10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
7 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
101,883 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.

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2005 Volkswagen Jetta seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2005 Volkswagen Jetta Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #24

Apr 302021

Jetta

  • miles

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

My daughter was in a serious accident, she hit a guard rail and lost control after spinning and hitting two more guard rails the never deployed. My daughter suffered a close head injury and facial lacerations. The car is a total lose, why didnt her air bags go off ? is so she may have not sustained such injuries.

- Ashland City, TN, USA

problem #23

Feb 242021

Jetta

  • 94,300 miles
Started having electrical problems (random dashboard lights, doors, locks, windows wouldn't work, key fob battery died, etc) then I had to replace the battery. Continued electrical issues with new battery, passenger side window/door wouldn't operate or work at all. Needed master key fob to lock driver's side door but all other doors wouldn't lock with fob. Next, I am having issues with the car not starting, put another battery in it. From there random dashboard lights, dinging with drl and first few minutes of operating vehicle, and airbags lights are on. My mechanic sends me to a mechanic shop that specializes in VW. Mechanic replaces window manager and driver side door harness. Still find issues with airbags so I take my car to the dealership in St peters mo during a snow storm. Hand them all my paperwork, they go in and find that my car is being worked on and see that their are splices, connections butted, so they "fix" the airbags and send me on my way. However, I have a toddler in the backseat and she was able to open the doors while the vehicle was in motion, the windows stopped working, etc. Dealership cannot speak to other mechanic shop's work so they did the recalls needed (airbags) and replaced the harness, apparently again. I have all the receipts from the work, all the parts are in my trunk of my car, another appointment to see what the issue is. Car appears to be stuck in security mode but doesn't properly lock, not able to use child lock, and unable to protect vehicle safely with proper locking mechanism. I don't feel safe if there is an intruder or if my toddler were to try this stunt again, also concerned of the fuel issues I've been having. Replaced my gas cap in hopes I wouldn't see loss of fuel, and the car has a slight oil leak that no mechanic can seem to find. Unable to attach paperwork as the dealership has it at this time.

- O'fallon, MO, USA

problem #22

Jun 172020

Jetta 5-cyl

  • 101,900 miles
Front end collision on highway at approximate 45 mph, possibly slower. Airbags did not deploy. Damage primarily on driver side of vehicle. Flame ignited on front driver side of vehicle under the hood. Fire quickly spread causing total loss of vehicle. Unknown what caused fire.

- Irvine, CA, USA

problem #21

Mar 212020

Jetta

  • 215,690 miles

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

Was in a front end collision going 45mph. Air bags never deployed

- Portland, ME, USA

problem #20

Dec 212019

Jetta

  • miles
When turning on the car, the air bag default button comes on. The interior lights do not come on.

- Clifton, NJ, USA

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problem #19

Jan 012019

Jetta

  • 156,000 miles
2005 VW.Jetta - VIN# [xxx]. the transmission shifts hard & down shift hard when the car has run for a period of time during travel. Also, the faulty air bag light comes on when the car is first started and may show intermittently while driving. The catalytic converter & 02 sensor have been replaced but the codes still show when put on the machine. The ignition key gets stuck in the ignition. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Clio, SC, USA

problem #18

Jun 122018

Jetta

  • 90,000 miles

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

I was driving along yesterday and the warning light for "air bag" came on. I researched this and according to other consumer blogs, a lot of car owners have the same problem. I don't see a Jetta recall - but there should be one!!!

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #17

Dec 272017

Jetta

  • 165,273 miles
My airbag light is on and it never goes off when I first start it it has a warning noise and says airbag fault then the light stays on the car also when driving it sometimes gets stuck in the RPM window between the 2 and the 3 and it wont want to get unstuck you have to take your foot completely off then place back on the pedal and then it jerks away

- Longview, WA, USA

problem #16

Aug 282015

Jetta

  • 141,872 miles
Airbag warning light on dash has been on since last fall 2015. Dealer says car will still pass inspection with light on. I'm wondering if there is a recall on this.

- Strafford, NH, USA

problem #15

Jun 042015

Jetta

  • 94,210 miles
While driving and airbags deployed, cause windshield to break and lose control of car.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #14

Sep 032014

Jetta

  • miles

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

Sometime in 2013, I received a notice from Volkswagen that I needed to bring my 2005 Jetta in to have the driver's seat wiring harness repaired due to a recall. I had no prior problems with the air bags or warning lights. I took the vehicle in and they did the work. Within a months, I got an error message in the display that there was a failure with the air bags. The airbag went off but in 2014 the light came bag again. I was told it was not related to the wiring harness and I would have to pay at a cost of about $700. I did not persue the issue I thought it was wiring issue but it is not. I did not have the airbag light on before they repaired the recall issue. The airbag light on the display is still there.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #13

Jan 012013

Jetta 5-cyl

  • 68,000 miles
Sometime in early to mid 2013, I received a notice from Volkswagen that I needed to bring my 2005 Jetta in to have the driver's seat wiring harness repaired due to a recall. I had no prior problems with the air bags or warning lights. I took the vehicle in and they did the work. Within a few days, I got an error message in the display that there was a failure with the air bags. I took the vehicle back to Volkswagen. I was told that the technician failed to clear something in the computer memory so the failure message had come on. They indicated they cleared the message and the air bag light on the display did go off. A few months later, the air bag error message came on again. I tool the car back to Volkswagen. This time they said it was not related to the wiring harness and I would have to pay to have a new driver's seat side airbag installed, at a cost of about $700. In November 2013 I corresponded with Volkswagen and complained about the issue because I had no problems until they replaced the wiring harness. Volkswagen's response was that, even though I had brought the vehicle in for recalls on "a campaign related to airbag connectors and wiring", it was now the airbag itself that was bad not the connectors or wiring, so they would not repair it. The airbag light on the display is still there.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #12

Dec 142013

Jetta 5-cyl

  • miles
Air bag light on in vehicle indicating an error with the system. Manual says the bag may not deploy or deploy while driving. This is a major safety concern I think the car company should address.

- Trinity , FL, USA

problem #11

Jun 122012

Jetta 5-cyl

  • 75,000 miles
A few weeks ago, I went to start my car and all the lights were flashing and car didn't start. Jumped the battery, got the car running; but ever since my air bag light has stayed on and the driver's window is slow, the auto up/down feature not working, and if the driver door is open, I can't pop trunk or gas lid or roll down any of the windows. My car is no longer under warranty, so it's going to be very expensive to fix the multiple issues.

- Savannah, GA, USA

problem #10

Jun 272011

Jetta

  • 196,000 miles
Front end crash into a stopped vehicle on county highway. Approximately 35 mph to 40 mph. None of the air bags deployed. Vehicle was totaled by insurance provider. Seat belt straining upon body, that took full force of stop no other absorption of impact energy. Vehicle kept energized even at the salvage storage area when keys were inserted no electrically safety relays disengaged the vehicle electrical system.

- Canon, GA, USA

problem #9

Mar 122010

Jetta

  • 69,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact was involved in a crash while traveling approximately 40 mph. The contact was knocked unconscious with the level of impact sustained during the crash. The entire air bag system failed to deploy. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 69,000.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #8

Dec 012009

Jetta

  • 50,000 miles
Air bag problems on 2005 Volkswagen new Jetta. Defective connections under all seats which break from random movement of seating area resulting in a nonfunctional air bag for that passenger. This causes a default code and blocks any air bag from functioning. Only a matter of time before a crash results in injury or death because the air bag did not deploy and protect the passenger. Every visit to dealer to correct this problem costs the customer $300 per seat and fix works for about 1 month. Search the web and you will find 1000's of consumers with the same problem.

- Fleming Island, FL, USA

problem #7

Feb 012010

Jetta

  • 47,600 miles
2005 Volkswagen new Jetta. Airbag warning light on. Dealer diagnosed as needing a new wiring harness in passenger side seat. Necessary to replace wiring harness to insure correct operation of airbags in car.

- Stone Mountain, GA, USA

problem #6

Jun 132009

Jetta

  • 66,650 miles
I was driving down the road at about 30 mph when my car stalled in the middle of the road and my driver side airbags had been deployed. My seatbelt restricted so hard, I could hardly breathe anymore. Nothing had hit my car and I had not gone over any potholes or bumps. VW said that it is not their responsibility to repair my airbags or the damage done to my headliner and driver seat. I no longer have a functioning seatbelt either. This is a huge safety issue for America. Not only did the airbags deploy with no accident, I no longer feel safe driving in my own vehicle. What if I get into an accident tonight without the proper protection a car is guaranteed to have" if I was killed or my kids were killed, would VW do something then"

- Everett, WA, USA

problem #5

Feb 242009

Jetta

  • 625,000 miles
My daughter hit the back of a Volvo SUV with her 2005 VW Jetta and not 1 air bag deployed leaving her in the hospital for a month's stay with major brain trauma and $100,000 + dollars in medical bills instead of a minor trip to the emergency room for air bag deployment. Her entire front end is in the windshield. (we have photos).because she hit the Volvo at the wrong angle, was the determined reasoning as to why the air bags didn't deploy. Are you kidding me. Let's take a closer look into VW's advertisements for safety. My daughter was fooled by this nonsense and the rest of the country is being fooled also. I will pursue this for correction for as long as need be.let's hope the board gets on board with this unsafe issue! "airbags only deploy if you hit the front end at a certain angle" again< are you kidding me" I'm sure john.Q. public will be very interested to see these pix online.

- Youngsville, LA, USA

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