Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (automatic and manual transmissions, CVT, axles, driveshaft, 4WD/AWD).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Volkswagen Jetta owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The reason for the late post is that I just discovered this site. I purchased my 2005 vw Jetta brand new in 2005. It had 61 miles on it. I had the car for about 5 months when it was shifting very hard and nearly snapping my neck. I took the vehicle to the vw dealership over 30 times within a years time and they continued to tell me nothing was wrong. They kept the car and drove it and it of course it would not happen while they drove it. They actually told me I was driving the car incorrectly (what that means I don't know). I was unaware of the lemon law at the time. The car continued to shift extremely hard. Finally after it went back for the 30th time I demanded that they keep the car and drive it until it happened. …
My car haves all the gears highlighted on the display and occasionally when I'm driving it gets stuck on a low gear when I come to a complete stop and try to start going or if im in the highway it all of a sudden decides to shift to neutral gear making me slow down all of a sudden with potential to hit the person behind me or creating a catastrophic accident with many injuries or even death to does I might hit just because of my faulty transmission and I have look up the problem and there are many people with the same transmission trouble the NHTSA send a recall for the 2009-2010 but the previous models have also the same problems for it so please at least open an investigation about it so that way me and my fellow drivers understand the problem that keeps going on.
There is a problem with transmission of jettas once I was on the highway and my vehicle stalled I was lucky as there were no vehicle behind me other wise that would have been a catastrophic situation for both me and the driver behind me. I pull over the shoulder and waited and started the vehicle I was able to drive after some time. This is a known issue for all the jettas Volkswagen knows about this and they extended the warranty for sometime. This problem with transmission valve body happens after certain miles. I am out of this coverage and this is a safety issue and I would request that there should be a safety recall so that this should not happen with any one else. Please take action as soon as possible.
We have a 2005.5 vw Jetta and have been experiencing hard shifting while driving for about a year and half . More recently the gears are stalling to shift we were driving in a local street when our car would not shift into 4th gear the engine would rev but would not shift. It is very unsafe for this to happen when you are on busy roads or merging on to highways etc. We have not used our car since and our mechanic told us it was u safe to drive. I can't believe vw has not taken ownership for there mistake and make a recall. Our car just passed 100,000K and should not be having this problem . To fix the problem we were told its the valve body and the part itself is $1,200 not including labor cost.
Tl contact owns a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta. On April 25, 2008, while driving 35 MPH, the contact shifted the clutch into third gear, but the clutch never shifted back into position. She pulled the vehicle over and had it towed to the dealer. The dealer stated that the pin for the clutch assembly chaffered and failed. Prior to the failure, the contact smelled a burning odor coming from the engine. The dealer stated that the transmission fluid was leaking. The failure was repaired, but the contact wonders if the two failures are related. The vehicle is currently at the dealer for repair. The failure mileage was 49,210.
2005 vw.Jetta - VIN# [redacted]. The transmission shifts hard & down shift hard when the car has run for a period of time during travel. Also, the faulty air bag light comes on when the car is first started and May show intermittently while driving. The catalytic converter & 02 sensor have been replaced but the codes still show when put on the machine. The ignition key gets stuck in the ignition.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta. While driving 65 MPH, the vehicle did not accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle had to be turned off and restarted to remedy the failure. The dealer was not notified. The manufacturer was contacted and did not assist. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 279,000. The VIN was not available. Consumer stated incident happens when driving in the rain.
I have an early model mkv tdi Jetta , with around 87,000 miles on it. Yesterday, on the way home, the dsg dual mass flywheel let go with pieces of metal coming out onto the road and traffic. I looked up this on the tdiclub site and found numerous issues with this part in early production, which is not part of maintenance. Is there a safety recall or other TSB on this? I cant drive the car and just made it home. It was scarey.
Tugging occurs, but rarely. The car drives smoothly but will do a bit of a tugging. It had this problem for a while ever since it was purchased back in 2015 it was worse at those times but fixed throughout the years. I've invested major money to get the transmission, motor, and so on of what the mechanic has told me of the problems the car has had fixed.
My wife and I purchased a 2005 vw Jetta tdi (1.9 liter diesel engine) in October of 2004. This vehicle had a heating element that was bad and eventually fixed by dealer under warranty in November of 2004. Since approx. December of 2004 we have experienced increased problems with the clutch disengaging from the flywheel while shifting up or down and while passing cars. I have since found out the car (since 2001) has a dual mass flywheel assembly installed by vw that is at root of problem. The two layered flywheel is becoming over heated and warping the clutch disc abnormally in certain spots. Some mechanics and engineers have specualated improper design, and others said transmission bolts around flywheel were probably overtightened at manufacturer. Either way, our clutch is disengaging by itself from the flywheel after we drive car for 60 or 70 miles at one time (and car is heated up). …
Transmission complaints in other Jetta years
Frequently asked questions
How common are transmission problems on the 2005 Volkswagen Jetta?
NHTSA has 84 complaints about the transmission & drivetrain of the 2005 Volkswagen Jetta, 34% of the model year's 248 complaints. The component named most often is automatic transmission (18 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Volkswagen Jetta transmission problems?
No. NHTSA lists no transmission & drivetrain recall for the 2005 Volkswagen Jetta, though it has 4 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 2005 Volkswagen Jetta transmission problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 78,000 miles, and 12% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries to transmission & drivetrain 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.