Problems with 2012 Volkswagen Jetta ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Car wont start after you shut it off. replaced the battery twice and the alternator three times in three days. no charge from the alternator to the battery. had it tested the battery is good but still showing a bad alternator. replaced all the fuses as well. diagnostic is telling us nothing except the alternator isn't charging the battery. car has been sitting for two weeks because i'm tired of paying people to look at the car and cant figure out whats wrong with it. i'm afraid to let my daughter drive it because she is pregnant and i don't want her stranded on the road or the car cut off on the highway and she get seriously hurt.

Key got stuck in the ignition with motor running. could not turn to "off" position. although i could kill the motor by releasing the clutch (manual transmission), i still could not turn the key off and, therefore, would have to just let the battery die after many hours of sitting there with the key on. i could not leave the vehicle unattended as anyone could have gotten in, started it right up, and left with it. did a google search and found that opinion placed the blame on a faulty ignition switch. also discovered many others with this exact same problem who had to have their ignition switches replaced, so this is a known problem with volkswagen.

Ignition key will not turn off after starting car. have to jiggle and tap on key to eventually get key to turn to the off position. once out of ten times the key may turn off normally. i have tried moving the steering wheel back and forth while turning key off. i've also tried moving the gear shifter to see if the lock is preventing the key from turning. nothing really seems to work. then for no reason at all i you will be able to turn it off. seems like the tumblers get out of line or something. car is parked on flat level driveway when this happens.

The ignition switch is becoming increasingly difficult to turn off and remove the key from. i've done my research and have found a community of other vw owners experiencing similar issues with the vw models (many jettas like mine). the vehicle is safely parked, etc, and the key must be turned so hard that it feels like one could break/damage the key in the ignition switch before it releases.

Key stuck on the on position and not able to turn key, to turn car off.

Key gets stuck in ignition when turning off the engine. (car in park, stationary.) must turn key back and forth several times to remove. ongoing since early august.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen jetta. when starting the vehicle, the epc warning light illuminated and the vehicle stalled when attempted to drive. the vehicle was towed to the dealer where the failure code was cleared for the abs fuse. in addition, while driving 60 mph, the brake light failed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the brake switch and brake booster failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 73,000.

Like the recall on 2011 jetta horn the 2012 jetta horn have the same issue. while driving through a parking lot was hit by a driver backing up and vould not warn the driver due to ahorn that does not work. today i was almost sandwiched between a semi-truck and a car moving into my lane. luckily for me and thekid the driver in the car got back in their own lane. it appears the trunk light does not work either. this is the second time the horn and trunk light stopped working, last time it fixed it's self this time it seems to need help to resolve the problem. horn clicks no sound, no alarm warning sounds.

Car's fuse # 6 keeps blowing which controls the back lights that turns on at night, when fuse blows lights on back go out and cars behind you can't see you and may cause a collision where serious injury and death may result. i think this an engineering flaw where they connected the back lights to other modules in the car, so the short remains and car is not safe to drive at night fuse keeps blowing every time you put a new one in vw is not willing to look at the problem and give me a solution, the short is not in any of the lights on the back of the car, or inside the car, vw is refusing to give me the schematic diagram for that circuit so we can trace the problem, they insist on taking it to the dealer where it is going to be a very expensive fix to track down the short where it is an engineering flaw. also the air bags warning lights come on intermittently, and seat belts warning lights come on and start chiming while you have seat belts on and properly fastened, do not know if seat belt or airbags are defective which is very unsafe in my opinion, and vw refuses to look at my problem without a hefty dealer charge. please help

Engine light comes on and off from time to time at random times. it comes on and off when driving and when parked.

Received verbal quotes to fix the issue with the key getting stock in the ignition with car running and was told it was not covered by vw and that it would cost close to 500.00 to fix and i chose to live with the issue...now i received a letter to get reimbursed for the cost when i did not have it fixed. called to set up an appointment and the dealer told me the car is over 100,000 miles and i would have to pay for it. this to me is not correct. i brought this issue up many times before the car went over the 100,000 and they claimed it was because the car was old...i would like someone to look into this and get back to me so i can have this issue fixed.

The horn has not been working since november 2015. there is a recall on the air bag in the horn.

