AutoUtility currently tracks 66 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Volkswagen Jetta. Brakes & Traction Control issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 25 complaints (37.9% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 3 filings cite a crash, 1 reports one or more injuries, 2 report one or more fatalities. The 2021 Volkswagen Jetta belongs to the 7th Generation (A7 / Typ BU) platform.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 66 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Brakes & Traction Control (25 reports • 37.9% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (12), Electrical System (12)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 3 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 1 injury filings • 2 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2021 Volkswagen Jetta
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Brakes & Traction Control
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #22V514000 BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
- Campaign #20V716000 BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Electrical System
Fuel & Propulsion System
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #21V492000 AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2021 Volkswagen Jetta
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"While traveling at the posted speed limit and approaching a signalized intersection, I attempted to brake for stopped traffic ahead. The vehicle did not decelerate as expected, and the automatic emergency braking/forward collision mitigation system did not activate or provide any braking..."
"Volkswagen corporate deployed a mandatory over-the-air (OTA) software update to the MIB3 infotainment system. The update failed mid-installation, entirely bricking the J794 information module. This failure completely disabled vital driver information systems, including the digital dash compass, all..."
"EPC light comes on and vehicle starts losing power while driving, you lose all acceleration. Check engine light has also illuminated I have taken in to have repairs done on this same issue 4 times in a span of owing this car for 7 months, this vehicle has become unreliable and a safety hazard while..."
"Vehicle Information: Year: 2021 Make: Volkswagen Model: Jetta Date of Purchase: March 2022 Approximate Mileage at Time of Incident: 25,000 miles --- NATURE OF COMPLAINT: I am filing this complaint regarding premature and dangerous rear brake pad and rotor wear on my 2021 Volkswagen Jetta, purchased..."
"I took my car into dealer at 20,000 miles. They told me rear brake pads and rotors needed to be replaced. At that time, they were replaced under warranty. I took my car into dealer at 34,000 miles for regular service and was told rear brake pads and rotors needed to be replaced. Pads were at 3%,..."
Complaint History for Volkswagen Jetta
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Volkswagen Jetta | 194 | 8 | 8 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Volkswagen Jetta | 162 | 18 | 5 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Volkswagen Jetta | 159 | 18 | 7 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Volkswagen Jetta | 31 | 1 | 3 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Volkswagen Jetta | 545 | 19 | 11 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Volkswagen Jetta | 51 | 1 | 6 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Volkswagen Jetta Current Page | 66 | 3 | 4 | Current |
| 2022 Volkswagen Jetta | 42 | 1 | 1 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Volkswagen Jetta | 42 | 1 | 0 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Volkswagen Jetta | 40 | 2 | 0 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Volkswagen Jetta | 24 | 4 | 2 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Volkswagen Jetta | 0 | 0 | 1 | View 2026 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2021 Volkswagen Jetta
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 31 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEAT BELTS,SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEAT BELTS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,VISIBILITY/WIPER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.