2011 Volkswagen Jetta: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Jul 15, 2025 · Brakes · CA · fire

driving on freeway (speed around 70mph) out of nowhere i start smelling strange burning smell then about 1 minute later the car brakes lock up in the front and I loose control of car but luckily it was in light traffic and I regained control enough to get it off to the shoulder. I got out to address the issue and notice the front tires smoking alot and it was at night and the inside (rotor, brake caliper, and rim were glowing bright red and the heat was melting the tire". Then I notice a flame and grabbed a bottle water and applied the tire and extinguish it. I sat there for a good 30 minutes to let everything cool down and the car would not move. "THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFTEY RECALL" AND IF IT'S NOT IT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED A.S.A.P PLEASE ADDRESS THIS ISSUE WITH VOLKSWAGON! AND HAVE THIS SERIOUS SAFTEY ISSUE CORRECTED thank you.

Filed Sep 30, 2022 · Body · SC · fire

I took my son to a birthday party. We were both out of the car for 30-45 minutes when my son wanted to get something out of the backseat. When he opened the back passenger side door, black smoke came pouring out of the car. Upon further inspection, the driver's door was on fire. It appears to have started in the door panel wiring harness - where the window control buttons are.

Filed Dec 21, 2020 · AL

Hello. There is an issue with my 2011 vw jetta's AC system. There is an awful odor. It smells moldy and musty(musky). I went to a dealer and they told me to change my air filter and a few other things. It worked for about 4 days and the smell came right back. I have talked to other jetta and a passat owner one 2012 and one 2013, they also have the same issue. At first my car had a burning smell coming from the system when I started my car and turned the air on. A few minutes later an odor filled my vents. This happened after I purchased my car in 2013. About 6 months later. I have constantly changed the filters and will be getting a new air compressor soon, but. I was told that it may not help the smell from the system. I have been online searching to see if any other vw owners have had this issue and it looks like it is prevalent in vw vehicles from at least 2009-2014. I would have searched more, but there were so many complaints for vehicles made that I was overwhelmed. This was the first car that I purchased myself and I wanted to keep it as long as it would hold out. I am at over 144,000 miles and I love the car. I'm working on changing out components that haven't even messed up yet, because I know they will eventually. I want to keep this car for as long as I can. But, I have tried everything to fix the odor and for me to find out that there is nothing that vw can do to fix it, breaks my heart. Had I know that this was an issue when I purchased this car, I would have never purchased it. Please look into the claims of vw owners on multiple websites. If you need a list of websites, I can send you an email of all of the ones that I was able to find. I also have a car fax for my vehicle somewhere. It states that the vehicle never had any water damage or anything like that to warrant the issue in the AC system. I can send it to you if you need it. Just send an email.

Filed Apr 28, 2016 · Airbags · CA · crash · 1 injury

In a accident where I was stopped and hit in the rear and pushed into the car in front of me. Heavy front and rear dmg and the airbags did not deploy, just some smoke came out from under the dash like it was on fire

Filed Jan 20, 2015 · Wheels · 51,000 miles · NJ · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 volkswagen jetta. The contact stated that the vehicle caught fire from the front passenger side wheel. The contact did not disclose if a police report was filed or not and who extinguished the fire. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 51,000.

Filed Jan 6, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 92,800 miles · NJ · fire

I had driven the car earlier that day (about 40 miles) with no problems. I got home at about 7:30pm and parked the car outside our house. At about 2am, I heard a beeping car horn. I looked outside and saw flames coming out of the front drivers side of our beautiful 2011 jetta sportwagen. I dialed 911, the car continued to burn until the fire dept arrived and put it out. The car is a total loss. I'm only happy it wasn't parked inside a garage where the fire would have destroyed our house as well. No work had been done on the car recently and no aftermarket options were installed. I have only one question - what could cause a completely cold car (not driven in over 6 hours) to suddenly burst into flame?? Thank you.

Filed Aug 8, 2014 · Brakes · NY

While driving, I smelled a burning smell from outside the car. Had the same occurrence on 3 different occasions on a previous vehicle which turned out to be sticking calipers, so immediately I checked the brakes. What I found was the smell was coming from the rear driver side and the rim was very hot.

Filed Feb 21, 2013 · Electrical · 44,000 miles · GA · fire

While driving to an early morning appointment, I notice a burning smell within 5 minutes of starting the car. I soon saw smoke coming from the upper right corner of the dashboard. I immediately pulled over and turned off the car. At that point I saw a flame appearing at the front end of the driver's side rocker panel. Plastic at the base of the rocker panel had melted and I could see electrical wires. I tried to stamp out the fire, but it was growing rapidly and I was unsuccessful. I got out of the car. Within seconds, the flames were several feet high. I closed the door and called 911. The flames eventually extinguished themselves in the closed cabin. The firefighters arrived and opened the drivers door. Most of the dashboard on the drivers side, and the headliner were melted. There was a lot of exposed bare wire visible. The temperature at the time was 34 degrees f, and this was the first trip of the day. The driver's side seat heater was turned on high, the headlights were on, and the radio was on. No other operator controlled electrical functions were on. There had been no previous electrical incidents with this car, nor were there any aftermarket electrical items installed on the car. The weather was dry. This jetta is a tdi model (diesel).

Filed Aug 25, 2011 · Fuel system · 11,000 miles · PA

While driving my 2011 volkswagen jetta tdi sportwagon on interstate 94 in michigan I observed white smoke coming off my vehicle engine. There was no warning light. Due to the heavy smoke and diesel fumes I pulled the vehicle to safe location and sought service. The vehicle developed a heavy leak in one of the fuel injection lines on top of the engine block. The vehicle was covered with diesel fuel from front to the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired by volkswagen.

Filed May 25, 2011 · NY · crash · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2011 volkswagen jetta. The contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle while driving 30 MPH. The vehicle caught fire and the contact was able to get out of the vehicle before it exploded. The police and fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. The cause of the fire had not been determined. The VIN was unknown. The contact owned the vehicle for a month and was not sure of the mileage.

Filed Apr 13, 2011 · Fuel system · 5,074 miles · IL

After exiting highway, I noticed smoke coming from under the hood. The engine temp. Was normal so I drove straight to my dealership. When I arrived I noticed a strong smell of diesel fuel. The dealer took the car immediately and investigated, they found a fuel leak caused by a pinhole in the fuel line at the #2 injector. They repaired the problem and returned the car the next day. Updated 2/8/12

Filed Apr 12, 2011 · Engine · NY · crash · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2011 volkswagen jetta. The contact was driving approximately 30 MPH, and crashed into the rear end bumper of the proceeding vehicle. Suddenly, flames emitted from the front hood area. The contact exited the vehicle which then engulfed into massive flames. There were no personal injuries. The fire department extinguished the fire and a police report was filed for the incident. The vehicle was completely destroyed and towed to a collision center. The manufacturer and insurance company planned to perform an investigation to determine the cause of failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was unavailable.