# 2012 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
> NHTSA complaint `901520` · 2012-01-24 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 0
- **Injured:** 0
- **Fire:** Yes
- **Crash:** No
- **Police report:** No
- **Medical attention:** No
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** VOLKSWAGEN
- **Model:** JETTA
- **Year:** 2012
- **Manufacturer:** Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
- **Component:** ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
- **Miles at failure:** 17,000
## Narrative
DROVE THE VEHICLE HOME FROM WORK FRIDAY 1/13, WEATHER WAS BELOW FREEZING CAUSING ICE BUILD UP.  PARKED THE VEHICLE IN MY GARAGE ~45 DEGREES.  ICE BEGAN MELT, AND WHEN TRYING TO START THE VEHICLE SATURDAY AFTERNOON IT TURNED 1/4 TURN AND THE ENGINE STOPPED.  MY ASSUMPTION IS THAT THE ENGINE INHALED WATER CAUSING A HYDRO-LOCK, I CONTINUED TO TRY TO START THE VEHICLE A TOTAL 5 TIMES (IT TURNED OVER ONCE AND RAN EXTREMELY ROUGH AND DIED ONCE).  THE LAST TIME TRYING TO START THE VEHICLE I SMELLED SMOKE, I POPPED THE HOOD TO FIND THE STARTER AND WIRING ON FIRE.  I WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE RELATIVELY QUICKLY, CONSIDERING THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN MY GARAGE ATTACHED TO MY HOUSE THIS COULD HAVE EXTREMELY CATASTROPHIC IF I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET THE FIRE OUT.  *** THIS IS THE SECOND TIME FOR THE HARD / NO START PROBLEM, THIS ONE HOWEVER RESULTED IN THE FIRE.    VOLKSWAGEN WILL NOT FOLLOW THE BELOW TSB SINCE THE VEHICLE STARTED AFTER WIRING AND STARTER REPLACEMENT.    ISSUE MIRRORS TSB # 21 11 06 / 2025464,  WHICH INCLUDES ENGINE WILL NOT TURN OVER, "DEAD BATTERY" STARTER ACTION (DUE TO HYDRAULIC RESISTANCE IN CYLINDER), AND STARTER/ELECTRICAL FIRES (DUE TO STARTER OVERHEATING DURING ATTEMPTS TO START LOCKED ENGINE).  *TR
---
*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*