2003 Volkswagen Jetta Seats Problems
- 34
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 34 stored complaint records:
- 2 indicate a crash
- 12 indicate injury
- 15 indicate fire
What owners report
- seat heater · 21 records
- heated seat · 12 records
- side seat · 9 records
- hole seat · 8 records
- seat burned · 6 records
- turned seat · 5 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 8 |
| 60–100k mi | 8 |
| 30–60k mi | 7 |
| 150–400k mi | 7 |
| 1–30k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Air Bags · Seats
I was in a rear end incident in which my 2003vw jetta was struck almost dead-on in the rear by a 2009 bmw sedan. Both my wife, seated in the front passenger seat, and i, driving, were wearing three point seat belts. The airbags in our vehicle did not deploy. Both the drivers seat and the front passenger's seat were reclined almost completely as a result of the impact, to the point that any rear seat passengers we…
Crash reported
ODI 10267946
Seats
2003 JETTA SEAT FAILS IN REAR END ACCIDENT. *TR
Crash reported
ODI 10323720
Seats
The heated seat on the passenger side of our 2003 vw jetta tdi got very hot on my right leg, i reached down to feel the seat and it burnt my hand. We turned on the lights and the seat had a burned hole with smoke coming out of it. Had i been wearing my coat it could have caught fire before i felt the intense heat. *tr
Fire reported
ODI 10256241
Seat Heater/Cooler · Seats
I use my heated seats almost daily in the winter months. I used it this morning for about 20 minutes as i drove from home to the gym, then another 10 minutes as i drove from the gym to the store. When i got into my car after the store, it was still on the same setting (5), i had driven about 50 yards in the parking lot, when i felt a sharp pain in my left upper leg/butt. I moved slightly, then began to smell smoke.…
Fire reported · 1 injury
ODI 10247476
Seats
Shortly after turning the drivers seat heater on, operator smelled something burning and felt her left leg burning. Shut heater off and took to dealer, who acted surprised that we had a problem!! They charged us to look at the seat, claiming the power supply wire under the seat had been pulled apart shorting out the grid wiring. Long story short, they claimed something must have been jammed up under the seat causing…
1 injury
ODI 10450562
Electrical System · Seats
I turned on the driver's seat heater to 5 (highest setting) on my 2003 vw jetta tdi when leaving my house at 7 am. I used this regularly to warm the seat for a few minutes on cold mornings, then would turn it off (lower settings never produced noticeable heat). Within one minute i felt a burning/electrical sensation in my upper left thigh. I was driving on a mountain road and the pain made me jump in my seat and…
ODI 10226915
Seat Heater/Cooler · Seats
The heated seats im my 2003 vw jetta started to catch on fire. *tr
Fire reported · 1 injury
ODI 10222735
Seat Heater/Cooler · Seats
While driving driver smelled and could see smoke and realized drivers seat was on fire. Driver managed to pull over and put out fire on seat. Volkswagen of america did nothing - told owner they had nothing to say. Dealer replaced seat. *jb
Fire reported
ODI 10156887
Air Bags · Front · Seats · Sensor/Control Module · Side/Window
I was driving my 2003 vw jetta under normal road conditions. I stopped at a red light in an intersection, continued when it turned green. I hit a small sized pothole at the other end of the intersection at speeds below 15mph, which caused the wrongful deployment of the side curtain and seat airbags as well as locking the seatbelt tensioner making it inoperable. I inspected the vehicle after the incident and found no…
ODI 10125313