Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure on the 2014 Volkswagen Jetta
When ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure gets reported
Owners of the 2014 Volkswagen Jetta report ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure at a median of 60,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 70,000 miles, from 13 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 7th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 25,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 70,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 45,699 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
31% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26,000 miles | 35,000 miles | 60,000 miles | 70,000 miles | 71,699 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 $250–$1,500 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 16 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 1997, at a median of 35,000 miles, and latest on the 2006 at 170,000 miles.
By volume the 2019 carries the most reports, with 58; the 2014 has 17. 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.
This issue now occurs every day. This vehicle has push button start, which means the brake pedal must be depressed before attempting to start the vehicle. When attempting to start the vehicle after it has been sitting for more than 3 hours, the brake pedal is extremely difficult to depress as there is pressure built up in the brake system. On the first dealer visit, the brake booster check valve was replaced under warranty. On the second visit, after sitting for a week, the dealer made no repairs and gave the vehicle back. They advised this is normal operation, to which I said it was not as this did not occur when vehicle was leased until about a month ago. Vw corporate was involved, which proved to be a lost cause, as they sided with the dealer. If someone were to try and start this vehicle and they were of smaller stature, they most likely would be unable to do so. *tr
Ignition key will not rotate in ignition switch to turn engine off. This is a common defective design condition in the non-keyless models. One trick learned on internet is to tap end of key with screwdriver handle while lightly turning in off direction. Safety concern is inability to turn car engine off in emergency, electrical fault/fire or for police safety.
Tl* the contact owns a 2014 volkswagen jetta. While driving various speeds, the vehicle jerked and hesitated. The vehicle was taken to alexandria volkswagen (107 west glebe rd, alexandria, va) where it was diagnosed that transmission fluid leaked from the vehicle and the gasket and oil pan needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the key became stuck and fractured inside the ignition switch. The failure was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14v182000 (power train). The failure mileage was 60,000.
Also reported on the 2014 Volkswagen Jetta
Other engine problem
Other electrical problem
Other powertrain problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other fuel system problem
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 17 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 ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure happen on the 2014 Volkswagen Jetta?
Across 13 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 60,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 35,000 miles and a quarter after 70,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure on the 2014 Volkswagen Jetta?
17 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 1.8 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