2009 VW Jetta sportwagen tdi intermittent hot rear brake discs. Effects mpg by minus 10% plus. Something is causing rear brakes to get hot(rear brake bias). Front brakes are always cool. Could cause an accident in ice and snow possible fire. Sometimes unable to back up!!! like brakes are locked up! it has a mind of its own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! VW of America is not interested ! nor can the dealer solve the problem. " the vehicle meets specifications" this has been written up in VW forums and blogs. We are not the only ones with this problem. How often do you find someone that checks the temp. Of rear and front brake discs? I did because in January of 2009 the rear brakes were so hot that it smelled up my garage. Could have caused a fire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Port Ludlow , WA, USA

Significant rear brake wear on 2009 VW Jetta. My rr brake wore down to metal. Rl brake was at 60% remaining, and front brakes were almost perfect. VW calls this type of wear "normal." Anybody who has ever driven a car or worked on brakes knows that is a laughable assertion. There is nothing normal about one set of pads completely failing while all others are well within specs. Not only is this annoying, it is dangerous. The car is obviously applying brake pressure to one wheel more than the other three. When this wheels brakes fail, how is the car expected to stop? I have researched this online and found many other VW owners experience the same problem with the same response from VW, which is to blame it on the consumer's driving. In some instances, the brakes worn to metal as early as 14,000 miles, and often fail again in as little as 7 months after replacing.

- Tyler, TX, USA

2009 Volkswagen tdi Jetta 10,000 miles. Brought car into dealer and pointed out that I believe something is wrong with esp system. Both back rotors are hot enough to burn you after driving short distances with very little breaking. Dealer determine driver side caliper was bad. They are replacing driver side caliber. Says it was dragging and causing esp system to pulse. Wife has the same problem on her 2009 tdi Jetta which has 12000 miles on it. Both cars have exhibited this problem have been occurring since new. It is causing premature brake pad and rotor wear to rear. Car is still in shop after a week waiting on parts.

- New Braunfels, TX, USA

This complaint is for a 2009 VW Jetta tdi. On a recent road trip I noticed a burning odor coming from my drivers side rear. I stopped my vehicle to inspect the wheels and sure enough only the drivers side rear wheel, and rotor was hot enough to instantly fry a egg. This wheel also had a burning smell coming from it (no smoke was observed). The next morning I went to a V.w. dealer located in allentown to have my brakes inspected. The dealer reported that "road tested the car and checked all brakes and they are all wearing evenly no problem found at this time." On my drive home while the drivers side was a little warmer then the other wheels, the burning problem did not reoccur.

- Long Beach, NY, USA

2009 VW Jetta tdi. At 20,000 miles and change my local dealer advised me I needed to replace the rear brakes. From what I have read this is common with Jetta's. the rear brakes are a safety issue. The local dealers service advisor advised me that this was normal for a Jetta.

- Davie, FL, USA

I drive a 2009 VW Jetta sedan 2.5 S, which only has 4,000 miles. Two days ago, while driving the car all of a sudden it stopped in the middle of a highway. It lost electric power and could not move further. I thought it was because lack of gas, but realized it was not the case because the tank was full. The car dashboard signaled that the battery had a problem -its indicator was turned on. And that was when I realized that there was no power and the battery wasn't working. So, after moving the car to the side of the highway, I waited and tried again after two minutes and, fortunately, the ignition started. The problem was "fixed, " at least for the time being. Also, a few minutes later the brakes stopped functioning. The pedal turned really hard and I couldn't push it all the way to the bottom. So the next day I took it to the dealership. They said they have found the brakes problem (a brake pump, or something like that, needed to be replaced). They still have to check the battery problem. My main concern is that if both problems comeback again me, and my family, may be in a very dangerous situation. It should be investigated. And I just want to point out again that this is a vehicle that I have driven for only six months.

- Bronx, NY, USA