2011 Volkswagen Jetta: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 880 complaints
880
Total Complaints
50,000mi
Median Mileage
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Top Issue
37
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

20,061 25th Percentile
50,000 Median Mileage
80,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
174
ENGINE
90
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
82
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
77
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
64
POWER TRAIN
46
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
39
AIR BAGS
34
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
26
SERVICE BRAKES
24

Severity Assessment

37
Crashes
14
Fires
23
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"18 DAYS AND 400 ODOMETER MILES AFTER PURCHASING MY 2011 JETTA SPORTWAGEN TDI, THE 'GLOWLIGHT' WARNING LIGHT CAME ON WHILE DRIVING. THE FOLLOWING DAY, THE 'GLOWLIGHT' BEGAN TO BLINK, THEN THE 'CATALYTIC' WARNING LIGHT ALSO BEGAN BLINKING. CAR WAS TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP THE SAME DAY. AFTER (REMOTE) DIAGN..."
"THIS IS AN ADDENDUM TO COMPLAINT ODI# 10362604 AND REFERENCES 6 ADDITIONAL "GLOWPLUG" WARNING LIGHT ODI COMPLAINTS FILED FOR THE 2009 MODEL YEAR. (THE 3 REFERENCES IN THE ORIGINAL COMPLAINT WERE ONLY FOR THE 2010 MODEL YEAR.). THIS BRINGS THE TOTAL TO 9 OTHER VOLKSWAGEN JETTA SPORTWAGEN TDI INCIDENT..."
"TWICE THE CAR GOES INTO REVERSE IN ALL SIX GEARS. IT HAPPENS WHEN I TRY TO COME OUT OF A FULL STOP. IT HAPPENS ON FLAT GROUND. THE FIRST TIME IT SEEMED TO FIX ITSELF AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES OF MY FIDDLING, BUT I CAN'T SEE WHAT I DID TO MAKE IT WORK. I HAD STOPPED QUITE A FEW TIMES BETWEEN ONE TIM..."

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