9 complaints reported

2016 Volkswagen Jetta Power Train

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
9
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Jun 2025

Vehicle begins to shudder and slow with no response to attempts to accelerate and eventually stop completely though engine is still on. This has happened on multiple occasions and in many driving situations including on busy streets or in the middle of turning which is a huge risk for an accident! Can restart with regular acceleration after a few minutes. Service indicators will come on with codes indicating transmission related issues. Have had transmission flushed without significant change with transmission replacement as next step.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Sep 2024
Sep 2022

The vehicle lost it's ability to shift into gear and accelerate on a busy road, almost causing a collision. Pulled over and it failed to shift into any gears, (as if it was in neutral with a higher engine RPM). According to the technician at the Volkswagon dealership it was a complete internal failure of the transmission, with an estimated cost of $8,600 for a new transmission. Looked up the issue on a popular car complaint site and saw the exact same symptoms from another driver but their technician suggested to replace the Mechatronic J743 with the transmission hydraulic pressure sensor G270. Their repair estimate was approximately $3,800. I brought this issue up to my technician's representative but I feel it fell onto deaf ears. Considering commission being attributed to the cost of repairs, I don't think it would be unbiased. I contacted VW customer service as I was told this was a "known issue" for the hybrid models and my year being the last of the 4 years in production. They were no help either. Major loss of trust on this car and Volkswagon in general.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Sep 2022
Mar 2021

This driver has been quoted for a new transmission by VW. There is an existing recall for 2013-2015 Jetta hybrids for the same symptoms as listed below. The issue was preceded by a check engine light and a service hybrid system light and inconsistent braking force that would often pose a system risk as regenerative braking would often stop working forcing the driver to quickly apply more pressure unexpectedly (almost resulting in front end accidents). Now , the car is jerky while stopping and still unpredictable in its application of brake force. When taking off from lights, occasionally the transmission will stop providing power from the hybrid system to the wheels forcing driver to stop and restart the car in the intersection resulting in near accidents. The car’s gas engine often will fail to start while driving resulting in a loss of power when the car’s hybrid battery is depleted. The driver has had to pull over to stop and restart the car. Failure to start often happens on first startup as well. The car will no longer remain in electric mode due to this issue and often cycles the engine on and off many times while sitting at red lights.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2021
Sep 2020

CRACKED TRANSMISSION UNIT SAME ISSUE AS 2013-2015 JETTA HYBRIDS SAME PART USED IN ALL 2013-2016 MODELS. *DT*JB

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2020
Sep 2020

CAR PUTTERS AT STOPS AND SHAKES WITH INITIAL ACCELERATION AND DECELERATION. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TURNED OUT SHORTLY AFTER. CODE READ TRANSMISSION FLUID PRESSURE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2020
Aug 2020

DIAGNOSED BY VW AS HAVING A CRACK. THIS IS THE SAME ISSUE AS WITH THEIR 2013-2015 MODELS AND THE SAME SYSTEM.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2020
Aug 2018

AT 32,000 MILES THE CLUTCH STARTED SLIPPING. EVEN THOUGH COVERED UNDER WARRANTY I WAS TOLD MY MY LOCAL VW DEALER AND BY VW OF AMERICA THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO PULL THE CAR APART TO DETERMINE IF IT IS COVERED. IF THEY DETERMINE IT IS NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR IT WON'T BE COVERED AND I'M OUT $1100 FOR THE DIAGNOSTIC. MEANWHILE THE VW FORUMS I'VE BEEN ON PINPOINT A WEAK CLUTCH PRESSURE PLATE (DESIGN FLAW) AS THE SOURCE OF THE SLIPPING. THAT MAKES SENSE SINCE I'VE NEVER HAD A CLUTCH SLIP IN MY PREVIOUS 6 MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS AND TWO OF THOSE VEHICLES MADE IT TO OVER 200,000 MILES. THERE IS NO WAY A CLUTCH SHOULD GIVE UP AT 32,000 MILES. THE SLIPPING OCCURS WHILE ACCELERATING IN A HIGH GEAR WITH 4 PEOPLE IN THE CAR. IT JUST STARTED THIS WEEK, BUT IS ALREADY GETTING WORSE. NEITHER THE DEALER OR VWOA COULD TELL ME THE CRITERIA THEY USE TO DETERMINE IF A CLUTCH IS COVERED, BUT THE NICE VWOA REPRESENTATIVE TOLD ME THAT SHORT OF THE CLUTCH FAILING IN THE FIRST YEAR THEY RARELY COVER THE FAILURE. SO I'M LEFT WITH A WARRANTY THAT ISN'T WORTH THE PAPER IT'S PRINTED ON.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2018
Nov 2017

3 TIMES CAR POPPED OUT OF 3RD GEAR WHILE CAR WAS IN MOTION, NOTHING IN PARTICULAR BROUGHT THIS ON (NO BUMP IN ROAD, ETC), CAR HAS LESS THAN 7K MILES, BROUGHT TO VW DEALERSHIP AND AFTER DRIVING IT ONLY TWO MILES, THEY SAID THEY WOULD NOT EVEN INSPECT THE TRANSMISSION BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T RECREATE THE PROBLEM. NOW THE ISSUE IS THAT SOMETIMES I CAN'T GET THE CAR INTO 3RD GEAR. CONTACTED NE VW REGIONAL MANAGER BECAUSE I WANTED IT IN WRITING THAT THEY WERE REFUSING TO SERVICE THE CAR. THOUGH I WAS TOLD I WOULD BE SENT A LETTER, I'VE RECEIVED NOTHING MORE THAN A MONTH LATER. OTHER PROBLEMS I HAVE WITH THE CAR INCLUDE THE TURN SIGNAL SOMETIMES NOT TURNING OFF RIGHT AWAY-SOMETIMES IT BLINKS RIGHT, BLINKS LEFT AND THEN FINALLY TURNS OFF AFTER 1 MIN OR SO AND THE DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW WOULD NOT GO UP WHEN WEATHER WAS HOT THIS PAST SUMMER.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2017
May 2017

2016 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA WITH 1.8 L.TURBO ENGINE WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. AFTER TOTALLY STOPPING CAR AT AN INTERSECTION AND THEN APPLYING A LITTLE THROTTLE THE CAR WILL START MOVING OUT INTO INTERSECTION, BUT IF I HAVE TO LET OFF ON THROTTLE AFTER STARTING OUT IN INTERSECTION FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER THE ENGINE WILL NOT RESPOND AND FOR A FEW SECONDS, IT WILL NOT MOVE LEAVING ME DEAD IN THE INTERSECTION WITHOUT ANY RESPONSE. ENGINE IS STILL RUNNING BUT CAR WILL NOT MOVE FOR A FEW SECONDS. NO RESPONSE FROM THE THROTTLE.I TOOK IT INTO VW DEALER IN SAINT GEORGE UTAH ON !!/2/2016 AND HAD THEM CHECK IT OUT. THE MANAGER DROVE THE CAR AND SAID IT WAS OKAY NO PROBLEMS. THIS PROBLEM DOES NOT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME, BUT WHEN IT DOES OCCUR IT IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION. MECHANICS AT VW WERE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT COULD DO NOTHING ABOUT IT . THEY SAID IT WAS A DESIGN FLAW IN THE TRANSMISSION.THESE CARS SHOULD BE RECALLED BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED IN THEM. THIS PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED TO ME ABOUT A DOZEN TIMES. THESE CARS ARE TO DANGEROUS TO DRIVE AND SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF THE ROADS.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2016

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2016 Volkswagen Jetta has 9 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.