Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | |||
| 12/04/2012 | 48500 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2009 volkswagen jetta. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, she noticed that the abs light illuminated. immediately after the vehicle stalled by shifting to neutral without any warning. the contact would have to wait a while to restart the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis. after diagnosis they advised her that the abs module failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. the failure and current mileages were approximately 48,500. tb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, AIR - ANTILOCK - CONTROL UNIT/MODULE | |||
| 12/04/2012 | 48500 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2009 volkswagen jetta. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, she noticed that the abs warning light was illuminated. the vehicle then stalled by independently shifting to neutral without warning. the contact had to wait several minutes in order to restart the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis where they advised her that the abs module failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. the failure and current mileages were approximately 48,500. kmj | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRIC | |||
| 02/01/2010 | 9000 | ||
| 2009 volkswagen jetta rear brake defect causes unsafe driving conditions. car was involved in an accident (minor) where braking was suspected cause at 9000 miles. bought new 2009 jetta. have driven it 20,000 miles. at both 10,000 mile check ups it was determined that the rear brakes were worn to dangerous levels. vw replaced first set now are maintaining that there is no problem and 10k is the right milage to replace brakes. concern is that many people woudl not expect to replace breaks at 10k miles, especially on the rear brakes. could lead to dangerous stopping condition. | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 02/22/2012 | 57000 | ||
| Rear passenger side brake pad worn down to metal while rear driver side has 5 mm left on it. dealer indicates a faulty caliper. would not even entertain the possibility of a sticking left parking-brake cable or not properly adjusted parking cable that might not be letting the left rear caliper release completely (cable readjustment it's a pain since the rear half of the center console has to be disassembled to get access to the primary adjuster nut and mechanics do not like to mess with it). dealer would not replace rear pads and rotors if i did not also replace the caliper, even though service manager acknowledged that diagnostic was only based on visual inspection and not on taking apart the rear brake assembly to properly inspect the caliper. for the auto technician to know it is a faulty caliper (instead of sticking cable or other issue) without removing it from the vehicle and only upon visual inspection must mean that vw is aware of the faulty calipers and keeping quiet about it until the customer walks into the dealership with the problem. premature and/or uneven rear brake pad wear appears to be a common issue on jettas, as has been extensively documented on jetta owners forums and websites. as indicated by a vw mechanic on an internet forum vw needs to design into the parking brake adjusting screw inside the rear caliper piston a more robust system to spring the rear calipers piston back away from the pads after brake application. internal brake adjuster screw spins out as the piston travels out with wear of the pads. problem is vw knows the adjuster screws internal threads drag too much to allow the natural tendency of the piston o-rings to roll back the piston to the pre brake application useage position of the brake. i have had to replace several calipers to get the calipers that realease the pads tension properly after braking application. | |||
| 02/01/2010 | 9000 | ||
| 2009 volkswagen jetta rear brake defect causes unsafe driving conditions. car was involved in an accident (minor) where braking was suspected cause at 9000 miles. bought new 2009 jetta. have driven it 20,000 miles. at both 10,000 mile check ups it was determined that the rear brakes were worn to dangerous levels. vw replaced first set now are maintaining that there is no problem and 10k is the right milage to replace brakes. concern is that many people woudl not expect to replace breaks at 10k miles, especially on the rear brakes. could lead to dangerous stopping condition. | |||
| 02/10/2011 | 37800 | ||
| I am an aerospace engineering consultant. my 09 jetta had rear passenger caliber, rotor, and brake line replace at 10,000 miles for excessive wear. 1st noticed when going around corners applying brakes a dragging effect would come from rear passenger brake. dealer could not give any reason for this happening and replace rotor, caliper, and brake line at 10k. summer time weather. car exhibited the smell of hot brakes and rubber several times between the next failure. the next failure occurred at 34000 mile. driver side rotor was so pitted and warped from excessive heat dealer replace rotor and caliper and gave no reason problem. summer time weather. at 37080 mile on feb 10 2011 at 4:30 am with outside temperature around 20f degrees i released parking brake and started driving to job site. the car felt like it was straining to accelerate. within two miles from the house the car pulled violently to left , the abs light came on and the car stopped into oncoming traffic and would not move. i shut the esp system off car still work not move forward. i drove in reverse back to house about 1.5 miles. when i looked at rear brake rotor on driver side since it was still dark the rotor was glowing red like the burner on electric stove. smell of burning materials was in the air. called dealer which is ancria of san antonio, tx. dan minor the service manager thinks it was the emergency brake cable spring not releasing brake. car was dropped of friday feb 11th 2011 at dealer. a case has been open with vw engineering. vw dealer is clueless as to why this is happening. i suspect the good german engineers are too proud to say we have a problem fix what seems to be a well documented problem with 09 jettas. someone is going to get hurt and no one is listening. thankfully the dealer has been replacing things to date. | |||
