The contact owns a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while driving at slower speeds, the vehicle jerked abnormally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with low pressure in the transmission and the mechanic associated the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 19V866000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.
Volkswagen Jetta jerking problems
242 of the 9,926 owner complaints about the Volkswagen Jetta describe jerking or lurching, most of them for the 2002 model year.
- owner complaints
- 242
- worst model year
- 2002
- typical repair cost reported
- $4,000
- typical mileage
- 45,500
Is there a fix? There are 3 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Stalling 44Check engine light 35Hesitation 22Transmission failure 19Loss of power 19Harsh shifting 12Fuel pump 8Won't shift 7
Trouble codes mentioned
P177B 1P0304 1P0303 1P0302 1P0301 1P0300 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, the RPM was revving high with the vehicle violently jerking and vibrating. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 73,816.
I bought car back in June or July 2024. Since then Ive had issues with vehicle. Bad breaks, bad wheel bearings that were replaced & car just never drove smooth. Since buying car & driving it around for months I have felt a jerk/pull when in drive mode from 0mi when stepping on gas. The Engine has completely shutt off at random at a light when in drive mode & Ive had to put in parking & restart engine while making a right hand turn & while pulling into a parking lot. I notified dealer & taken in but told nothing was found & they didnt seem to see the safety issue at hand or care. It has done this a few times since Ive had it. Very scary, thankfully no accident YET! The lane assist warning light randomly comes/came on before this happened. Dash read, error stop/start engine when it shutt off. It happened so fast I was unable to take a pic. I was able to take a picture of dash reading; please manually start engine in Drive mode at time of last inccident June 22, 2026. This issue seems to get worse the more I drive it.
The contact owns a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that after driving and shifting into reverse(R), the vehicle failed to reverse as intended. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the valve body, the wiring harness, and all fluids needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, after driving 5 miles, the vehicle started jerking and the message "Transmission Error - Please Pull Over Safely" was displayed. The vehicle was towed back to the same dealer, where the contact was informed that the seal was installed incorrectly, and the seal and the valve needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred the same day. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer, where it was determined that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the engine revved, but the vehicle failed to accelerate. There was an abnormal clunking sound coming from the engine compartment, and the vehicle lost motive power. The message "Error Start/Stop" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000.
I'm not exactly sure on what happened but when using the lane stay assist it doesn't read the lines correctly causing the car to abruptly jerk in a unexpected direction! doing this during certain scenarios would cause an accident for sure. also the headlight auto switching for high beams malfunctions often causing the lights to flicker
I had a recall on a fuel pump in the previous years. After that, if I was trying with about half a tank of gas and let’s say speeding up to get on the highway, the car EPC light would come on and say can’t go over 4000 rpm . Then my car would speed would be so slow. I told the dealership about this before. Heard nothing. It is dangerous because I can’t speed up going onto the highway. Now this it happens when the gas is a lil more than half a tank. My car will slow down when speeding up . Almost feels like a jerk back and sounds like it. Sounds like something is gonna break and drop out of my car. I try to keep my gas up to avoid this but mostly I can’t. Ever since the pump got repair and covered by warranty/recall.. this is what happens. I slowly have to accelerate and speed up my car . Now I have a canister purge leak from a hose crack and I have read recalls but it doesn’t have my affected. I believe all of this goes together and the dealership should be paying for this. Also, the EPC light does turn off once I stop somewhere and turn the car off and I turn it back on without even refueling the tank
The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated while driving at various speeds in a designated lane, several messages advising that the vehicle was out of the lane were displayed. The vehicle made an abnormal beeping sound and slightly pulled to the right or to the left. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the failure recurred. Additionally, the steering wheel forcefully jerked to the left, towards oncoming traffic, causing the contact to temporarily lose control of the vehicle. The contact was able to steer the vehicle back to the lane and continued driving. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.
The transmission is regularly malfunctioning leaving the car jerking/stuttering when idling. At its worst, the car stopped working while I was driving (felt like it dropped into neutral). I had to stop in the middle of the road (in traffic) to stop and restart the car. I have taken the car to an official VW dealership/repair shop (Smith VW in Wilmington, DE) and was told the transmission would have to be replaced ($10k+ repair). I got a second opinion at AutoStream in Annapolis, MD and was told the same thing. It has not been inspected by police or insurance. The check engine light is now on, though not 100% of the time despite the issue being consistent.
