Problems · NHTSA complaints

2012 Volkswagen Jetta problems

Owners filed 527 complaints about the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta with NHTSA between Sep 2011 and Oct 2026. The most-cited component is electrical system (144).

Complaints
527
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
24
Reported by owners
Fires
7
Reported by owners
Injuries
17
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Electrical system144
  2. Engine88
  3. Fuel/propulsion system52
  4. Power train50
  5. Steering44
  6. Service brakes38
  7. Air bags35
  8. Fuel system, diesel25
  9. Visibility/wiper20
  10. Vehicle speed control14
  11. Suspension14
  12. Exterior lighting13
  13. Wheels10
  14. Electronic stability control (esc)10

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

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20114
201226
201334
201459
201557
201667
201776
201857
201956
202041
202114
20226
202315
20248
20255
20262

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Electrical system

144 reports7 crashes4 fires1 related recall
“A microswitch malfunction. My car will not lock and while I am driving it there is clicking on the doors for locking and unlocking. My night lights will not shut off when I park the vehicle. There is a pinging noise when the vehicle is shut off and in park and the door is open with no lights on.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 14, 2026Electrical systemODI 11744027

Engine

88 reports1 crash4 fires
“I remember having my keys in my hand and my car was slowly reversing out the driveway. I panicked, i was stomping on my brakes for a while jerking back and it took me about 2 minutes to finally get the key back in and try to put in park again. I went to a shop the following weekend because all the jerking and jabbing to get my key back in seems to have caused my ignition switch to misfire or whatever the word he (mechanic) used, so now i cannot take my key out like a regular person, I have to flick my key a certain way out anytime i want to turn my car off.(even mechanics have a hard time taking it out. I was also given a qr code to scan and was brought the this exact recall of the situation with my car. I now have my engine light on and [XXX] gave me the fault code for my map sensor. I’m not sure if the two are related but this was following the incident.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 6, 2024Steering, Power train, EngineODI 11563924

Fuel/propulsion system

52 reports
“Cp4 high pressure fuel pump will self-destruct causing little pieces of metal to go throughout the fuel system and causing thousands in repair lots of manufacturers are doing recalls to this pump but nothing for Volkswagen I have contact the dealer no help if you go online thousands of people it's complaining about the CP4 high pressure fuel pump it has a design flaw from factory and needs to be corrected”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 15, 2024Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11614705

Power train

50 reports
“A bolt holding my CV Joint backed out causing the bracket between two of the bolts to come lose. The bracket then swung as I drove a created a hole in my transmission. This caused me to lose transmission fluid and damage my transmission. My car has only been serviced at VW certified dealers so I am very disappointed with this issue”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 17, 2024Power trainODI 11577827

Steering

44 reports5 crashes
“On the day the issue occurred, I went to work as usual. When I finished work and tried to leave, my vehicle wouldn't start. I had the vehicle towed to a repair shop to determine what was wrong. After inspecting the vehicle, I was informed that the issue could only be properly repaired by a dealership. My vehicle has now been at the dealership for approximately one month, and I have been without my car for this entire period. This has created a significant inconvenience and has made it difficult for me to get to work, handle my daily responsibilities, and maintain my normal routine.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 2, 2026Steering, WheelsODI 11768618

Service brakes

38 reports6 crashes1 fire
“ABS module controlling the Anti-Lock brake system has failed. I am told there is a recall for earlier models of this car for the very same issue but not for 2012 model year. This is a safety issue that is very expensive to fix and primarily by the dealer requiring factory programming of a new expensive ABS module”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 4, 2023Service brakesODI 11553518
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026

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