638 NHTSA owner complaints · 1 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Complaints per year on the road: 42.53
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
driving on freeway (speed around 70mph) out of nowhere i start smelling strange burning smell then about 1 minute later the car brakes lock up in the front and I loose control of car but luckily it was in light traffic and I regained control enough to get it off to the shoulder. I got out to address the issue and notice the front tires smoking alot and it was at night and the inside (rotor, brake caliper, and rim wer…
Because of recall, car was not engaged in park completely like it stated after I got out it rolled away down the hill and hit a tree, therefore the recall caused my accident. Yes the problem has been confirmed it is a recall. No it has not been inspected by dealer or police. Volkswagen will not engage in any further investigations they say it's my fault. There were no warning lamps.
The f16 fuse in the engine bay that connects power to multiple exterior lights as well as the abs brake system melts and melts part of the fuse tray. This is the same thing that happens with the vw Tiguan in campaign am97. Look into am97 as this can ruin your abs brake system. This should be recalled and fixed. This picture is not mine but is exactly what happened.
What the community is saying right now.
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 16V078000 | Air Bags:Frontal:Driver Side:Inflator Mo | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Golf, 2007-2010 Passat sedans and wagon, 2012-2014 … |
EPA combined 27 MPG · estimated annual fuel cost $2,300
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Electrical System (200 complaints in our indexed sample).
Our data verdict is AVOID with a reliability score of 34/100, computed from 638 NHTSA complaints and 1 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
Yes — NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign(s) for the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, 1 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 10/02/2016. Check this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy.
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorComplaints & recalls: NHTSA ·
Fuel economy: EPA fueleconomy.gov ·
Scoring: our published methodology.
Maintenance bands are industry-average estimates (AAA Your Driving Costs, CarMD index) — labeled estimates, not measurements.
Last updated: 2026-08-20.