Problems · by component
2011 Volkswagen Jetta power train problems
55 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta cite power train, 9% of all 640 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
55
9% of all complaints
Crashes
5
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
3
Reported by owners
What owners say about the power train
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The power window never works the way it is suppose to, when I row my window down it MESSES with the speakers for some reason, my wipes don't work all the time and freeze easy. When driving does nor like to shift out of 1st it's got that mk shifter, it will stay in first gear unless the gas is pressed and released fast also can smell like a burnt wire or/ candle was smell. When I try to put the air on the smell becomes worse.”
“This engine or transmission is acting odd it boggs down for no reason and I know for a fact there should be a recall from the wiring harness back in 2011. I accidentally clicked it was fixed when I pushed the wrong button and it wouldnt let me undue it. Stalls white smoke out the tail pipes in gusts. Foul smell in vents”
“Was driving about 25-30mph when we heard a pop sound and the car started to become very hard to control. Everytime I would press the brakes the car would become even harder to control. I tried to turn into a driveway to see what happened and the car jerked and caused us to go into a deep ditch. The front passenger tire hit a concrete water drain and the car stopped abruptly. Impact caused the rim to completely break in half and also snapped the front axel in half. The tow truck driver informed us that the drivers rear axle trailing arm was broke in half and he had never seen anything like that before. That night we learned of the recall for that exact part. Over the weekend I've had a chance to go out and look a little better under the rear of the car and it appears to have the steel inlay piece that was supposed to fix the recalled part. The welding is terrible and most of it is rusty so it's been broken for a while it seems. I pulled a car fax on the vehicle and it has went in several times for maintenance at various car dealerships but it doesn't seem that anyone put the fix in the system for it. It has definitely been repaired but nothing shows that. We are…”
“Car randomly stalls while driving and shuts off without warning in the middle of the road. Immediately is able to turn back on without issues. Took to mechanic and they couldn't find any issues and said the car had zero error codes. This has happened multiple times while driving low speeds, usually when driving stop and go with street lights”
“TL* THE CONTACT CALLED ON BEHALF OF HER DAUGHTER WHO OWNS A 2011 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO OPERATE WITH THE TRANSMISSION IN THE REVERSE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION DUAL CLUTCH ASSEMBLY WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT YET REPAIRED. THE LOCAL DEALER VOLKSWAGEN OF NEW PORT RICHEY LOCATED AT 4719 US-19, NEW PORT RICHEY, FL 34652 AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE BUT, NO ASSISTANCE WAS OFFERED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 118,000.”
“AFTER DRIVING FOR 1 HOUR OR MORE ON THE HIGHWAY, THE CAR DOES NOT HAVE THE POWER TO ACCELERATE WHEN DRIVING AT SLOWER SPEEDS AND LOSES CONTROL OF THE SPEED. AFTER DRIVING 3 HOURS OR MORE, THE CAR WILL DO THE SAME WHILE STILL ON THE HIGHWAY. THE CAR IS NOT ABLE TO MAINTAIN SPEED IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND BECOMES IMMEDIATELY DANGEROUS.”
Showing 6 of 55 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.