| 01/25/2011 | 18370 | ||
| This is my second complaint regarding the rear brake wear on the 2009 jettas. this problem is common amongst thousands of other drivers over the internet that have yet to report the problem to nhtsa. i first had excessive rear brake wear on my vw at less than 15, 000 where i lost my brakes completely and damaged the rotors. this was before the recommended service period on my new vehicle. the brakes and rotor were replaced and the dealer only cited it as 'premature wear' and that it was covered under warranty. i am now at 18,000 and have noticed that my brakes are still wearing much faster than the front brakes. that is only 3,000 miles in which they are at the halfway wear point. the oem brake wear is supposed to occur between 30,000 and 40,000 miles. this is not the case and may be the result of the new redesign of the vw which may have contributed to the defective wear issue. i am scheduled for another service repair and vw of america has provided a case number to look into the matter (not resolve it or take ownership over the problem) please look into this or at least search the internet to see how many others are having the exact same issue with 2008 - 2011 vws. please initiate an investigation before someone has an accident or dies as a result of this issue!!! | |||
| 01/10/2011 | 30000 | ||
| Premature rear brake wear and failure. heavy brake dusting on rear wheels since new. rear brakes need to be replaced at 25,000 miles and 50% of the miles were highway miles. spongy brake petal and heavy rear wheel brake dust reported to dealer 3 times when new and at the normal service intervals. vw dealer service manager said all 09' jetta's rear brakes are wearing out between 20,000 and 30,000 miles. either rear brake design or materials are defective causing premature wear and failure | |||
| 01/04/2011 | 40000 | ||
| I just discovered a brake problem on my wife | |||
| 12/28/2010 | 30982 | ||
| 2009 volkswagen jetta 30,898 miles rear brakes rotors worn and pads gone. front brakes still have 40,000 miles left on pads, look new according to certified ase brake mechanic. car does not stop safely. mechanic was shocked at the brake wear on rear rotors and pads and the extreme wear on the back bads and rotors. certified ase mechanic advised that front wheel drive cars brakes should wear evenly, not entirely on back brakes. vehicle not breaking right at low or high speeds. car still under manufacturer warranty, dealer refuses to replace. | |||
| 12/10/2010 | 19000 | ||
| Took my car in for the 20000 mile service. last service was at 10000 miles. was told i needed rear brake pads and rotors 300+ dollars. something is wrong here. i have complained about my brakes squeaking the last three times i brought it in to the dealer. i was never told there was anything wrong. i spoke to volkswagen customer service the 800 number, told them the issues, they said the brakes are applied on all 4 wheels when stepping on the pedal, this right here tells me something is wrong, if brakes are applied to all wheels then the pads should wear evenly, i was told i would have to replace the rear pads and rotors again before i have to do the front once. i also have complained about the rpm's shooting up very high when i start the car and need to hold the brake hard when i put it in gear or i will lunge because the rpms are so high, after about a muinute i can release the brake and drive because the rpms have settled down. again i was told this is how the car works. | |||
| 12/07/2010 | 20153 | ||
| My 2009 vw jetta has been prematurely wearing rear disc brakes and experienced a reduction in brake performance. my car has less than 20,000 miles and i already had to take it to the dealer for new rear pads and rotors and it cost me over $400!!!! this is a safety issue because most people that purchase a new vehicle will not take it into the dealership until may 30,000+ miles. this seems to be a very common issue with 07-09 vw jetta's and it should be fixed by vw! | |||
| 10/08/2010 | 15754 | ||
| 2009 volkswagen vw jetta rear brake wear excessively uneven. no brake pad remaining on rear passenger wheel under 16,000 miles. | |||
| 06/04/2010 | 16000 | ||
| My rear brakes started making a horrible noise when i applied the brakes about one month ago around 5/1/2010. from this point on, the car's braking distance increased by about 50% with absolutely no warning to me. i bought this car brand new in january of 2009 and it only has 16,000 miles on it. my car has been serviced on schedule for 500 mile courtesy inspection, 5000 mile service, 10000 mile service and 15000 mile service. i took my car in for va state inspection on 6/4/2010. the mechanic told me that my rear brake pads were completely worn through and that they were braking with metal on metal contact. the mechanic stated that the front brakes were basically in new condition. he also stated that the left rear brake was in worse shape than the right rear brake. this car only has 16668 mile on it. it has been serviced as instructed in the owners manual and it has never been raced or used in any way out of the normal. the vw dealership confirmed what the mechanic at the inspection station told me. he said that the rear brakes were gone and that there was no brake pad left at all and the car was stopping with metal on metal contact. he said that the pads and rotors would need to be replaced. i told him that i used to work on my old car and that this was not normal. he stated he has had a number of vws come in with the same problem. he also stated that there is no sensor in the rear brake pad, that the pads will not begin to squeal when they are worn down or provide any indication whatsoever that they have failed other than the sound they make once the metal of the caliper is hitting the metal of the pads. i did some initial research on the internet and this seems to be a pretty serious problem for vw. every mechanic i have talked to about my car has said that vws are designed for the rear brakes to do most of the work. vw needs to put some type of wear sensors in the rear brakes to let consumers know when they need to replace their brakes before they fail. | |||
