Abs control module failure is very common for mk5 jetta's and golf's. Mine failed approaching a red light in a foot of snow, resulting in a loss of the traction control, ABS and stability control. Volkswagen needs to do the right thing and issue a technical service bulletin before there is a loss of life.
2009 Volkswagen Jetta brakes complaints
Page 7 of 8: complaints 161 to 190 of 205, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My vw jetta tdi had many problems since I purchased it. First, we had problems with the injection system imploding. They asked if we ever put in gasoline instead of diesel. I told them absolutely not. They wanted to charge me $6500 because car was out of warranty but service manager got vw to pay for it because I said I was going to get an attorney. On june 27, 2014 we had with an electrical problem where the battery was draining from a short in the radio modulator. The car had 101,348 miles. They fixed the problem which took 9 days to fix and cost $1238.56. I noticed the radio would stayed on with the key out of the car after that though. Then we had the check engine, air bag, ABS and traction lights on at 109,452. I took it to my service station on 11/28/2014, but he said the dealer had to program update the software and check the ABS module for electrical problem. The dealer said it was the o2 sensor on number 2 cylinder. They found no problems with the air bag, ABS module or traction control. They charged me $600. The lights were all off. On january 3, my 17 year old daughter and her girlfriend went to the movies last night with the car. It was lightly raining out. She left the movie theatre around 8:20 pm. She came up to an intersection that was turning red. She applied the brakes and skidded through the intersection hitting another vehicle that was crossing. She was doing about 40 MPH. She said the car did not want to stop. She said there where lights on the dashboard when she was driving. People in the other car went to hospital.
Intermittent electrical problems from undetermined source for last year, ended up losing all lights on passenger side of car, and some lights/light function on driver's side, including brake lights, turn signals, headlights etc. Random security alarm going off without being able to turn it off, brake warning lights, traction control issues. After a quick internet search I became aware that this is a very common problem and known vw issue, and found f16 fuse to be melted along with a portion of the fuse box. Called the only vw dealer in the city 10/23/14 and was told I had two safety recalls on my car, one for an ECM software update and one for this electrical issue, neither of which I was notified of, yet have been notified to have the "diesel only" sticker installed, and haven't moved since long before I purchased the car. Dealer is not able to look at my vehicle until 10/27/14 and cannot provide a loaner car since volkswagen won't reimburse them for that cost. Called volkswagen customer service and spoke with doug, only to be told they could not authorize rental car reimbursement, and I would need to either shoulder that expense myself or continue driving the car in it's current state. Informed him that the car was not safe to be driven with the lighting issues, and fuse f16 being tied into ABS as well, was told he couldn't help me. If they had done the correct thing, I wouldn't be left in an unsafe car to transport my family, due to their engineering design negligence.
2009 jetta tdi sportwagen. During a panic stop to avoid an accident the ABS and atc (traction control) dash indicator lights came on solid along with an alarm and the brake indicator light flashing on and off. During this panic stop both rear brakes locked. Turning the ignition off and on reset the indicator lights. Ten minutes later I attempted to duplicate the incident on a quiet side street by driving at 20 MPH and hitting the brakes hard enough to engage the ABS. Once again the indicator lights came on and alarm sounded. Dealer diagnosed problem as failure of the ABS controller. Research on internet indicated that this is a common problem with 2009 jettas with hundreds of similar occurrences. The part is $1750 plus labor to install brings total to $2200. The ABS controller is not a wear item and should not be failing on a car which has 62,400 miles on it. The car has been dealer maintained and serviced since new. This was the first time the ABS had been engaged other than during the winter on snow covered roads.
I replaced the brake pads on the above described vw. For more completeness it is a vw jetta 2009 sportwagen, tdi (diesel). The 4 front brake pad thicknesses were about 3/16", the 4 rear brake pad thicknesses were 1/16". This is very unusual. All cars that I have owned etc. Experience faster front pad wear than rear pad wear. This is also what vw expects as they have the electronic wear sensor on the front brake pad. I believe that this may be caused by a defective proportioning valve or by a too soft pad material.
