2010 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Brakes722.6%
- Airbags619.4%
- Fuel system516.1%
- Suspension39.7%
- Electrical39.7%
- Engine26.5%
- Driver assistance26.5%
- Exterior lighting13.2%
- Other / unspecified13.2%
- Steering13.2%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Brakes
Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake.
From owner reports, verbatim
ABS module in 2010 VW Jetta wagon malfunctioned. Warning lights in dash were lit for ABS, Brake, and airbag on 5/18/24. Towed to local auto shop by AAA on 5/20/24. Verified by local auto shop as faulty ABS module on 5/21/24. Prior year VW Jetta wagon (2009) already has recall for this issue. Car is not safe to drive due to brake issue and will not pass state inspection. This VIN / make / model of VW should be added to existing VW ABS recall. I have not towed vehicle back to house and do not have the auto shop report yet.
NOT A COMPLAINT JUST CURIOUS. HAS ANYONE "FRIED" THEIR ABS MODULE AND OR REPLACED ONE. WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO GET PARTS? HOW MUCH WAS THE AVERAGE COST OF REPAIRS?
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Airbags
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights.
From owner reports, verbatim
MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS CONSTANTLY ON AND I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN A RECALL NOTICE. *TR
TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA SPORTWAGEN. WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO TURN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT "CAUTION DEFECTIVE AIR BAG" WAS DISPLAYED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO PARK THE VEHICLE SAFELY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT ABLE TO BE DRIVEN AND WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE CONTACT CALLED VOLKSWAGEN OF MURRIETA (LOCATED AT 41300 DATE ST, MURRIETA, CA 92562, (951) 249-7072) AND INFORMED THEM OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 76,000.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Fuel system
Reports naming fuel storage or delivery — tanks, pumps, lines, injectors and fuel leaks.
From owner reports, verbatim
In June of 2021 my car had a warning light for the DPF filter come on and told me to follow the instructions in the manual to drive it on the freeway at certain RPMs to get it to clear well that didn’t work and eventually the check engine light came on as well, I took it to the dealership and found out that the Diesel Particulate Filter was bad and needed to be replaced, the DPF was under an extended warranty because of the whole Dieselgate issue, my car had approx 95k miles or so on it when the filter was replaced along with my timing belt. Well six months later the DPF filter light came on again so I brought it back to the dealership that replaced it and they said it wasn’t their fault and that now the glow plugs and thermostat needed to be replaced to get the filter to work so I spent a bunch of money fixing that and now just recently the DPF light and check engine light came on again so I brought it back to the mechanic and they said I needed a new O2 sensor and that would fix this problem, well the replaced the sensor and I drove away and now my Turbo blew which was incredibly scary cause my car lost all power and made a crazy siren noise as I tried to get to a safe area. and my car isn’t driveable at all, my car only has 101,000 miles in it and it going to cost me over $3000 to fix the turbo when I just spent $600 to replace the sensor, $600 on glow plugs and themostat, and $1000 on the timing Belt. This is a lot of extra money to spend on a car in just one year. I don’t think that the DPF filter should be giving me problems every 6 months. I’m a single mom and I don’t know what to do, I can’t afford a new car but I also can’t afford to keep fixing this one. My car is currently at the VW dealership waiting to be fixed and I hope I’m not wasting my money just for it to break again. I’m going into Credit card debt just to keep This car running at this point.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA SPORTWAGEN. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND WAS UNABLE TO BE RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE INDEPENDENT MECHANIC CONTACTED MAG VOLKSWAGEN (6335 PERIMETER LOOP RD, DUBLIN, OH 43017, (614) 389-5556) TO ASSIST WITH THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED ALONG WITH THE ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM DUE TO METAL SHAVINGS IN THE FUEL PUMP AND FUEL LINE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 190,000.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Suspension
Reports naming suspension components — springs, struts, shocks, control arms and related hardware.
From owner reports, verbatim
In June of 2021 my car had a warning light for the DPF filter come on and told me to follow the instructions in the manual to drive it on the freeway at certain RPMs to get it to clear well that didn’t work and eventually the check engine light came on as well, I took it to the dealership and found out that the Diesel Particulate Filter was bad and needed to be replaced, the DPF was under an extended warranty because of the whole Dieselgate issue, my car had approx 95k miles or so on it when the filter was replaced along with my timing belt. Well six months later the DPF filter light came on again so I brought it back to the dealership that replaced it and they said it wasn’t their fault and that now the glow plugs and thermostat needed to be replaced to get the filter to work so I spent a bunch of money fixing that and now just recently the DPF light and check engine light came on again so I brought it back to the mechanic and they said I needed a new O2 sensor and that would fix this problem, well the replaced the sensor and I drove away and now my Turbo blew which was incredibly scary cause my car lost all power and made a crazy siren noise as I tried to get to a safe area. and my car isn’t driveable at all, my car only has 101,000 miles in it and it going to cost me over $3000 to fix the turbo when I just spent $600 to replace the sensor, $600 on glow plugs and themostat, and $1000 on the timing Belt. This is a lot of extra money to spend on a car in just one year. I don’t think that the DPF filter should be giving me problems every 6 months. I’m a single mom and I don’t know what to do, I can’t afford a new car but I also can’t afford to keep fixing this one. My car is currently at the VW dealership waiting to be fixed and I hope I’m not wasting my money just for it to break again. I’m going into Credit card debt just to keep This car running at this point.
I HAVE RECENTLY NOTICED THAT THE 2015 - 2019 JETTA SPORTWAGEN BEEN IDENTIFIED WITH A REAR COIL SPRING BREAKING ISSUE AND A RECALL WILL BE ISSUED APRIL 19, 2019 - MY 2010 JETTA SPORTWAGEN HAS RECENTLY EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE AND I BELIEVE THE RECALL SHOULD BE EXPANDED
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Electrical
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories.
From owner reports, verbatim
FACTORY RADIO MODEL RCD 510. CAR MILEAGE: 61,320 MILES. IT WAS HOT OUTSIDE AND I WAS RUNNING AIR CONDITIONING. AFTER DRIVING FOR ABOUT 30MIN WITH RADIO ON, THE RADIO WENT BLANK (BLACK SCREEN). IT WOULD NOT TURN BACK ON AT THE TIME. A TECHNICIAN CHECKED FUSES AND NO BLOWN FUSES WERE FOUND. THE RADIO REMAINED IN THE CAR FOR 2 MORE DAYS AND WOULD NOT TURN BACK ON. RADIO WAS REMOVED FROM THE CAR AND THE TECHNICIAN TOOK THE RADIO APART, COULD NOT FIND AN ISSUE, DISCHARGED CAPACITOR & RADIO STILL DID NOT WORK. RADIO IS TOTALLY DEAD. SAFETY ISSUE SINCE BLUETOOTH (HANDSFREE) PHONE WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT RADIO.
RCD-315 RADIO DIED. WHILE DRIVING ON COUNTRY ROAD, RADIO POPPED AND DIED. AFTER ELECTRICAL TEST OF FUSES AND INTERNET SEARCH, I DETERMINED THAT THE RADIO COULD NOT BE REPAIRED. THE SAFETY ISSUE ON THIS IS THAT THE BLUETOOTH MODULE WAS STILL ACTIVE AND THERE WAS NO WAY TO TURN IT OFF OTHER THAN UNPLUGGING THE BLUETOOTH. SINCE I USE HANDS FREE PHONE, THIS IS A HAZARDOUS FAILURE. I LOCATED 100'S OF WEBSITES THAT TALKED ABOUT THIS RADIO ISSUE AND THE RESULTING ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS THAT THIS FAILURE CAUSES. THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE A RECALL PRIORITY.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Engine
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.
From owner reports, verbatim
FAULTY EGR SYSTEM PUTS MOISTURE IN THE TURBO INTERCOOLER ON THE DIESEL 2.0 ENGINE. INTERCOOLER EVENTUALLY FREEZES IN COLD TEMPERATURES. ENGINE DIES RANDOMLY DUE TO NO TURBO BOOST. MY CAR DIED WHILE MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN ACROSS 2 LANES OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC. WE WERE ALMOST T-BONED BY A SEMI TRUCK HAULING A 53' TRAILER! MY DEALER HAD ONE OTHER TDI IN THE SHOP THE SAME DAY MINE WAS TOWED IN. VW HAS ENGINEERED A ' COLD WEATHER INTERCOOLER' AND IS AWARE OF THIS DESIGN FLAW. NOTHING IS MENTIONED IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL ABOUT DRAINING THE WATER (WHICH ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THERE) FROM THE SYSTEM OCCASIONALLY DURING WARM WEATHER. CARS UNDER THE 36,000 MILE WARRANTY HAVE HAD THE UPDATED INTERCOOLER INSTALLED FOR FREE. THIS UPDATE, THAT DIDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM, COST ME $1042.92. THE CAR STALLED DURING THE DRIVE HOME FROM THE DEALERSHIP IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE NEW COLD WEATHER INTERCOOLER WAS INSTALLED. IT STALLED 2 OUT OF 3 SUBSEQUENT TRIPS AFTER THE UPDATED INTERCOOLER. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED DUE TO THE ENGINE STARTING AND IMMEDIATELY STALLING. THIS ISSUE AROSE AFTER THE VW TDI EMMISSIONS FIX THAT WAS PERFORMED ON MY CAR IN DECEMBER OF 2017.
IN LATE 2016 I RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF THE PENDING VOLKSWAGEN/AUDI DIESEL EMISSIONS SETTLEMENT. ABOUT 4 MONTHS AGO I I WENT THROUGH THE VERIFICATION PROCESS AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT: 1-MY CAR IS IN THE BUY BACK GROUP 2-VW WILL PAY IT OFF AND 3-VW WILL GIVE ME $800 AND SOME DOLLARS FINALIZING THE TRANSACTION I HAVE HAD THIS CAR READY TO DROP OFF AND WAITING FOR 3 MONTHS. I AM NOW 2 PAYMENTS BEHIND AS I WAS EXPECTING FOR VW TO HONOR THEIR COMMITMENT, BUT HAVE NOT HEARD ANYTHING. VOLKSWAGEN IS APPARENTLY NOT DISPLAYING A SENSE OF URGENCY WITH THE BAD FAITH SHOWN BY DELAYING THIS PROCESS. I AM AWARE THAT THEIR CORPORATE REPRESENTATIVE AT OUR LOCAL DEALER HAS BEEN APPRISED OF MY SITUATION AND NOTHING HAS HAPPENED. CAN/WILL NHTSA 'COMPEL' THEM TO FOLLOW UP WITH THEIR AGREEMENT. I HAVE HAD A ;LOT OF TROUBLE WITH THE LOCAL DEALER AND HAVE FILED A BBB COMPLAINT ON THEM ALSO REGARDING THIS AND ANOTHER ISSUE. PLEAS HELP ME. SINCERELY, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Driver assistance
Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems.
From owner reports, verbatim
In June of 2021 my car had a warning light for the DPF filter come on and told me to follow the instructions in the manual to drive it on the freeway at certain RPMs to get it to clear well that didn’t work and eventually the check engine light came on as well, I took it to the dealership and found out that the Diesel Particulate Filter was bad and needed to be replaced, the DPF was under an extended warranty because of the whole Dieselgate issue, my car had approx 95k miles or so on it when the filter was replaced along with my timing belt. Well six months later the DPF filter light came on again so I brought it back to the dealership that replaced it and they said it wasn’t their fault and that now the glow plugs and thermostat needed to be replaced to get the filter to work so I spent a bunch of money fixing that and now just recently the DPF light and check engine light came on again so I brought it back to the mechanic and they said I needed a new O2 sensor and that would fix this problem, well the replaced the sensor and I drove away and now my Turbo blew which was incredibly scary cause my car lost all power and made a crazy siren noise as I tried to get to a safe area. and my car isn’t driveable at all, my car only has 101,000 miles in it and it going to cost me over $3000 to fix the turbo when I just spent $600 to replace the sensor, $600 on glow plugs and themostat, and $1000 on the timing Belt. This is a lot of extra money to spend on a car in just one year. I don’t think that the DPF filter should be giving me problems every 6 months. I’m a single mom and I don’t know what to do, I can’t afford a new car but I also can’t afford to keep fixing this one. My car is currently at the VW dealership waiting to be fixed and I hope I’m not wasting my money just for it to break again. I’m going into Credit card debt just to keep This car running at this point.
ABS CONTROL MODULE PROBLEM/FAILURE WE SAW A RECALL FOR 2009 MODELS WITH THIS ISSUE! OUR VEHICLE IS A 2010 JETTA SPORTWAGON WITH LESS THAN 80K MILES ON IT WHICH WE PURCHASE DIN DECEMBER OF 2009 WITH A 7 YEAR/100K MILE EXTENDED WARRANTY. WE WERE ALWAYS REALLY HAPPY WITH THE CAR UNTIL WE GOT THE NOTICE THAT THIS WAS ONE OF THE CARS WITH THE EMISSIONS CHEATS IN IT. AS WE HAD SUCH LITTLE MILEAGE ON THE CAR WE ELECTED (AFTER MUCH CONTEMPLATION MIND YOU) TO HAVE THE CAR "FIXED" AND TOOK THE $5K IN RESTITUTION THEY OFFERED. JUST AFTER THE EMISSIONS "FIX" THE CAR STARTED SPUTTERING WHEN IN IDLE SPEED SO WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP BUT WERE TOLD THEY DID NOT SEE ANY ERROR CODES AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM SO WE KEPT DRIVING THE CAR BUT THIS ISSUE DID NOT GO AWAY AND IS STILL A CONSTANT AGGRAVATION TO US AS THE ENTIRE CAR SHAKES WHEN THIS OCCURS. JUNE 2018 THE BRAKE LIGHT, THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT, AND THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON. WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY HOOKED IT UP TO THE COMPUTER WHICH INSTRUCTED THEM THAT THE ABS MODULE AND PUMP NEED TO BE REPLACED, APPROXIMATELY A $3,000 REPAIR. WE TOOK IT TO ANOTHER MECHANIC WHO INSTRUCTED US THAT THE PUMP WAS FINE BUT THE MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED DUE TO THE FAULT THEY READ. JULY 2018, IN ADDITION TO THE PREVIOUS LIGHTS COMING ON, NOW THE DIESEL PRE-HEAT LIGHT CAME ON, THE STEERING LIGHT CAME ON, THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON AND THE ESP LIGHT CAME ON, THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. ONCE AGAIN WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND GOT THE SAME ANSWER: THE ABS CONTROL MODULE IS FAULTY. WE ARE GETTING A THIRD OPINION AS WE HAVE A BAD FEELING THAT THE SOFTWARE UPDATE THEY INSTALLED FOR THE EMISSIONS "REPAIR" IS SETTING OFF SOME OF THESE COMMUNICATIONS ISSUES. AFTER 8.5 YEARS WITHOUT ANY ISSUES TO HAVE THESE PROBLEMS AFTER THEY "FIX" THE SOFTWARE SEEMS AWFULLY COINCIDENTAL.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Exterior lighting
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting.
