2005 Volkswagen Jetta: sudden loss of power

Filed Apr 6, 2021 · Acceleration, Electrical · GA

My car while parked and the engine going will stop. Also when I'm on the freeway the epc light will turn on and feel like I have a loss of power and it feels like it is accelerating. My mechanic has no idea what is going on with my car.

Filed Jun 3, 2017 · Electrical, Engine · GA

I have had nothing but issues with my 2005 jetta since purchasing it a little over a year ago. The first issue was loss of power while driving, causing me to almost be struck by other vehicles while turning at intersections. Cause: the fuse box ontop of battery melted, along with the fuses and ground wire. Then the coolant resevoir had to be replaced. Due to the fans not turning on because of those fuses melting. Then, then radiator. Then the break pump, exaust manifold gasket blew. The thing recently wasni had no break lights. Went to change bulbs. Kept breaking the fuses. Then stuck in park. Saw a recall listed for faulty break switch. Called vw they stated my recal had already been serviced. So sorry it was up to me to repair the issue. Told them of every other issue. They said there was nothing they could do for me. Basically I bought a very unrealiable, unsafe, piece of garbage. That I assumed was completely opposite for myself snd my two small children to be dependant upon getting us safely place tonplace.

Filed Apr 19, 2015 · Engine · 152,000 miles · MD

Car began to stutter and lose power while on i95 doing highway speed. Proceeded to do it multiple times. Once I got off the highway it lost power and shut down completely. I let the car sit for an hour and it started back up working fine. Happened again 3 hours later. Happened the entire week in florida on vacation. Once the car got back into cooler weather problem went away until two days ago when it was about 70 degrees out. Happened on i97 doing 60 MPH. I managed to get off the highway once again to have my car die in the middle of route 2. It did not do it for my mechanic who had it for 2 weeks. Other vw owners say this is a common problem with no known fix. This must be looked into, someone could be killed!

Filed Oct 25, 2013 · Engine · 131,000 miles · FL

Vehicle had a sudden loss of power (misfiring very badly) and would not maintain speed. The service engine light never came on, and there were no trouble codes stored. Vehicle was brought into vw dealership for diagnosis and they confirmed the camshaft was completely worn and "several lifters had caved in." internet searches confirm this model vehicle (tdi with a brm engine) has a known history of camshaft failure. Aside from the cost of replacement ($2900 at the dealer), this could have caused a potentially life threatening crash.

Filed Aug 6, 2013 · Acceleration, Electrical · 118,000 miles · AZ

2005.5 jetta--vehicle has rough shifting between 2nd and 3rd gears. As well as downshifting. While driving on a mountainside, going 65 MPH, the car suddenly downshifted to 3rd gear and would not accelerate. I had to pull over on the side of a mountain, with cars flying by me. The car would not shift gears until turned off and on again. This is now happening during regular acceleration at low speeds. This is a huge safety concern, as I could have been rear ended by another vehicle due to loss of power/speed.

Filed May 13, 2013 · Engine, Fuel system · 113,999 miles · WA

Driving on interstate vehicle suddenly lost all power just like ignition turned off. Almost was rear ended due to sudden slowing down. Had to pull over to left lane on very busy interstate because I was in carpool lane. Had limited shoulder area to stop. No power steering or brakes. Once stopped tried to start engine. It would turn over but not start. Continued attempts caused engine pressure warning. Had to be towed from busy interstate left lane. Now the car has failed like this while on the road 3 times. There is no warning or indication of failure. Car just dies. All three incidents where while driving down the road. 2 were on hills near stop sign and I had to roll vehicle back around other cars to safe place.

Filed Oct 6, 2011 · Engine · 98,590 miles · PA

2005.5 vw jetta, 2.5l 5 cyl engine. Car has been maintained according to manufacturer guidelines. Vehicle was operating normally when check engine light came on. Check engine light was lit steady, not flashing. Started to lose power and was difficult to maintain speed. Pulled off road and idle was very rough. Turned car off and back on and idle was worse and check engine light still lit and not flashing. Vehicle started to make grinding noise from driver's side of the engine compartment. Was difficult to move vehicle under its own power and had car towed to repair shop. Repair shop found trouble code p1340 and after more diagnostic that timing was incorrect. Cam timing was very far off and stretched timing chain suspected. Compression test revealed bent valves as well. Local indy mechanic and local vw dealer have both seen this issue several times with 2005.5 and 2006 model jetta and rabbit vehicles with the 2.5l engine, and several other similar failures are outlined in several places online. The failure of the timing chain was very sudden and could have caused an accident.

