2013 Volkswagen Jetta Brakes Problems

I was driving on a rainy day on the freeway where my breaks went out on me. I pressed down all of the way and the car wouldn’t stop. After I let go of the break I then pressed on the break again and they seemed to have locked on me. I ended up using my emergency breaks and was able to get off the freeway and luckily no one was hurt. Soon after they started working again and I was able to get it safely to a near by shop.

The car automatically locked its brakes without me even touching the brakes while I was going 60mph and almost lost control. My safety was put at risk because the car locked its brakes without me pushing the breaks, they would not disengage and was stuck in the middle of the road with the brakes not releasing and almost caused an accident. I has happened multiple times but not confirmed by dealer or independent mechanic.The vehicle has been inspected by VW dealer. No warning lights came on the dash.

On more than one occasion the front left brake seized up. The last time was when I was on a toll road and felt warbling in the tires so I got off on an exit and when I reached the red light the left front brake seized up and the car wouldn't budge. Once the car rested and the brake cooled off I was able to drive it to a safe place and had it towed to the VW dealership who because they couldn't get it to duplicate the issue couldn't tell me what was wrong. It does not happen consistently and I fear to think that if I was doing 55 MPH the car would have caused a horrible accident. In the past when it happened the car would not accelerate over 40 MPH and I could feel the brakes were applying pressure.

The transmissions on the 2013-2016 Jetta Hybrids have an extremely high failure rate. These transmissions fail without warning and leave the car without propulsion and deactivate the regenerative brakes causing the car to behave erratically. VW issued a recall (19V866000) but are claiming owners within those model years with the exact same issues are "not covered". I have experienced this myself and you can find many many many examples on the complaints section of this website. VW issued a recall but is claiming everyones vin is not included.

The brake system has malfunctioned, and I would be happy for you to inspect it. The brakes come on suddenly when the foot brake is not being applied. The car will not move when this happens, creating a very dangerous situation on the road. I have been stranded in a lane with cars zooming around me. Everyone is at risk. A tech on the VW helpline confirmed the problem with my mechanic and suggested two very expensive fixes which have not resolved the problem. There have been no warning indicators for this problem. It happens randomly and unexpectedly.

THE BRAKE DID NOT APPLY. AFTER THE CAR WAS PARKED AND WAS IN "R" (REVERSE), THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS PRESSED BUT THE CAR DID NOT STOP.

MY 18 YEAR WAS DRIVING THE CAR DOWN A SIDE STREET WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND THE CAR WOULDN'T STOP. SHE WAS ABLE TO AVOID HITTING ANYTHING OR ANYBODY BY PULLING TO THE SIDE AND ALLOWING THE CAR TO DRIFT TO A STOP. THE CAR HAS APPROXIMATELY 43000 MILES AND JUST CAME OUT OF WARRANTY LESS THAN 9 MONTHS PRIOR TO INCIDENT. CAR WAS TOWED TO A VW DEALER WHERE IT WAS DISCOVERED THE MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER HAD FAILED. VW REFUSED TO COVER THE REPAIR WHICH WAS OVER $1000. VW INSISTS THIS IS NOT A CHRONIC PROBLEM ON THEIR VEHICLES DESPITE THE FACT THAT COMPLAINTS OF EXACTLY THIS PROBLEM ARE PREVALENT ON THE INTERNET.

BRAKES DO NOT RESPOND PROPERLY

ATTEMPTED TO USE MY BRAKE PEDAL AND IT DIDN'T STOP THE CAR. UPON THE SECOND OR THIRD PUMP, IT DID FINALLY ENGAGE. THIS DELAY IN THE BRAKE CAUSED ME TO RUN A STOP SIGN. I WAS LUCKY NO ONE WAS AROUND. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT RENTED A 2013 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS AND ATTEMPTING TO STOP FOR TRAFFIC, THE BRAKING SYSTEM FAILED TO ENGAGE AND CAUSED THE BRAKE PEDAL TO BECOME STUCK TO THE FLOORBOARD. THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND NO POLICE REPORT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 13,857. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

WHEN DRIVING MY JETTA IN "S" (SPORT SELECTION ON THE TRANSMISSION) ON A SURFACE STREET I CAME TO A RED LIGHT. I STARTED BRAKING AND THE BRAKES FELT SPONGY AND UNRESPONSIVE. I TRIED PRESSING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WITH MORE FORCE BUT WAS NOT GETTING MUCH BRAKING RESPONSE. THE VEHICLE TOOK A VERY LONG DISTANCE TO RESPOND COMPARED TO ITS RESPONSE TIME WHEN IN "D" (DRIVE SELECTION ON THE TRANSMISSION). LUCKY I AM AN EARLY BARKER AND THERE WAS NOT A CAR IN FRONT OF ME SO THE VEHICLE ONLY WENT INTO THE INTERSECTION A SHORT DISTANCE BEFORE IT STOPPED. WHEN FINALLY AT A STOP I KEPT STEADY PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. AFTER A FEW SECONDS OF BEING AT A COMPLETE STOP I NOTICED THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS SINKING TOWARDS THE FLOOR BOARD. IT FELT LIKE IT DOES WHEN YOU ARE BLEEDING AIR OUT OF THE LINES. WHILE AT THE STOP THE BRAKE PEDAL SANK FURTHER, AT FIRST SLOWLY, AND THEN WITH ONE FINAL QUICK MOVEMENT THE BRAKE PEDAL SANK COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR BOARD OF THE CAR. THE ONLY TIME I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED THIS TYPE OF BRAKE ACTIVITY IS WITH OLDER CARS WHEN ONE IS PERFORMING THE TASK OF BLEEDING THE BRAKES. IF I HAD BEEN TAPPED FROM BEHIND THE CAR WOULD HAVE BEEN SENT INTO THE INTERSECTION. DURING THIS INCIDENT I NOTICED THAT THE TACHOMETER WAS RUNNING AT 900 RPM EVEN THOUGH THE CAR WAS AT A "COMPLETE", OR BETTER STATED, THE BRAKE WAS PRESSED ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR, WITH NO ADDITIONAL BRAKING PRESSURE AVAILABLE. I FEEL VERY UNSURE AND UNSAFE WHEN I GO TO USE MY BRAKES AND HAVE TO ALLOW SEVERAL EXTRA CAR LENGTHS IN FRONT OF ME TO ENSURE THAT I AM ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE IN TIME. *TR