Problems · by component

2012 Volkswagen Jetta power train problems

50 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta cite power train, 9% of all 527 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
50
9% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the power train

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“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
“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
“The car stop at the stop sign n in the traffic then push start n it worked 4times in a 2years I thought the vw made fir saving fuel. Today the car stop at highway n I almost got killed by sudden stopped. I got panicked couldn't think about anything then push the start it worked again. I Google myself, there are many same problems n reports for 2012 vw jetta. Please help me what I should do. Last year The vw dealer couldn't find anything wrong but there is some problem”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 2, 2021Power train, Unknown or other, EngineODI 11431481
“The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated while turning into the parking lot at the residence, with a foot on the brake pedal, the contact was unaware that the vehicle was still in drive and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle rolled forward approximately 3-4 feet before the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle was stopped. The vehicle was shifted into PARK and the contact restarted the vehicle and the vehicle operated as designed. The contact stated that a week later while at work, the vehicle failed to start-up. The vehicle remained at the contact’s place of employment. The contact reached out to a representative on at the Volkswagen website and was informed that the Vin was not under recall. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V615000 (Electrical System, Steering) as a possible solution to the failure however, the Vin was not included. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 22, 2021Steering, Power train, Electrical systemODI 11426011
“AS I WENT TO CHANGE GEARS INTO REVERSE I HEARD A VERY HARD THUMP, THEN INTO DRIVE AND THE THUMP GOT LOUDER AND THE WHOLE ENGINE SHIFTED FORWARD. NOW IT SOUNDS AS IF EVERYTHING ( MOTOR ) IS ABOUT TO FALL OUT THE VEHICLE .”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 2, 2020Power train, Air bags, EngineODI 11372721
“I WAS DRIVING THE CAR NORMALLY ON THE HIGHWAY AND I PUSHED THE CLUTCH IN AND IT WENT STRAIGHT THE FLOOR THIS IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE IT WAS THE SLAVE CYLINDER A KNOW FAILURE POINT. THIS IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE IO COULDN'T PUT THE CAR INTO GEAR AGAIN AND WAS IN NEUTRAL ON THE HIGHWAY. VOLKSWAGEN NEEDS TO FIX THIS ON THIS YEAR JETTAS.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 21, 2020Power trainODI 11365662

Showing 6 of 50 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

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