2021 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA Recalls, Complaints & Safety

I took my car into dealer at 20,000 miles. They told me rear brake pads and rotors needed to be replaced. At that time, they were replaced under warranty. I took my car into dealer at 34,000 miles for regular service and was told rear brake pads and rotors needed to be replaced. Pads were at 3%, service associate warned me about driving on the highway. I took my car to another location and mechanic for a second opinion and was told "rear brake pads approx. 2mm remaining friction material, and brake rotors are overheated & scored. Not knowing that my rear brakes had worn down to this level in 14,000 miles put myself and other drivers at risk. I had no warning nor did I experience any symptoms in my brakes until I took it in for regular service.

While driving home from work last night, I heard a loud noise that sounded like a gun going off right in the passenger compartment of my Jetta. A lot of wind noise followed. I thought initially that a tire might have blown out, but it was the car’s sunroof that had spontaneously and inexplicably exploded. There was no one close to me on the road, so I don’t believe a foreign object struck the roof. I was able to drive the car home, but the sunroof is demolished.

The rear brake pads on my 2021 Volkswagen Jetta have worn out prematurely twice by 20,000 miles. The first replacement occurred at only 8,006 miles in April 2023. At that time, Volkswagen acknowledged the problem and provided “goodwill” coverage of 50% since my vehicle was only one month outside of the Rear Brake Pad Limited Warranty Extension. Now at approximately 20,846 miles in September 2025, the rear pads have worn out again and required replacement. Volkswagen has refused to provide any assistance this time. Normally, front brake pads wear faster than the rear. In this case, the rear pads are failing far earlier than expected, which creates a potential safety issue since brake performance is being compromised at very low mileage. Volkswagen has already acknowledged this defect by issuing the warranty extension for 2020–2023 Jettas, but coverage expired by time, not mileage, leaving owners like me with repeated failures and no support. When I raised the issue with my dealership, they suggested that the premature wear is due to the emergency brake always being engaged when the car is parked. This explanation does not make sense, since pads do not normally wear when the car is stationary. The fact that VW created a warranty extension for this exact problem shows this is a design defect, not a misuse issue. This issue has been confirmed by a Volkswagen dealer and independent service centers, and is well-documented among other owners. If the pads continue to wear this quickly, it poses a recurring safety risk and results in abnormally high repair costs for a critical safety component. I am reporting this so NHTSA is aware that the defect continues to affect owners even beyond the limited warranty extension and goodwill offers, and that a long-term solution is needed.

On steep hills the car automatically holds the brake for a predetermined amount of time, I believe 2.5 to 3 sec. I have a manual transmission car and when its time to move the brake assist won't release no matter what until the time interval is satisfied. The problem this creates is a stall issue. Its hard to coordinate when to depress the clutch and give gas. Too early and you lead to premature clutch wear or clutch overheating. Too late and the car stalls and you have to restart it. This is very because now you have to restart the car and can cause an accident.

Shifting vehicle into reverse, turns of back up camera, then shifting into drive camera remains on for a set period of time, if shifted back into reverse as camera turns off, camera will not come back on. Android Auto was being used.

Starting in 2022 at 16,000 miles this vehicle has been to dealership 8 times for check engine light related to the EVAP. Multiple repairs have been done and still same issue. VW does not seem interested in properly addressing this problem.

The car is at the dealer service department for the fifth time for EVAP system faults.

Driver door lock actuator motier lock sticking not opening from outside have to open from inside handle after unlocking with the remote

Door stopped opening from handle from outside after unlocking with remote only opens from inside door handle

Under 20,000 miles, but over 1 year old (leased new february 12, 2021). VW dealership and secondary party reported rear brake pads and rotors were worn down to 1mm and that the car was unsafe to drive. This cost $500 to repair and I had to pay it for a car that was just over 1 year old. The dealership wanted to charge double to replace. The brakes are only warrantied for 1 year, and because most don't hit 20k miles for a year, they know that the parts are unsafe and will wear down at 20,000 miles (as reported by many many others for the 2021 VW Jetta). I have receipts of inspection and for part replacement by Brakes Plus. There were NO warnings, just the tires squeaking when the weather got cold in December. Also, ABS issues - car stalled twice in the middle of a busy street in the first 6 months of use.

