
| Total brake failure. vehicle has issue draining batteries--2006 car--currently on 3rd battery. when battery is close to failure, vehicle has strange electrical problems such as trunk releasing and brakes not working. last incident was coming to a stop sign. when the brake petal was pushed, no response. luckily there was no car was in front of me and i went through the stop sign. incidents have been reported to two vw dealerships and to regional rep. they do not feel there is a problem. *tr | |||
| 06/20/2008 | 27500 | 1 | |
| The rear brakes prematurely wore out on my 2006 vw jetta tdi. this occurred at 27,000 miles and the brakes were down to metal with no brake material left on the pads which in turn ruined the rotors. the dealer had to replace the pads and rotors at a cost of $341 to me plus tax. since front brakes do 70-80% of the work the rear brakes should not have worn out this early, certainly not before the front brakes. this indicates a problem with the front brakes that the dealer and manufacturer refuse to acknowledge. i could see the premature failure of the rear brakes or increased braking force on the rear brakes being the potential cause for an accident and potentially injury. *tr | |||
| 05/30/2008 | 20000 | 1 | |
| Brakes need to be replaced every 20,000 miles. vw claims this is normal. *tr | |||
| 11/21/2007 | 22000 | 1 | 09/07/2006 |
| My 2006 volkswagen jetta 2.5l started making strange noises from my rear brakes at 23,000 total vehicle miles. when i removed the rear brake pads, they were already worn to the studs and etching the rear brake discs. braking effort and stopping distances were increasing. i have never owned a car with brakes that wore out in 20,000 miles, and if i did not know what to do, i would have destroyed the brakes entirely and/or had a failure. apparently, this is a common problem on these cars because the hand brake is not fully released. *tr | |||
| 11/12/2006 | 1500 | 1 | 08/11/2006 |
| 2006 vw jetta has brake problem - off road at dealer>30 days. dealer told us to pick up the car & that they were done with the car. vw brought to two other ase mechanics who checked the brakes and found them defective. *jb | |||
| 01/04/2007 | 11000 | 1 | 07/05/2006 |
| 1) vehicle is a 2006 vw jetta, package 1 manual transmission; driving vehicle normally; no abnormal braking incidents or accidents whatsoever. 2) rear brake pads on driver's side worn down to rivets at around 11k miles; this resulted in scored rear driver's side rotor; passenger side rear pads also worn down but no damage to rotor yet; front brake pads still in excellent condition for both sides. apparently for the 2006 vw jetta, the rear pads wear out before the front pads. i consider this a major design defect especially since the rear brake system is not designed to be the primary brake load carrier, at least based on the size and construction of the rotors: a) front rotors are 25mm ventilated b) rear rotors are 12mm unventilated the rear brakes wearing out before the fronts for the vw jetta is a common problem and this should be looked into. search the vw forums and you will find many cases of this. 3) vw will be replacing both rear rotors and pads under warranty; not sure about keeping the old parts since the work will be done under vw warranty. the replacement of the parts is good but i'm not sure if this solves the ultimate issue of the rear brake biasing which is causing this problem in the first place. either the entire vw jetta brake system and/or the brake proportioning valve needs further investigation. *nm | |||
| 10/10/2006 | 3700 | 4 | 01/21/2006 |
| I leased my 2006 jetta 2.0 in january 2006. currently the car has stalled on me 4 times and i have had numerous failed starts. the vehicle fails to start when i use the main key and the valet key. this problem has become pretty consistent now that i have put more miles on the vehicle. i am now at 20k and its been a headache all the way. i can only be thankful that when the car stalled on me on numerous occasions that i was not in heavy traffic. the dealership says that they can not identify the problem and therefore there is nothing that can be done. supposedly, the car starts without a problem when it is in their service bay. in addition, when i first got the vehicle, my back seat latches were broken causing the back seat to lunge forward during hard stops and turns. this made my jetta a two passenger vehicle! also, the hazard lights and switches were malfunctioning. the front suspension or the brakes make a grinding noise or they have a loose feel, i haven't been able to put my finger on it yet. im taking it to the dealership once again tomorrow! my steering column make a faint squeaking noise during turns, i have no idea what that problems is. in the morning after i can get the car started the engine is loud for about two minutes. the dealer fixed the latch problems but the other problems go unfixed and remain a huge mystery. *jb | |||
| 12/05/2005 | 51295 | 4 | 10/10/2005 |
| Purch new vehicle - vw jetta 2006 (10/10/05). brake failure at 10k mi. (repairs at vw dlrship 12/05). replaced brake pads & rotors. brake failure at 20k mi. (repairs at vw dlrship 2/06). replaced brake pads & calipers. brake failure at 30k mi (repairs at vw dlrship 4/06), replaced brake pads & abs. brake failure at 50k mi (repairs crrnt at vw dlrship 8/06), sched'd to replace master cylinder & brake pads. *nm | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK | |||
| 03/09/2007 | 14488 | 1 | 07/18/2006 |
| Wife stated that when she hit brakes it was hard to stop car ,did not slow, rear ended a suv at about 30 mph which pushed front end up to windshield above bumper, pushed engine into firewall. she incurred major seat belt bruising with no air bag deployment. after inspection the insurance company found that two sensors had been distorted along with cracked engine mounts and bent cradle. they totaled the car due in part to no air bag deployment,t and felt that the car would be unsafe after repairs. after contacting volkswagen, they said that air bag deployment should not have happened. but what if my wife had jumped into the car and forgot to put the seat belt on she would have gone through the windshield. i feel that this is a major safety defect since most accidents would over ride the bumper due to low bumper height. volkswagen does not seem to think this is a problem from the pictures i sent them and our talk on the phone. *ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC | |||
| 01/19/2007 | 28000 | 1 | 02/14/2006 |
| 28k miles... rear brakes worn down into the metal, requiring new rear brakes and rotors. front have 75% remaining. vw authorizes $150 assistance on labor but refuses to call brakes defective. *nm | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - PADS | |||
| 04/11/2008 | 10000 | 1 | 09/11/2006 |
| Rear brakes wear unevenly (driver side rear pads have worn at an incredible rate) rear brakes also lock up easily while braking on loose pavement or gravel. *tr | |||
| 11/21/2007 | 22000 | 1 | 09/07/2006 |
| My 2006 volkswagen jetta 2.5l started making strange noises from my rear brakes at 23,000 total vehicle miles. when i removed the rear brake pads, they were already worn to the studs and etching the rear brake discs. braking effort and stopping distances were increasing. i have never owned a car with brakes that wore out in 20,000 miles, and if i did not know what to do, i would have destroyed the brakes entirely and/or had a failure. apparently, this is a common problem on these cars because the hand brake is not fully released. *tr | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - ROTOR | |||
| 01/10/2007 | 34347 | 1000 | 09/01/2005 |
| In january something broke off from the transmission and killed the entire engine. it got a new engine and a new transmission. that has led to a slew of other different problems from minor rattles to dangerous exhaust leaks and oil leaks. corporate vw was only able to give me two months credit on my loan which from reading everywhere is just their way of getting us to shut up. now my rear brakes are metal to metal and i have a bearing problem. i have read that this is a common problem but my service department states that i caused it by hitting a curb which in turn ruined the bearing. i think the bearing was ruined when they put in the new engine and screwed with the torque. *tr | |||