Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2019 Volkswagen Jetta owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that when depressing the brake pedal the vehicle would lunge forward. While driving approximately 40 mph and suddenly depressing the brake pedal the vehicle lurched forward and crashed into the rear of a second vehicle. During the crash, the driver sustained an injured left hand. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 78,000.
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the message "Driver Door Sensor" was displayed, and the electronic parking brake erroneously activated. During the failure, all the doors were closed and secured. The contact stated that late,r while driving approximately 10 MPH, the parking brake erroneously activated, causing the vehicle to abruptly stop. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the driver's side door electrical wiring harness was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 92,000.
My 2019 VW Jetta runs well, but recently there are two safety incidents cause my deep safety concerns. 1)9/20/2023 around 12:15 pm, I parked my VW Jetta in front of Wells Fargo. When I put shifter in reverse, tried to backwards out of the parking lot, suddenly the car lost control and kept rolling forward, there was a deep ditch in front of my car, but the car kept rolling forward. I was very scared. I drove the Jetta to nearby VW Princeton and asked a technician to check the Jetta and find out the system defects, but the technician scanned the Jetta and couldn't find any problems, then suggested to schedule an in depth diagnostics into the Jetta to address my incident. …
My manual transmission clutch went to the floor without warning and the car suddenly was inoperable. Bay VW in Great Neck, NY performed a $4,000 repair.. I picked uo the car today and within five miles drive the clutch failed again and the car was inoperable. In December 2022 the same thing happened while driving on [redacted] . I was in the passing lane and lost complete control of the car except for steering. I had an elderly passenger with dementia and it was providential that we weren't in an accident. It's now three breakdowns of the same kind. Obviously, another part is defective causing these operational failures. It's a safety risk and the three two VW repair shops, on three occasions, have not been able to detect it. I am afraid for my safety and that of my passengers. I can provide the repair invoices. Please look into this.
Recurrent, ringing/squealing and grinding of brakes. Rotors and Brake pads are defective warp faster than normal even after being repaired. My 2019 VW jetta needed New brake rotors and the brake pads re-surfaced with only 24,107 miles on the odometer, 3 months later the brakes are ringing/squealing/and grinding again at 27,601 miles. It has only been 3,000 miles. The speed at which the brakes wear out on the VW jetta is excessive and most likely is a vehicle defect. I am now being told that the car needs new brake pads. The dealer has told me I drive the car too hard and brake too hard. I have never had this problem with any other brand of car I have owned in the past. The jetta has low mileage for all these break issues that are never fully fixed. I am awaiting a recall on this by volkswagen or some type of resolution as this seems to be a defect in quality craftmanship.
It was a hot day and I went to start my 2019 Jetta, it sent me a warning code to safely stop the vehicle and then all electrical shut off but the engine then proceeded to stall in place and not want to start back up. I got it to restart and the parking break locked up. I turned it off again and restarted it and managed to get the parking break off after several attempts. I had to have it towed as it was clearly not safe to drive. As soon as the temperature dropped the car was completely fine no electrical errors making me think this is similar to other Volkswagen vehicle issues. There is no recall in place but this is extremely unsafe for me to drive and I just purchased the vehicle
Since day one car is shaking like a boat, when I drive it on a highway making it not stable. Brakes squeak and I see signs on the brake disk.I am with the original brakes. Car is shutting down when I park. When I switch again to drive, it is completely off from itself, key is inside and I have to turn the key off and then start the car again. Air condition is not working properly vw said they have better 8 zones air condition. I had oil lamp around 5000-6000 miles they said that the car should not have problems till 10 000 miles. I have problems accelerating, I am loosing power. I have grinding scraping noise from the transmission. Also transmission jumps when I drive, slow response. The engine is giving me lag when I am at traffic light, vibration and shaking. I make multiple calls to the dealership and Volkswagen group of America to tow and fix my car that I leased. …
I suspect that my 2019 vw Jetta computer system/car was hacked/driven remotely on 12/3/2019 that caused an accident (photos attached) that LED to my car being a total loss. I sustained injuries and was taken by ambulance to the local er from the accident. This case is still involved in court proceedings as of today. I was driving home and my car speed accelerated without me being on the gas and my breaks were not working. Without turning the steering wheel I drove off to the right hitting a parked car. The police report indicated that after impact with parked car #1, I rolled back 55 feet and hit another parked car on the opposite side of the street. I did not think any of this was possible until I was reading about car hacking and cars being driven remotely. …
While I have been driving in heavy traffic at or about 20 MPH, my park brake comes on and my vw comes to a dead stop and almost always get into an accident. Cars behind me get mad and start honking. It's happen to 3 times now and once to the mechanic that stated it could be catastrophic. I am a professional truck driver of 40 years and can handle the unexpected for the most part but my wife whom commutes 60 miles daily on a crazy freeway to work has been for fortunate that it's not happen to her yet. I finally couldn't keep it to myself anymore and after telling her my experiences, she refused to drive the car anymore till took care of the problem. I brought the car brand with only 10 miles on it (2019vw) with a rebuilt title with no mfg warr. But I purchased after market warranty 7yr. …
Vibration and grinding noises at low speeds. Started around 200-300 miles on the odometer. Originally only occurred in eco mode now happens all the time. It has gotten progressively louder and more severe over the last 4-5 months I've owned the vehicle. Took it to the dealer twice and they told me it's normal but it sounds and feels terrible. The car feels very unsafe. Sometimes it accelerates very slowly and other times I barely press the pedal and it takes off and the tires spin. When driving in eco mode the internal computer seems to forget and switches back into regular drive mode but the eco mode button will stay illuminated even though the dash display says it is in drive. At higher speeds the grinding becomes more of a low growl or scrape and also vibrates much more especially when turning or accelerating. …
Brake complaints in other Jetta years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta?
NHTSA has 30 complaints about the brakes of the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta, 5% of the model year's 549 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2019 Volkswagen Jetta brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta, though it has 11 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 2019 Volkswagen Jetta brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 16,000 miles, and 62% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 6 crashes, 0 fires and 6 injuries to brakes 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.