Since January of 2024, I been having issues with this vehicle. Check engine light came on after 3 day of purchase I was told it needs to be reset. From there vehicle emissions valve failed, N80 valve, electronic module and now fuel injection

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed with adaptive cruise control on, the vehicle inadvertently applied the brakes completely bringing the vehicle to a complete stop in the middle of the roadway, after which the vehicle then shifted into the parked position. The contact also stated, that later while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle suddenly steered itself to the left towards oncoming traffic before the contact was able to regain control of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact was informed that the manufacturer was aware of possible issues with AI driving. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was not available.

I had 10 miles to empty so I stopped at the gas station and I pulled the lever to open the door to the tank and it gave an error message saying it couldn’t refuel and the door wouldn’t open. I tried forever to get the door opened and it wouldn’t open. I made it home and tried the next day at a gas station near my house and it did the same thing. Luckily I was able to make it back home. We were finally able to get it to open and I was able to fill the tank up. When it was time to put gas in again, the same thing happened. I was stuck at home with a [XXX]. If I had an emergency, I couldn’t go anywhere because I was unable to put gas in the car. I called VW to see if there was a recall because it’s a safety issue and she told me that there wasn’t a recall and there’s also no troubleshooting so she was sorry there was nothing they could do. This is a known issue to the VW dealership so I know this is known to VW headquarters. The lack of help is concerning. I’m scared I’m going to get stranded on the highway and we’re unable to go on a trip or anything because of this. My husband has a 2023 Jetta and it’s doing the same thing. I called the dealership to quote me a price to fix it, but they refuse to quote me anything because they said they have to look at it first which will cost me $100 just for them to look at it. I can’t get it fixed without a ballpark estimate. Something needs to be done!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Backup camera has been having problems with blacking out or not working upon activation. I informed the service advisor who did not investigate the problem and said "VW should be coming out with something about it because there has been a lot of issues with them." I have no received anything regarding this officially from VW.

Went in for service appointment at 27000 miles. I was told rear brake pads needed replacing. Upon questioning this as I have NEVER had to replace a set of brake pads with such little miles, and I am not a hard braker, the service advisor stated that VW extended to warranty for the brake pads to 2 years, 24,000 miles. VW claims to have lower cost maintance than other car brands. They also never sent me a notice on this brake issue, and they are supposed to perform a multi-point inspection with each service appointment, which they failed to do at my prior service appointment or else this issue would have been caught and remedied. The brakes have been working as normal, making no noise. I would have not known they were worn down to 1mm like the service advisor told me until it resulted in catastrophic failure leading to a crash and possibly death.

The vehicle does not allow me to fill the fuel tank without the gas pump constantly cutting off within a few seconds of actuating the handle. This forces me to repeatedly actuate the handle until I can get a reasonable amount of fuel into the tank. Since the cut-off sensing is not working the fuel sometimes spills out of the filler neck creating an unsafe situation. The dealer has informed me the fuel tank needs to be replaced and there is no recall on the vehicle that covers this issue. I'm over the 50,000 mile warranty so that won't cover it either. The fuel tank has been on backorder for two months (last I heard I am eighth in line) so it seems to the tank is defective. There is no warning lamp in the dash. It seems to me the manufacturer should cover this.

When driving the vehicle, the steering wheel while jiggle violently while an electrical noise is heard. This happened while driving on the interstate at 70 mph and I had to hit my breaks as I was fearful I didn't have control of the vehicle. It then continued to do it even at lower speeds. The vehicle has been to a service department where they state the steering rack and pinion has failed. There are no warning lights, lamps or messages. The vehicle is at 72k miles.

What system component failed or malfunctioned? Is it available for inspection upon request? The car boards are left inoperative. If the entire car loses power Don't grab the car How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I'm driving down the road and suddenly the car no longer works. It doesn't start and the drivers behind me have to avoid me. On many occasions I have had to leave the car on while I run errands because I have had to ask for help to turn it on, so I don't turn it off because I don't know if it will turn on again. And this is a dangerous practice since they can steal my car and what I have inside since I have to leave it on. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by an independent dealer or service center? Every time I bought it and took it to the dealer, they indicated a different fault. At first they indicated that it was the electrical part and they made changes to it. Then apparently it was the battery but it was not safe. They have taken it apart several times but have not been able to fix it, since each time it seems to have a different error. The last scan showed a ground short circuit. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? I have always taken the vehicle to the dealer who sold it to me. Were there warning lights, messages or other symptoms of the problem before the failure and when did they first appear? The first time he took it was because the dashboard went out, the electrical part was left not working. If you are unsure, simply indicate UNKNOWN and provide your best assessment of the incident and cause in your description.

Rearview Mirror detached from windshield while car was in motion. There was no force of any kind applied to the mirror, and nothing hanging from it.

As you park the car the EPB faulty parking brake engages without being told to engage

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated while driving at various speeds in a designated lane, several messages advising that the vehicle was out of the lane were displayed. The vehicle made an abnormal beeping sound and slightly pulled to the right or to the left. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the failure recurred. Additionally, the steering wheel forcefully jerked to the left, towards oncoming traffic, causing the contact to temporarily lose control of the vehicle. The contact was able to steer the vehicle back to the lane and continued driving. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.

Vehicle was brought in for 30k miles service with vibration during braking. Under inspection the dealership condemned all the brake rotors and pads (on 4 corners). The technician associated this failure to "temperature" pointing at radial marks on the rotors. This is clearly incorrect as the marks on the rotor are corrosion marks, including a corrosion ring around the central area of the disk. VW has already extended the warranty on the rear brakes for a known issue with premature failure of the brakes. Upon calling VW corporate they refused to extend the warranty or analyze the case again.

When I started my car a light came on saying “check starter system” and I turned the car off and then turned it back on and same message appeared. I waited until it was cooler outside and tried it again and the light disappeared. I’m aware of the recalls on the 2019-2020 Jetta and the faulty ignition switch, and I believe this is what it is as well.

Right rear brake pads at 33.5K (mostly highway miles) are completely worn. (Cannot be blamed on the driving pattern)

Front passenger door latch/actuator failed and door will not lock with inside door lock, key fob, or upon auto-lock activation at 10 mph. Rear passenger door is also intermittently not locking with auto-lock feature and/or key fob. Driver side is also making an abnormal sound when auto-locking.

The right rear brake disk and inner pad wore out prematurely. Only the inside of the brake disk and pad were worn, metal to metal. ALL other brake disks and brake pads were "normal" for a car with 22,000 miles.

Upon backing out of a parking spot a vehicle approached at a fast rate of speed. The rear cross-path sensor and emergency braking activated. This action caused the brake line to rupture and the brakes failed on the vehicle. I resumed reversing out of the parking spot and put the vehicle into Drive. Once I applied the brake, the pedal went to the floor with total brake system loss. The vehicle was towed to Armstrong Volkswagen in Gladstone, Oregon. The dealer found the rear passenger side brake like had ruptured due to it rubbing on the fuel filler neck shield. The sudden increase in brake line pressure caused the final failure of the brake line. The brake line was repaired under warranty. This could have been a significant life threatening situation had I been traveling at high speeds and the brake system failed (i.e. exiting an Interstate, etc.).

I replaced the rear brakes on this vehicle at 16,000 miles due to them prematurely wearing out and the were covered under an extended warranty due to known issue. I took the vehicle in for an oil change at 28,871 miles and was told the rear brakes were down to 2mm and needed to be changed as well as the rotors. This is only 12,000 miles since the last rear brake change and when I had the brake pads inspected at 23,000 miles they were fine. It appears there is a major defect in the rear brakes of the VW jetta since the front brake pads are fine. I was charged $522 after a discount to have the brakes and rotors replaced. I don't think it is reasonable for a car with only 28,871 miles to have already had to change the rear brake pads twice and the rotors at all.

My 2021 VW Jetta at 8 months old with 21305 miles had a grinding noise in the rear. Took it to the dealer Aug 9 2022 and was told the rear brakes and rotors needed to be replaced at my cost. I informed them I thought this was way too early to have to pay for brakes and that something must be wrong. They made me pay over $600. I later found out a TSB was issued by VW in Dec 2022 to extend brake coverage to 2 years 24,000 miles. I want my money back as they have now admitted there is an issue with the brakes. 14 months later in Oct 2023 same issue at 40,250. The dealer now informs me of this TSB and although it was intended to ONLY cover your first set of failing brakes, the Service advisor got the ok from the VW district manager to warranty them this time. Once again VW admitting to a problem with my vehicles parts and or manufacturing. The fact that they and the NHTSA know there is a problem with the electronic braking and they refuse to fix it is dumbfounding. My front pads at 41,250 have only used 3mm of the original 12 while the rear pads went through 2 complete sets or 24mm. This could not be more obvious it is a manufacturing defect as the rear pads are applied nearly 100% of time and the front nearly 0%. This is outrageously unacceptable and I demand my car be fixed properly and not be hassled with having to argue warranty issues every 15,000-20,000 miles for new pads and rotors. I will be contacting VW about the issue.

UNKNOWN. I was driving from Alabama to Atlanta [XXX]. Pouring rain but no hail, no thunder nor lighting. I was not around nor under an overpass and my sunroof spontaneously shatters. I just bought this vehicle 2 weeks ago at Carmax. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated while reversing, the brake pedal was depressed, and the contact heard a grinding sound coming from the rear brakes. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and a diagnostic test was performed. The dealer stated that the rear brakes were metal on metal and the front brakes were okay. The rear brake pads and rotors were replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the repair was not covered under Extended Warranty because the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 14,469.

I purchased my vehicle brand new from VW. My vehicle only has just over 33,000 miles on it. After hearing a grinding noise in the rear brakes I took it to Les Shwab to have the brakes inspected along with a tire rotation. After a short time waiting they told me that the rear brakes were metal on metal and the front were just fine. I asked how the rear brakes could go out so soon when the front brakes are the ones that normally wear out so quickly. They had planned to replace the pads and rotors on the rear of the vehicle. When they tried to remove the calipers the piston would not release and I had to pay foe new calipers as well. A couple hour brake inspection turned into three days without my vehicle waiting for parts and a $1,314.49 bill. I went online looking for recalls and there weren't any. I did however find that this is a common issue for the 2021 Jetta, and it is presumed that the roll back brake assist is faulty causing the calipers to not release thus causing excessive wear to the rear brakes. Had my rear brakes gone out completely before I had them inspected this could have been very bad causing myself or others serious injury or even death. I am seeking for NHTSA to investigate this further and force VW to issue a recall. I am also seeking full reimbursement for my bill from VW. Thank you.

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the contact observed that the blind spot monitor and the Lane Keep Assist warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was a second failure to the system. The contact had previously taken the vehicle to a dealer and the sensor for the blind spot monitor and the Lane Keep Assist warning had been replaced once before. The contact had taken the vehicle back to the same local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the blind spot and Lane Keep Assist sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

On 01/12/2023 at approximately 4:20 PM, I paid the cost to replace the rear brakes on my 2021 VW Jetta SEL. This included parts and labor. I found this very odd due to the vehicle being less than 2 years old. About 1 week after this, I received via USPS mail, a letter from VW of America stating that an extended warranty of the rear brakes applies to my vehicle (see attached). I filled out the required information and submitted the included form as instructed. On 04/08/2023 I received an email from VW Customer Care stating they will not reimburse me for the price of the brakes I had to replace. The only reason I had to replace the said brakes is due to Volkswagen's faulty parts and I fear this is happening to many consumers as well. After a bit of "back and forth" with VWoA, I contacted NYS AG's office and with their help, VWoA finally paid me for the replacement of the stated brakes. Seeing that many others on your site have had this same issue, I think a recall should be enacted by you. This should not be an expense that VWoA's customers should have to bear.

I do not feel safe with my Vehicle. I purchased new and at 16,550 Miles it needed new rear rotors and pads. Again at 38417 it needed new rotors and pads. I drive the car softly and am not heavy on the brakes. This seems to be a known issue and the dealership says I should be prepared to replace rotors and pads this frequently. It was only 1.5 years until the 2nd pad/rotor change. Not only do I not feel safe, that is a financial hardship.