Going down the interstate at 70mph beside a semi, the car slightly (not enough to take me out of my lane) pulls to the side & ding! Ding! Ding! 'ABS' & 'esp' lights come on & the emergency 'brake' light on the dash starts flashing. No additional symptoms that I noticed on the next 15miles to work, just the dash lights. Upon arriving at work I park & shut the car off. Restart it. And everything appears as thou it was an aberration. No lights. No dinging. From a car that goes nuts when you're simply just low on wiper-fluid, it could be something major like an ABS module or 'speed sensor' (from what 100s of other owners say online) or something 'minor' like a corroded fuse. Needless to say, while I'm wincing at the potential repair costs, I'm in fear of & dreading my drive home this evening. I'm glad no one was hurt this time but as we all know, the odds are someone is going to get hurt. Whatever is causing this problem for numerous vw owners is a safety issue. If ABS & traction control are mandatory features on a car via the federal safety agency, it stands to reason that rampant problems such as vw jetta owners are experiencing is a manufacturer's quality issue. It's not normal wear & tear. I actually trust the federal safety agency to do the right things here; find out what the problem is & make vw fix it. The only other option the federal safety agency has is to ignore a blatant problem with the ABS & traction stability controls of a mass production family sedan/vehicle.
Left rear brake assembly drags prematurely wearing brake pads and rotor. Worried that it may cause possible fire.
Second repair: must replace both rear brake calipers due to them seizing up. Uneven brake pad wear. 40% on right rear pad remaining. 2% on left rear pad remaining. Issue also occurred under warranty at 10,000 miles. Several others report this issue occurring only to the left rear pad.
The ABS and parking brake light began to flash and beep constantly and the vehicle lost control for a small amount of time causing me to swerve a little bit but I regained control. I restarted the vehicle and it continues to flash and beep. This is said to be a known issue within the 09 models (the ABS pump and module failure), but the company has yet to issue a recall to cover the expense of replacement. It is said that, the ABS pump and module failure can cause the vehicle's brakes to lock up and not allow movement in close situations which can result in an accident. This is a safety hazard.
The lr brake pads and rotors consistently show excessive wear. There were no problems noted with the emergency brake or caliper each time we have changed the brakes and only this left rear shows extreme wear. The left rear brakes have needed changing three times this past yea and I've changed the other brakes just to be safe. This last occurrence the vehicle failed to stop without the brake pedal being depressed as far as it would go, and even then the ability to stop was greatly diminished. Prior to this incident, a loud scraping noise was evident in the vehicle while rolling even without the brakes being depressed and many times the rear of the vehicle smelled like something was burning when it was parked following it being driven. The technician looked at the car and stated that the caliper was frozen and it seems that this issue continually occurs with this car even with a new caliper it will continue to have this happen.
The lr brake pads and rotors consistently show excessive wear. There are no problems with the emergency brake or caliper noticed each time; however, the pads and rotors have needed replacement three times this year and only these left rear have shown the issue. At the last occurrence before this service, the vehicle failed to stop without the brake pedal being depressed as far as it was able to go and even then, the ability to stop was greatly diminished. Prior to this incident a loud scraping noise was evident in the vehicle while rolling even without the brake depressed and many times the rear of the vehicle had smelled like something was burning when it was parked directly after driving.
