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KLUNK
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2021 Volkswagen Jetta gli

The Verdict

84 Smooth Ride

The 2021 Volkswagen Jetta gli has 62 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are brakes (21 complaints) and body (17 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 84/100, it earns a "Smooth Ride" rating. If you're shopping for a Volkswagen Jetta gli, consider the 2022 model year which has 46% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2022 has 46% fewer complaints

View the 2022 Volkswagen Jetta gli dashboard →

84

Klunk Score: Smooth Ride

This vehicle year has significantly fewer complaints than average. A reliable choice.

How is this calculated?

The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.

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Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
2021172110122
20226105120

By Category

Brakes
21
Body
17
Engine
12
Electrical
10
Transmission
2

By Severity

1
29
2
31
5
2

Worst Problems

Complaints

Brakes 2

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%, service associate warned me about driving on the highway. I took my car to another location and mechanic for a second opinion and was told "rear brake pads approx. 2mm remaining friction material, and brake rotors are overheated & scored. Not knowing that my rear brakes had worn down to this level in 14,000 miles put myself and other drivers at risk. I had no warning nor did I experience any symptoms in my brakes until I took it in for regular service.

4mo ago
Body 1

While driving home from work last night, I heard a loud noise that sounded like a gun going off right in the passenger compartment of my Jetta. A lot of wind noise followed. I thought initially that a tire might have blown out, but it was the car’s sunroof that had spontaneously and inexplicably exploded. There was no one close to me on the road, so I don’t believe a foreign object struck the roof. I was able to drive the car home, but the sunroof is demolished.

8mo ago
Brakes 2

The rear brake pads on my 2021 Volkswagen Jetta have worn out prematurely twice by 20,000 miles. The first replacement occurred at only 8,006 miles in April 2023. At that time, Volkswagen acknowledged the problem and provided “goodwill” coverage of 50% since my vehicle was only one month outside of the Rear Brake Pad Limited Warranty Extension. Now at approximately 20,846 miles in September 2025, the rear pads have worn out again and required replacement. Volkswagen has refused to provide any assistance this time. Normally, front brake pads wear faster than the rear. In this case, the rear pads are failing far earlier than expected, which creates a potential safety issue since brake performance is being compromised at very low mileage. Volkswagen has already acknowledged this defect by issuing the warranty extension for 2020–2023 Jettas, but coverage expired by time, not mileage, leaving owners like me with repeated failures and no support. When I raised the issue with my dealership, they suggested that the premature wear is due to the emergency brake always being engaged when the car is parked. This explanation does not make sense, since pads do not normally wear when the car is stationary. The fact that VW created a warranty extension for this exact problem shows this is a design defect, not a misuse issue. This issue has been confirmed by a Volkswagen dealer and independent service centers, and is well-documented among other owners. If the pads continue to wear this quickly, it poses a recurring safety risk and results in abnormally high repair costs for a critical safety component. I am reporting this so NHTSA is aware that the defect continues to affect owners even beyond the limited warranty extension and goodwill offers, and that a long-term solution is needed.

10mo ago
Engine 1

On steep hills the car automatically holds the brake for a predetermined amount of time, I believe 2.5 to 3 sec. I have a manual transmission car and when its time to move the brake assist won't release no matter what until the time interval is satisfied. The problem this creates is a stall issue. Its hard to coordinate when to depress the clutch and give gas. Too early and you lead to premature clutch wear or clutch overheating. Too late and the car stalls and you have to restart it. This is very because now you have to restart the car and can cause an accident.

11mo ago
Electrical 1

Shifting vehicle into reverse, turns of back up camera, then shifting into drive camera remains on for a set period of time, if shifted back into reverse as camera turns off, camera will not come back on. Android Auto was being used.

13mo ago
Engine 1

Starting in 2022 at 16,000 miles this vehicle has been to dealership 8 times for check engine light related to the EVAP. Multiple repairs have been done and still same issue. VW does not seem interested in properly addressing this problem.

14mo ago
Body 2

The car is at the dealer service department for the fifth time for EVAP system faults.

15mo ago
Body 2

Door stopped opening from handle from outside after unlocking with remote only opens from inside door handle

16mo ago
Electrical 1

Driver door lock actuator motier lock sticking not opening from outside have to open from inside handle after unlocking with the remote

16mo ago
Brakes 1

Under 20,000 miles, but over 1 year old (leased new february 12, 2021). VW dealership and secondary party reported rear brake pads and rotors were worn down to 1mm and that the car was unsafe to drive. This cost $500 to repair and I had to pay it for a car that was just over 1 year old. The dealership wanted to charge double to replace. The brakes are only warrantied for 1 year, and because most don't hit 20k miles for a year, they know that the parts are unsafe and will wear down at 20,000 miles (as reported by many many others for the 2021 VW Jetta). I have receipts of inspection and for part replacement by Brakes Plus. There were NO warnings, just the tires squeaking when the weather got cold in December. Also, ABS issues - car stalled twice in the middle of a busy street in the first 6 months of use.

16mo ago
Engine 2

Since January of 2024, I been having issues with this vehicle. Check engine light came on after 3 day of purchase I was told it needs to be reset. From there vehicle emissions valve failed, N80 valve, electronic module and now fuel injection

17mo ago
Body 1

The contact owns a 2021 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed with adaptive cruise control on, the vehicle inadvertently applied the brakes completely bringing the vehicle to a complete stop in the middle of the roadway, after which the vehicle then shifted into the parked position. The contact also stated, that later while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle suddenly steered itself to the left towards oncoming traffic before the contact was able to regain control of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact was informed that the manufacturer was aware of possible issues with AI driving. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was not available.

18mo ago
Engine 1

I had 10 miles to empty so I stopped at the gas station and I pulled the lever to open the door to the tank and it gave an error message saying it couldn’t refuel and the door wouldn’t open. I tried forever to get the door opened and it wouldn’t open. I made it home and tried the next day at a gas station near my house and it did the same thing. Luckily I was able to make it back home. We were finally able to get it to open and I was able to fill the tank up. When it was time to put gas in again, the same thing happened. I was stuck at home with a [XXX]. If I had an emergency, I couldn’t go anywhere because I was unable to put gas in the car. I called VW to see if there was a recall because it’s a safety issue and she told me that there wasn’t a recall and there’s also no troubleshooting so she was sorry there was nothing they could do. This is a known issue to the VW dealership so I know this is known to VW headquarters. The lack of help is concerning. I’m scared I’m going to get stranded on the highway and we’re unable to go on a trip or anything because of this. My husband has a 2023 Jetta and it’s doing the same thing. I called the dealership to quote me a price to fix it, but they refuse to quote me anything because they said they have to look at it first which will cost me $100 just for them to look at it. I can’t get it fixed without a ballpark estimate. Something needs to be done!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

19mo ago
Brakes 1

Went in for service appointment at 27000 miles. I was told rear brake pads needed replacing. Upon questioning this as I have NEVER had to replace a set of brake pads with such little miles, and I am not a hard braker, the service advisor stated that VW extended to warranty for the brake pads to 2 years, 24,000 miles. VW claims to have lower cost maintance than other car brands. They also never sent me a notice on this brake issue, and they are supposed to perform a multi-point inspection with each service appointment, which they failed to do at my prior service appointment or else this issue would have been caught and remedied. The brakes have been working as normal, making no noise. I would have not known they were worn down to 1mm like the service advisor told me until it resulted in catastrophic failure leading to a crash and possibly death.

20mo ago
Electrical 2

Backup camera has been having problems with blacking out or not working upon activation. I informed the service advisor who did not investigate the problem and said "VW should be coming out with something about it because there has been a lot of issues with them." I have no received anything regarding this officially from VW.

20mo ago
Engine 1

The vehicle does not allow me to fill the fuel tank without the gas pump constantly cutting off within a few seconds of actuating the handle. This forces me to repeatedly actuate the handle until I can get a reasonable amount of fuel into the tank. Since the cut-off sensing is not working the fuel sometimes spills out of the filler neck creating an unsafe situation. The dealer has informed me the fuel tank needs to be replaced and there is no recall on the vehicle that covers this issue. I'm over the 50,000 mile warranty so that won't cover it either. The fuel tank has been on backorder for two months (last I heard I am eighth in line) so it seems to the tank is defective. There is no warning lamp in the dash. It seems to me the manufacturer should cover this.

20mo ago
Body 1

When driving the vehicle, the steering wheel while jiggle violently while an electrical noise is heard. This happened while driving on the interstate at 70 mph and I had to hit my breaks as I was fearful I didn't have control of the vehicle. It then continued to do it even at lower speeds. The vehicle has been to a service department where they state the steering rack and pinion has failed. There are no warning lights, lamps or messages. The vehicle is at 72k miles.

22mo ago
Engine 2

What system component failed or malfunctioned? Is it available for inspection upon request? The car boards are left inoperative. If the entire car loses power Don't grab the car How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I'm driving down the road and suddenly the car no longer works. It doesn't start and the drivers behind me have to avoid me. On many occasions I have had to leave the car on while I run errands because I have had to ask for help to turn it on, so I don't turn it off because I don't know if it will turn on again. And this is a dangerous practice since they can steal my car and what I have inside since I have to leave it on. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by an independent dealer or service center? Every time I bought it and took it to the dealer, they indicated a different fault. At first they indicated that it was the electrical part and they made changes to it. Then apparently it was the battery but it was not safe. They have taken it apart several times but have not been able to fix it, since each time it seems to have a different error. The last scan showed a ground short circuit. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? I have always taken the vehicle to the dealer who sold it to me. Were there warning lights, messages or other symptoms of the problem before the failure and when did they first appear? The first time he took it was because the dashboard went out, the electrical part was left not working. If you are unsure, simply indicate UNKNOWN and provide your best assessment of the incident and cause in your description.

22mo ago
Body 1

Rearview Mirror detached from windshield while car was in motion. There was no force of any kind applied to the mirror, and nothing hanging from it.

22mo ago
Brakes 1

As you park the car the EPB faulty parking brake engages without being told to engage

22mo ago

62 total

1/ 4
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