2012 Volkswagen Jetta
Complaints about this year name stuck ignition far more often than the other years of this generation — 15% of them, about 3× the usual rate of 5.1%.
Generation 2 of the Volkswagen Jetta, which began in 2011 and ran to 2018. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 526 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 190 |
| Involving a crash | 24 |
| Involving a fire | 7 |
| Recalls | 8 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 4/5 |
| EPA combined | 26.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- tdi — 11.2% of this year's complaints, against 3.7% across the other years of this generation (3×). Owners wrote it as: tdi, car car, back dealership.
- position — 7.2% of this year's complaints, against 2.7% across the other years of this generation (2.7×).
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- tdi — 10% of complaints, 4× usual
- turning — 12% of complaints, 3× usual
- key gets — 11% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
KEY GETS STUCK IN IGNITION WHEN TURNING OFF ENGINE. CAR IN PARK, KEY WILL NOT TURN OFF CAR OR REMOVE FROM IGNITION.
Cannot turn engine off. Key gets stuck in ignition when turning off the engine. Dealer confirmed it's an on-going and common issue. Replacement parts also fail. Only way to turn car off was to pull the fuel pump fuse.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V679000 UNKNOWN OR OTHER
- 19V615000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 14E007000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
- 15V483000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 14V656000 SUSPENSION Fixed free of charge.
- 11V490000 FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL Fixed free of charge.
- 11E036000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
- 20E064000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Volkswagen Jetta was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta? What happened to yours?
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