Both of the low-beam headlights stopped working as i was driving home on a unlit highway at night. the daytime running lights worked when i turned off the headlights, and the high-beam headlights worked when i tried using them. the next morning i replaced both low-beam headlights and they still do not work.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen jetta. while driving 20 mph, the vehicle accelerated forward in a jerking motion without warning. the vehicle was taken to the dealer to be serviced per a recall related to the failure; however, the failure recurred. also, a howling sound emitted from the engine and the oil and check engine warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer, but the failure was not diagnosed. in addition, the contact stated that the headlights became inoperable intermittently without warning. the contact also mentioned that the front driver seat independently readjusted and the steering wheel shook violently when the vehicle was driven. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the purge valve and the steering rack failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was 66,000.

Vehicle has 38,000 miles, we're the original owner, horn became intermittent, then stopped working. we took it to the vw dealer in brandon, fl. they said there's a recall about to be announced in november that will cover the horn, and the potential for an airbag earning light. we're left with major safety hazard with not having a horn. the dealership said it would cost over $2000.00 to fix, they won't have the parts until the recall is sent. this can't be right and feel we're being put at risk while they figure out what they want to do.

The key locks in the ignition while the car is running and in park, will not disengage to turn the car off (steering wheel not locked). i was unable to turn my car off. this first occurred while i was parked in a parking lot (no danger). after the dealership forced the key, i had to pull over to the shoulder on a highway for a flat tire and was unable to turn the car off. i could not change the tire safely and could not get the car towed as i could not turn the engine off. i had to sit at the side of a highway until my car stalled from running out of gas, until i could safely have the car towed. no locksmith was able to correct the ignition lock, as it is an electronic lock in the key housing. i see multiple complaints listed with nhtsa regarding the same issue with vw cars, and many specifically for jettas, and 2012 jettas.

2012 jetta tdi. horn intermittent and about the same time my moon roof stopped working. as a military member stationed near seoul, south korea, i was in heavy traffic and someone pulled out in front of me even though i was a low speed i still had to smash on the brakes causing the anti-skid system to work. as soon as they pulled out in front of me i was pressing the horn and nothing happened. i believe this is a major safety defect with many people having issues with faulty horns/wiring, especially for a car with less than 50k miles on it. (conveniently out of warranty). i am aware of the recall on the horn for the 2011 models, obviously they didn't resolve the problem when building the 2012 model. in seoul i feel the need to use my horn daily as there are over 150 accidents a day just in the seoul area. this is a major safety issue and should be covered by vw.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen jetta. the contact stated that the epc warning light illuminated and the accelerator pedal failed to respond each time the failure recurred. the contact indicated that there was a drastic reduction in speed. the contact had to turn the vehicle on and off multiple times in order to reset the epc code. the vehicle was to be taken to a dealer for inspection and diagnosis. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown. the failure mileage was 92,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen jetta. the contact stated that the horn and security system did not function when attempting to lock the vehicle. the failure occurred without warning. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the contact attempted to replace the sparks plugs on four different occasions, but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. the failure mileage was 69,868.

Ignition lock/switch stuck in "on" position. unable to turn off engine or remove key. safety and security risk being unable to secure vehicle or turn off engine.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen jetta. the contact's key became stuck in the ignition switch while in the run position. the dealer was able to shut off the engine only by disconnecting four of the five fuel injectors. the dealer stated that they would need to destroy the trim and remove and replace the ignition lock and switch assembly. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

The vehicle was being backed out of a driveway into the roadway when the horn began to sound continuously and the airbag warning light illuminated. the vehicle needed to be turned off completely to stop the horn. subsequently, the horn sounds whenever the ignition is engaged sometimes stopping once the engine turns on, sometimes not. once started the vehicle is driveable but the airbag warning light is illuminated, the horn on the steering wheel is inoperable and the steering wheel controls are inoperable. the vehicle was taken to a volkswagen dealership and diagnosed with a faulty clock spring that requires replacement. the incident appears to be similar to that described in nhtsa investigation pe 15-010.

2012 volkswagen jetta. consumer writes in regards to key stuck in the ignition. *smd the consumer stated the vehicle could not be turned off. a mechanic un-plugged a wire. the vehicle had to be towed to the dealer. *jb

Cannot shut engine off. cannot remove ignition key. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen jetta. while driving at an unknown speed, another vehicle veered into the contact's lane. the horn malfunctioned and failed to alert the other person. as a result, the other vehicle crashed into the driver side of the contact's vehicle. a police report was not filed and no injuries were reported. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 70,000.

Upon returning home on sunday 12/21 at 3 pm, smoke was coming from our garage. we opened the garage door to discovery my car on fire and a garage full of smoke. we called 911 and requested fire assistance. we then proceeded to extinguish the fire using 5 commercial size fire extinguishers. the fire department arrived and extinguished the flames and dragged the car from the garage. the car had not been driven for approximately 18 hours. *tr

On several occasions the ignition will not turn off. the key is stuck in the on position and can not be removed. on one occasion it took over 7 minutes to remove the key. this may not seem like a long time, but sit in your car after parking then time 7 minutes and you'll see how frustrating this is!

The horn on this vehicle becomes unresponsive at times. when it does work, the horn tone is very low and is difficult to hear. this could be a safety issue. it also concerns me since an operational horn is needed to pass the state safety inspection. i have not taken it to the dealership yet for repair, but a quick internet search, i have confirmed this is far too common problem on newer model jetta's. *tr

For this year of jetta the doors lock around 10 miles an hour. mine does not lock. the doors will keep attempting to lock with no success. if you go on a long trip and slow down to the 10 mph range they will try to lock again. the door also does not lock when you push button. you must keep pressing it until it finally locks. *tr

I took my jetta to get an oil change and the mechanic went to move my car in the bay and could not get it turned off. i had to have it moved to a volkswagen dealer to what i thought was a faulty ignition and volkswagen said a bad steering lock. *tr

driver side bulb keeps burning out. was replaced by dealer with oem parts, but it keeps burning out every month. the daylight running light on the driver side does not work. they keep replacing it and it keeps burning out. i see many other jetta's like mine with the same problem on the road.

While pulling into intersection, ignition quit. tow truck driver restarted vehicle. dealer found fault with electronic ignition. replaced ignition switch.

I purchased a 2012 volkswagen in august 9, 2012. one week later after purchase, the car stopped in the middle of driving with no warning. i called hertz car sales where i purchased the car and to no avail the problem did not get resolved. i then noticed that the horn works at time and then doesn't work. i really shouldn't have to explain what a safety hazard the car can be if you can't alert another driver with your horn. i then did some research and found out that volkswagen did a recall for the 2011 model but did not include the 2012 model which is obvious that the same problem exist. i called volkswagen and found out that my car was manufactured 2/2012. if the same part was used in my car which is showing the exact same malfunctioned parts that were recalled in 2011. it is more than likely that the earlier 2012 models had the same problem as the 2011 problem. i used this car to get myself and my son back and forth to dr.'s appointments, school and other daily errands. i consider the car to be a hazard with the horn malfunctioning and the car stopping i the middle of driving. *tr

Key will not turn to shut engine off , turn key forward like starting car , then release key so it springs back and remove key. defect, could not shut car off while pumping gas, had to wait till i was home to lookup on internet how to turn key off. *tr

I own a 2012, jetta, tdi. the dealer had to change the horn. the dealership advised me that they change so many of these defective horns that they stock them. as a law enforcement officer i feel this is a safety issue. it makes me wonder now if there other life-threatening problems with the vehicle they haven't bothered to fix. i see countless vw's with taillights out as i patrol. i can't believe vw is putting their customers in danger with a known common problems. *tr

The first time my radio caught on fire, it was the summer of 2014. my car was parked in a parking lot while i was at work. when i entered the car to drive home, i turned started the vehicle and there was a extremely loud sound, much like an explosion. the middle dash where the radio is located began pouring smoke. after the incident, i contacted the dealership, who "fixed" the problem (they replaced the stock radio for another vw stock radio). spring of 2015, the same exact thing happened. my car was parked at work, i started the car and the radio began pouring smoke. i again, had the issue "fixed" by the dealership. august 2015, again this happened and september 2015 again. when i insisted that vw must further investigate the underlying issue, they claimed to have fixed the problem after the august 2015 incident. with this incident not only did the radio burn out, my battery was drained out. the explanation i was given was that the power line to the radio was not shutting off, therefore the radio was overheating and the battery was being drained. with this particular incident, i received my car back on a monday and the radio again caught fire and burned out on the friday of that same week.

Airbag light continues to stay on. i had an accident back in 2014 and the airbag never deployed. the steering column ignition switch locked and my key was stuck with the car still running on in a station place. i was trying to park the car and my ignition switch locked and would not moved and kept the key locked in it. i kept trying to move the jiggle the wheel and turn the key but it cause the key to break off in the ignition switch. i had to pair to get the ignition switch replaced and the key replaced. also after that the horn stop working and i was told it was because the clock spring had to be replaced. i paid again to had the clock spring replaced however the horn now is going in an out. the horn will sound off one day and then for a couple of days it will not work. this happen only 2 weeks after getting the clock spring fixed. also the horn is not loud it barely makes a noise. now the sensor light is on for the engine and i was already told there's nothing wrong with the engine.

My 2012 jetta with dsg automatic 6 speed transmission would have an issue of every 30-50 miles, the service wrench would pop on + cel at times. the code came up p0106. after checking with dealer, they cleared code under warranty many times and could not come up with the solution. after warranty went this was happening frequently. took it into the dealer +-7 times til we, sort of, found the issue at hand. the main issue is when the wrench/cel would pop up, the transmission would start to shift extremely rough up and down until it simply, went away..... very confusing and frustrating to say the least. also, when on, i would get a rich smell of fuel. was told by dealer/vw that when this combo occurs, the engine reads a different fuel load to compensate for the "air" getting in. this happened for +-20,000 miles. grateful car is running great now..... they cleaned the throttle body a few times + tightened intake manifold to factory specs, and the issue still came back after +-400 miles. finally, they did a "wiggle test" on the map sensor. then recommended i replace the map sensor. after reading online with people in similar issues, it appears you simply need to keep this sensor clean. after that diagnostic, they wanted to charge +-$125 to replace the sensor. i refuted. since they did the test back in early september, i have had 0 issues with the car. i have contacted my local vw rep and the dealer to follow-up monthly. where the sensor is located, it is susceptible to getting dirty. which will then throw off the engine codes for no reason. i am thankful this is solved, for now. i have read many "p0106"ers with the same issue with jetta's n passat's from 2010-2013 with the dsg auto transmission.

When i drove home at 7pm on wednesday, i stopped the car and shifted to park. but i couldn't turn the key off from ignition. the key was just locked in the on position and the engine just kept running. i drove around and tried it again. but i still couldn't shut the engine. i called the police officer and my insurance company, but none of them can help me with this situation. the engine kept running for an hour and almost 40 minutes until i accidentally turned it off. i was calling my friend and tried it again, after almost two hours it stopped. *tr

Approached a red light - was 2nd car from light. just as i stopped the light changed to green and when i stepped on the gas to go the car cut off. this happened again about 5 days later and then today i was going slowly through a shopping complex parking lot and the engine cut off again. i had my car in for an oil change a few days after the 2nd incident and had them check it out but was told everything was ok. i was told about 8 or 9 mos ago there was a recall on the ecm and the dealer checked it out and assured me all was ok just like they assured me there was nothing wrong when they checked it out after the call stalled out on me. *js

My vw jetta from 2012 has issues with the horn not working properly when there a heavy rain and humidity. when driving in the rain the horn becomes extremely low or won't work at all. have been to the vw service center and gotten this replaced. the issue persists. this is not safe when having to alert a driver or pedestrian. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen jetta. while driving 70 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. the contact was able to successfully move the vehicle off the highway by shifting into neutral. the dealer was unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was notified. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 10,000.

