Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (seat frames, recliners, heated seats and seat tracks).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Volkswagen Jetta owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Driver seat lower right back overheated. Burnt a hole in the seat and melted the coat I was wearing. Smell of burning in the car and intense heat on my back. Turned off the seat heat. When I arrived at my destination, noticed the burn in the seat and later noticed a burn on my coat.. Interior of the car is well maintained, never flooded or abused. Now I have a car driver seat that is badly damaged, a ruined coat and scared to operate the car or to park in my garage in fear of a fire that could burn down my house and car putting myself and family in harms way. I have noticed several vw cars in the past with the same problem in the same spot and was always thankful that it was not my car. Now it is my car with the same problem. Called the vw dealer, and they said that there is not a recall on this. This is a problem that can cause a bad burn on a person. …
Driver seat lower right back overheated. Burnt a hole in the seat and melted the coat I was wearing. Smell of burning in the car and intense heat on my back. Turned off the seat heat. When I arrived at my destination, noticed the burn in the seat and later noticed a burn on my coat. Interior of the car is well maintained, never flooded or abused. Now I have a car driver seat that is badly damaged, a ruined coat and scared to operate the car or to park in my garage in fear of a fire that could burn down my house and car putting my self and family in harms way. I have noticed several vw cars in the past with the same problem in the same spot and was always thankful that it was not my car. Now it is my car with the same problem. Called the vw dealer and they said that there is not a recall on this. This is a problem that can cause a bad burn on a person. …
About a week ago, I noticed my driver's seat was too far forward, so I used the seat adjustment controls to move it back to where it was comfortable. Almost immediately and periodically throughout the week, whether I was driving (highway or local), stationary, or stopped (with the engine turned off!), the seat back would move back and forth, sometimes lunging forward 4-6 inches and then back about 10 inches. This caused me, while driving, to be pressed almost on the steering wheel or at full arms-length, back and forth numerous times. Sometimes pushing one/any of the setting buttons would stop the rocking for a short time; sometimes it had no effect. This issue is of serious safety concern to me as it makes steering and braking/accelerating very difficult and not controllable. …
My wife was getting ready to go to work, when she opened the door of our Jetta, smoke started coming out from under the drivers front seat. She bent down to see where it was coming from but all she saw was a red glow coming from under the seat. This thing must have set and smolder all night because she didn't unlock the car that morning because she had left the car unlocked do to where we live no one is around for miles. Inspector said that it was fault of (vw) the seat, but it will cost to much to sue vw. We almost lost our home, garage and our lives. We had the seat recall repaired but I think the repair was never made, the video is on youtube under "Jetta fire". One of my questions is why didn't a fuse blow before the car burnt to the ground.
While driving 70 MPH on the freeway, my drivers seat began moving on it's own. The top part of the seat pushed me up against the steering wheel while the bottom half pulled me back so I couldn't reach the pedals. I had my 2 yr old grandchild in the backseat and barely made it off of the freeway. The seat continues to move even while the car is off. The tow truck refused to help because of legal reasons and the vw dealer wants to charge me $140 just to look at it because it's no longer under warranty. This is a very dangerous defect that can cause a very serious accident. Vw should be held responsible for any defective parts regardless of the year of the car and should not be charging anyone to fix this.
While on the highway (hutchinson river parkway, westchester county, ny), my power driver's seat started moving forward (towards the wheel) on its own. I stopped it by pushing back on the switch. This incident happened twice more within the next 5 minutes and again overnight (last night) while the car was parked (I came to it this morning and found the seat was pushed all the way forward). Obviously, a driver's seat with a mind of its own could be a serious safety hazard. The seat moving while the car is parked and unoccupied means it might not be able to be stopped even by shutting off the engine. At 6ft2, I would be crushed if I were unable to stop the seat from moving up.
While driving my 2006 vw Jetta the drivers power seat started to move by itself forward this has happened several times to the point where my knees where pushed to the dash and my right knee actually turned car off by hitting my keys on key chain occasionally when I have gone out in morning to start the car the seat has been pushed forward and battery has been weakened I feel this is a safety issue especially the fact that this seat moves while driving.
My 2006 vw Jetta 2.5 l has had the passenger side seat warmer catch fire and cause holes in my seat. As I dropped off one of my children to school today I noticed a black hole with glowing orange embers in the seat! I touched it and realized my seat had caught on fire! Thank god my child was already out of the car and was wearing a heavy coat and wasn't burned by it. Definitely a huge safety issue and I'm lucky no one was injured!
I was sitting in my (drivers) seat and noticed a faint burning smell followed by pain (burning) in my right side. I got home and found a burn hole in the back of the seat. Something burnt through the seat and burnt my clothes and gave me a small blister. Neither of us smoke. After a few times I believe it is the seat heater. If it's off it doesn't burn you. A mechanic told us this is common and to followup on it.
While driving home with my wife, she stated that she thought she had noticed a burning smell. The heated seats were on as it was a cold morning. The next day I noticed that the back rest of the seat had a smoldering mark as well as some sort of smoke damage as if there was a fire on the inside of the seat. We later looked on her jacket and noticed that there was transfer of the "leather" to her jacket.
Seat complaints in other Jetta years
Frequently asked questions
How common are seat problems on the 2006 Volkswagen Jetta?
NHTSA has 25 complaints about the seats of the 2006 Volkswagen Jetta, 4% of the model year's 580 complaints. The component named most often is front assembly › head restraint (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Volkswagen Jetta seat problems?
No. NHTSA lists no seats recall for the 2006 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 2006 Volkswagen Jetta seat problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 110,000 miles, and 18% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 4 fires and 4 injuries to seats 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.