My vehicle was stuck in a snow drift at the end of my road. I deactivated my electronic skid protection to get my vehicle free from the snow drift. I successfully made it onto the road and only going 20mpn due to icy roads and bad weather conditions. 1 to 2 miles down from where I was stuck, my ABS and esp light came on and I almost lost control but because I was going so slow, I was a ble to keep it on the road. I pulled into the closest gas station to investigate and my rear brakes were locked up and would not come loose. I thought they may ahve been frozen so I cleaned what snow was on there and actuated the brakes several times, moving my vehicle back and forth to break them loose. This did not work so I drove it about 4 miles to the closest vw dealership, which was very difficult due to the icy roads and my rear wheels locked up. The vw technician told me that because my rear wheels were stuck in that snow drift and my front tires were trying to get me unstuck, a code popped up which activated my rear brakes. He cleared the code and my car works perfectly fine. If this "code" had tripped 10 minutes later, I would have been on the highway traveling at higher speeds on very bad road conditions and would have cause an accident. I do not know if the dealership was truthful as to what they found, if it was truly a code or if they were just frozen shut which created the code. I just wanted to create a complaint to log this issue in case this happens again, I have proof of the issue and complaint.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 volkswagen jetta. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, he noticed smoke and flames coming from the rear driver's side tire. The contact stated he was able to put the fire out with water. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The mechanic stated that the rear driver's side caliper had seized and overheated, which would have to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 56,000.
Has some strange noise as soon as I moved car first thing in the morning. Dropped off son at school and less than half a mile car was stuck when I tried to accelerate. Removed tire and loosened caliper and noticed disc was cracked and inner pad missing.
Abs control module failed and rear brakes locked up.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 volkswagen jetta. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, she noticed that the ABS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle then stalled by independently shifting to neutral without warning. The contact had to wait several minutes in order to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis where they advised her that the ABS module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were approximately 48,500. Mailed out 3/10/15*lj updated 03/31/15
My ABS light came on when I was in cruise control at 60 MPH and knocked me out of cruise control. Another time I was getting ready to stop for a stop sign and the brake pedal started to vibrate and I almost couldn't stop and the ABS light went on.
Brakes squealed from the date of delivery in march 2009. Vehicle was taken to vw service department on several occasions to inspect brakes. I was told each time that that's common in the vw jetta and I had to get used to it. Brakes seemed to fail on several occasions and caused an accident. Vehicle was taken to vw service after accident several times to inspect brakes and each time I was told nothing is wrong until they finally replaced the booster and the sway bar links. After vehicle was delivered back to me, the brake fluid started to leak and the brake warning light keeps illuminating. Vw said that nothing is wrong with the car. The car has delayed braking and sometimes no brakes and is dangerous on the roads, especially the highway.
Rear passenger side brake pad worn down to metal while rear driver side has 5 mm left on it. Dealer indicates a faulty caliper. Would not even entertain the possibility of a sticking left parking-brake cable or not properly adjusted parking cable that might not be letting the left rear caliper release completely (cable readjustment it's a pain since the rear half of the center console has to be disassembled to get access to the primary adjuster nut and mechanics do not like to mess with it). Dealer would not replace rear pads and rotors if I did not also replace the caliper, even though service manager acknowledged that diagnostic was only based on visual inspection and not on taking apart the rear brake assembly to properly inspect the caliper. For the auto technician to know it is a faulty caliper (instead of sticking cable or other issue) without removing it from the vehicle and only upon visual inspection must mean that vw is aware of the faulty calipers and keeping quiet about it until the customer walks into the dealership with the problem. Premature and/or uneven rear brake pad wear appears to be a common issue on jettas, as has been extensively documented on jetta owners forums and websites. As indicated by a vw mechanic on an internet forum "vw needs to design into the parking brake adjusting screw inside the rear caliper piston a more robust system to spring the rear calipers piston back away from the pads after brake application. Internal brake adjuster screw spins out as the piston travels out with wear of the pads. Problem is vw knows the adjuster screws internal threads drag too much to allow the natural tendency of the piston o-rings to roll back the piston to the pre brake application usage position of the brake. I have had to replace several calipers to get the calipers that release the pads tension properly after braking application."
