1999 Volkswagen Jetta problems
The 1999 Volkswagen Jetta has 488 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (17%) concerns wipers, windshield & visibility. After that come engine (16%) and electrical system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 488 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Wipers, windshield & visibility 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 44 and 11
- Injuries and deaths
- 38 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 108 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 18 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 16 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 24 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 21 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 5 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 108 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 70,000 miles. For wipers, windshield & visibility specifically, the median reported mileage is about 76,000 miles (16 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 44 complaints mention a crash; 11 complaints mention a fire; 38 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1999 ranks 13th most-complained-about out of 35 model years of the Volkswagen Jetta with enough data (352 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Car accelerated from 5 MPH until hit the car in front.brake didn't work.this happened once before. Dealer insulted driver instead of a followup.
In our 1999 jetta, our passenger seat warmer caught on fire, and burned through my husband's jacket. I reported to volkswagen of america and they said as it was an old car and there was never a recall, they can't help me. I read on many internet sites that this is a problem. I have owned vws since 1986, consider myself brand-loyal but now very upset. We could have had a major fire and no one is caring about this as the car is 10 years old.
Multiple problems: main complaint 1. Failure of window regulator, driver and passenger side - several times on each side 2. The car is a 1999 and I have replaced the battery twice once in 2000 (blew up) and once recently (8/2003) and now starter motor and alternator are failing. Sometimes the gas gauge works and sometimes it doesn't, sometimes the key lock/alarm works sometimes it doesn't and horn works intermittently - all problems since 2000. The car is known to lock/unlock itself.
The VW vehicle is programmed to cripple the engine performance and speed in case of an epc fault. Any fault causing a rich or lean condition will cause this "limp mode". This is a safety issue especially people on the highway going 65-75MPH and a 80,000 pound tractor trailer behind them as one person experienced. There are too many non-vital component failures to list that can cause this fault. I refer to non-vital meaning the component failure will not harm the driver of the car.