Filed Feb 18, 2009 · Transmission · 64,381 miles · MN

On february 16th while running errands I pulled through a drive through for lunch, car was running and sounded just fine, after pulling away I heard a loud "shrieking" noise and then a clunk, the car lost power and made a grinding noise, I immediately pulled into the adjacent parking lot and shut the car off, I waited a few minutes then restarted the car it started just fine but seemed to be idling a little rough, I shifted car into drive and lightly pressed the accelerator the grinding noise was present so I put the car back in park and shut off the engine, called aaa and had the car towed to the dealership. The dealership then called me later that afternoon and informed me that the dual mass flywheel had separated and would need to be replaced, they quoted me $1800 for the repair. I was informed that they had the part in stock and I approved the repair. The car just had 64,381 miles and I though it was odd that this failure occurred, I did some research on the internet and discovered that this is a "known" failure. Since the warranty "just" expired I had to pay for the repair. I contacted vw0fa and they took the information but did state the warranty expired, I understand that but it appears that this issue has been reported numerous times and this needs to be investigated! I had just exited the interstate before this happened, what would have been the outcome if I stayed on the freeway at 60mph and this component failed?

Filed Oct 7, 2008 · Engine, Lights · 44,500 miles · CA

I have a 2005 vw 2.5 jetta. My first incident was at 32,000 miles when the back brakes went out. Following that, my brake lights became faulty. After replacing my brake lights, they went out again. I took it to the dealer who charged me $38 to change them again. They went out once again before the dealer decided to inform me there was a defect which was covered under warranty. The next problem was when I was driving on the freeway when my car lost power and the check engine light came on. I was towed to the dealer who told me my spark plugs were wet from the rain. They suggested the 40k mile maintenance at $500 to fix the problem. I agreed to do this only to have the light come on after I left the dealer. This happened about 4 more times until the dealer finally revealed they are aware of a problem with the coils. They were dying electronically one by one and they had to order 5 new updated coils from michigan for my specific VIN. 6 months later the check engine light came on again at 50 miles. Now I am being told the A/C fan motor has died. There is no sensor for this so the fan motor has to be replaced at $780.00. I was also informed that the larger fan is working, but it is weak and might need replaced as well. The car jerks and runs very rough. My car also makes a loud noise when I start it. When I am sitting at a stop sign or red light the whole car shakes. This does not seem right for a car that has 56k miles currently.

Filed Aug 24, 2007 · Engine · 47,400 miles · TX

I own a 2005.5 volkswagen jetta. Just prior to the 40k service the car developed a dangerous power loss problem which rendered the car powerless and the only way to clear the problem was to pull over, shut the car off and restart. We took the car into the shop for our 40k service and no problem was found. In july we took the car on a road trip to santa fe nm and the problem became chronic. We took the car to premier motorcars in santa fe 505‑428‑5521 on july 5th, and as of today, august 24th the car is still not repaired. I have also joined a forum where I have met others with the came car, having the same problem and their cars are not being repaired. I have their names, ro numbers and vw claim numbers upon request. There appears to be a serious problem that so far appears to affect the 05.5 jetta tdi models. The problem causes the car to enter a "limp mode" where basically the horsepower is reduced dramatically and can happen unsuspectingly causing the driver to not be aware of an unsafe condition entering traffic. To make an example the first time it did this to me I was at a stop sign at a busy highway. I had sufficient clearance to cross but unknown to me my car had lost power but I didn't realize this until entering the intersection causing me to barely miss an oncoming car. Vw has been very uncooperative with all of us as far as letting us share our information with them. I have compiled the service info for all of these people and shared it with each and when we speak to vw they refuse the information. It appears that vw has no idea what is causing this problem leaving many of us without our cars for months.

Filed Aug 24, 2007 · Engine · 45,000 miles · UT

My car a 05.5 vw jetta tdi has been in and out of the dealer since may 24,07 with the same trouble. Loss of power. Intermittently, most of the time with out any indication or notice. This is a safety issue when you are trying to cross the street. If cars are coming and you pull out into the street and your car has lost its power and you do not expect it. You end up cross ways in the middle of the road with on coming traffic having to brake and wait for you to get out of their way. This happens randomly so you can't prepare for it. It also will lose power while you are cruising down the road and need to push your accelerator down, and find out that nothing is happening, and you may have try some other evadecive move. I no of other people with same the car, having the same issues and dealer have not fixed their cars either.

Filed Aug 17, 2007 · Acceleration · 38,000 miles · WV

For several weeks, my 2005.5 vw jetta tdi has been intermittently been losing power upon acceleration. Unfortunately, I never know when this is going to happen; thus it can be very dangerous when you go to pull into traffic and have no acceleration power. My car, as well as many other's cars with the same problem, has been in the "shop" several times with no *fix* as of yet. Though vw and their numerous technicians keep *guessing* and replacing parts, the problems still exist. For those of us driving these automobiles, we are very lucky if we go without causing an accident or being the center of an accident when you have no acceleration power.