10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
109,300 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2004 Volkswagen Jetta:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #10

Mar 102019

Jetta

  • 141,000 miles
My car is currently staged at my home it's still drivable but I don't know gor how long! I recently bought this car from a dealer in California about 3 months ago, now all of a sudden I'm having issues with my transmission I caught the issue fast and took it to a multistate transmission shop and they told me they would have to rebuild my transmission with the amount of money I already spent on fixing up this car I am extremely upset, I cannot afford such a insane amount everything with the car besides that is perfect though.

- Lansing, IN, USA

problem #9

Sep 252018

Jetta

  • 168,000 miles
Vehicle under multiple occasions has stalled out at various speeds, locations, and driving styles/roads at or under a quarter of a tank

- Murrieta, CA, USA

problem #8

Mar 032018

Jetta

  • 115,000 miles
While driving down road early in morning approx 2 miles from house I just left from my 2004 Jetta shuts down total loss of all power I pulled car over in a church parking lot I smelled smoke and could see smoke coming from fire wall I raised hood and pulled battery cable off I could see smpoke filling inside of my car walked around to driver door to get my phone and I seen fuse box on fire.another vehicle stopped to help me and he approached my car and then called police, full flames were coming from my car within 5 min so I stood back and watched my car burn.fire dept showed up and put fire out my car is a total loss. Ive had issues with alternator, fuel pump, air bag light, headlights are really dim even on bright.nothing but issues with this car since I got it. 115.000 miles only on this car.so many isues I can see why its low milage

- Ellijay, GA, USA

problem #7

Aug 052015

Jetta

  • 156,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled, back fired, and it was leaking coolant under the water pump. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Prior to this failure that the vehicle had experienced leaking. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 14E007000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 156,000.

- Saugus, MA, USA

problem #6

Feb 112016

Jetta

  • 70,000 miles
VW ignition coils are failed, causing the spark plug not to fire and cutting power to the engine. The technician was unable to find the issue about 4 hours and finally found the problem. The car was working fine one day and while at the bank with my boys in the back the car shut off. I needed to get out and push the car into the parking lot to get out of the way.

- Alliance, OH, USA

problem #5

Apr 292013

Jetta

  • 100,000 miles
I purchased my car back in October 2013. When I purchased my car, the mechanic said that he replaced the ABS system. The lights were not on when I bought it. A few months later, out of the blue in about April 2014, I was turning my car on and the engine light, the ABS light and the brake light all came on momentarily after turning my engine on as I was still in park. My car had close to 100,000 miles on it. The problem went away and shortly came back a week later. Ever since, it has been on. Every once in a while, all of the lights would go off. Luckily the lights all went off for a few days around my inspection time for the 2014 year and my car passed. Not even three days later they all came back on. This time October 2015 inspection is coming up and my lights are all on. Since the engine light is on, I cannot pass inspection. The code reader says it is a miscommunication error, or a U0121 error. I have done a lot of investigation and cleaning up the module and the contacts, cleared the codes, and my problem is still there.

- Robesonia,, PA, USA

problem #4

Aug 022013

Jetta

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta. While driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle jerked, the epc warning indicator illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the mass air flow system failed. The dealer previously replaced the mass air flow system due to the check engine indicator illuminating, but the failure persisted. The technician stated that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

- Bulington , NC, USA

problem #3

Mar 032014

Jetta

  • 119,000 miles
VW Corp rejected catalytic converter replacement when we identified that the flex pipe was leaking/loud and was over the mileage warranty (VW extended the part warranty to 10yrs or 120K miles) our car had 120,110 miles. There was no local VW dealership to id repairs near where I was working. The part did failed before the 120K miles; and has been leaking or damaged for sometime. Since it warmed up and I had the windows down I was able to hear the leak. This part was replaced under warranty previously and was a recall item on this model and year. Is there a "range" on mileage that the VW is required to take into account for travel to nearest VW dealer location for repairs or written within the current emissions warranty law??

- Hoffman Estates, IL, USA

problem #2

Apr 012008

Jetta

  • 26,000 miles
We are the original owners of a 2004 Jetta with 2.0 engine with 98K as of Apr 2013. Without any warning or clues from VW dealer or auto shop, the car would not start; car would turn over the engine but no fuel pressure. Depending on season (winter) and location (middle of no where) this can cause a hazard for the driver and passenger. The car would start after leaving it alone for 2-3 hrs and try restarting. The warning seems to be when the interior light does not come on which means the switch is acting up; the fuel system is at a low pressure will cause a no start. Under VW new car and independent shops can not duplicate; many on-line owners has have pointed the finger at a door latch/priming circuit board that controls the fuel pump prime when the driver door is opened. Good pics on the circuit board failed/cracked solder joint. This door latch priming is used on many VW group cars; we own a cayenne and I can hear the priming. Please consider a recall of this VW part or telling VW to stop placing the fuel pump priming circuit in the driver door latch. The ignition key seem to be what other car makers use.

- Hoffman Estates, IL, USA

problem #1

Apr 302012

Jetta 4-cyl Diesel

  • 118,000 miles
2004 VW Jetta gls tdi operating at 75mph on interstate on cruise control when the engine shutoff completely. The vehicle still had electrical power and engine would crank but would not start. I rolled the vehicle off to the side of the road and attempted to re-start the engine and it finally cranked and drove vehicle approximately 500 miles before experiencing similar issue. Since that time vehicle has had same issue over 10 times. Dealer has inspected vehicle three times and has not discovered issue.

- Clarksville, TN, USA