2022 Volkswagen Jetta Driver assistance Problems

My 2022 Volkswagen Jetta (purchased new) has a recurring Travel Assist/Adaptive Cruise Control safety malfunction that has existed since before approximately 24,000 miles. While driving with Adaptive Cruise Control or Travel Assist engaged, the vehicle repeatedly warns me to "Take Control of the Vehicle" or indicates my hands are not on the steering wheel even though both hands are firmly on the wheel. I often have to immediately tighten my grip to prevent the system from escalating. On numerous occasions, the vehicle has also applied the brakes unexpectedly at highway speeds when there was no apparent hazard in front of the vehicle. These unexpected braking events create a serious safety concern, especially in traffic. I drive between [XXX] and [XXX] approximately twice each month. During a typical one-way trip, the steering wheel recognition warnings may occur a dozen or more times while using Travel Assist or Adaptive Cruise Control. Unexpected braking has occurred repeatedly over the course of ownership. The vehicle has been taken to an authorized Volkswagen dealer multiple times for this same issue. Volkswagen has replaced the steering wheel multiple times, updated software, opened a Technical Assistance Center (TAC) case, and at least one technician duplicated the concern during a test drive. Despite these repeated repair attempts, the problem continues. I am reporting this because I believe the recurring Travel Assist failures and unexpected braking present an ongoing motor vehicle safety defect. Below it asks for the approximate date the incident occurred. It started approximately in XXX but it happens all of the time still. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11749181

Incident

Aug 1, 2024

1. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The vehicle experienced a failure related to the steering wheel assembly that caused the "Travel Assist Not Currently Available" warning to appear while driving. The issue affected the operation of the vehicle's driver assistance systems, including Adaptive Cruise Control and Travel Assist functions. An authorized Volkswagen dealership diagnosed the vehicle and confirmed that the steering wheel assembly requires replacement. The vehicle is currently available for inspection. 2. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The failure caused the vehicle's driver assistance and safety systems to become unavailable while the vehicle was being operated on public roadways. The unexpected loss of Adaptive Cruise Control and Travel Assist functionality could increase driver workload and create a potential safety risk, particularly during highway driving where these systems are designed to assist with vehicle control and spacing from other traffic. 3. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes. An authorized Volkswagen dealership inspected the vehicle, retrieved diagnostic fault codes, and confirmed that the steering wheel assembly is defective and requires replacement. 4. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? The vehicle has been inspected by an authorized Volkswagen dealership. The dealership diagnosed the fault and determined that the steering wheel assembly requires replacement. The dealership has submitted a goodwill assistance request to Volkswagen because the issue first occurred before the vehicle exceeded the warranty mileage limit. 5. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? The vehicle displayed a "Travel Assist Not Currently Available" war

NHTSA ID

11743357

Incident

May 29, 2026

Travel assist unavailable warning comes on several time a minute with a visual indicator and loud chime. Very distracting while driving. Known issue to VW

NHTSA ID

11742529

Incident

Jun 2, 2026

The steering wheel touch sensors has malfunctioned and whenever the steering wheel is grabbed from the bottom half, the lake keeping assist errors out and the car throws a "travel assist unavailble" in the guage cluster. My steering wheel was replaced under warranty less than a year ago for this issue, it seems to have returned (unfortunately my car is out of warranty now). VW seems to be aware that this is a wide-spread issue since they have released an internal TSB for it, but refuse to issue a warranty extension for the same.

NHTSA ID

11740896

Incident

May 28, 2026

I took this car in a year ago and they replaced the steering wheel because I kept getting a "travel assist" error. Not only is this problem back but has a very load chime every other min that is very distracting while driving. I have taken the car back to the dealer and they state they dont see the problem. yet it seems many VW owners are having this issue.

NHTSA ID

11730829

Incident

Apr 13, 2026

The “travel assist currently not available” warning keeps coming on over and over through a drive cycle. The dealer is telling me that the steering wheel needs to replaced. Since the car is out of the warranty period, they advised that the cost will be $999.

NHTSA ID

11697051

Incident

Apr 16, 2024

Travel Assist is disabled which includes Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist. The warning lights flash on and off, sometimes multiple times a second, sounding a loud beeping each time. It is triggered at engine start and persists through all speeds. I have experienced it 0-70 mph. The flashing lights and associated rapid beeping indicating the failure is extremely distracting while driving. Warning lights and warning sounds are designed to alert the driver to a potential safety issue so ignoring the lights and sounds is dangerous in the event it is a different caution/warning. However, also not ignoring it is dangerous because of the frequency of the warnings which causes the driver to look away from the road. After speaking with the maintenance department at my VW dealership, they indicated that this is a widely known problem that is remedied only with the replacement of the steering wheel. There are several other sensors that are triggered by the same issue I was told by the maintenance department. They are uncertain at this time if it impacts the airbag system which is another potential safety concern. The steering wheel can only be ordered after inspection by the maintenance department and there is shortage and/or back order of the part to fix the problem.

NHTSA ID

11685589

Incident

Sep 6, 2025

Had the steering wheel replaced once for a sensor at around 38,000 miles and the issue now popped up again around 80,000 and now it’s 90,000 still there

NHTSA ID

11671786

Incident

Apr 24, 2025

It has been about over 3 weeks that my travel assist alarm has been going off without any notice.

NHTSA ID

11612746

Incident

Aug 12, 2024

The car just stated saying “drive assist not available” it beeps every 5 minutes. Dealer says might need to change steering wheel which is in back order. It’s very annoying because it makes a very loud sound while driving. I researched and seems lots of owners are having the same issue.

NHTSA ID

11598605

Incident

Jul 3, 2024

This vehicle has a "digital cockpit" without traditional analog gauges. It completely shut down on me while driving on the freeway, leaving me without a speedometer, and a red caution "do not drive" warning indicator. I have a video of this incident captured by my partner that I can share, as well as a static image, which I attach therein. Prior to this incident, it repeatedly shut down while driving, but in those cases would come back up in 5 to 10 seconds. This may have been a computer "crash" as it came back up with 0 on the trip odometers. The dealer seemingly fixed this problem with a reset process described in a TSB. In the most recent incident, the display never came back online, and I was unable to safely continue driving. There are also random issues with this display locking into "night" mode during the day, usually after backing out of a dark garage or going through a tunnel, which leaves the display impossible to read in bright sun. The only fix when this happens is to pull over, turn the car off, wait 5 minutes, and resume driving.

NHTSA ID

11566906

Incident

Jan 20, 2024

Vehicle problems experienced on 7/22/23. Traveling on Route 93 north to exit 17 just north of Concord, NH at 8:00pm. Used cruse control for most of trip, set to 60mph and 65 mph. The distance feature was working, what a PITA it is. Some where around Concord, NH a warning message in orange was displayed, “Engine speed max 4000” in center of display, an orange triangle with an “!” marked appeared just below the temperature gauge on left side of display, a yellow car with “!” on side appeared just below the estimated mileage remaining – it switched between that car and “EPC” cruse control was no longer available Stopped, checked the engine for over heating however it did not seem tooo hot, fans were not running (engine was off) Started again, lights were OFF. Rest of trip was on local roads so never tried cruse control. Left to return home around 2:00pm all warning lights OFF. Some where around Manchester, NH same thing happened plus orange picture of engine on right was illuminated, Cruse control would not maintain speed and then said unavailable. On hills vehicle would not move along with traffic even when foot was put to the floor. Drove directly to Colonial VW, did not shut vehicle OFF however nobody was available to read the computer codes. Scheduled appointment for Friday Driving home it was almost impossible to merge onto Route 93 even with accelerator pushed to floor. What ever the problem with your programming is the major fact that the vehicle is not able to keep up or merge with traffic even on local streets it a Major Hazard. VW may be concerned with saving their engine – I’m Concerned for my LIFE

NHTSA ID

11533858

Incident

Jul 22, 2023

My car doesn’t even have 15,000 miles on it and it started driving weird almost like the engine was stalling and the EPC light came on

NHTSA ID

11527094

Incident

Jun 14, 2023

The forward collision system does not work. When the system is activated it does not work. I bought the car new in April 2022.I activate the system all the time while driving. To this day the system has never warned me [NO DASH LIGHT OR AUDIBLE SOUND WARNING ME TO BRAKE]

NHTSA ID

11489651

Incident

May 6, 2022