Clutch Pedal/linkage Problems of Volkswagen Jetta

On my manual transmission gli, the engine stalls intermittently. It has happened at a complete stop, at walking speed, and once around 10mph. It has happened with the clutch pedal completely depressed with the shifter in neutral or in gear, and has also happened while idling in neutral with foot completely off the clutch. It is not a hard stall like learning to drive stick. It just struggles and softly dies out. I have also noticed that the gear indicator will tend to display the wrong gear, particularly when downshifting. I've also noticed that the engine rpms are sometimes affected simply by pushing in and letting out the clutch. I first noticed this parked in my level carport. With the car in neutral, pushing in and letting the clutch out will result in a brief slight rpm spike. On other occasions it is completely absent like normal operation. I classified this as power train, but it could be engine, transmission, computer management, etc.

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The vehicles engine would rev by its self with the pedal stuck to the floor and the clutch would not disengage during this leaving the vehicle accelerating on its own.

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Jetta sportwagen tdi with a 6 speed manual transmission. Pulling out of a gas station, shifted from first to second, clutch pedal stayed on the floor. Could not shift or control vehicle speed of vehicle. Rolled to a stop. Car had to be towed. Had to replace clutch, throw out bearing and slave cylinder. Up to this point, there had been no indication of clutch problems. I have driven 6 manual transmission cars a total of 911,000 miles and never had any clutch problems.

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Flew to dallas to purchase this car 2/27/15. Drove it home 1500 miles to los angeles over 2 days. Got to el paso on 3/1/15 & got into an accident traveling at a very slow speed (15mph or less) going downhill. My particular issue comes in the way of how the transmission behaves going downhill at high or slow speeds. When the cars ecu (electronic control unit) senses the car going downhill, and you transition from the throttle pedal to the brake pedal, the car behaves as if you were driving a manual transmission downshifting & staying in gear. Now you may think that's not a problem, but. . . . Since these transmissions technically are manual transmissions with an automatic clutch. . . If you were driving a manual transmission car & wanted to stop quickly as I did to avoid hitting another car, you would push the clutch in to disengage the transmission from the engine. . . & thus cause the car to lose it's locomotive force. Well, that is exactly what this car did during the accident. The automatic clutch did not disengage from the engine when slowing down to a stop, and, thus provided the massive low end torque the diesel engine provides even at very low engine speeds. So, that when I saw the car stopped in front of me, I responded with hitting the brakes, turning the ignition off, and even swerved to the left in an attempt to avoid hitting the back of the other vehicle. I could not stop the vehicle in time to avoid hitting the other car. My background: I'm a 32 yr pro-automotive tech who not only works on, diagnoses & repairs all sorts of vehicles using computer controls. . . But, I used to teach it as well. So, after driving this car now for several weeks, &. . . Having researched this car & multiple other dsg owners complaints online about the way these transmissions shift. . . I can say for sure, vw's that use these dsg transmissions is/are a major issue when it comes to public safety.

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When shifting gear, with the brake pedal depressed, the clutch makes click noise then slips to neutral. Then the prnds lights starts flashing, and check engine light come on. The only way to reengage the gear is by turning the ignition key off and on, restarting the engine. Then the gears start working again. But the check engine light will stay lit, and eventually turns off by itself after a few days of driving. It seems that when the brake pedal is pressed very hard, the clutch slip occurs less often.

Vibration/ dragging felt when releasing the clutch pedal on my 2010 vw Jetta tdi sport wagon. Car was taken into local vw dealer for service. Clutch assembly, flywheel, clutch, pressure plate and release bearing replaced due to excessive play in flywheel and hotspots on the flywheel along with broken springs. Now at 31184 miles and 10,344 miles on the new clutch, etc. I am having the same issue local vw dealer said there is nothing wrong and it is a wear and tear item and not covered under the warranty. Manual transmissions should last until 80,000-100,000 miles plus. I have never had this many problems with a manual transmissions in my 17 years of driving them. This transmission is defective and needs to be looked into.

Dangerous and harrowing clutch/flywheel failure (near-new 2011 Jetta with 39,000 miles) without warning at 55 mph when I depressed the clutch pedal to downshift from 5th gear while braking, stalling my car in traffic at speed. I managed to get the car to the side of the road. Car was towed to vw dealership that today tells me the flywheel and clutch were damaged with repairs estimated at $2,500. An investigation of the ntsb site shows this problem has occurred with other 2011 Jetta owners. A search of the internet generally turned up hundreds of identical or near-identical reports of clutch and flywheel failures for 2006 to 2013 Jettas. Manufacturer's responses have been, according to Jetta owners, varied, with some people reporting free repairs and other reporting large out-of-pocket costs. Interestingly, clutch and flywheel failures are, according to my research (available to anyone who cares to look for it online) being covered by techical bulletins in the european union but not in the united states. My car has been driven and maintained per manufacturer specifications and recommendations, with dealership where I had the car towed for repairs acknowledging verbally that these components should last much longer. A technical bulletin issued by vw is paying for some flywheel parts under some circumstances but not for additional damage to the clutch that often occurs, per the dealership, when the flywheel fails. Labor costs are not covered, and they are estimable.

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The contact owns a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that the clutch and the pedal went completely to the floorboard when depressed. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic for inspection who stated that the dms needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and stated that the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The failure mileage was 69,000.

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At steady throttle angle of accelerator pedal, slow speeds pulling out on to main road with heavy traffic. Dsg can not select the proper gear and hesitates so badly that we were almost t- boned in the drivers side of the Jetta by on coming traffic. I guess about . 1 tenth of a second no movement for the Jetta. This dsg had a daul clutch flywheel and is a computer shifted manual transmission on dual shafts to output drive. I called third different dealer and all say this is the way the Jetta with dsg performs. Dealer gunther Volkswagen in buford was helpful, and acknowledged the problem. Volkswagen has no software fix. Village Volkswagen chattanooga, TN advisor shared that all dsg transmissions have the problem. Volkswagen designed and make the dsg, why can they not fix the problem? this is a safety problem that will end up getting drivers and passengers hurt. The Jetta just stands still in the middle of the lane as the computer decides what gear selection is needed. This has happened to us three different times. My wife is scared to drive the Jetta for fear of a accident. We have contacted Volkswagen of America about the problem. After market software company unitronics has a software fix at a cost of $500. 00. Please contact me!.

Vehicle manual transmission failure, pushed clutch foot pedal clear to floor, would not spring back. On a busy road, able to pull off the road.

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Catastrophic drive train failure of a vw Jetta tdi 5-speed. While traveling at 65-70 mph on relatively flat terrain on a clear roadway in 5th gear with no input to the clutch or the transmission, occupants felt & heard a single, muffled thump. Originating drive train failure event occurred spontaneously and completely unexpectedly. After the anomaly, a low metallic rattle was heard. Once clear of surrounding traffic, in troubleshooting attempt the driver engaged clutch and shifted into neutral; immediately the rattling became more pronounced. Fifth gear immediately reengaged and noise abated. Driver navigated vehicle under power to right lane & subsequently exited expressway. Upon approach to side street traffic light, the clutch was reengaged resulting in a renewed rattling; transmission shifted into neutral. When clutch was let out, the constant rattling noise continued as engine idled. With signal change, clutch reengaged & transmission shifted to 1st gear. Clutch slowly, carefully released: noticeable noise increase followed by short series of loud, sharp noises. Vehicle lurched and stalled. Two attempts to restart engine failed; no engine response. Police notified & vehicle towed to dealer. Significant fluid leakage noticed. Subsequently notified by vw dealer that main shaft of transmission catastrophically failed pressing flywheel into motor damaging casing, bearings & crankshaft lobs resulting in immediate seizing of the diesel power plant. Total replacement of transmission and engine assembly required (est ~$11k). This vehicle had all maintenance service performed regularly at 5k intervals by vw dealer (documented) and had recently had full 100k service including timing belt replacement. No notification/concern for additional transmission inspection/service. Clutch recently seemed to be engaging a wee bit further but no bottoming of pedal or clutch slippage. Owner expected to schedule clutch inspection/work during next 5k service visit.

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The clutch pedal on my 2002 Volkswagen Jetta froze in the depressed position rendering the car unable to start/shift properly. This event occurred while driving on suburban roads and thankfully ended without injury. Myself and the previous owner of the car are experienced drivers of standard transmissions and even at 80000 miles the clutch should still have had many more miles to go. The total cost of repair will be between 1500 and 2000 dollars. I have researched this problem and I have found that I am not the only person who has experienced this problem on 00-04 vw Jetta models. It is a very serious and costly problem that needs to be investigated.

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2006 Jetta tdi 2/ 68k began shuddering at stop lights. Dealer claims the two-piece flywheel and clutch assembly is a weak design. Owner reports online claim loss of clutch (pedal falling to floor) while driving. My car will not be operated until repaired for the sake of safety.

Leaving a parking lot and stopping for oncoming traffic I pressed the gas pedal to move onto the highway but car did not move. After I put my foot all the way down the second attempt the clutch engaged and the car moved forward. The car is a 2010 vw Jetta diesel.

On 11/11/09, I parked my car on my apartment complex parking lot. I left my car in first gear as a safety measure. Next morning (11/12/09) I tried to start my car, but the car was locked in first gear even after pressing the pedal clutch. The car did not turn on but stalled and move slightly forward. Fortunately I had the hand break on. If I did not have the parking break on, I would have moved forward into a bush in front of my parking lot space. I turned off the car, switched to neutral gear and turn the car on. The car turned on and I thought I solved the problem. I put the car on reverse, to exit my parking lot space and again the car stalled and moved backwards. Fortunately there were no car or people behind me. At that point I realized that I could not engage the car into any gear and that the clutch was not functioning. My car is only 4 years old with only 46,000 miles and there is no reason why the clutch would fail so early in life. I read in many forums that the 05-06 vw Jetta has a defective clutch and it could be hazardous for people if the clutch fails while driving. My clutch did not give me any signal of wear and tear, no sounds or difficulty while driving, it was working very well one day and next day it broke down. When I took the car to the dealer, the service manager expected to be a small fix, since the clutch was normally operating on 11/11/09 and it suddenly failed on 11/12/09. After a review, the dealer is charging me $2200, because they need to replace the clutch, the flywheel and the pressure plate. It appears that a vw faulty product is the cause of the failure, but vw does not recognize their mistake.

2006 Volkswagen Jetta 54000 miles 5 speed manual transmission. I was driving and while exiting a freeway offramp I depressed the clutch to disengage the transmission. Clutch pedal went to the floor and would not come back up and it did not disengage the transmission. The car would not stop, as I could not put the car in neutral. Very dangerous!.

There was no specific event that led up to the problems. I bought the car brand new and problems began after about 4 months. The car "bucks" or "jerks" when gas pedal depressed to accelerate. Also when pulling out or when car is in reverse (ie for parking,etc). The first time I took the car to the dealership where it was purchased and they simply reset the computer. The problem persisted so I returned to the dealership. The second time we were told the problem was the clutch packs and they were replaced. The problem continued and the third time the mechatronic unit was replaced. The problem is still ongoing and I just dropped it off to the dealership again.

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New 2009 Jetta tdi sedan with dsg engine. Two incidents. . . One on the 3rd and second on the 4th of August. On the 3rd was dropping off a grandson at his mothers office. Car was in park, engine idling, child exited car, I put food on brake, shifted into reverse, whereupon the car went into neutral mode, and the lit gears indicator light started blinking, while the green depress brake pedal light came on, engine raced and suddenly re-engaged reverse, lurched backward almost striking passing car. On the 4th was traveling north on a smooth highway, between 50-55 mph, when suddenly car slipped into a neutral mode while remaining in drive on the gear selector. As this happened the entire gears indicator light started blinking rapidly and the depress brake pedal before starting light came on too. Engine raced to redline and car slowly coasted to a stop. As an older driver, 68 years, these two incidents alarmed me. I love the car and its overall performance, but I fear lost confidence in the car. The vw service mgr. Dan is great and the dealership kempthorn moyors is high quality. . . I think Volkswagen should replace my car or modify the warranty on the transmission and dual clutch/flywheel on the car.

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We recently purchased a brand new 2009 vw Jetta 2. 0tsi with a direct shift gearbox (dsg) transmission. This transmission is just like a standard clutch type stick shift but without a clutch pedal. On board computers depress the clutch for the driver instead. The driver has a choice of selecting the gears themselves (tip mode) or choosing a d fully automatic mode. We prefer full auto mode. We loved the way our car drove until a few weeks ago when we felt the car surge, pause, and then surge again as we accelerated from a traffic light. The tachometer indicated that the transmission was shifting erratically without any rhyme or reason, as if it hadn't ever learned how to shift gears properly. But the erratic acceleration didn't repeat itself at the next light or the next one either. We dismissed it as a fluke. But over the next few weeks this condition repeated itself until it got so bad it would take a long pause between gears then surge ahead without control! we feared driving it so much that we stopped and contacted our dealer that Monday. We also googled dsg problems and were astonished at what we saw, and read! we weren't alone. Some have had near collisions while others were left stranded. It appears the brains of the dsg is at fault. Its called the mechatronics unit module and is on back order for up to 2 or more months. We've read that many who have had their mech. U. Recently replaced are experiencing repeated meltdowns. Our car had only around 570 miles on it when it happened. Were contemplating filing a lemon law claim with vw. We dont trust this car we fear it! please help before someone gets seriously injured.

2006 Volkswagen Jetta tdi 5 speed manual with 42k miles. While driving on an exit ramp and attempting to downshift, the clutch failed and the pedal went to the floor. The car would not move and was impossible to engage any gear. The car was not showing any signs of failure before this. It had to be towed to the local vw dealership.

While driving on a divided highway changed from 3rd to 4th gear. Vehicle clutch engaged odd and upon slowing to a red light vehicle would not shift properly. Attempted to go at green light and clutch gave out midway through intersection and stalled car. Got vehicle going before a collision. Had vehicle towed to local vw dealership (performance, omaha) who told me that the luk clutch was not a warranty item and the recalls only applied to sacs. Vw of America (the rep had only worked with vw for 3 months) seemed to be clueless and only backed up dealers assessment. Dealer informed me that many vw come in with less than 30k miles and clutch problems which is a poor and dangerous design to have it fail before 80k miles. Clutch linkage was found to be the problem and was broken, one hard shift due to a broken linkage caused the clutch plate to shred. Total charge quoted $2200 out of pocket for a manufacturer design flaw.

On a return trip from new hampshire to connecticut on interstate 91 in my 2006 vw Jetta tdi, I depressed the clutch and the pedal became stuck at the floor. I worked to free it, but being unable to do so, coasted to the side of the road. With no ability to put the vehicle in gear, we (myself and my family) were stuck in a dangerous location. I was able to free the pedal, but the clutch no longer worked and we had to wait there for assistance. The vehicle had less than 50,000 miles and I was told that the clutch assembly needed to be replaced, though there was little wear on the clutch surface. With some investigation on the internet, I found that this appears to be a very common problem and I believe it is a safety problem that should be corrected by vw.

Thursday Aug 14, 2008 I was exiting off the highway rt 9 exit 5 in CT. The exit is at the top of a hill so I depressed the clutch and coasted to the bottom. My car is a 2005 new Jetta with 2. 5l 5 cyl 5 speed manual. I have about 70,000 miles on the car and have never had any problems with the clutch or transmission. As I started coasting I shifted the car to second gear near the beginning of the exit but didn't release the clutch. I heard a load bang sound and the clutch engaged. The car immediately nose dived and the engine raced to redline. The clutch peddle was on the floorboard and was not functioning. I had to lockup the brakes to force the car out of gear and coasted to the stop sign at the bottom of the hill. I was lucky that no one was following me at the time as I would have rearended for sure. At the stop sign the clutch pedal came up off the floor at the clutch partially work so I drove the car to the commuter parking lot and left it to be towed to the dealer the next morning. Friday at the dealership they said they would fix it but they don't cover wear and tear on clutch parts. The bill would be about 2400. 00 dollars. Because I had 70000 miles on the car I would have to see the parts before I could make that judgment as to wear and tear. So I told them to fix it but I want the parts. The final bill came to 2164. 71 dollars. The pressure plate and flywheel showed no signs of abuse or burning. The clutch had plenty of pad left but was broken due to the force of engaging at 60 mile per hour in second gear. The mechanics reason for failure was "pressure plate blew out" and my boss a mechanical engineer said it look like a catastrophic failure not a wear issue. I don't know why vw get to wash their hands of this under a came of they don't cover clutch parts under warranty and why I have to pay for it. If this could happen on a highway it could also have happen at a stop light.

I have a 2006 Volkswagen Jetta tdi. Initially I was slowing down on the interstate, as soon as I was getting ready to stop due to construction, when the shifter hit first, the car bucked, died and I lost power steering and brakes. I also noticed that none of the gears in the transmission would sync and allow me into them. I pulled off to the side of the road, when I realesed my foot from the clutch, the pedal did not come back up. I shut down the car, crawled out the passenger side, I looked under the car for leaks and anything that may indicate a major failure. When I pulled the clutch back up manually, the pedal would not go back down but half way. I pushed hard enough to get the clutch interlock switch to disengage, and tried to start the car. When the starter engaged, the engine dragged with something else. I abandoned the car to get to a phone. When I called the dealer, they gave me a phone number to roadside assistance, they wanted to charge me to tow the car to the nearest vw certfied repair shop. Eventually I convinced them to tow the car, and when I met him at the car, I noticed a leak of either hydraulic, gear, or diesel fluid. When I got on the internet I found that this is a very common problem due to a poor desing in the flywheel. Vw tends to refuse to replace the clutch claiming that it was premature wear due to poor driving habits. The flywheel tends to crack or even shatter causing not only clutch issues but also transmission and engine issues. This issue can lead to wrecks fires and also even stranded people that may have no way of getting help. Volkswagen has recalled the flywheel in europe but refuses to do so in America. . Read more...

Grinding sound when clutch pedelal is deessed, shuddering at take off. Dealer and vw will not warranty at 29000 miles cost of a new clutch $2500.

I own a 2002 vw Jetta gli, and it has merely 54,000 miles on it. It has come in standard transmission, and we bought it when it was issued as new. As I was on my way home heading towards new jersey, from new york. My clutch pedal began to loosen up. I tried switching from 3rd gear to 4th, and the clutch loosely went to the floor, and it would not pop back up. As my car rolled on the bridge, it stayed in neutral. Hence, I was unable to move the vehicle. Now I have been reading other forums and they have gotten the same issue.

Clutch failed to engage in stop and go traffic while driving. Feel free to provide any further information.

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