Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Volkswagen Jetta owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My wife was involved in an accident with her 2004 vw Jetta. She rear ended the vehicle in front of her at about 15 MPH, causing about $7000 of damage to the front of the Jetta. There were no injuries. The Jetta hit the car in front of her squarely, and partially slid under the car that was hit. As a result of the collision, the passenger airbag deployed, but the driver air bag did not deploy. There was no passenger in the vehicle. The police officer at the scene noted that only the one airbag deployed, and suggested that that situation needed to be looked at. The car was repaired by a vw body shop, and I requested that the air bag system be checked out completely, since only the passenger bag deployed in the accident. I was told that the drivers seat belt tensioner was activated and needed to be replaced, but that it was "normal" for only one airbag to be activated. …
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. My passenger and I were taken to the hospital via ambulance, there was almost 20K worth of damage to the vehicle and not to mention the 10K damage done to the guardrail. None of the airbags in my car ever deployed!!!! ....and my passenger is now suing me because of injuries he sustained. We have pictures, the only thing that saved our lives were that we had our seatbelts on.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH, another vehicle crashed into the driver's side door. The impact caused the vehicle to spin around and crash into a light pole. The contact mentioned that the driver's side air bag failed to deploy. A police report was filed and the driver sustained lacerations to his arms, legs and face. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was destroyed. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 90,000.
We were stopped in the traffic and all of a sudden this truck [2001 Chevy] rear ended us at the speed of 45 miles per hour and our car got pushed into the car in front of us. In our car, passenger side air bag cover came out but airbag did not deploy. We bought this car because we had great trust in vw [german cars] in making strong and reliable cars which can save lives which could not be proved in the accident we gotten into. Had the impact been little higher we could have died in the accident. I'm sad to say that our trust in vw has been shattered after the accident.
While approaching an intersection the car ahead of me stopped suddenly and I could not stop fast enough. The collision did $10,000-14,000 worth of damage to my car and no airbags deployed. Serious injury was only avoided due to my wearing my seat belt. Subsequent neck pain for several days followed, scratches on my neck were received. The car is in the beginning stages of evaluation/repair but agreement is that airbags should have deployed. Have pictures of car and interior cabin and will keep any and all part necessary.
Tl* - the contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta gls. The contact's vehicle rear ended another vehicle while traveling 45 MPH. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was destroyed. The current and failure mileage were 38,000. The contaact sustained minor injuries, and did not remember if he was belted. A police report was taken. The contact had pictures of the vehicle, and submitted pictures to the manufacturer. The manufacturer stated that after reviewing the pictures the air bags performed properly.
The consumer suspect a defect of the vehicle because the front airbag did not deploy despite the highest impact (1 out of 14 scale) damage on the front. The consumer contacted the manufacturer and requested for an inspection; the manufacturer explained why the airbags did not deploy but it was no more than a description in the owner's manual. The manufacturer is not willing to send a technician to inspect the vehicle. The consumer requests for a third-party experts inspection. 1) accident narrative (based on city of wheeling, wv, police report): the vehicle (Volkswagen Jetta 2004) was on the first lane of I-70 w. The vehicle suddenly lost a control and went onto the second lane and went back onto the first lane. The vehicle hit the guard rail with the front leaving 25 feet of the guard rail damaged; the vehicle bounced off and struck a truck trailer with the right rear end. …
Over the past few days it has been raining heavily & although it has happened to me once before this time is what worse. My car is leaking from somewhere & its coming on the inside. My carpets are constantly wet, my airbags alongside windshield leak, and the handle where you open the hood of the car is literally a stream of water entering the car during heavy rainfall. The airbag light has come on and the check engine. I was more concerned with the check engine light so I went and got it checked. The code came up as u0155 - which refers to (lost communication with instrument panel cluster (ipc) control module) meaning my entire dashboard needs to be replaced because of this leaking ! …
No impact, no pot holes, no speed bumps - driving on a paved road the passenger side (roof & seat) airbags deployed. No passengers were in the vehicle, driver only w/seat belt - no driver side or front air bags deployed. Vw dealer found no damage; vw regional claims black box says "significant impact" thus no defect, report it to insurance co. . Insurance co finds no damage to the vehicle, denies claim. Vw says airbags deployed due to passenger not wearing seat belt (no passenger in the vehicle); also said not manufactured to withstand pot holes or speed bumps. Insurance co says airbags deploy only w/seat belt fastened. Either way, this is a defect - air bags deployed w/no accident, no passenger; if there was an impact, driver side air bags did not deploy. This vehicle is still under manufacturer warranty. Nobody will pay for the damage the airbags created. …
I was driving my children to school in the morning. They were doing construction on the roads around my house and all the sewer caps were exposed. They are re-paving all the streets. I barely clipped one and my driver side "side" airbags (headliner air bags and the driver seat side airbags) deployed for no reason. There was no collision, no impact. I barely clipped the sewer cap and I'm not even positive the airbag deployment occurred at the same time. Vwoa is currently investigating but after reading about air bag deployments for some time now, I can't imaging that running over a sewer cover at 15 MPH and barely clipping it would be enough to deploy the side air bags. Luckily I was able to stop the car and get it to side of the road without injuring myself or anyone else. It was a very scary situation. Still waiting to hear the outcome from vw.
Airbag complaints in other Jetta years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2004 Volkswagen Jetta?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the air bags of the 2004 Volkswagen Jetta, 9% of the model year's 233 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (5 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Volkswagen Jetta airbag problems?
No. NHTSA lists no air bags recall for the 2004 Volkswagen Jetta, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2004 Volkswagen Jetta airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 47,000 miles, and 19% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 9 crashes, 1 fire and 10 injuries to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.