The car has been jerking when you’re driving and sometimes it jerks forward as you’re parking it while it’s in the parked position. Then I’m driving home from work , it’s raining heavy. I get to the Valaro store by my house; I put $40.00 worth of gas in the car after work drove home parked the car the next morning it would not turn over , would not ignite at all I took it to the shop. They said the computer was fried from the rain leaking through the windshield or under the windshield. They said it’s a major problem with this model car. The mechanic said the computer could not be fixed. He sent it to the Volkswagen repair shop it can’t be fixed and to replace it cost thousands of dollars !!! I can provide an estimate of the problems and possible repairs if needed . The mechanic stated it is not worth the cost to fix the car. I did notice that there is a powertrain recall and my mechanic is also stating that the transmission is the jerking problem we’re having.. I really think these should be recalled however I needed to submit my issues and see what you final decision would be on both situations, the powertrain transmission problem and the computer burnout problem thank you so much and hope you’re having a great day
I remember having my keys in my hand and my car was slowly reversing out the driveway. I panicked, i was stomping on my brakes for a while jerking back and it took me about 2 minutes to finally get the key back in and try to put in park again. I went to a shop the following weekend because all the jerking and jabbing to get my key back in seems to have caused my ignition switch to misfire or whatever the word he (mechanic) used, so now i cannot take my key out like a regular person, I have to flick my key a certain way out anytime i want to turn my car off.(even mechanics have a hard time taking it out. I was also given a qr code to scan and was brought the this exact recall of the situation with my car. I now have my engine light on and [XXX] gave me the fault code for my map sensor. I’m not sure if the two are related but this was following the incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Related recalls
Power train: automatic transmission: cooling unit and lines
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2014 Jetta, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, and Passat vehicles equipped with a 1.8T engine and torque converter automatic transmission. In the affected vehicles, the O-ring seals between the oil cooler and the transmission may leak fluid.
- Risk
- The leaking transmission fluid could contact a hot surface and result in a vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the O-ring seals in the transmission oil cooler, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on April 16, 2014. Owners may contact Volkswagen at 1‑800‑822‑8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 38B9/9V.
Recall number 14V182000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen is recalling certain model year 2009 and 2010 passenger cars manufactured between september 2008 and august 2009. The wiring harness of a temperature sensor in the direct shift gearbox (dsg) may have connector wires that were insufficiently crimped. With insufficiently crimped connector wires, a temperature sensor has the potential to falsely detect a high gearbox oil temperature, causing the transmission to abruptly shift to neutral. If this happens, the selector lever position indicator within the instrument panel will flash. In addition, the "depress brake pedal" indicator light will be illuminated, alerting the driver to apply the brakes.
- Risk
- The abrupt shift to neutral could lead to a crash without warning.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will reprogram the transmission control module with updated software free of charge. The recall began on october 20, 2009. Owners may contact volkswagen at 1‑800‑822‑8987.
Recall number 09V333000 · Recall details
Power train: driveline: driveshaft
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen is recalling 25,594 my 2006-2009 jetta 5th generation equipped with 2.01 engine. The fastening screw contact surfaces on the driveshaft cover plate may not have been manufactured to factory specifications. Some screws may not have been torqued properly during assembly and could loosen over time, causing a knocking sound when the vehicle is in motion. The driveshaft screws could loosen to the point where the driveshaft detaches from the gearbox.
- Risk
- If the vehicle is moving when this happens, the detached driveshaft could cause damage the gearbox housing. A damage gearbox housing could leak gearbox oil onto the street and create a risk of a vehicle crash for both the driver and other motorists.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the driveshaft screws and replace the screws free of charge. The recall began on june 24, 2009. Owners may contact volkswagen at 1‑800‑822‑8987.
Recall number 09V164000 · Recall details
Questions about the Volkswagen Jetta jerking
Which Volkswagen Jetta years have jerking or lurching problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2002 (26 complaints), 2010 (25 complaints) and 2006 (23 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix jerking or lurching on the Volkswagen Jetta?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $4,000 (median of 24 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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