From owner reports, verbatim
ELECTRICAL LIGHTING MONITORING SYSTEM STARTED GOING THROUGH SEVERAL ACTIONS INDICATING RIGHT FRONT LOW BEAM WAS OUT, THEN LEFT REAR BRAKE LIGHT WAS OUT, THEN FRONT, RIGHT SIGNAL LIGHT WAS OUT, THEN LEFT REAR SIGNAL LIGHT WAS OUT, THEN LICENSE BRACKET LIGHT WAS OUT. ALL THIS HAPPENED WHILE THE AUTO WAS BEING DRIVEN ON A STRAIGHT SECTION OF HIGHWAY. CARRIED AUTO TO LOCAL SERVICE MAN WHO SAID IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR VOLKSWAGEN TO LOOK AT IT, AS IT INVOLVED MAJOR ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. ALTHOUGH CAR HAD BEEN TURNED OFF, THE BATTERY HAD TO BE RE-CHARGED TO GET THE CAR TO START IN ORDER TO CARRY TO DEALER - 45 MILES AWAY. WAS TOLD BY VW DEALERSHIP THAT IT SOUNDED LIKE THE FUSE BOX HAD MELTED. STATED THEY HAD SEEN SEVERAL INCIDENTS OF THIS. ACTUAL DIAGNOSIS WAS THE FUSE BOX HAD MELTED. I COMMENTED THAT THIS SEEMED STRANGE. I THOUGHT THE PURPOSE OF A FUSE BOX WAS A SAFEGUARD TO PREVENT OVERHEATING AND THAT FUSES WERE SUPPOSE TO BLOW AND STOP THE CURRENT FLOW IF THERE WERE PROBLEMS IN THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Other / unspecified
Reports whose component NHTSA recorded as unknown, or that do not map to one of the categories above.
From owner reports, verbatim
SPRING FAILED ON PASS FRONT STRUT AT HIGHWAY SPEED, SMOOTH ROAD, CAUSING TIRE TO BLOW-OUT AND WHEEL BEARING TO FAIL. FAMILY IN CAR INCLUDING 6 WEEK OLD. BARELY COULD CONTROL CAR TO SAFE STOP. LUCKY. REPAIRS WILL RUN OVER $1500. DEALER INFORMED US THAT MANY VW AND AUDI CARS ARE EXPERIENCING THIS, THAT THEY ARE WORRIED AND HAVE INFORMED VW THEY HAVE A PROBLEM. HE SHOWED ME THREE OTHER FAILED SPRINGS. I KEPT MINE. IT HAS NO SIGNS OF CORROSION PRIOR TO FAILURE - METAL FATIGUE PROBABLY RELATED TO BAD METALLURGY, ACCORDING TO MY DAD WHO'S AN ENGINEER.CLASSIC SPIRAL FRACTURE. HAD TO HAVE CAR TOWED TO VW DEALER 150 MILES FROM HOME - RENT CAR FOR 2 WEEKS UNTIL REPAIRED.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Steering
Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage.
From owner reports, verbatim
TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA SPORTWAGEN. WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO TURN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT "CAUTION DEFECTIVE AIR BAG" WAS DISPLAYED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO PARK THE VEHICLE SAFELY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT ABLE TO BE DRIVEN AND WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE CONTACT CALLED VOLKSWAGEN OF MURRIETA (LOCATED AT 41300 DATE ST, MURRIETA, CA 92562, (951) 249-7072) AND INFORMED THEM OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 76,000.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .