Owners have filed 11 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the fuel system and automatic emergency braking. The 6 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.
2025Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.
0/6 checked
2025 Volkswagen Jetta: inspection sheet
Before you go, or before you touch the car0/2
Ask the seller not to warm the car up first0/1
At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/3
These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.
Nearby years usually share most parts, so their problems are worth checking on this car too.
Worth adding to your 2025 checks
Worth adding to your 2025 checks
EPA figures for each version of the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.
| Version | Drive | EPA rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5L 4-cyl | FWD | 33 mpg |
NHTSA complaints for the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.
The car surges forward when shifted from Park into Drive, even while the brake pedal stays pressed. Both complaints are marked as crash-related. Both describe two separate incidents while pulling into a garage, with the car traveling about 30 feet before braking finally overcame the surge. The reports describe loss of control, property damage, and a near miss with a structural wall. No mileage pattern appears. The main risk is a low-speed lurch in a tight space, where the driver has little room to react.
A warning that the forward collision system has a problem can appear on a nearly new car. One report places it at 312 miles, in dry, mild weather, before the car had even moved. The second complaint is about cruise control on manual-transmission cars. Pressing the clutch only pauses cruise. It switches back on once the car is put in gear again, instead of shutting off completely the way it does when you brake. This behavior surprises drivers who expect to slow down. Neither complaint mentions a crash.
Excerpts from complaints Jetta owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.
After only 312 miles new and only driven vehicle for 5 days. I received a warning about my forward collision warning system was a problem. Weather has been good. Not wet, temp was 72 degrees. I just started my car and had not driven yet. Chicago area. I set up a maintenance service to see the cause of it. Never saw this before on any of my previous vehicles especially brand new 2025 model
Filed with NHTSA, June 2025
Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.
The 2025 has the fewest owner complaints of the 8 Jetta years we cover, well under the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.
Cars shoppers compare with the Volkswagen Jetta, with their own 2025 checklists.
2025 owner complaints, side by side