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 volkswagen jetta sportswagen. While the unoccupied vehicle was parked with the engine and emergency brake engaged, it rolled unexpectedly . The contact was able to enter the vehicle, apply the brake pedal and stop the vehicle from moving. The contact detected the rear brake calipers were stuck which caused the emergency brake cable to disengage. The vehicle failure was not diagnosed nor was it repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.
Excessive wear in brake pad at under 15,000 miles. Both front pads are approx 75% of 'new', the right rear pad 75%+ of 'new', but the left rear (lr) is now very close to metal-on-metal with rotor. Dealer service on 3-10-11 @ 14, 281 miles indicated 3mm remaining on rear (didn't specify left or right or both, but estimate was to replace both). When I went to replace rear pads (now @ 14,990 miles), is when I found out that only the lr is affected, and more importantly it is completely worn. Lost approx 3mm in 700 miles of easy driving? Internet searches turns up multiple similar owner complaints of unreasonably excessive (in terms of miles under easy driving) and uneven (in terms of only one pad being affected) wear in pads, possible having to do with caliper 'sticking' (whether in connection with hand brake or otherwise). Independent foreign auto service facility confirms that there is more of a problem than just with the pad itself.
2009 volkswagen jetta rear brake defect causes unsafe driving conditions. Car was involved in an accident (minor) where braking was suspected cause at 9000 miles. Bought new 2009 jetta. Have driven it 20,000 miles. At both 10,000 mile check ups it was determined that the rear brakes were worn to dangerous levels. Vw replaced first set now are maintaining that there is no problem and 10k is the right milage to replace brakes. Concern is that many people woudl not expect to replace breaks at 10k miles, especially on the rear brakes. Could lead to dangerous stopping condition.
1) ABS/esp lights came on while cruising at highway speeds. 2) diagnosed as an internal electrical failure of the ABS hydraulic pump. Abs and esp inoperable. 3) hydraulic pump must be replaced for a shocking $2,800!
I am an aerospace engineering consultant. My 09 jetta had rear passenger caliber, rotor, and brake line replace at 10,000 miles for excessive wear. 1st noticed when going around corners applying brakes a dragging effect would come from rear passenger brake. Dealer could not give any reason for this happening and replace rotor, caliper, and brake line at 10k. Summer time weather. Car exhibited the smell of hot brakes and rubber several times between the next failure. The next failure occurred at 34000 mile. Driver side rotor was so pitted and warped from excessive heat dealer replace rotor and caliper and gave no reason problem. Summer time weather. At 37080 mile on feb 10 2011 at 4:30 am with outside temperature around 20f degrees I released parking brake and started driving to job site. The car felt like it was straining to accelerate. Within two miles from the house the car pulled violently to left , the ABS light came on and the car stopped into oncoming traffic and would not move. I shut the esp system off car still work not move forward. I drove in reverse back to house about 1.5 miles. When I looked at rear brake rotor on driver side since it was still dark the rotor was glowing red like the burner on electric stove. Smell of burning materials was in the air. Called dealer which is ancria of san antonio, tx. Dan minor the service manager thinks it was the emergency brake cable spring not releasing brake. Car was dropped of friday feb 11th 2011 at dealer. A case has been open with vw engineering. Vw dealer is clueless as to why this is happening. I suspect the good german engineers are too proud to say we have a problem fix what seems to be a well documented problem with 09 jettas. Someone is going to get hurt and no one is listening. Thankfully the dealer has been replacing things to date.
After 40,000 miles of mostly highway driving the inside passenger side brake pad is completely used up while the other 7 have most of the pad remaining. The dealer claims there is nothing wrong with this, they stated that "when the car goes like this, the rear brakes come on" . I have yet to find a shop that I can trust to do the repairs needed.
