The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 659,493 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 41 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS16V0780002016-02-10659,493 affected
Defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Golf, 2007-2010 Passat sedans and wagon, 2012-2014 Passat sedan and Eos, 2009-2014 CC, 2009-2012 Audi Q5, 2010-2012 S5 Cabriolet and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag,…
Consequence
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflators, free of charge. Volkswagen issued an interim notification to owners on April 12, 2016, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Volkswagen will notify owners again once parts are available.…
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
15
2fires1injuries
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
5
1fires
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
4
SUSPENSION
4
ENGINE
3
AIR BAGS
2
1crashes
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR
1
POWER TRAIN
1
SEAT BELTS
1
Total complaints41
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The f16 fuse in the engine bay that connects power to multiple exterior lights as well as the abs brake system melts and melts part of the fuse tray. This is the same thing that happens with the vw tiguan in campaign am97. Look into am97 as this can ruin your abs brake system. This should be…”
“The f16 fuse in the engine bay that connects power to multiple exterior lights as well as the abs brake system melts and melts part of the fuse tray. This is the same thing that happens with the vw tiguan in campaign am97. Look into am97 as this can ruin your abs brake system. This should be…”
“The f16 fuse in the engine bay that connects power to multiple exterior lights as well as the abs brake system melts and melts part of the fuse tray. This is the same thing that happens with the vw tiguan in campaign am97. Look into am97 as this can ruin your abs brake system. This should be…”
“Vehicle’s electrical system shuts off as I am driving. This happened at night , almost caused a crash.”
“The car stalls in traffic and is slow to accelerate. The service department attributes the cause from a problem with a contaminated fuel system. However, the car has had a series of problems with the electrical system where I was told the "radio is draining the battery". The car would be parked…”
“The car stalls in traffic and is slow to accelerate. The service department attributes the cause from a problem with a contaminated fuel system. However, the car has had a series of problems with the electrical system where I was told the "radio is draining the battery". The car would be parked…”
“Going down the road - in town - at about 35 mph and I started to hear loud clanking while I felt as the rear of the car felt "stiff" all of a sudden. I parked the car as soon as I could to check it over. The rear passenger side coil spring just snapped as you'd break a pretzel... I have never seen…”
“While changing lanes we heard a twang sound and felt an impact in the floor boards. The left rear of the car was unloaded from weight shift when the noise and impact was felt. When I was able to check the car over, I found the left rear spring was broken. The vehicle only has roughly 85k miles. I…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA18003 Opened 2018-04-18 · open
Air Bag Clockspring Failure
In August 2015, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) launched Safety Recall 15V-483 to address the loss of the protection provided by the front driver air bag in several models due to the failure of the clockspring.Debris entry into the steering wheel hub can result in contamination and ultimately failure…
InvestigationEA18003 Opened 2018-04-18 · open
Air Bag Clockspring Failure
In August 2015, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) launched Safety Recall 15V-483 to address the loss of the protection provided by the front driver air bag in several models due to the failure of the clockspring.Debris entry into the steering wheel hub can result in contamination and ultimately failure…
InvestigationEA18003 Opened 2018-04-18 · open
Air Bag Clockspring Failure
In August 2015, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) launched Safety Recall 15V-483 to address the loss of the protection provided by the front driver air bag in several models due to the failure of the clockspring.Debris entry into the steering wheel hub can result in contamination and ultimately failure…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.