The electronic dashboard does not display critical information like speed, engine RPM, engine warning lights, etc. The electronic dashboard stopped working and remains a black screen with no information about vehicle speed and other important infomation available to the driver. VW has a technical bulletin on this issue. This is a major safety hazard and should be upgraded to a recall. I am afraid to drive the car without knowing the vehicle speed or other missing information normally displayed on the dashboard.
Volkswagen Jetta screen failure problems
35 of the 9,926 owner complaints about the Volkswagen Jetta describe screen or infotainment failure, most of them for the 2010 model year.
- owner complaints
- 35
- worst model year
- 2010
- typical mileage
- 65,174
Is there a fix? There are 7 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Check engine light 5Stalling 2Door locks 2Battery drain 2Wipers 1Headlights 1Knocking 1Grinding brakes 1
What owners say
Rear brakes replaced twice on warranty. The car only has 24,000. Car remains with loud chattering brakes on all 4 brakes especially when brakes are cold. Especially loud chattering and squealing brakes still exist especially on rear brakes. Issue with a fuel valve needing to be replaced on warranty. EPS engine light on dash. Driver's door widow regulator malfunction for door not going down with one touch. Replaced under warranty. Dealer for VW stated that they would no longer do any brake repairs. Obviously, the material being used for brake materials is cheap and doesn't last. Have had situation with the main radio Information screen going blank on 2 occasions and having to do a hard reboot to get it to work. Cause unknown for screen totally going blank.
The contact owns a 2017 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that on several occasions while the vehicle was started, the infotainment touch screen occasionally went black and did not respond to touch commands. Additionally, the side buttons of the infotainment screen did not respond when depressed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the infotainment screen was inoperable. The vehicle was not repaired. The mechanic advised the contact to take the vehicle to a dealer for assistance. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
Car shut off while turning left. Display says check starting system. Car restarted
I turned my vehicle on and noticed that my head unit would not turn on. Screen was black. I checked the fuses and all the wires and everything was normal.
A random notice appears on the dash display, "driver assistance button is disabled". Then windshield wipers randomly activate, door locks click locked and unlocked, and cruise control disables all while driving. High beams no longer function and occasionally all electric display, radio sound, and lights go black while driving. You must pull over, shut off the car, and wait approximately 5 minutes before restarting to recover to normal. Volkswagen service claims nothing is wrong with the car because it doesn't show up on the diagnostic report.
My problem began when I was driving down the road at 55mph and my car information center and radio all went black with no warning or caution before.
I got into my car after filling the fuel tank and the the car started fine, but the radio is suddenly gone blank. Radio does not work. The vehicle was stationary. The radio was working just fine prior to my stop for fuel.
My boyfriend and I drove to get dinner. On the way there my radio was fine we were singing and laughing. We get to the restaurant and I turn my car off and there were these little buzzing sounds, didn't think anything of it. It was a hot day cars make sounds. After diner getting in the car and getting ready to start driving I realize I can't play music! I always use the aux cord. At first I thought it was my phone then I looked up and seen that my touch screen was black.... Then I just thought it was turned off so I tired pushing the power button... Nothing. So on the way home my boyfriend looked up the fuses got the chart, and we pulled it out and it was perfect no nothing. Then I immediately got on the internet and started reading. No only did I find that similar models and previous years have had the same problem, but in a few months it leads to dead batteries, and the possibly that's your car is not reliable and it should be with an easy fix. I also found that the type of radio is very hard to find, I couldn't find it in vw parts and replacements, but instead finding earlier, and more update versions!
Radio failure: radio was working regularly and stopped working upon turning on the car. Display is black.
Related recalls
Electrical system: instrument cluster/panel
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2025 Jetta and Taos vehicles. The instrument panel may fail to display warning lights or gauges. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 101, "Control and Displays."
- Risk
- An instrument panel that does not display critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will update the instrument panel software and replace the instrument panel as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 22, 2026. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 90Z5. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on on March 22, 2026.
Recall number 26V185000 · Recall details
Electrical system: wiring
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Jetta vehicles. The transmission ground wire may not have been properly connected during assembly, causing an open electrical circuit.
- Risk
- An open circuit may draw a higher current and increase the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and repair transmission ground wire as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 31, 2026. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97TC. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on on March 13, 2026.
Recall number 26V138000 · Recall details
Electrical system: instrument cluster/panel
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Jetta vehicles. The instrument cluster may not provide an audible warning to let the driver know that the key is still in the ignition when the door is open. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 114, "Theft Protection."
- Risk
- Without an audible warning, the driver may be unaware that the key is left in the ignition, which can increase the risk of vehicle theft or a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will update the instrument cluster, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 3, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 90W7.
Recall number 23V619000 · Recall details
Electrical system: ignition: switch
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Golf, Golf Alltrack, Golf Sportwagen, 2019-2020 Golf GTI, and Jetta vehicles equipped with a conventional ignition switch. The ignition switch may fail, especially in high temperature environments.
- Risk
- Ignition switch failure can cause the electrical system to shut down and the engine to stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 1, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 28H7.
Recall number 23V604000 · Recall details
Electrical system: ignition: anti-theft: control module
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2019 GTI, 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 Golf, 2012-2019 Beetle and Beetle Convertible, 2017-2019 Golf SportWagen and 2011-2018 Jetta vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission, manual handbrake and keyless entry. A build-up of silicate on the shift lever micro switch contacts may enable the key to be removed from the ignition when the transmission shift lever is not in "Park."
- Risk
- Removing the key while the shift lever is in a position other than "Park" increases the risk of an unintended vehicle rollaway that may result in personal injury or a crash.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional switch and circuit board, free of charge. The recall began November 19, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 37M2.
Recall number 19V615000 · Recall details
Electrical system: instrument cluster/panel
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas and Tiguan and 2019 Volkswagen Jetta vehicles that do not have keyless entry. The instrument cluster may not provide an audible warning to let the driver know that the key is still in the ignition when the door is open. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection."
- Risk
- If the driver is not notified by an audible noise that the key is left in the ignition, it can increase the risk of vehicle theft or crash.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the instrument cluster, free of charge. The recall began December 13, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 90L3 and 90L4.
Recall number 18V824000 · Recall details
Electrical system: wiring: fuses and circuit breakers
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen is recalling certain model year 2011 jetta vehicles, manufactured from march 2010 through march 2011. These vehicles may have an electrical wiring and fuse layout where the converter box is protected by the same fuse used by the signal horn and the anti-theft alarm system. Should that fuse be blown, the converter box will be disconnected from the power supply which, in turn, will shut off applications such as the engine management system, lighting system, and wipers.
- Risk
- Should this happen while the vehicle is being driven, the engine could stall, or the headlights or wipers could turn off unexpectedly, potentially leading to a crash without warning.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners when sufficient quantities of repairs kits are available. Dealers will separate the wiring for the horn and the theft protection horn from the power supply of the converter box and route the wires to separate fuses to correct the condition free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during april 2011. Owners may contact volkswagen at 1‑800‑822‑8987.
Recall number 11V196000 · Recall details
Questions about the Volkswagen Jetta screen failure
Which Volkswagen Jetta years have screen or infotainment failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2010 (22 complaints), 2011 (7 complaints) and 2017 (2 complaints).
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