This is my second complaint regarding the rear brake wear on the 2009 jettas. This problem is common amongst thousands of other drivers over the internet that have yet to report the problem to the federal safety agency. I first had excessive rear brake wear on my vw at less than 15, 000 where I lost my brakes completely and damaged the rotors. This was before the recommended service period on my new vehicle. The brakes and rotor were replaced and the dealer only cited it as 'premature wear' and that it was covered under warranty. I am now at 18,000 and have noticed that my brakes are still wearing much faster than the front brakes. That is only 3,000 miles in which they are at the halfway wear point. The oem brake wear is supposed to occur between 30,000 and 40,000 miles. This is not the case and may be the result of the new redesign of the vw which may have contributed to the defective wear issue. I am scheduled for another service repair and vw of america has provided a case number to look into the matter (not resolve it or take ownership over the problem) please look into this or at least search the internet to see how many others are having the exact same issue with 2008 - 2011 vws. Please initiate an investigation before someone has an accident or dies as a result of this issue!!!
Premature rear brake wear and failure. Heavy brake dusting on rear wheels since new. Rear brakes need to be replaced at 25,000 miles and 50% of the miles were highway miles. Spongy brake petal and heavy rear wheel brake dust reported to dealer 3 times when new and at the normal service intervals. Vw dealer service manager said all 09' jetta's rear brakes are wearing out between 20,000 and 30,000 miles. Either rear brake design or materials are defective causing premature wear and failure.
I just discovered a brake problem on my wife's vehicle and wanted to bring your attention to it. My wife complained that she was hearing noises coming from the rear wheels and that the brake pedal felt different. I went to check the car and found that the disk brake on the passenger side had been damaged by the pad. The damage occurred on the inside of the disk while the outer part of the disk was ok. In fact, the outer pad of the brake seems to be in great shape and capable of providing many more miles of braking. The disk on the rear driver side does not appear to have any damage nor does it show signs of premature wear. I immediately called the vw dealership here in orlando service department. They indicated that the uneven wear of the brake pad could have been due to the parking brake partially engaged. They also said that the oem brake pads of this vehicle are expected to last about 36,000 miles. Our vehicle currently has 40,000; therefore, there was no immediate cause for concern. I inquired about an appointment to have the brake system inspected for manufacturing problems and they indicated that the warranty for that kind of issue had ended at 36,000 miles. I made a quick search online for related issues and found that a good number of 2009 jetta drivers have filed safety complaints with the federal safety agency about the same problem. This is a mechanical problem that I would expect from other manufacturers and am taken aback that I now see it on a vw. We have come to trust vw engineering and manufacturing to a point that makes it hard to understand we are dealing with something like this on a new car. But, the question still remains about what in this car braking system could possibly cause it to wear so remarkably premature and uneven. We certainly hope this is not something we will have to 'live with' in terms of ownership of vw vehicles. I respectfully request your prompt attention to this and a quick response. Thank you
2009 volkswagen jetta 30,898 miles rear brakes rotors worn and pads gone. Front brakes still have 40,000 miles left on pads, look new according to certified ase brake mechanic. Car does not stop safely. Mechanic was shocked at the brake wear on rear rotors and pads and the extreme wear on the back pads and rotors. Certified ase mechanic advised that front wheel drive cars brakes should wear evenly, not entirely on back brakes. Vehicle not breaking right at low or high speeds. Car still under manufacturer warranty, dealer refuses to replace.
Took my car in for the 20000 mile service. Last service was at 10000 miles. Was told I needed rear brake pads and rotors 300+ dollars. Something is wrong here. I have complained about my brakes squeaking the last three times I brought it in to the dealer. I was never told there was anything wrong. I spoke to volkswagen customer service the 800 number, told them the issues, they said the brakes are applied on all 4 wheels when stepping on the pedal, this right here tells me something is wrong, if brakes are applied to all wheels then the pads should wear evenly, I was told I would have to replace the rear pads and rotors again before I have to do the front once. I also have complained about the RPM's shooting up very high when I start the car and need to hold the brake hard when I put it in gear or I will lunge because the rpms are so high, after about a muinute I can release the brake and drive because the rpms have settled down. Again I was told this is how the car works.
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