← NHTSA complaints

2012 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA — SERVICE BRAKES

fire · 1216466 · 2015-09-07

Vehicle

Make
VOLKSWAGEN
Model
JETTA
Year
2012
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Component
SERVICE BRAKES
Miles at failure
49,195

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

2012 JETTA WAGON - WHILE DRIVING ON A RECENTLY PAVED HIGHWAY (EG. SEEMINGLY PRISTINE ASPHALT), MY WIFE AND I NOTED A STRANGE VIBRATION SENSATION IN OUR CAR. THERE WAS NO DRAG, VEERED STEERING, ABNORMAL HANDLING, OR WARNING ON THE DASH. WE HAD ACCELERATED TO APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH WHEN AT THE UPCOMING INTERSECTION THE LIGHT CHANGED TO RED. IT WAS A NORMAL BRAKING/STOP MANEUVER. ON STOPPING, NO UNUSUAL BRAKING SENSATION, AGAIN NO ABNORMAL PULL. WE NOTICED SMOKE COMING ALONG THE DRIVERS SIDE WHILE STOPPED. THERE WAS A FAINT SMELL OF HOT METAL AS WELL. MY WIFE STATED "I HOPE THAT'S NOT US". SEVERAL CARS HONKED AND FLASHED LIGHTS TO GET OUR ATTENTION AND ON ROLLING THE DRIVERS WINDOW DOWN, A DRIVER ADJACENT YELLED "YOUR CAR IS ON FIRE". I QUICKLY EXITED THE DRIVERS SIDE AND NOTED A SMALL FLAME AT THE DRIVERS REAR BRAKE. BY SIMPLY BLOWING, IT WENT OUT. THE ROTOR WAS GLOWING RED/ORANGE. EXTREME HEAT WAS COMING FROM THIS. NO OTHER BRAKE WAS INVOLVED. I VERIFIED THE PARKING BRAKE WAS NOT ENGAGED AT THE TIME. WE HAD TRAVELED PERHAPS 2 MILES PRIOR TO THIS OCCURRENCE. ONCE COOLED, I SLOWLY DROVE TO A NEARBY CLINIC PARKING LOT AND LEFT THE CAR. THIS CAR HAS HAD ALL SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE IN A TIMELY MANNER. IT HAS NOT BEEN CRASHED. RECENT WORK INCLUDED DEALER BRAKE FLUID CHANGE AT 47,918 MILES. *TR ## VIN PASSED ## VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 2012 TDI SPORTWAGEN ##

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10761968
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown