Three problems related to transmission not go into gear have been reported for the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta based on all problems reported for the 2012 Jetta.
Volks 2012 Jetta tdi. At highway speed of approx 55-60 mph, with cruise control engaged, transmission seemed to come out of gear, engine revved and tachometer red-lined, vehicle began to slow, but obviously not loose power as evidenced by tachometer and high rpm's on engine. After tachometer red-lined, tachometer then began to drop and at about 5,000 rpm, transmission shifted a couple of times and then operation of vehicle was back to normal. Oddly, cruise did not have to be reset and seemed unaware of the event that had just occurred. Entire event occurred in the span of about 5 seconds. Took vehicle to dealer. Service documentation says "we scanned for faults and had a sporadic fault for gear shift control module. Performed test plan and found no problems. We cleared faults. " another service showed the error code with verbiage something to the effect of "lost communication with gear shift control module. " dealer would not replace gear shift control module and stated that if it happens again, return and they will replace. Clearly this is a safety issue, particularly when it occurs on a highway at highway speeds with congested highway traffic and clearly could have resulted in an accident.
New volks Jetta 2012. Purchased new from volks dealership with approx. 40 miles on vehicle at time of purchase. Since day one and continuing through today with 12,000 miles on odometer, transmission lurches and jerks, either slipping in and out of gear or seemingly not able to figure out which gear to be in. Usually occurs while trying to maintain a constant speed. For example, while in school zone with 20 mph speed limit, car will lurch, jerk and shudder, sometimes violently with the symptoms described above. Additionally, when coming to a stop at a stop light for instance two conditions frequently present. 1. After coming to a complete stop, transmission is still in the process of downshifting. In other words, once completely stopped, you can feel the transmission still shifting down through the last couple of gears. 2. After coming to a complete stop at a light, when attempting to accelerate, car is not in gear and requires depression of gas peddle before car will engage in first gear. All of the above are dangerous situations. Dealer continues to insist that transmission is "learning" my driving habits.
Upon entering an on-ramp and also accelerating around a turn, experienced no response to depression of gas pedal. Basically car had serious lag before taking off. Worried about safety issue when trying to get out of someones way. Very unpredictable in occurance and do not want to have a wreck. Also experienced "stuttering" around 30 mph as if vehicle did not know which gear to get into. This happens frequently and creates a physical shutter of vehicle felt by driver and passengers.