| 02/19/2010 | 3000 | 3 | |
| I got a brand new car last year a 2009 volkswagen jetta. however i have to go to the dealer service because i have experience 3 brake issue incidents due to not being able to stop. according to the dealer the first time they found that the brakes had a lot of pressure and that's why i was not able to stop. the second time it was because the car didn't have enough brake fluid. the third time it was because the brake fluid level was low. i also hit someone i have his statement as a witness because the person got mad at me asking why i didn't stop? i also have another witness who was with me at the second incident and somehow the dealership keep telling me that the car is in perfect conditions. i need your help. *dt | |||
| 02/01/2010 | 1 | ||
| I purchased a 2009 jetta tdi. this is my 3rd jetta tdi, 2004, 2006, and now a 2009. at 3,500 miles the brakes on the 2009 tdi began making a high pitch whistling noise at slow rolling stops. after a couple of stops it would stop and then reappear after the car had been parked for a couple of hours. i called the dealer, and was told that it was normal and should eventually stop. at 7000 miles it still whistles. i took it to the dealer for inspection and was told that rust was forming on the rotors and the whistling sound was the brakes scraping the rust off. i was told that my brakes were fine. i asked if this was a problem i would have to live with, whistling brakes for the life of the car? how embarrassing to own a new car and the brakes whistle when you pull up to a stop sign. i called vw america and was told that they couldn't tell me anything. they depended upon the dealers to provide them with issues/concerns. neither of my previous 2004 or 2006 jetta tdi's brakes whistled. so vw is this normal? if so, then i have purchase my last whistling jetta. *tr | |||
| 09/15/2009 | 21500 | 1 | |
| Significant rear brake wear on 2009 vw jetta. my rr brake wore down to metal. rl brake was at 60% remaining, and front brakes were almost perfect. vw calls this type of wear normal. anybody who has ever driven a car or worked on brakes knows that is a laughable assertion. there is nothing normal about one set of pads completely failing while all others are well within specs. not only is this annoying, it is dangerous. the car is obviously applying brake pressure to one wheel more than the other three. when this wheels brakes fail, how is the car expected to stop? i have researched this online and found many other vw owners experience the same problem with the same response from vw, which is to blame it on the consumer's driving. in some instances, the brakes worn to metal as early as 14,000 miles, and often fail again in as little as 7 months after replacing. *tr | |||
| 09/17/2009 | 100015 | 1 | |
| 2009 volkswagen tdi jetta 10,000 miles. brought car into dealer and pointed out that i believe something is wrong with esp system. both back rotors are hot enough to burn you after driving short distances with very little breaking. dealer determine driver side caliper was bad. they are replacing driver side caliber. says it was dragging and causing esp system to pulse. wife has the same problem on her 2009 tdi jetta which has 12000 miles on it. both cars have exhibited this problem have been occurring since new. it is causing premature brake pad and rotor wear to rear. car is still in shop after a week waiting on parts. *tr | |||
| 09/04/2009 | 8850 | 1 | |
| This complaint is for a 2009 vw jetta tdi. on a recent road trip i noticed a burning odor coming from my drivers side rear. i stopped my vehicle to inspect the wheels and sure enough only the drivers side rear wheel, and rotor was hot enough to instantly fry a egg. this wheel also had a burning smell coming from it (no smoke was observed). the next morning i went to a v.w. dealer located in allentown to have my brakes inspected. the dealer reported that road tested the car and checked all brakes and they are all wearing evenly no problem found at this time. on my drive home while the drivers side was a little warmer then the other wheels, the burning problem did not reoccur. *tr | |||
| 08/13/2009 | 20407 | 1 | |
| 2009 vw jetta tdi. at 20,000 miles and change my local dealer advised me i needed to replace the rear brakes. from what i have read this is common with jetta's. the rear brakes are a safety issue. the local dealers service advisor advised me that this was normal for a jetta. *tr | |||
| 03/03/2009 | 4500 | 1 | |
| I drive a 2009 vw jetta sedan 2.5 s, which only has 4,000 miles. two days ago, while driving the car all of a sudden it stopped in the middle of a highway. it lost electric power and could not move further. i thought it was because lack of gas, but realized it was not the case because the tank was full. the car dashboard signaled that the battery had a problem -its indicator was turned on. and that was when i realized that there was no power and the battery wasn't working. so, after moving the car to the side of the highway, i waited and tried again after two minutes and, fortunately, the ignition started. the problem was fixed, at least for the time being. also, a few minutes later the brakes stopped functioning. the pedal turned really hard and i couldn't push it all the way to the bottom. so the next day i took it to the dealership. they said they have found the brakes problem (a brake pump, or something like that, needed to be replaced). they still have to check the battery problem. my main concern is that if both problems comeback again me, and my family, may be in a very dangerous situation. it should be investigated. and i just want to point out again that this is a vehicle that i have driven for only six months. *tr | |||