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2020 Volkswagen Jetta

Gas
Compact Cars
4 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
F
Safety Signal
45 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
Recalls1 critical6
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA51
Crash ratingNHTSA overall5★
Fuel economybest combined, EPA34 mpg
202720262025202420232022202120202019201820172016

The 2020 Volkswagen Jetta is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact car with 4 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Jetta, is EPA-rated at 34 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 51 complaints, most often about the electrical system. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
JettaGasFWD1.4L 4-cyl turbo304034$1,850
JettaGasFWD1.4L 4-cyl turbo304034$1,850
JettaGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo253328$2,250
JettaGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo253228$2,250

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 42431, 42432, 42125, 42126.

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Recalls (6)

Source: NHTSA recall database
!critical

Fuel System, Gasoline

VW: 20UF/AUDI:20YF
261,257 vehicles
ProblemVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain front-wheel drive 2015-2020 Audi A3 Sedan, 2015-2019 Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Volkswagen Jetta GLI, 2018 Golf Sportwagen GP, 2018-2019 Golf Sportwagen A7, 2015-2017 Golf Sportwagen, 2015-2020 Golf GTI, and 2015-2020 Golf A7 vehicles. Due to a problem with a suction jet pump seal inside the fuel tank, fuel may flow into the evaporative emissions (EVAP) system and possibly leak out of the charcoal canister.RiskA fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.FixDealers will replace the suction pump, free of charge. Final owner notification letters for Audi owners were mailed on July 25, 2024. Final owner letters for VW owners were mailed on August 13, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are VW: 20UF/Audi: 20YF. Vehicles that were previously recalled under 16V-647 will need to have the new remedy completed. This recall expands and re
NHTSA campaign 24V110000reported Feb 14, 2024Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
▲high

Electrical System

28H7
62,538 vehicles
ProblemVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Golf, Golf Alltrack, Golf Sportwagen, 2019-2020 Golf GTI, and Jetta vehicles equipped with a conventional ignition switch. The ignition switch may fail, especially in high temperature environments.RiskIgnition switch failure can cause the electrical system to shut down and the engine to stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.FixDealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 1, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 28H7.
NHTSA campaign 23V604000reported Aug 30, 2023Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
▲high

Tires

AU:45J7,VW:45J6,45J8
296,044 vehicles
ProblemVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan LWB, Golf Sportswagen A7, Golf Alltrack, Golf R GP, Audi Q3, Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas, Golf A7, Audi A3, 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021 Atlas FL vehicles. The tire pressure monitoring system may not detect an air pressure loss in adequate time when deflating occurs among all four tires simultaneously. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."RiskAn undetected sudden loss of pressure in all four tires increases the risk of a crash.FixDealers will update the TPMS software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or AudiÂ’s customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.
NHTSA campaign 22V815000reported Oct 31, 2022Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
▲high

Air Bags

69CK
379 vehicles
ProblemVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Jetta and Jetta GLI vehicles. The air bag control module was welded in the incorrect position.RiskIncorrect positioning of the air bag control module can cause the vehicle's air bags to deploy improperly during a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, the vehicle's air bags can deploy unintentionally, increasing the risk of a crash.FixDealers will replace the air bag control module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 28, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69CK.
NHTSA campaign 21V492000reported Jun 30, 2021Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
▲high

Seats

72L1, 72K8, 72K9
5,376 vehicles
ProblemVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen ) is recalling certain 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, Jetta, Jetta GLI and Tiguan and Audi Q5 and SQ5 and 2021 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles. Parts of the front seat frame and backrest adjuster may not have been welded properly.RiskIn the event of a rear-end crash, the backrest adjustment could break, possibly reducing the amount of occupant restraint, thus increasing risk of injury.FixVolkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front seats, and, as necessary, replace the seatback frames, free of charge. The recall began September 11, 2020. Volkswagen owners may contact their customer service at 1-888-241-2289. Audi owners may contact their customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 72L1, 72K8, and 72K9.
NHTSA campaign 20V505000reported Aug 26, 2020Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
▲high

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

47Q2
1 vehicles
ProblemVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling one 2020 Jetta vehicle. The front brake caliper bolts may come loose.RiskIf a brake caliper bolt comes loose, it may affect the vehicle's brake performance, increasing the risk of a crash.FixVolkswagen will notify the owner, and a dealer will replace all four front brake caliper bolts, free of charge. The recall began July 1, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47Q2.
NHTSA campaign 20V359000reported Jun 17, 2020Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

NHTSA defect investigations

Fuel System, Gasoline — Fuel Leak due to Suction Jet Pump Failure within Fuel Tank (Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 16V647) closed

On December 12, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened RQ23-007 to investigate the remedy repair effectiveness and scope of Volkswagen (VW) recall 16V-647. Recall 16V-647 was issued on September 2, 2016, for a defective suction jet pump (SJP) inside the fuel tank. Failure of the SJP could lead to a fuel leak from the vehicle. This recall covered certain model year (MY) 2015-2016 Volkswagen Golf and Audi A3 passenger car vehicles. The recall remedy repair replaced SJP Version 1.0 with an improved version, Version 1.1. The SJP is designed to purge fuel from the evaporative emissions (EVAP) system. VW’s recall filing stated the SJP may have been damaged during assembly, which

Opened Dec 12, 2023 · closed Jul 1, 2024 · action RQ23007

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
51complaints filed

1 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 2 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2020: 7 · 2021: 9 · 2022: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2024: 14 · 2025: 5 · 2026: 4

Most-cited components

Electrical System16
Unspecified13
Engine12
Service Brakes7
Power Train7
Fuel/Propulsion System5

What owners describe

“There is a spring that it out of place and when I turned to get out of the seat it scratched my back.”Jun 23, 2024 · Seats · NHTSA owner report
“The fuel door would not open for me to put gas in my car. I cannot drive my car without fuel. If I can’t get to my gas tank because the fuel door has malfunctioned I become a danger to those who drive as well as myself and my vehicle. My car tells me everything else but not that. I only find out once I need gas and o…”Jun 17, 2024 · Fuel/Propulsion System · NHTSA owner report
“The SOS emergency that is supposed to work when you press the button or if your car is stolen the module failed and on months of back order”Mar 23, 2024 · Electrical System · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP
ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
4 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆13%
4 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆13%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Compare the 2020 Jetta with

2020 Toyota Corolla →

Other Jetta model years

A

2027 Volkswagen Jetta

0 recalls · 0 complaints

B

2026 Volkswagen Jetta

1 recalls · 5 complaints

C

2025 Volkswagen Jetta

2 recalls · 28 complaints

A

2024 Volkswagen Jetta

0 recalls · 43 complaints

A

2023 Volkswagen Jetta

0 recalls · 43 complaints

A

2022 Volkswagen Jetta

1 recalls · 42 complaints

C

2021 Volkswagen Jetta

4 recalls · 67 complaints

F

2019 Volkswagen Jetta

11 recalls · 545 complaints

C

2018 Volkswagen Jetta

2 recalls · 31 complaints

F

2017 Volkswagen Jetta

6 recalls · 159 complaints

F

2016 Volkswagen Jetta

4 recalls · 164 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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