2004 Volkswagen Jetta problems
The 2004 Volkswagen Jetta has 295 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (16%) concerns engine. After that come fuel system (13%) and electrical system (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 295 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 16 and 25
- Injuries and deaths
- 18 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 246 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 | 38 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 29 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 37 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 44 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 29 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 30 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 13 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 14 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 6 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 246 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 70,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 70,000 miles (41 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 16 complaints mention a crash; 25 complaints mention a fire; 18 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 16th most-complained-about out of 35 model years of the Volkswagen Jetta with enough data (178 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
About two months ago I had a dealer replace the switch for the heated seat in my 2004 VW jetta which had become inoperable. The seat is not used that much, let alone the heated portion. This past sunday I was driving home with my wife in the passenger seat with the heated seat turned on. After about two minutes my wife noticed what felt like a pinching sensation on her leg. She put her hand under her leg and was quickly burned on her hand, and at that time we could smell something burning.
I turned on the driver side seat heater and it caught fire burning a hole in the seat and burning me. I was driving at the time in the city. I pored water all over me and the seat and turned the heater off.
While driving on a rain slicked ramp entering I95 I lost control of my car. It went into a tailspin and went across 4 lanes of traffic hitting a guardrail, bouncing off spinning around and hitting it again, bouncing off and hitting it again (for a total of 3 times) came to rest facing oncoming traffic. The front, back and passenger side of the car was totally destroyed. The car was practically rebuilt.
Vwoa had a recall campaign for the egr cooler system on 2004 and 2005 VW tdi's. Subsequent to the recall campaign, the lower egr flex pipe is known to crack on numerous vehicles in which the recall campaign was performed. When the egr pipe cracks, diesel exhaust is sucked into the cabin when the heater fan is operated causing discomfort and light headed for the driver and occupants. Vwoa has refused to address the problem and offers no solution to the vehicle owner or a fix.
Vehicle under multiple occasions has stalled out at various speeds, locations, and driving styles/roads at or under a quarter of a tank