Volkswagen / Jetta / 2003
2003 Volkswagen Jetta problems
Owners have filed 553 complaints about the 2003 Volkswagen Jetta with NHTSA. Seats account for 18.6% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of electrical system at 17.5%.
Complaints553
Crashes38
Fires79
Injuries92
Deaths1
What owners report breaking
Seats 18.6% · 103
Electrical system 17.5% · 97
Air bags 14.6% · 81
Power train 9.9% · 55
Engine and engine cooling 8.1% · 45
Exterior lighting 4.9% · 27
Visibility 4.0% · 22
Service brakes, hydraulic 3.3% · 18
Severity
Of those complaints, 38 describe a crash, 79 describe a fire, 92 report an injury and 1 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 25 model years of the Volkswagen Jetta in this data, 2003 sits 11th by complaint volume. 2009 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 7 in the last three years against 17 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 56,860 miles.
In owners' own words
I have had this car since 10/31/02. I purchased it new. I bought it for my teenagers to drive as they begin since it is a safe car. Last weekend, (12/17/05) I was personally driving the car, and the seat warmer on the driver's side got so hot that it actually burned a hole in the seat, and the car smelled terrible for several days after. I think that having to fear an electrical fire in my car is outrageous. Seats · reported at 63,590 miles
Driver side seat heater gets very got. On march 4, 2016 at 7:30am noticed a burnt smell as I parked my car (I had driven for about 20 mins). When I returned at 12pm for lunch, I noticed 2 burnt areas of my leather seat. March 5th, tried to use heater again but within 10 mins it got too hot to touch and burnt smell, really bad. I shut it off. I can't use this now. Very disappointed. Seats · reported at 15 miles
On early morning start-up, the seat heater was turned on. Within about 1 minute it began to smolder, melting the seat foam cushion and burning a hole in the upholstery fabric and my trousers. Had I not quickly turned off the heater, it may have started a fire. I contacted vw of america. They took my information and repaired it at their expense through my local vw dealership. Seats · reported at 80,500 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…