The Used Car Index

2021 Volkswagen Jetta problems

NHTSA lists 71 complaints for the 2021 Volkswagen Jetta, 3 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 1 complaints mention an injury, with 1 injuries and 2 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-09.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as VOLKSWAGEN JETTA.

At a glance

Complaints
71
With crash
3
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
1
Injuries
1
Deaths
2
Recalls
4
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
43,091
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
487

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. The available sales group does not match this vehicle variant.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
SERVICE BRAKES2535.2%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1318.3%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1216.9%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE912.7%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM912.7%
AIR BAGS68.5%
ENGINE57.0%
LANE DEPARTURE45.6%
SEAT BELTS34.2%
STEERING34.2%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEAUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING5
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEWARNINGS4
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL2
LANE DEPARTUREBLIND SPOT DETECTION2
AIR BAGSAIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE1
BACK OVER PREVENTIONREARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING1
LANE DEPARTUREASSIST1
LANE DEPARTURELANE KEEP1
LANE DEPARTUREWARNING1
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGESELECTRONIC LOCK/LATCH ACTUATOR1

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
mechanical failure3042.3%0.85
electrical electronic1926.8%0.81
loss of control1014.1%0.83
restraint or airbag68.5%0.90
unclear34.2%0.96
visibility or lighting22.8%0.93
structural or corrosion11.4%0.45
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate3447.9%0.81
low3143.7%0.68
high45.6%0.92
critical11.4%1.00
none11.4%0.80

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 71 tagged complaints of 71 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

4 recalls.

22V514000

Date: 2022-07-20. Systems: BACK OVER PREVENTION, EQUIPMENT.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Golf GTI, Jetta GLI, Jetta NF, Arteon FL, Tiguan LWB, 2022 Taos, Jetta PA, Tiguan PA, 2021-2022 Atlas Cross Sport, and Atlas FL vehicles. The manufacturing process of the eMMC memory module in the infotainment system may cause the rearview camera image not to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirem (excerpt)

Consequence: A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Dealers will update the infotainment software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DV. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

21V492000

Date: 2021-06-30. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Jetta and Jetta GLI vehicles. The air bag control module was welded in the incorrect position.

Consequence: Incorrect positioning of the air bag control module can cause the vehicle's air bags to deploy improperly during a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, the vehicle's air bags can deploy unintentionally, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the air bag control module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 28, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69CK.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

21V038000

Date: 2021-02-01. Systems: SEATS.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan Long Wheelbase and Jetta vehicles. Bolts may be missing from the front seat tracks.

Consequence: The seat can move front and back without restriction if bolts are missing, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front seat tracks and, as necessary, install the bolts, free of charge. The recall began February 18, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 72L6.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

20V716000

Date: 2020-11-18. Systems: BACK OVER PREVENTION.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas Cross Sport, Tiguan LWB, Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas FL and Arteon vehicles. The rear view camera could malfunction during an ignition cycle, leading to a black screen or infotainment system freeze. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 11 (excerpt)

Consequence: A black or frozen rear view image reduces the driver's visibility when reversing, increasing the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the infotainment system software, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91BB/91BC. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

487 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT158
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM108
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING94
ENGINE60
UNKNOWN OR OTHER52
STRUCTURE27
POWER TRAIN26
SUSPENSION22

11038146

Date: 2026-09-17. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Suggested fuel additive

11038143

Date: 2026-09-09. Type: Other. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.

11036878

Date: 2026-08-27. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES.

Repair or Replace Information

11036886

Date: 2026-08-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A software fix is needed to correct the issue: Part number 3Q0-959-435N software version number 1307 has incorrect coding.

11036866

Date: 2026-08-11. Type: Other. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.

11036874

Date: 2026-08-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

Replacement instruction

11036868

Date: 2026-08-06. Type: Other. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Permission to change Daily Order upgraded to RED Order

11036870

Date: 2026-08-04. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Differences between a leak and seepage

11035763

Date: 2026-07-20. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

MIB3 Recovery Solution

11035772

Date: 2026-07-15. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A software fix is needed to correct the issue: DA 0019 - Hotfix 12-V battery test(s) a No battery diagnosis - Inconclusive test result.

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
JETTA69
GLI2

Same model, other years

All model years | All Volkswagen models

Other Volkswagen models, 2021

Sources

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