Problems with 2005 Volkswagen Jetta POWER TRAIN

The volkswagen tdi 1.9l engine when coupled to the dsg( direct shift gear) transmission has an extremely high failure rate of the dmf (dual mass flywheel). failures have occurred between 10k and 100k miles. the internal construction of the flywheel is improper and will separate leading to the total failure of the unit. when the unit fails it causes a very specific and potentially deadly set of circumstances. the dmf can separate and then fracture into large shrapnel type pieces. this shrapnel will the cause the transmission and possibly the engine to seize. when the seizure occurs is causes the front tires to lock and subsequent loss of control of the vehicle resulting in possible injury or death. the shrapnel can also cause the failure of the transmission case resulting it the loss of pressurized transmission fluid. this fluid can contact the turbocharger and result in an under hood fire. catastrophic engine failure is common as well. vwa(volkswagen of america) is aware of this problem and has redesigned the dmf. the new design has not failed. the dmf has been recalled in the european union and australia as a safety concern . vwa has been successful in not covering this repair under even it's standard warranty. no voluntary recall has been issued. i currently have an example of the failed part available. this model has the potential to cause injury or death on a large scale if not addressed. *tr

Vw dual mass flywheel fell apart, rendering the vehicle inoperative. *tr

On february 16th while running errands i pulled through a drive through for lunch, car was running and sounded just fine, after pulling away i heard a loud "shrieking" noise and then a clunk, the car lost power and made a grinding noise, i immediately pulled into the adjacent parking lot and shut the car off, i waited a few minutes then restarted the car it started just fine but seemed to be idling a little rough, i shifted car into drive and lightly pressed the accelerator the grinding noise was present so i put the car back in park and shut off the engine, called aaa and had the car towed to the dealership. the dealership then called me later that afternoon and informed me that the dual mass flywheel had separated and would need to be replaced, they quoted me $1800 for the repair. i was informed that they had the part in stock and i approved the repair. the car just had 64,381 miles and i though it was odd that this failure occurred, i did some research on the internet and discovered that this is a "known" failure. since the warranty "just" expired i had to pay for the repair. i contacted vw0fa and they took the information but did state the warranty expired, i understand that but it appears that this issue has been reported numerous times and this needs to be investigated! i had just exited the interstate before this happened, what would have been the outcome if i stayed on the freeway at 60mph and this component failed?*tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 volkswagen jetta. in april of 2007, the contact received a recall notice for nhtsa campaign id number 07v063000 (exterior lighting:brake lights:switch). the vehicle was repaired at that time. approximately a year and a half later, the brake light switch began to fail again. when the brake pedal was depressed, the brake light switch would not stop illuminating on the instrument panel and the vehicle would not shift gears. the vehicle was turned off approximately three times and, finally, the brake light dimmed and the vehicle became mobile. the failure occurred intermittently for one month and the contact called the dealer. she was informed that the brake light switch was defective. the manufacturer stated that since the failure occurred more than twelve months later, they were not liable for the repairs. the current mileage was 71,707 and failure mileage was 71,207. updated 03-09-09 *bf the shifter would not come out of park. the fuel pump was noisey and which was replaced by the dealer. updated 03/12/09.*jb

2005 vw jetta clutch failure at 26k miles. there is no wear and tear on the vehicle, but my clutch went out while driving down highway. with car disabled, this can cause an accident. vw won't cover this under warranty because they deem the clutch as a normal wear and tear item. i have read numerous discussion boards where people have had the same issue. it's time for a recall of these defective clutches. they are not going out because of normal wear and tear. defective clutches were made and put in these cars and vw is making customers pay for their mistakes. if i had been in a remote location, i could've been stranded on the side of the road for hours and could've been struck by another vehicle. also, with the clutch not working, if i had been driving fast, when i applied the breaks, it could've jerked to a halt and i could've lost control of vehicle. this is not acceptable. *tr

I have a 2005.5 vw jetta tdi with a 5 speed manual. it has a sachs clutch. the clutch has been giving me issues for thousands of miles. it finally failed on my way home from work in rush hours traffic and disabled me. i was able to push it to the side of the road and avoid injury on i-96 in novi michigan. this is a known issue bty the manufacturer, but they are not helping out the consumers. they have a tsb issued on nov. 7, 2007 #03 07 01. what needs to be done to get vw to own up to the problem and help us out? it is going to cost me $3,000 for the repair not to mention i was lucky to avoid injury on a busy highway during rush hour. perhaps the next person will not be so lucky? *tr

Thursday aug 14, 2008 i was exiting off the highway rt 9 exit 5 in ct. the exit is at the top of a hill so i depressed the clutch and coasted to the bottom. my car is a 2005 new jetta with 2.5l 5 cyl 5 speed manual. i have about 70,000 miles on the car and have never had any problems with the clutch or transmission. as i started coasting i shifted the car to second gear near the beginning of the exit but didn't release the clutch. i heard a load bang sound and the clutch engaged. the car immediately nose dived and the engine raced to redline. the clutch peddle was on the floorboard and was not functioning. i had to lockup the brakes to force the car out of gear and coasted to the stop sign at the bottom of the hill. i was lucky that no one was following me at the time as i would have rearended for sure. at the stop sign the clutch pedal came up off the floor at the clutch partially work so i drove the car to the commuter parking lot and left it to be towed to the dealer the next morning. friday at the dealership they said they would fix it but they don't cover wear and tear on clutch parts. the bill would be about 2400.00 dollars. because i had 70000 miles on the car i would have to see the parts before i could make that judgment as to wear and tear. so i told them to fix it but i want the parts. the final bill came to 2164.71 dollars. the pressure plate and flywheel showed no signs of abuse or burning. the clutch had plenty of pad left but was broken due to the force of engaging at 60 mile per hour in second gear. the mechanics reason for failure was "pressure plate blew out" and my boss a mechanical engineer said it look like a catastrophic failure not a wear issue. i don't know why vw get to wash their hands of this under a came of they don't cover clutch parts under warranty and why i have to pay for it. if this could happen on a highway it could also have happen at a stop light. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 volkswagen jetta. while driving 5 mph, the gear would not change into second or third gear, and the clutch jammed into the floor. the contact was able to pull off the road and drive to the dealer. the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure and are charging $360 for the diagnostic. the contact refuses to pay for the diagnostic. in order to determine if the failure was caused by wear and tear or a manufacturer's defect, the contact was advised to have the vehicle diagnosed. the vehicle was under warranty, but it only covers the repair if the failure was due to a defect. the contact stated that the manufacturer would not admit that there was a defect. the contact will leave the vehicle at the dealer until they repair it for free. the current and failure mileages were 55,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 volkswagen jetta. on april 25, 2008, while driving 35 mph, the contact shifted the clutch into third gear, but the clutch never shifted back into position. she pulled the vehicle over and had it towed to the dealer. the dealer stated that the pin for the clutch assembly chaffered and failed. prior to the failure, the contact smelled a burning odor coming from the engine. the dealer stated that the transmission fluid was leaking. the failure was repaired, but the contact wonders if the two failures are related. the vehicle is currently at the dealer for repair. the failure mileage was 49,210.

Car developed pronounced engine vibration at 100,000 miles. vibration was accompanied by significant noise at idle with clutch engaged. clutch and flywheel assembly was removed and inspected. inspection revealed that the dual mass flywheel had failed and was the source of the noise and vibration. clutch and flywheel were replaced with an aftermarket single mass flywheel and matching clutch. *tr

Premature clutch failure at 40,000 miles. car at dealer for clutch replacement. *tr

Clutch gave out at 32,000 miles. volkswagen considers this normal wear and tear. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 volkswagen jetta. while approaching a stop at 70 mph, the contact placed the clutch in and it failed to release. the vehicle had to be towed to the dealer and they stated that the failure was due to driver error. the clutch was replaced and the dealer did not charge for labor. the part cost $1,800. the failure occurred twice. the vehicle is currently at the dealer and they have not yet diagnosed the cause of the second failure. the current mileage was 55,000 and failure mileage was 22,000.

Clutch completely failed at 35,000 miles, suddenly on a highway (the car wouldn't move, it would just rev really high). i had the car towed to my local vw dealer. the vw dealer stated that there were no faulty vw parts; failure was due to a worn clutch, which i am responsible for. i filed a complaint with vw of america. i was suspicious of this diagnosis, since the clutch failed so suddenly & in all of my years of driving manual transmission cars (16 years), i have never needed to replace a worn or damaged clutch. the dealer replaced the clutch assembly, which cost me $2,070. the dealer stated that this repair is not covered under warranty, & that he would show me the worn clutch when the repair was finished. when i picked up the repaired car, i asked to see the clutch & flywheel (for signs of wear & heat marks). the service manager stated that the parts were not available for inspection; they were already disposed of & in the garbage dumpster. after reading so many complaints made by experienced manual transmission drivers about vw clutches wearing prematurely, i believe that this case may be due to a defective clutch assembly, which should be covered under warranty. i've read on vw technical service bulletins that faulty pressure plates and/or flywheels in these newer jettas have been known to cause damage & excessive premature wear to the clutch. in my case, i wasn't able to inspect the old clutch assembly for other signs of mechanical failure (since the dealer disposed of the old parts before i had a chance to see them). since there are so many similar complaints about vw clutches, i hope they issue a recall & reimburse the many customers that have needed to replace their clutches so soon. i am not happy about having to spend $2,070 to repair a faulty clutch in a car that is only 2 yrs old. for my next car purchase, i am considering buying from a different car company. *jb

Tl*the contact leases a 2005 volkswagen jetta. while driving 2 mph, the contact attempted to shift the vehicle into second gear. she accelerated to 20 mph, but the vehicle failed to shift into gear. she drove the vehicle to her residence. the dealer stated that the failure was due to negligent driving. the current and failure mileages were 15,500. while turning onto the highway, the consumer experienced a failure of the clutch while shifting into first gear, the clutch pedal became stuck to the floor. the dealer determined the pressure plate was had cracked into 3 pieces which destroyed the entire clutch. updated 09/05/07. *jb

My 2005 jetta has a broken pressure plate in the clutch. the incindent must have happened while it sitting after being driven, because i parked it and it was acting fine, then i got back in later and it wasn't working. the car has only 15k miles on it and is less than 2 years old. i don't drive the car hard and only drive about 10 miles a day, and i have been driving manual for 12 years. vw is refusing to honor the warranty and is telling me the clutch problem is my fault. i have never heard of a clutch going in 15k miles, even if i was a terrible manual driver which i am not. i have researched this problem on the web, and it looks quite common for these cheaply made vw clutches to break down and for vw to find a way to not honor the warranty. i need help standing up against them. *tr

2005 volkswagen jetta bucks and shakes while driving. consumer states that the vehicle sounds like it just wants to shut off and not run. while vehicle was in the shop the loaner got hit and dealer would not return her car until payment was made. *kb the consumer stated the first time the problem happened, she had come to a full stop. when she went to accelerate, the vehicle almost stalled, starting bucking and was sluggish. immediately afterwards, the engine light illuminated. the dealer stated the reset a component, however 1 month later the problem re-surfaced. the consumer was told the problem was several different things, but each time the components were replaced, the problem would come back. *jb

My flywheel exploded earlier last year and now i know that this is a common occurrence in diesel jettas. i had to have the clutch and the flywheel replaced, and volkswagen would not do it under warranty. *tr

We asked our dealership to acquire it for us after our 2004 tdi was totaled. current vehicle is a certified pre-owned we purchased april 25, 2006 with 10583 miles on it. previous owner was volkswagen of america. on july 2, 2006 while on vacation the clutch completely failed after driving several miles in bumper to bumper traffic it started smoking and then the pedal went to the floor and the clutch locked up. the vehicle then had about 14-15,000 miles on it. a maine dealer determined that the hydraulic cylinder had failed and the entire clutch failed. took more than two weeks to repair the vehicle. when the vehicle was serviced by our virginia dealer it was reported to us that the transmission was cracked due to improper re-installation. vehicle then had 17632 miles on it. it took another two weeks to force the maine dealer to pay for the replacement transmission and replace it. on dec. 6, 2006 my wife the valet parking service brought the car to her with considerable smoke coming from the clutch and the statement that it had "burned out" while trying to come up a ramp. the dealership claims abuse caused the clutch to fail and crack the flywheel in three places and warranty for the flywheel was denied. we have owned more than six standard transmission automobiles over our more than 3 0 years of driving experience and have never had a clutch fail other than the 2 failures in less than six months with this volkswagen. internet research informs us that this is a very prevalent problem with volkswagens. clearly the dual mass flywheel is defective in this vehicle and the clutch is in general prone to very premature failure. *nm

1. turned onto an off ramp and came to a stop 2. clutch would not disengage, car towed to dealership 3. awaiting diagnostics to determine manufacturer or driver responsibility. *jb

I was driving and depressed the clutch in my car, at which time i felt a snap and i could no longer change gears. it began working again about forty minutes later, but would not shift gears at times. the dealer said that the clutch pressure plate was not releasing properly and that i needed to replace the entire clutch assembly including the flywheel, and that this is not a warranty item, even though my car has only 35000 miles and is under warranty for more than 70000 miles. this repair is quoted to cost me over 2000 dollars. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated while proceeding from a traffic light the clutch shattered. the dealer determined the vehicle was no longer under warranty and offered repairs at cost. the contact researched complaints for the year, make and model of the vehicle and there were a high number of complaints relating to a shattered clutch. the contact expressed there should be a recall.

I now own a 2005. 5 new body style jetta tdi with just under 15,000 miles on it and in 5th i can feel the clutch slipping at times which i feel is un-acceptable. and yes i do know how to drive a manual diesel, tdi and non-tdi. *nm

While entering the interstate and upshifting into 5th gear, the clutch was depressed. the clutch stuck to the floor of the vehicle causing the vehicle to lose all transmission function. the vehicle coasted to the side of the road and was towed to the dealer. the dealer determined the failure was due to the clutch disc which disintegrated and was not covered since it was considered a wear item. the manufacturer was alerted and no repairs were made so the owner then paid to make the repairs, even though the vehicle was still under warranty. *nm

At cold-start, automatic transmission hesitates then lurches into either drive or reverse, which is especially unnerving when driving in areas with in/declines because the vehicle rolls like a manual. told by the dealer twice that there was no problem because the vehicle's transmission was functioning to mfg specs. this is a problem. *nm

The reason for the late post is that i just discovered this site. i purchased my 2005 vw jetta brand new in 2005. it had 61 miles on it. i had the car for about 5 months when it was shifting very hard and nearly snapping my neck. i took the vehicle to the vw dealership over 30 times within a years time and they continued to tell me nothing was wrong. they kept the car and drove it and it of course it would not happen while they drove it. they actually told me i was driving the car incorrectly (what that means i don't know). i was unaware of the lemon law at the time. the car continued to shift extremely hard. finally after it went back for the 30th time i demanded that they keep the car and drive it until it happened. finally after 2 weeks (they actually gave me a loaner) the mechanic called me stating that it nearly snapped his neck and that they would put in a new transmission (rebuilt mind you). after getting it back about 2 weeks later the car would not go in reverse and was making the worst noise ever but i continued to drive it to the dealership. they had to replace the transmission once again (another rebuilt transmission). the other issue i had was the locks on the car. some of the doors lock with the key fob while the back doors don't work with the fob or the switch on the door panel. this is frustrating when you have children and need to lock and unlock the car and get them in and out. *tr

Dealership: lindsay volkswagen of dulles manufacturer: volkswagen i have never heard from vw customer care since my initial complaint, filed 10.27.05 at 9:12 p.m., reference number 804030825. i called in nov 05' to check on the status and a customer service rep told me i should file again (i have a reference number for that, too). i've yet to hear from them to this day. since i bought my vw jetta tdi 05' in march 05, i have documented how the vw dealership replaced the transmission module component, dealt with occurring problems with the asr light and a separate glow plug light situation, plus upper front strut mounts replacements. each incident has equally colorful stories too detailed for your database character limitations. *jb

Shifting from park to either reverse or drive while engine is cold, vehicle hesitates and then suddenly jerks into gear.

Pretty much since i leased my car in april of 05 there has been problems. when i would put my car into reverse it would shift hard. then 3 months later i would have to take my foot off the brake and put it back on the brake for it to go into reverse. as time went on when the transmission would engage into reverse it would bounce back. now when i put it in reverse i can take my foot off the break and leave it off for 5 minutes and nothing, no reverse. i can pump my brakes and no reverse. i have to put it back into park and then back into reverse for it to go into reverse. the dealership says that it is normal. but it is far from normal. i just want them to take back the car. now my drive is starting to engage hard.

In the mornings the car will not go into reverse when your foot is on the brake, you have to let off on the brake and reverse the engine a bit, then the car jumps into reverse, suddenly and unexpectly lurches backward. dealers response: back your car into your garage or parking space at night so you don't need to use reverse in the morning. *ak

This probably is the same as the existing complaint number 10079735 for volkswagen jetta 04. 1. it happens only when it is cold. if it is cold, the problem is repeatable. 2. while pushing the brake, we move the shift from park to either drive or reverse (it's the same). then normally, torque is transmitted through driveshaft through the transmission. however, jetta does not function as such. 3. the transmission only can engages when i release the brake almost completely. up to the position, it is the same as neutral. that introduces sudden and abrupt start of the car.*ak

My wife and i purchased a 2005 vw jetta tdi (1.9 liter diesel engine) in october of 2004. this vehicle had a heating element that was bad and eventually fixed by dealer under warranty in november of 2004. since approx. december of 2004 we have experienced increased problems with the clutch disengaging from the flywheel while shifting up or down and while passing cars. i have since found out the car (since 2001) has a dual mass flywheel assembly installed by vw that is at root of problem. the two layered flywheel is becoming over heated and warping the clutch disc abnormally in certain spots. some mechanics and engineers have specualated improper design, and others said transmission bolts around flywheel were probably overtightened at manufacturer. either way, our clutch is disengaging by itself from the flywheel after we drive car for 60 or 70 miles at one time (and car is heated up). the clutch disengages after shifing up or down and sometimes while passing, causing problems negotiating speeds. this means lack of control from the driver which equals safety hazard for most. our car started this at 11,500 miles, but dealer is refusing warranty work because his service advisor failed to note the problem we requested to have checked on three separate occasions. dealer is also denying it is a clutch/flywheel problem since he can not duplicate it in fifteen minutes, but has refused to look any further. most research i have done shows thousands of vw jetta customers with same problem between 11k and 20k mileage (from 2001 to 2005 models).

This has been reported by others and i would like to report it as well, so that vw will eventually be forced to make a recall on this malfunction. when i start my car after it has been sitting for and hour or more, i place my foot on the brake, put it either into reverse or drive, and if i am on any hill, very small or large, when i take my foot off of the brake, the car will roll downhill. the first few times this happened, i almost rolled the car over a curb and down a large embankment. the only way to stop the car is to apply the brake again, and then release the brake and quickly apply the gas. when that is done, the car very abruptly jumps into gear.