The 1997 Volkswagen Jetta has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 487,284 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 100 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the visibility. Last updated July 5, 2026.
ON SOME PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE FUEL TANK FILLER NECK CAN SUFFER ABRASION DAMAGE IF THE REAR TIRE GOES FLAT AND THE VEHICLE IS DRIVEN UNTIL THE TIRE DISINTEGRATES.
Consequence
FUEL LEAKAGE CAN OCCUR INCREASING THE RISK OF A FIRE.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL FIT PASSAT VEHICLES WITH A NEW WHEEL HOUSE LINER THAT WILL BETTER PROTECT THE CAR'S FILLER NECK. JETTA VEHICLES WILL BE FITTED WITH A DIFFERENT METAL SHIELD DESIGNED TO ENHANCE ABRASION PROTECTION IN THE EVENT OF TIRE DISINTEGRATION. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JUNE 13, 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR…
Complaints by component
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
9
1injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
5
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
5
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
4
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
3
STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS:UNDERBODY SHIELDS
3
SUSPENSION
3
1crashes
AIR BAGS
2
1crashes
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE
2
1crashes1injuries
Total complaints100
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“A 1997 volkswagen jetta gt, equipped with frontal airbags was in a collision due to the use of aftermarket parts, which included after market ball joints not supplied from the dealer, this part failed after 12.7km on the highway traveling at 110km/h 65mph, the car steering was very shaky when…”
“A 1997 volkswagen jetta gt, equipped with frontal airbags was in a collision due to the use of aftermarket parts, which included after market ball joints not supplied from the dealer, this part failed after 12.7km on the highway traveling at 110km/h 65mph, the car steering was very shaky when…”
“A 1997 volkswagen jetta gt, equipped with frontal airbags was in a collision due to the use of aftermarket parts, which included after market ball joints not supplied from the dealer, this part failed after 12.7km on the highway traveling at 110km/h 65mph, the car steering was very shaky when…”
“A 1997 volkswagen jetta gt, equipped with frontal airbags was in a collision due to the use of aftermarket parts, which included after market ball joints not supplied from the dealer, this part failed after 12.7km on the highway traveling at 110km/h 65mph, the car steering was very shaky when…”
“It was at night rainy and cold. I turned on the heater and defroster because my car windows and whole inside of cabin were obscures by a fog. My defroster cleared the back window but all others not so I rolled down the windows and shut down the heater. I waited a while and used clothing to wipe…”
“It was at night rainy and cold. I turned on the heater and defroster because my car windows and whole inside of cabin were obscures by a fog. My defroster cleared the back window but all others not so I rolled down the windows and shut down the heater. I waited a while and used clothing to wipe…”
“Accelerator sticks when in high rpm, if you hit the brake it slows the car down a little but the car continues to accelerate. This has happened 2 times when I'm going around 60pmh and have dropped into 4th gear to pass someone. I had to shut the car off to stop it from accelerating. Then when the…”
“The speedometer in any occasions does not mark the speed but if it marks the miles that are covered and it doest turn on the light of check engine to be able to know that it is trumping the speedometer, sometimes meanwhile the car lighting and in movement it stops working it is not the first car…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA00028 Opened 2000-12-28 · closed 2002-01-29
FUEL TANK PUNCTURE
InvestigationPE00033 Opened 2000-08-10 · closed 2000-12-28
FUEL TANK PUNCTURE
THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION OPENED THIS INVESTIGATION ON AUGUST 10, 2000 BASED ON 9 REPORTS REGARDING PUNCTURED FUEL TANKS INVOLVING THE JETTA, PASSAT, AND CABRIO MODELS.THE REPORTS INDICATE ADDITIONAL REPORTS IN ITS RESPONSE TO THE PRELIMINARY EVALUATION.THIS INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED FOR FURTHER STUDY.
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1997 Volkswagen Jetta as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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