AI Damage1999 Volkswagen Jetta: common problems
Owners of the 1999 Volkswagen Jetta filed 349 complaints with NHTSA, most often about visibility and engine and cooling. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 349
- involving a crash
- 33
What fails most often
- 1 Visibility 23% of all complaints
- 2 Engine and cooling 22% of all complaints
- 3 Electrical system 13% of all complaints
- 4 Service brakes 9% of all complaints
- 5 Air bags 9% of all complaints
- 6 Powertrain 9% of all complaints
- 7 Vehicle speed control 7% of all complaints
- 8 Structure 7% of all complaints
- Visibility: 81 complaints (23% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Engine and cooling: 78 complaints (22% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Electrical system: 44 complaints (13% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Service brakes: 31 complaints (9% of all), 7 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Air bags: 30 complaints (9% of all), 18 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 2 L · petrol · 4 cylnamed in 1 complaints
- 2.8 L · petrol · 6 cyl
- 1.9 L · diesel · turbo · 4 cylnamed in 8 complaints
- automatic, 4-speed
- manual, 5-speednamed in 1 complaints
Drive: FWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 349 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visibility | 81 | 2 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 78 | 2 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 44 | 2 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 31 | 7 | 0 |
| Air bags | 30 | 18 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 30 | 1 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 26 | 3 | 0 |
| Structure | 25 | 1 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 24 | 4 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| Steering | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment | 7 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
The contact was not sure if he got a ticket or not for not having brake lights. The contact stated that he was coming off of the expressway at 40 mph, the weather was clear, and the incident took place in daylight. The contact had to pay for the repairs.
My friend had an automoble accident last week and his car's airbags did not deploy he did hit the guardrails head-on and the air bags never deployed he wanted me to check to see if there has been a recall about this his car was a vw jetta '99 I'm sure the car was totaled in this wreck .
July, 3 windows went bad, 2 were the wiring and 1 was the motor. October the front wheel bearing needed replaced plus wheel alignment. September the exhuast broke off behind the catalytic converter I had it fixed myself. The exhuast had also broke off 6 months earlier in front of the muffler but I fixed it.
Check engine light on, car runs rough when wet. Has always. Bring it in for diagnostic and they say it is the ignition coil pack. It was replaced and the day after service is completed on the way to work check engine light comes on again.
I was involved in a collision at about 40mph and the airbags did not deploy. The car received major front end damage and hit all 3 airbag sensors. The car in front of me had its airbags deploy and it was a toyota.
Not thinking anything of it, I got out of the car to inspect the damage'when I returned to the car, I saw a fire had ignited by the driver''s side seat belt'(this statement was made to the fire department and police at the time) within 10 to 15 minutes, while waiting for the fire department the entire car burned up.
We hit a light poll and a telephone poll. We hit the light poll front and center and the telephone poll on the driver's side front. We hit both going 40 miles per hour and the damage was so sever that the car was wrapped around the polls, enough to break though the sub-frame, tear off the axel of the drivers front,…
Car accelerated from 5 mph until hit the car in front.brake didn't work.this happened once before. Dealer insulted driver instead of a followup.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 1,157 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 3% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Jetta has 228 complaints (45 years in the data). This year has 349, above average.
What to check before buying
- Visibility. Wipers, mirrors, defrosters, cracked glass.
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
- Electrical system. Scan all modules, test the battery and alternator, inspect connectors near the impact zone.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
Other years of this model
- Jetta 198513 sources
- Jetta 198614 sources
- Jetta 198718 sources
- Jetta 198819 sources
- Jetta 198928 sources
- Jetta 199022 sources
- Jetta 199131 sources
- Jetta 199230 sources
- Jetta 199317 sources
- Jetta 1994117 sources
- Jetta 1995220 sources
- Jetta 1996174 sources
- Jetta 1997141 sources
- Jetta 1998192 sources
- Jetta 2000439 sources
- Jetta 2001668 sources
- Jetta 2002702 sources
- Jetta 2003457 sources
- Jetta 2004231 sources
- Jetta 2005248 sources
- Jetta 2006580 sources
- Jetta 2007201 sources
- Jetta 2008188 sources
- Jetta 2009889 sources
- Jetta 2010852 sources
- Jetta 2011607 sources
- Jetta 2012500 sources
- Jetta 2013518 sources
- Jetta 2014388 sources
- Jetta 2015194 sources
- Jetta 2016667 sources
- Jetta 2017559 sources
- Jetta 2018443 sources
- Jetta 20191,049 sources
- Jetta 2020537 sources
- Jetta 2021544 sources
- Jetta 2022480 sources
- Jetta 2023377 sources
- Jetta 2024299 sources
- Jetta 2025180 sources
- Jetta 202692 sources
- Jetta 99997 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1999 Volkswagen Jetta?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: visibility, engine and cooling, electrical system. Total complaints: 349. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: windows, sunroof (23%), seat belts (6%), stalls while driving (6%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1999 Volkswagen Jetta?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1999 Volkswagen Jetta from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1999 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.