Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 15 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
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.
Vehicle’s electrical system shuts off as I am driving. This happened at night , almost caused a crash.
The car stalls in traffic and is slow to accelerate. The service department attributes the cause from a problem with a contaminated fuel system. However, the car has had a series of problems with the electrical system where I was told the "radio is draining the battery". The car would be parked without the keys in the ignition and it failed to start and the cause being the radio draining the battery. The issue is both electrical and diesel engine related.
At first we had to replace the intake manifold and then a month later we had to replace the catalytic converter and now it’s in the shop having the DLF filter , fuel pump , & fuel lines . All dealing with the diesel exhaust and fuel distribution. It’s leaking diesel fuel with strong odor of diesel to the point it makes you feel sick. The Volkswagen dealership never informed me of any recalls on my vehicle. The dealership is Flow Volkswagen Greensboro NC
STATIONARY VEHICLE LEFT STRANDED. ENGINE WASS IMMOBILIZED KEY NOT RECOGNIZED
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA SPORTWAGEN. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS ACTIVATED WITHOUT WARNING AND THE VEHICLE INTERMITTENTLY STALLED. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THAT THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED THE SAME FAILURE AS LISTED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 11V196000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 120,000.
I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND I SMELLED BURNING PLASTIC. I REACHED BEHIND MY BACK AND BURNED MY FINGER. I PULLED OFF AND LOOKED AND SAW A HOLD AND MELTED SEAT. THE BACK OF MY COAT WAS MELTED AS WELL. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO A VW DEALER TO BE INSPECTED AND IT WAS CAUSED BY A WIRE SHORTING OUT. THERE IS A CASE NOW OPEN FOR ME WITH VW. WAITING TO HEAR IF THEY WILL PAY TO FIX THE SEAT.
THE FUSE BOX MELTED AND CAUSED ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTIONS. THIS SEEMS LIKE A SAFETY ISSUE. APPARENTLY THIS HAS HAPPENED FREQUENTLY AND OTHER MODELS (TIGUAN) HAVE BEEN RECALLED DUE TO THE FAILURE OF THE SAME PART NUMBER.
CAR RADIO STOPPED FUNCTIONING WITHOUT ANY NOTICEABLE CAUSE. SCREEN COMPLETELY BLANK, DOES NOT RESPOND TO BUTTONS OR OTHER INPUT.
RECENTLY MY 2011 JETTA SPORTWAGEN'S EXTERIOR LIGHT DASHBOARD INDICATOR CAME ON. UPON INVESTIGATION I FOUND THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE EXTERIOR FRONT AND REAR LIGHTS WERE NOT WORKING. INTERMITTENTLY OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS THEY WOULD WORK AND THEN FAIL AGAIN WITHOUT ANY REASON. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD I HAD ONE BULB OUT AND THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. AND THAT THEY HAD NEVER EVER HEARD OF THIS ISSUE IN ANY VOLKSWAGEN. THE SAME DAY THE LIGHTS FAILED AGAIN. I INVESTIGATED THIS TIME MYSELF AND FOUND MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE F16 FUSE. MY F16 FUSE WAS VISIBLY BURNT AND THE FUSE BOX WAS MELTED AT THE F16 SPOT. A NEW FUSE HAS TEMPORARILY FIXED THE PROBLEM, BUT I AM CONCERNED ABOUT A SAFETY ISSUE IF THIS IS MELTING THE FUSE BOX AND MY LIGHTS COULD FAIL AT A CRITICAL TIME.
WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY SEVERAL MESSAGES STARTED TO APPEAR IN REFERENCE TO FAILED LIGHTS. I LOST SIGNAL LIGHTS, HEADLIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHTS. REPLACING THE LIGHTS DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. AT THE DEALER THEY TOLD ME THAT THE FUSE BOX WAS BURNED OUT AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME WHILE DRIVING THE CAR ON 3/24/2017.
ON THIS VEHICLE, FUSE (F16 PLUG-IN POSITION) OVERHEATED AND DAMAGED THE FUSE BOX, CAUSING A PARTIAL LOSS OF EXTERIOR VEHICLE LIGHTING. THIS COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH CAUSING INJURY AND/OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY. VW ISSUED 97AM ACTION ALERT FOR EARLIER YEAR SAME MODELS, BUT NOT THIS AND LATER YEAR MODELS.
RIGHT FRONT HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY (HIGH & LOW BEAM, TURN SIGNAL, DRL), RIGHT REAR TAILLIGHT, THIRD BRAKE LIGHT, LICENSE PLATE LIGHT AND LEFT REAR TURN SIGNAL ALL STOPPED WORKING AT THE SAME TIME. DASH INFORMATION CENTER REPORTED ALL OF THESE LIGHTS NEED TO BE CHECKED. AFTER 1.5 HOURS OF TROUBLESHOOTING WITH A FLUKE MULTI-METER, I FOUND A POST ON TDI FORUMS REFERENCING CAMPAIGN 97AM TO CHECK THE FUSE PANEL UNDER THE HOOD, POSITION F16, 30AMP FUSE FOR MELTING. I CHECKED THIS FUSE AND THE FUSE PANEL AND FUSE IS MELTED. I CONTACTED THE VW DEALERSHIP THAT VERIFIED THERE IS NO RECALL ON THIS ISSUE PERTAINING TO MY VIN. I THEN CONTACTED VW CUSTOMER CARE WHO ALSO SAID THERE IS NO RECALL OR SAFETY ISSUE AND THEY WILL NOT CORRECT IT BASED ON NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE ISSUE ON THE 2009 - 2012 JETTA SPORTWAGENS. VW ADVISED ME TO TAKE THE CAR TO THE VW DEALERSHIP FOR FURTHER DIAGNOSIS BUT ADVISED I WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CHARGES TO FIX THE CAR.
RADIO (INCLUDING BLUETOOTH) SUDDENLY WENT OUT AT 39K MILES. DEALER DIAGNOSIS WAS THAT RADIO FAILED.
MY LIGHTS BEGAN FAILING WITHOUT WARNING. FRONT HEADLIGHT, REAR TAIL LIGHT, LICENSE PLATE LIGHT, DIRECTIONAL SIGNALS, BACK UP LIGHTS. IN TOTAL, 7 LIGHTS FAILED WITHIN MINUTES. VEHICLE WAS TURNED ON AND MOVING ON A CITY STREET. WARNING LIGHTS INSIDE THE VEHICLE TOLD ME THAT LIGHTS FAILED WHEN I USED THEM (SIGNALS, BRAKES, HEADLIGHTS, ETC). DROVE DIRECTLY TO DEALERSHIP TO REPAIR/REPORT PROBLEM. RESEARCH TOLD ME THAT THIS WAS A COMMON ISSUE AND A NHTSA RECALL ON 2009 AND 2010 MODELS. OUR 2011 DID NOT HAVE A RECALL ON IT, BUT ISSUE WAS IDENTICAL. CONTACTED VW CUSTOMER SERVICE. CASE #160222423. THEY AGREED TO PAY 75%.
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.
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