2.8

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
51,000 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

1997 Volkswagen Jetta engine problems

engine problem

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1997 Volkswagen Jetta Owner Comments

problem #2

Oct 242004

Jetta

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

After a casual Sunday afternoon drive ( in my 1997 Volkswagen Jetta ) at moderate speeds I parked the car for about 30 minutes while I ate lunch. I then started the car, pulled out of the parking lot, and put the blinker on to make a right hand turn. I stopped at a light, and while the car was in drive and the brake was on, the car lurched forward with sudden acceleration. I thought I was imaging it, but then immediately the car began racing wildly (like it was going 80mph). Luckily I had my foot firmly on the brake which prevented me from lurching forward into the oncoming highway traffic passing in front of me. I tried to put the car in neutral, but nothing I did stopped the car from racing. Finally, in a panic, I turned off the engine with the key, and put my blinkers on while I recovered from the shock of what had just happened. When the light turned green I started up the car and with fear in my heart pulled forward. The car acted normally for the remainder of my trip home. I plan to have the car towed to my mechanic tomorrow to investigate the problem. Still shaking. Gregory ryan.

- Wall, NJ, USA

problem #1

Feb 142004

Jetta 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 102,000 miles
For several years the cruise has had intermittent engagement. (when the set button is pressed, the cruise does not engage). We took the vehicle to the VW dealer and they said the cruise module was bad. We did not have $380 to pay for cruise, so we elected to not repair. But one time, without warning, the cruise engaged and pulled the gas pedal down, almost to the floor. My wife was driving the vehicle with my son in the car and she said she is positive did not press any button on the cruise. She was driving at highway speed and the pedal just started pulling down. She shifted into neutral and the engine revved way up. When she pulled to the side and tried shutting the cruise button to off, and even shutting the car off it stayed stuck. After several minutes it unstuck. I am concerned that my car and others may engage the cruise without warning and cause an accident.

- Albert Lea, MN, USA

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