2012 Jetta would not start

70

Asked by down50 Oct 15, 2014 at 08:22 PM about the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Here are the details. I got into my car to drive back to Wichita, from Topeka last night.
The key turned in the ignition, but nothing happened. The lights came on, the radio
played, but the starter never turned over. I tried moving it into neutral and holding my
foot on the brake and nothing. I messed with the steering wheel, because it seemed
locked up like my Ford used to do.
My husband was more than 2 hours away so he called VW roadside assistance. They
evidently did not believe me and send someone out to give me a jump start. I was not a
happy camper. That guy also tried everything I tried and nothing.
I called VW Roadside assistance back and they tried walking me through some things
on the phone. I had already done those things, but I humored them.
They called a tow truck. The tow truck driver arrived and he tried all the things I tried
and the guy who was trying to jump my car tried. Nothing.
The tow truck driver pushed my vehicle out and got it ready to tow. He turned the key to
put it in neutral and nothing.
He got the car in place and lowered the tow bed. He hooked up a cable so it could be
pulled up on to the bed of the tow truck. Once everything was ready he again got in the
car and put it in neutral and turned the key and it started!
I was very happy and I asked him what he did to get it started and he said he did not
know. He said he actually started it by mistake, but he was just putting it back in
neutral.
He gave me a choice. He said I could either have it fixed or I could drive it.
I decided I did not want to drive it. I just knew I'd get stuck someone on the highway
between Topeka and Wichita. I did not want to take that risk. It was already 8 at night.
The VW dealer that had it today said the problem did not reoccur. He ruled out several
things because it would not turn over, but the  power was still on.
At this point in time, I'm think it's in the ignition. Anyone think I'm right, wrong or crazy?

5 Answers

144,725

Starter relay,he jarred the car when hooking it up,check the starter.

2 people found this helpful.
45,825

there is a possibility it could be a faulty ignition unit as well or the key was not properly having the security picked up from the key. With all the new tech they have for audis i like to stick to my old 98 before those big sandwich blocks they call keys :P But as tst stated it was most likely a loose or bad starter relay or the starter.

40

I've had this happen to me at least 4 times now. I just patiently keep trying and it eventually has always ended up starting. I'm wondering if you have any advice or if it happened again? How did you fix it?

4 people found this helpful.
70

I want to tell you what I found out about my car. The first time the dealer had my vehicle they couldn't recreate the problem and basically gave me my vehicle back. The second time the dealer had my vehicle, they had it for more than a week and tore the dash out completely. Here's what they found. The dealer found water in the case that holds the computer that runs the car. They then tried to figure out what caused this to happen. In March of the previous year I had a chip in the windshield and had it replaced. The dealer at first thought the problem had to do with the new windshield and something they did. The dealer allowed Safelite to come to their shop and cut the windshield out to prove whether it was something they did or whether it was not something they did. After they cut the windshield out the leak still remained. They went further and determined that the problem came from a bad weld from the factory, where the two panels came together. It was leaking there. The original windshield installation must have had windshield sealant fill the gap. They told me this was not covered under factory warranty, but they had a factory rep in the shop on that day and he said they would cover it. So they put in a new brain and I haven't had a problem since. The leak that allowed the water to get to the brain was on the passenger side of the vehicle. If you are having this problem I would advise you get it checked out. I purchased and had my vehicle repaired from Stevens Volkswagen in Wichita Kansas. If your mechanic needs more information have them call Stevens.

7 people found this helpful.

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