"How reliable is the 1998 Volkswagen Jetta?"

"Based on 253 NHTSA complaints, the 1998 Volkswagen Jetta has a median complaint mileage of 78000 miles. The most common issue is VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS."

"What are common problems with the 1998 Volkswagen Jetta?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1998 Volkswagen Jetta is VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS, accounting for a significant portion of the 253 total complaints filed."

1998 Volkswagen Jetta: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 253 complaints

253

Total Complaints

78,000mi

Median Mileage

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

18,762 25th Percentile

78,000 Median Mileage

100,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

TIRES

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED, INDICATING MALFUNCTION WITHIN THE SYSTEM, CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK"

"SUNROOF SHATTERED WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY WITH THE SUNROOF OPEN."

"SECURITY REMOTE,DOOR LOCKS, AND PANIC BUTTON FAILED."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28