CSR

Volkswagen · NHTSA safety record

2013 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

36

Complaints

1

Crashes

1

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen have filed 36 safety complaints with NHTSA between April 2016 and July 2025. The most complained-about system is the fuel and propulsion system, named in 8 of them (22%). The typical failure was reported at 82,250 miles, the median across the 20 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle. A further 1 defect investigation is open and unresolved.

Recalls (1)

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

16V078000 · February 10, 2016

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Golf, 2007-2010 Passat sedans and wagon, 2012-2014 Passat sedan and Eos, 2009-2014 CC, 2009-2012 Audi Q5, 2010-2012 S5 Cabriolet and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
The risk
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflators, free of charge. Volkswagen issued an interim notification to owners on April 12, 2016, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Volkswagen will notify owners again once parts are available. Volkswagen owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 659,493 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (2)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Air Bag Clockspring Failure

EA18003

Still open engineering analysis · opened April 18, 2018

the air bags

In August 2015, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) launched Safety Recall 15V-483 to address the loss of the protection provided by the front driver air bag in several models due to the failure of the clockspring.Debris entry into the steering wheel hub can result in contamination and ultimately failure of the clockspring in 2010-2014 Model Year (MY) CC, Passat, Eos, Golf, GTI, Tiguan, Jetta and Jetta Sportwagen models.Contamination of the clockspring can cause the ribbon cable to tear resulting in loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag and any steering wheel mounted controls.The loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag will result in illumination of the air bag warning light and will prevent operation of the front driver air bag in a crash of sufficient severity requiring a commanded deployment.In November 2017, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Recall Query (RQ17-009) after the agency received 90 complaints alleging failure of the clockspring in the subject models.Several of the complaints allege failure of the clockspring after receiving the recall remedy.The majority of the complaints allege the same failure mode without being included in the original recall, 15V-483.In its March 2018 response to ODI's Information Request under the Recall Query, Volkswagen provided approximately 700 consumer complaints and field reports on the recalled vehicles.These reports allege clockspring failure similar to the NHTSA reports described above.To date, NHTSA has received approximately 154 allegations of clockspring failure since the recall has launched.The total of 852 reports shown in the table above eliminates 6 duplicative reports received by ODI and the manufacturer.An Engineering Analysis has been opened to further evaluate the scope and effectiveness of the remedy associated with 15V-483 and perform a thorough review of the design changes implemented by Volkswagen and its suppliers to address this issue.The ODI complaints cited above can be viewed at www.NHTSA.gov under the following ODI identification numbers: 11080741, 11079877, 11079805, 11079124, 11076709, 11076645, 11076297, 11076249, 11076133, 11075756, 11075726, 11075358, 11075259, 11075055, 11074920, 11074565, 11073090, 11072745, 11072457, 11072089, 11071933, 11071880, 11071630, 11071592, 11067396, 11067061, 11066738, 11066601, 11066511, 11065909, 11065871, 11065262, 11064701, 11064564, 11064544, 11064531, 11063961, 11063501, 11063095, 11062772, 11062464, 11062353, 11062344, 11061463, 11061310, 11061311, 11060735, 11058154, 11057519, 11057477, 11057341, 11056793, 11056243, 11056063, 11055639, 11054279, 11052812, 11052678, 11052384, 11052228, 11051336, 11051155, 11051074, 11048803, 11047037, 11044226, 11043653, 11039142, 11033893, 11033330, 11032548, 11025475, 11025356, 11024647, 11023423, 11020570, 11020312, 11019415, 11019067, 11015441, 11015431, 11014595, 11014016, 11013709, 11013415, 11012596, 11011753, 11006668, 11006521, 11006307, 11006181, 11005301, 11003865, 11001780, 11001783, 11001334, 10994184, 10993360, 10993524, 10992490, 10985926, 10983678, 10981220, 10980831, 10980941, 10980549, 10979418, 10971152, 10967344, 10967155, 10959968, 10958624, 10957279, 10956488, 10949129, 10947562, 10945122, 10936498, 10936543, 10933950, 10927311, 10925421, 10924034, 10915612, 10915569, 10911171, 10902066, 10898733, 10896537, 10896510, 10895526, 10893938, 10891686, 10864967, 10863742, 10861984, 10851242, 10822505, 10821562, 10818403, 10795068, 10794402, 10788738, 10787804, 10782544, 10780725, 10780145, 10779145, 10776477, 10775448, 10763492, 10763423, 10763289, 10762670, 10760644, 10758777, 10749901, 10748922

Air Bag Clockspring Failure

RQ17009

Closed recall query · opened November 13, 2017 · closed May 4, 2018

the air bags

In August 2015, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) launched Safety Recall 15V-483 to address the loss of the protection provided by the front driver air bag in several models due to the failure of the clockspring.Debris entry into the steering wheel hub can result in contamination and ultimately failure of the clockspring in 2010-2014 Model Year (MY) CC, Passat, Eos, Golf, GTI, Tiguan, Jetta and Jetta Sportwagen models.Contamination of the clockspring can cause the ribbon cable to tear resulting in loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag and any steering wheel mounted controls.The loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag will result in illumination of the air bag warning light and will prevent operation of the front driver air bag in a crash of sufficient severity requiring a commanded deployment.In November 2017, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Recall Query (RQ17-009) after the agency received 90 complaints alleging failure of the clockspring in the subject models.Several of the complaints allege failure of the clockspring after receiving the recall remedy.The majority of the complaints allege the same failure mode without being included in the original recall, 15V-483.In its March 2018 response to ODI's Information Request under the Recall Query, Volkswagen provided approximately 700 consumer complaints and field reports on the recalled vehicles.These reports allege clockspring failure similar to the NHTSA reports described above.To date, NHTSA has received approximately 154 allegations of clockspring failure since the recall has launched.The total of 852 reports shown in the table above eliminates 6 duplicative reports received by ODI and the manufacturer.This Recall Query has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA18-003) to further evaluate the scope and effectiveness of the remedy associated with 15V-483 and perform a review of the design changes implemented by Volkswagen and its suppliers to address this issue.The ODI complaints cited above can be viewed at www.NHTSA.gov under the following ODI identification numbers: 11080741, 11079877, 11079805, 11079124, 11076709, 11076645, 11076297, 11076249, 11076133, 11075756, 11075726, 11075358, 11075259, 11075055, 11074920, 11074565, 11073090, 11072745, 11072457, 11072089, 11071933, 11071880, 11071630, 11071592, 11067396, 11067061, 11066738, 11066601, 11066511, 11065909, 11065871, 11065262, 11064701, 11064564, 11064544, 11064531, 11063961, 11063501, 11063095, 11062772, 11062464, 11062353, 11062344, 11061463, 11061310, 11061311, 11060735, 11058154, 11057519, 11057477, 11057341, 11056793, 11056243, 11056063, 11055639, 11054279, 11052812, 11052678, 11052384, 11052228, 11051336, 11051155, 11051074, 11048803, 11047037, 11044226, 11043653, 11039142, 11033893, 11033330, 11032548, 11025475, 11025356, 11024647, 11023423, 11020570, 11020312, 11019415, 11019067, 11015441, 11015431, 11014595, 11014016, 11013709, 11013415, 11012596, 11011753, 11006668, 11006521, 11006307, 11006181, 11005301, 11003865, 11001780, 11001783, 11001334, 10994184, 10993360, 10993524, 10992490, 10985926, 10983678, 10981220, 10980831, 10980941, 10980549, 10979418, 10971152, 10967344, 10967155, 10959968, 10958624, 10957279, 10956488, 10949129, 10947562, 10945122, 10936498, 10936543, 10933950, 10927311, 10925421, 10924034, 10915612, 10915569, 10911171, 10902066, 10898733, 10896537, 10896510, 10895526, 10893938, 10891686, 10864967, 10863742, 10861984, 10851242, 10822505, 10821562, 10818403, 10795068, 10794402, 10788738, 10787804, 10782544, 10780725, 10780145, 10779145, 10776477, 10775448, 10763492, 10763423, 10763289, 107626

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 36.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 8 22%
AIR BAGS 6 17%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 14%
ENGINE 5 14%
POWER TRAIN 4 11%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4 11%
SUSPENSION 3 8%
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL 2 6%
STEERING 2 6%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 3%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 3%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2022 at 7.

2016 2022 2025
2016 to 2025

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire · 60,100 miles

ON A COLD MORNING, I STARTED MY CAR BY TURNING THE KEY IN THE IGNITION, THEN LOCKED THE DOORS MANUALLY FROM THE EXTERIOR WITH ANOTHER KEY, IN ORDER TO ALLOW THE CAR TO WARM UP AND DEFROST BEFORE THE COMMUTE TO WORK. WHEN I RETURNED 10 MINUTES LATER, THE CAR WAS EMITTING GRAY SMOKE FROM THE HOOD, AND UPON OPENING THE DRIVER'S DOOR, I DISCOVERED THAT THE ENTIRE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE WAS FILLED WITH GRAY SMOKE AS WELL. I REACHED IN AND REMOVED THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION, THEN LEFT THE VEHICLE WITH THE DRIVER DOOR OPEN TO ALLOW THE SMOKE TO AIR OUT. ONCE THE SMOKE CLEARED, I WAS ABLE TO SEE THAT THE DASH NEAR THE DRIVER'S SEAT HAD COMPLETELY MELTED, THE CEILING HAD BURNED, THE WINDSHIELD HAD

NHTSA complaint 11279947, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

crash

Airbags failed to deploy during severe front impact crash. Car is supposed to be picked up from body shop by my insurance company tomorrow Thursday 4/13/2023. Don't know if it would be available for inspection after that day. Driver safety was at risk without airbag deployment. Problem was confirmed by auto body shop which is a "service First" body shop for my insurance carrier. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. I was told by body shop that the wire to the airbags was disconnected from the airbags and that was the reason for the failure to deploy the airbags.

NHTSA complaint 11516809. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I had lost power driving over the grapevine on Highway and then recently I had difficulty putting vehicle in gear and it would make a loud noise. Independent service center confirmed that the TCM was faulty.

NHTSA complaint 11673116. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
My Bosch CP4 fuel pump failed causing my engine to stall while turning at a very busy/fast intersection. This can occur at speed without any warning of sudden failure, putting everyone on the road at risk. Fault code P0087 and P0191 were present, along with a flashing glow plug. Following EA No.: EA11-003 I removed the fuel metering valve and observed and documented metal shavings. The failed component is still installed on my vehicle as I will be having it serviced shortly. The fact that this same component has been recalled very recently in many domestic trucks, but not in the 600,000 VW/Audi vehicles it is installed in is concerning. EA No.: EA11-003 Date Opened: 7-Feb-2011 Date Closed:

NHTSA complaint 11640739, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
It seems that my vehicle's clock spring has broken. There is already a warranty issue with this part. However, my local service center cannot get my vehicle in for 5 weeks. How is it acceptable for me to drive a vehicle for 5 weeks without a working airbag and horn?

NHTSA complaint 11615445. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

85,000 miles

The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle turned off and restarted independently while the vehicle was still in motion, resulting in a momentary loss of control over the vehicle. The contact also stated that the battery was being drained quickly. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular failure. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined an electrical short was causing the battery to drain and other electrical issues. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no

NHTSA complaint 11615469, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
The rear right passenger airbag sensor went faulty, was hoping Volkswagen could replace it since it is a safety system.

NHTSA complaint 11580702. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL

120,000 miles

The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact continued driving to his destination however, the vehicle failed to accelerate above 30 MPH. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but had become a recurring failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer where a diagnostic test was performed; however, the results had not been shared with the contact. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure.

NHTSA complaint 11561116, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2014 34 1
2012 27 1
2011 33 1
2010 23 1

Other 2013 Volkswagen models

Every Volkswagen on this site — 152 vehicles, 256 recall campaigns and 2 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst