2012 Volkswagen Jetta: won't start

Filed Oct 2, 2026 · Steering, Wheels · OH

On the day the issue occurred, I went to work as usual. When I finished work and tried to leave, my vehicle wouldn't start. I had the vehicle towed to a repair shop to determine what was wrong. After inspecting the vehicle, I was informed that the issue could only be properly repaired by a dealership. My vehicle has now been at the dealership for approximately one month, and I have been without my car for this entire period. This has created a significant inconvenience and has made it difficult for me to get to work, handle my daily responsibilities, and maintain my normal routine.

Filed Jun 21, 2024 · Electrical, Fuel system · UT

I was driving on the road going up a hill and my fuel was just alittle low about 120 miles my car sputtered and died and didn't start back up stuck on the road with barley any gaurd rail so I'm partially in the lane and I got it looked at and my high pressure fuel pump failed and sent metal scrapes all throughout my fuel system so it's estimated around 10k to replace I got told it's because the pump barley lost fuel and it uses that to lubricate itself so somthing as simple as one of the pumps going out and this problem can occur or a slight short im just reporting because many others have had this issue with the pump and mine shouldn't have even had nothing going on at 120 miles 1/4 of a tank and I did look in my tank and confirmed I had fuel that I filled up at my local gas station in the middle of the city so it's not bad diesel I own a 2012 volkswagen jetta 2.0l tdi cjaa

Filed Feb 22, 2024 · Fuel system · NC

Everytime I fill with gas car will not start.i have to pump accelerator, then it will start.it starts normally on all other occasions. This has been happening for about 6 months or 5 thousand miles.

Filed Apr 9, 2019 · Fuel system · 104,000 miles · AL

High pressure fuel pump failure at 104k miles on 2012 vw jetta tdi a fuel line was leaking, which as stated by the service manager at serra vw, appeared to be a manufacturer defect. The engine cover was rubbing the fuel line (grommet possibly) causing a leak. The fuel presumably leaks onto the serpentine belt weakening it, and causing it to fail and shred to pieces. Fuel line was replaced, as well as the serpentine belt. Car was tested and would not crank still. Service technician thought it could be the battery, though it had been replaced roughly a year and a half ago. Still, they discharged the battery, charged the battery, and tested the car, and it still would not crank. At this point it was thought the fuel filter may be an issue. Fuel filter was replaced, the car tested again, and again it would not crank. That is when the high pressure fuel pump was going to be replaced. Serra vw placed a warranty claim, which was declined, with the blame placed on the leak in the fuel line.the fuel pump is covered under the extended emissions system warranty as a result of the emissions recall due to unethical modifications of the company. I opened a customer service case, to investigate. They found no reason why the hpfp warranty would be declined. They relied on the word of the service manager, that stated a manufacturer defect causing the fuel line to leak was the cause for the fuel pump failure. At no point was there ever any indication of stalls, lack of power, or reduced power or 'missing' when the serpentine belt failed, indicating no issues with the hpfp prior to arriving at the dealership for service

Filed Feb 18, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 55,225 miles · IL

Jetta wouldn't start, called dealership and they said get it towed in, we have 12 other just like it, zero degree's outside, they told me about the inner cooler technical bulletin and they'd take of it, they said they would defrost it and look inside the turbo, they never did look inside the turbo they unhooked one tube and yeas moisture liquid came out they said not enough, that's not what they told me they were gonna do, its not a coincidence that 12 other cars are having the same problem, they didn't take care of it and made me pay for a new starter, totally unacceptable the 12+ other cars having the same problem. $84 towing and $480 for starter, they need to recall the turbo's causing the problems. Unacceptable

Filed Sep 9, 2017 · Driver assistance, Fuel system · 87,000 miles · IL

Car would not start in the mornings, then it would after sitting awhile. After a couple of weeks before scheduled maintenance, car wouldn't start. Got it to start again, but drove less than a mile and it stall on a busy bridge. Car started up again and then driver could not get it into 4th gear. Coasted in third gear, but when reaching a stoplight, the car stalled yet again. This time car needed to be towed. While starting the car's headlights were flickering and had problems getting enough gas to the necessary components. Dealer once again could not come up with issue...claiming that fuel pump pressure was in range. However, the car's problem can easily be bad pressure since it occurred every time in the morning while the car sat for more than 8 hours. Whether the dealer could do the necessary comparison test for this issue is questionable since it must have been sitting in the garage. The car is currently at another repair shop. We have no documentation at this point. Will provide when available.

Filed May 21, 2017 · Engine · CA

Car would not start suddenly... Vw dealership said engine needs to be replaced. There was no indication anything was wrong with the vehicle. It was driving normally, no abnormal noises, no check engine or other warning lights. Luckily, we found out engine had failed when trying to start a parked vehicle. It may have been an unsafe situation had the engine failed while driving.

Filed Sep 11, 2016 · Electrical · 112,103 miles · SC

Car wont start after you shut it off. Replaced the battery twice and the alternator three times in three days. No charge from the alternator to the battery. Had it tested the battery is good but still showing a bad alternator. Replaced all the fuses as well. Diagnostic is telling us nothing except the alternator isn't charging the battery. Car has been sitting for two weeks because I'm tired of paying people to look at the car and cant figure out whats wrong with it. I'm afraid to let my daughter drive it because she is pregnant and I don't want her stranded on the road or the car cut off on the highway and she get seriously hurt.

Filed Apr 13, 2016 · Fuel system · 53,000 miles · AZ

On an afternoon in early february 2016, my 2012 vw jetta tdi went into 'limp' mode after starting it and driving for less than two minutes out of my workplace parking lot. I was barely able to get it to the side of the road and stop, when it died completely and would not start again. The glow plug dash light came on. I had it towed to the dealer the next day and they diagnosed that the high pressure fuel pump (hpfp) had failed, blowing ,metal shards throughout the entire fuel system. They performed a diesel fuel test, which 'passed', so all repairs were covered under warranty. The car had 53,000 miles on it at that point. Parts alone would have cost nearly $4000, and I was not shown what the labor costs would have been! I then discovered that this is a 'known' issue but not under recall, only an extended warranty period. Having the complete loss of power that limp mode resulted in, and being stranded for hours waiting for a tow, made me reconsider my purchase decision for this vehicle. I am very glad I was not on the freeway, as the failure could have been deadly in that driving environment. With the current diesel emissions scandal ongoing, I am 'stuck' with this vehicle, unless I want to take a drastic hit on private resale value; no one will take it in trade. This is a very dangerous problem that needs better resolution.

Filed Feb 11, 2016 · Engine · 44,000 miles · MI

I had two no start conditions due to a frozen inter cooler. This happened in january a week apart. This happened while the car was in the garage.

Filed Jul 27, 2015 · Fuel system · 54,000 miles · SD

While driving the jetta tdi at 35 MPH, all of a sudden dash lights flashed on and off and car stalled. We were able to steer car to side of road. The car would not turn over and was towed to local vw dealership. It was diagnosed with hpfp failure and the metal had contaminated my entire system and needed costly repair. Fuel was sent for testing, and when verified that it was not owner negligence vw repaired the car. The wait was almost 2 weeks.

Filed Jun 11, 2015 · Fuel system · 82,000 miles · CA

The car is a 2012 jetta sportwagon tdi. It has received all appropriate service and maintenance, and only diesel fuel has been used in the car. There was approximately 1/2 tank of diesel left when the incident occurred. While driving on a residential street, the glow plug warning light began to flash. Approximately 30 seconds later the engine began to lose power, and within two minutes died completely. I was able to coast to the curb and park, but the car would not start again. An inspection by a certified mechanic found metal shavings throughout the fuel/propulsion system, and diagnosed a blown high pressure fuel pump. This is a known issue with vw tdi engines.