Cruise control failure on the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta
When cruise control failure gets reported
Owners of the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta report cruise control failure at a median of 85,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 95,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 72,000 miles. It is the 25th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 135,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 103,821 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
13% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30,400 miles | 37,375 miles | 84,000 miles | 96,555 miles | 134,221 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $200–$1,400 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 17 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2011, at a median of 5,000 miles, and latest on the 2005 at 155,000 miles.
By volume the 2006 carries the most reports, with 11; the 2002 has 9. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
The power assist for this tdi vehicle has failed multiple times under several different circumstances. Most often, it occurs when applying the cruise control at speeds of less than 70mph and also when having to rapidly decellerate or move along with city related traffic. Most often, the check engine light comes on, but by the time it does, I already know there is a problem. I have no passing gear, and to accelerate from a stop to 60 MPH takes a minute or more. Typically, when the problem occurs, if I stop the vehicle, turn it off, and crank it again, the problem is resolved until the circumstances which bring about the problem are re-enacted. It will usually take several cycles of the engine being cranked and turned off before the check engine light will turn itself off. I purchased the vehicle used with about 35,000 miles on it and the problem occurred about 100 miles from the dealership. After having the vehicle in for repeated repairs, I've since come to learn that similar problems were occurring with the vehicle prior to my purchasing it (were not disclosed at purchase), according to service records.*ak
I own a 2002 volkswagen jetta gls tdi. This car has a surging problem during normal or cruise control, occurring between 40 and 50 MPH. The car has been returned to the dealership many times without being repaired, dating back to oct. 2003. Last year it spent 31 days at the dealer, may 10, 2004 through june 10, 2004, returned to me working better. Within two days the problem was now worse. I am afraid that this car may surge and take off leaving me unable to stop or control. This car is a safety hazard in my opinion. I have tried to work with vw but they refuse to replace it and are unable to repair it. [xxx]. Anything that you could do would be much welcomed. Thank you.*ak *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
Reported vehicle jumps when acelerating or changing gears.manual transmission.took on several occasions found nothing wrong.now my cruise control will not stay at a steedy speed when turned on.noticed on 95 when driving 70-75mph.vehical accelerates by itself when using cruise control and then slows down.dealership says they can't drive the vehical that fast.there's nothing they can do.
Also reported on the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta
Other body or interior problem
Other electrical problem
Other powertrain problem
Other engine problem
Misfire or rough idle
Tail light, brake light or signal failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 9 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does cruise control failure happen on the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 85,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 95,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is cruise control failure on the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta?
9 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed