2009 Volkswagen Jetta: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 1269 complaints
1269
Total Complaints
66,655mi
Median Mileage
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
Top Issue
53
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

35,000 25th Percentile
66,655 Median Mileage
102,150 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
195
SERVICE BRAKES
164
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
103
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
102
ENGINE
94
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
93
POWER TRAIN
68
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
64
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
39
AIR BAGS
34

Severity Assessment

53
Crashes
10
Fires
26
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"VEHICLE'S MOTOR ENGINE'S FAN WOULD NOT STOP RUNNING EVEN AFTER VEHICLE WAS SHUT OFF CAUSING THE BATTERY TO RUN OUT. *TR"
"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 ..."
"WE WERE HEADING UP HILL WHEN SUDDENLY TRAFFIC CAME TO A CRAWL AFTER A FEW MINUTES WE STARTED TO SMELL SOMETHING LIKE BURNT BRAKE PADS, WE FIGURED IT WAS COMING FROM THE VEHICLES HEADING DOWN HILL BRAKING FRICTION, WE DID NOTHING OF IT UNTIL WE PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND LIFT OPEN THE HOOD T..."

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