2002 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 688 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (127 complaints · 18.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 27
  • Fires 71
  • Injuries 72
  • Deaths 10
Compare with 2001 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 127 of 688 owner complaints (18.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 127 complaints, 18.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 127 · 18.5% · 2 crash reports 8 fire reports AIR BAGS: 94 complaints, 13.7% of reports AIR BAGS 94 · 13.7% · 18 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 87 complaints, 12.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 87 · 12.7% · 1 crash reports ENGINE: 84 complaints, 12.2% of reports ENGINE 84 · 12.2% · 1 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 41 complaints, 6.0% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 41 · 6.0% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 40 complaints, 5.8% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 40 · 5.8% · 1 crash reports 3 fire reports VISIBILITY: 38 complaints, 5.5% of reports VISIBILITY 38 · 5.5% FUEL SYSTEM: 16 complaints, 2.3% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 16 · 2.3% · 1 fire reports STRUCTURE: 10 complaints, 1.4% of reports STRUCTURE 10 · 1.4% · 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 500 complaints, 72.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 500 · 72.7% · 12 crash reports 62 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 127 18.5% 2 crashes · 8 fires
AIR BAGS 94 13.7% 18 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 87 12.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 84 12.2% 0 crashes · 1 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 41 6.0% 1 crashes · 1 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 40 5.8% 1 crashes · 3 fires
VISIBILITY 38 5.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 16 2.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
STRUCTURE 10 1.4% 0 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 500 72.7% 12 crashes · 62 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2001. 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2002-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2002-Q4: 34 owner reports 34 2003-Q1: 76 owner reports 76 2003-Q2: 22 owner reports 22 2003-Q3: 19 owner reports 19 2003-Q4: 30 owner reports 30 2004-Q1: 30 owner reports 30 2004-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2004-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 2004-Q4: 41 owner reports 41 2005-Q1: 29 owner reports 29 2005-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2005-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 2005-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2006-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2006-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2006-Q4: 17 owner reports 17 2007-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2007-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2007-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2007-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2008-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2008-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2008-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2008-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2009-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2009-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2009-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2009-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2010-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2010-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2010-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2011-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2011-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2012-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2012-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2012-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2014-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2015-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2001 Jan 2023 Investigation PE03052 ● Investigation PE03052 Investigation RQ03010 ● Investigation RQ03010 Investigation EA04010 ● Investigation EA04010 Investigation PE04073 ● Investigation PE04073 Investigation PE04081 ● Investigation PE04081 Investigation DP05004 ● Investigation DP05004 Investigation RQ06004 ● Investigation RQ06004
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 3
2002-Q2 Owner reports 12
2002-Q3 Owner reports 27
2002-Q4 Owner reports 34
2003-Q1 Owner reports 76
2003-Q2 Owner reports 22
2003-Q3 Owner reports 19
2003-Q4 Owner reports 30
2004-Q1 Owner reports 30
2004-Q2 Owner reports 19
2004-Q3 Owner reports 23
2004-Q4 Owner reports 41
2005-Q1 Owner reports 29
2005-Q2 Owner reports 18
2005-Q3 Owner reports 17
2005-Q4 Owner reports 12
2006-Q1 Owner reports 6
2006-Q2 Owner reports 15
2006-Q3 Owner reports 12
2006-Q4 Owner reports 17
2007-Q1 Owner reports 9
2007-Q2 Owner reports 12
2007-Q3 Owner reports 12
2007-Q4 Owner reports 13
2008-Q1 Owner reports 8
2008-Q2 Owner reports 13
2008-Q3 Owner reports 6
2008-Q4 Owner reports 10
2009-Q1 Owner reports 9
2009-Q2 Owner reports 6
2009-Q3 Owner reports 8
2009-Q4 Owner reports 10
2010-Q1 Owner reports 7
2010-Q2 Owner reports 3
2010-Q3 Owner reports 7
2010-Q4 Owner reports 8
2011-Q1 Owner reports 6
2011-Q2 Owner reports 6
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q4 Owner reports 11
2012-Q1 Owner reports 7
2012-Q2 Owner reports 4
2012-Q3 Owner reports 2
2012-Q4 Owner reports 3
2013-Q1 Owner reports 2
2013-Q2 Owner reports 3
2013-Q3 Owner reports 2
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 3
2014-Q3 Owner reports 6
2014-Q4 Owner reports 5
2015-Q1 Owner reports 2
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 3
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 3
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 2
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE03052
Defect investigation 1 RQ03010
Defect investigation 1 EA04010
Defect investigation 1 PE04073
Defect investigation 1 PE04081
Defect investigation 1 DP05004
Defect investigation 1 RQ06004
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 688 complaints · page 1 of 28

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources