2023 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

ENGINE

My 2023 vehicle has needed coolant topped off every 5-10K miles. This appears to be a very common occurrence for several owners however dealerships are just telling folks to top off as it's due to evaporation (it's a closed system and shouldn't evaporate). It is due to a faulty head gasket that VW even later redesigned. If you review reddit and numerous forums about the 1.5T produced before July 2023 it is a known issue that caused VW to redesign the headgasket. The powertrain warranty on new vehicle purchases is very short (50K miles) so they avoid replacing and tell folks to just "top off" until the warranty expires.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The SOS Module has failed three times over 24 months of ownership. Each time, the dealer replaced the module and the faults comes back. This failure means I cannot contact VW for help in case of accident or breakdown. Part number: SWA-035-283-D

ENGINE

While driving home from work (I travel with the railroad weekly) on Thursday, [XXX], I had my vehicle set on cruise control going west on [XXX] in TN. Out of nowhere, my engine overheated and I lost my coolant. Upon pulling over, I observed no trail of coolant and nothing leaking under my vehicle. I refilled the coolant and made it home. The next morning, my coolant tank was empty again. I took it to my local VW dealership and was informed that the head gasket needed to be replaced. Upon research, I found that on August 17th, 2023, VW put out a Technical Service Bulletin stating that the "Original engine production head gasket design can lead to coolant leaks." This Bulletin did list the engine for my vehicle purchased that year. I was told that "Our manager name is Tim. He informed me that TSB is sent out when they are seeing these issues occur. It is a tech tip to help the technician diagnosis the vehicle. Your vehicle is out of warranty therefore it wouldn't be cover." The engine issue is well known with VW, with a statement that the issue is known. The Bulletin also advised "Improve head gasket design and coating as of Engine Number DNKA 234 458 July 27th 2023." So there is a fix to this issue and BW refuses to fix the issue at hand and is attempting to charge just under $3,500 for the repair. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

SERVICE BRAKES

The rear brake calipers are not fully opening, causing the pads to drag on the rotors. The dealership has replaced the pads per instructions from VW Engineering; however, per the dealership, they state that it's a software problem causing the calipers to drag against the rotors and VW hasn't issued any software updates to fix the known problem. They did "extend" the brake warranty for consumables to 2 years/24000 miles at no cost the customer however, the software problem has not been fixed and VW is ignoring the problem. The front breaks are also gripping and causing a varnish build up and there is no fix for that problem, either. I have a 2023 VW Jetta SE with only 14,362miles and I've had to have the breaks serviced 3 times due to the breaking problem.

SERVICE BRAKES

Rear brakes worn prematurely with only 16k miles on a brand new purchased 2023 VW Jetta. Dealer said, VW will not replace until the brakes at 2mm and the warranty will expire next month and I will end up paying for it out of my pocket.

SERVICE BRAKES

A few weeks after purchasing my car, my brakes started to squeak. I went to the dealership to get them fixed and they told me that they didn’t see anything wrong with the brakes. All they did was clean the brakes because they said they weren’t ready to be replaced. This did not fix the issue and my brakes started to squeak again that same day. I went to the dealership again a couple months ago for the same issue. I showed the lady a video of what my brakes sound like while I’m driving to showcase how irregular the squeaking sounds. I was told that the squeaking is normal and that there is no fix for them. She told me that Volkswagen hasn’t been able to find a pad that fits properly which causes the squeaking to occur. My breaks were replaced that same day and the squeaking occurred again as I was driving out of the dealership. Paying thousands of dollars for my car just for it to squeak disturbingly loud and for there to be no fix for it just a few weeks after purchasing it and still two years later, is absolutely frustrating and unacceptable. I expect a vehicle of this quality and price to perform without persistent, unresolved issues—especially concerning safety-related components like brakes. At this point, I would like to escalate the matter. I believe Volkswagen should take responsibility for this defect, whether through a permanent fix, a recall, or another solution. What are my options for further action? Should I contact Volkswagen corporate, file a complaint with a consumer protection agency, or explore legal options under the Lemon Law?

SERVICE BRAKES

Rear brake pads wore out quick