Problems · by component

2001 Volkswagen Jetta electrical system problems

119 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2001 Volkswagen Jetta cite electrical system, 18% of all 677 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
119
18% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
7
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the electrical system

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“MY ABS LIGHT HAS BEEN ON AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET IT TO TURN OFF. MY TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT HAS BEEN ON AND DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET IT OFF. I HAVE BOUGHT A NEW COIL PACK AND SPARK PLUGS AND SPARK PLUG WIRES AND NOW MY CHECK ENGINE HAS CAME BACK ON.PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS CAR.THANKS.GOD BLESS U.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 17, 2018Steering, Electrical system, Wheels, Service brakes, Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11063377
“THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON AND THE BRAKES SOFT AS A MARSHMALLOW NOT WARNING NOTICE GOT STOPPED AND THERE WAS A HISSING NOISE BUT NO BRAKE FLUID ON ANY OF THE BRAKES...... I'VE ALSO BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH AFTER REPLACING THE WATER PUMP IT KEEPING FLUID IN IT ALSO USING THE GEICO DISCOUNT EQUIPMENT TO SEE HOW MY DRIVING IS THE ENGINE LIGHT AND THE ONE ABOVE THAT THE LOOKS LIKE A TRIANGLE.... DID THE DIAGNOSTIC CAME UP WITH A 1000 CODE AND ONE OTHER THE DEAL DIDN'T FIND THE 1000 CODE BUT RESET WITH NO LUCK TURNING THEM OFF AFTER SERVICE. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 22, 2015Electrical system, Service brakesODI 10700973
“I BOUGHT THIS CAR USED IN 2003 AND HAD PROBLEMS WITH IT SINCE. ESC LIGHT COMES ON ALL THE TIME. REPLACED IGNITION COILS, MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR, OXYGEN SENSOR, AND SPARK PLUGS MULTIPLES TIMES TO TRY AND FIX THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT THAT KEEPS COMING BACK ON. IT KEEPS SPITTING OUT RANDOM CYLINDER MISFIRE CODES. PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW BROKE. THE ARM REST HINGE BROKE. THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT HINGE BROKE. BRAKE LIGHTS NEED REPLACING CONSTANTLY. WATER PUMP BROKE WHILE DRIVING IN THE MIDDLE OF FREEWAY AND THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE SHOT THROUGH THE ROOF. A RANDOM TUBE/HOSE IN THE ENGINE BROKE. TRANSMISSION PROBLEM, COULD NOT SHIFT FROM PARK TO DRIVE. INTERIOR CABIN SMELLS LIKE CRAYON. VERY ROUGH IDLE, NEED TO WARM UP THE CAR FOR AT LEAST 5 MINS EVERY MORNING OR ELSE THE CAR WILL STALL. I NOTICED IF YOU DO NOT WARM THE CAR LONG ENOUGH, YOU HAVE TO PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL VERY HARD TO GET IT TO STOP. I CAN COPE WITH ALL THE ABOVE ISSUES BUT I CANNOT TOLERATE THE CAR RANDOMLY STALLING/ENGINE DYING WHILE DRIVING AROUND THE CITY. LATELY THE CAR IS MAKING WEIRD NOISES LIKE IT RAN OVER A POTHOLE. I GAVE AWAY THE CAR AND WILL NEVER AGAIN OWN ANY CARS MADE FROM VOLKSWAGEN. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 12, 2012Engine and engine cooling, Electrical system, Electronic stability control (esc)ODI 10451304
“LOCK UNIT FOR CENTRAL LOCKING DRIVERS SIDE FRONT VW PART F220 SWITCHES INDICATING A "DOOR OPEN" STATUS FAIL ON A REGULAR BASIS ON UNITS MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 1999 AND 2001. VW REDESIGNED THE PART IN 2002, BUT OFFERED NO CORRECTIVE ACTION FOR VEHICLES WITH THE FLAWED DESIGN. WHEN THE SWITCH IS INOPERABLE, THE LAMP ON THE DOOR DOES NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN THE DOOR IS OPENED, MAKING IT INVISIBLE TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. IN ADDITION, THE DOME LIGHT DOES NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN THE DOOR IS OPENED. FINALLY, SINCE THE CAR DOES NOT SENSE THAT THE DOOR IS OPENED, IT WILL RE-LOCK ITSELF AFTER 30 SECONDS, POTENTIALLY STRANDING A DRIVER OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 30, 2011Electrical systemODI 10404708
“MY JETTA WILL NOT START AFTER NO SIGNS OF AN ISSUE. I'VE HAD IT TOWED TWICE BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE TO PEP BOYS (PER WARRANTY COMPANY) AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT HOME BUT THAT IS IT. THEY TOLD ME THAT IT SEEMED AS IF SOMETHING WAS DRAINING THE BATTERY. I'VE TAKEN THE BATTERY TO PLACE OF PURCHASE AND RESULTS WERE GOOD AND THE BATTERY IS FINE. PEP BOYS RECOMMENDS I TAKE CAR TO VW DEALER. THIS IS TOUGH ON MY FAMILY AND I BECAUSE THIS IS OUR ONLY CAR AND NO ONE CAN TELL US THE REASON WHY OUR CAR DOESN'T WORK. CAR WAS PURCHASED 7/24/2010. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 29, 2011Electrical systemODI 10398231
“WHILE DRIVING AT A STEADY SPEED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WILL DEPRESS BY ITSELF MAKING THE VEHICLE ACCELERATE. THE PROBLEM GOES AWAY WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED (SO FAR). THIS STARTED HAPPENING ABOUT A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO. IT'S DONE IT MAYBE 4 OR 5 TIMES. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 1, 2011Electrical system, Vehicle speed controlODI 10373668

Showing 6 of 119 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.