While driving home after a snowstorm, my wipers suddenly stopped working. because of it, i could not clean my windshield and had to keep pulling over and pouring windshield washer fluid down my front window so that i could see. it is very dangerous in maine in the winter time to have this happen as we often encounter wet/snowy roads and you must depend on your windshield wipers and fluid system to work properly and keep your windshield clear. i took my car into the vw dealer (o connors in augusta maine). . they determined there was no power coming out of the wiper switch to the pump. first they replaced the wiper/washer switch which did not fix the problem. then they had it for another full day and determined the "body control module" was not working. they had to order the part. it cost $1041 dollars to replace the module, part # 5co-937-087-e-z09 control unit. when i finally picked it up i was told that 5 other vw owners had their cars in for the same exact problem that week. one owner was standing there in the customer service area and he told me the same thing happened to his 2013 jetta. the shop rep said they were seeing a lot of these since the cold weather set in. my car is in excellent condition and was only 20 months old when this happened. there has got to be a major defect for this many new cars to have this happen to them. i wish you would investigate. *tr

Leaving work i had started my car let the car idle down put it in drive and it slammed into gear after taking off the car shifted into 3rd gear and no higher after noticing this i pulled over put the car in park and tried shifting through the gears and it continued to slam into drive and reverse so i turned the vehicle off and started it back up at that point the mil was on and the service wrench was light up. called me dealership they had the car towed to a volkswagen dealership upon their diagnoses they said it could be a wiring issue possible a transmission control module issue upon further investigation the transmission control module had been warrantied previously (as i am the second owner of the car). *tr

While my daughter was sitting at a stop light in a left hand turn lane, all of the dash lights began to flash. she thought if she turned the car off and restarted it, it would clear. she could not restart the car, the hazard lights would not turn on, the back doors would not unlock , the radio could not be turned off and it was pitch dark. thank god, a man with a family pushed her car to out of the left hand turn lane and into a gas station parking lot across the street. upon my husband and my arrival, we could not open the trunk either to allow the tow truck driver access to the tow hook. we leased this car due to its safety features of our college age daughter. hazard lights should work regardless of what's going on with the vehicle. had someone reared ended the vehicle due to no hazard lights, passengers in the back would not have been able to exit the vehicle. or if it had caught fire to only way to exit would be through the two front doors. we were told by the vw dealer that it was a controller that went out and that he has never heard this happening before. i'm writing to vw to let them know that if this is true for all vw products, it is a design flaw that jeopardizes everyone that buys or leases one. *tr

I had taken my vehicle to a new vw in el cajon, where i had a new issues pop up with my a/c. my a/c was not blowing as cold as it should have been. when driving i would notice my a/c go from cold to warm a lot. it would randomly do it all throughout the day, i was never getting constant cold air. i brought it in and notified the dealership of the issue and even pointed out a wire that seemed to me to be a odd because wire was showing, they told me don't worry we will take care of this issue. they did not do so they told me that they could not duplicate the issue and said everything was normal, even though i knew it was not because i was the one experiencing this issue. it seemed to me once again they did little as they could to actually help me and get this they supposedly did another multipoint inspection and did not say anything about my tires, something vw kearny mesa said to be cupped and feathered, but yet they did not catch this. *tr

The horn on this vehicle becomes unresponsive at times. when it does work, the horn tone is very low and is difficult to hear. this could be a safety issue. it also concerns me since an operational horn is needed to pass the state safety inspection. i have not taken it to the dealership yet for repair, but a quick internet search, i have confirmed this is far too common problem on newer model jetta's. *tr

Car ignition will not turn off. was told by a dealership that it was the steering column lock and sheer bolts would need to be replaced. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen jetta. while at a complete stop on an incline, the brake pedal was depressed and there was a two second delayed response. the vehicle was equipped with an electronic hill start assistance feature. the failure recurred numerous times. on a separate occasion, the unoccupied vehicle was parked on a slight incline and the vehicle rolled with the emergency brake engaged. the vehicle crashed into a tree. failure recurred numerous times. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the vehicle operated as designed. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 9,000.

I was on an approximately 6 hour road trip. approximately 100 miles from my home, my 2012 volkswagen jetta tdi was being driven at approximately 70 mph on the highway. the glow plug light on the instrument cluster began flashing. vehicle then went into "limp mode", slowing to approximately 45 mph on the highway. i was able to make it to the next exit off the highway, and come to a stop at the off ramp stop sign. the vehicle then stalled, and would not restart. this left my wife and i stranded 100 miles from home. vehicle was towed back to the dealership, where the vehicle was purchased. mechanic at dealership stated the high pressure fuel pump "exploded", sending metal shards throughout the vehicle's fuel system. dealership states this may be caused by "contaminated fuel". a small amount of online research revealed this is a common problem with volkswagen tdi engines. *tr