VW recalled 48,165 Jettas after a disconnected ground wire caused three fires

Volkswagen recalled 48,165 Jetta sedans from the 2025 and 2026 model years, built from March 3, 2025 through February 17, 2026, because the transmission ground wire may not have been connected to the left-side member stud during assembly. The wire is part of the oil-pressure unit's electrical circuit (HW 05, part 09U927152); the resulting open circuit can draw excessive current and increase the risk of a fire. The campaign is NHTSA 26V138, Volkswagen recall 97TC.

The chronology in VW's Part 573 filing: two field cases arrived in December 2025, on-site inspections followed, the electrical consequence was confirmed on February 19, 2026, the North American Region Product Safety Committee reviewed it on February 26, and the recall decision came on March 4. Six confirmed claims from the United States and Canada: three involved melted wires or a melted connector, three involved engine-compartment fires — two in the US, one in Canada — with vehicle damage only and no injuries reported.

NHTSA's record lists no warning indication for the defect, so a normal dashboard and an absent warning light do not confirm a car is unaffected. Volkswagen estimated less than 1% of the recall population carried the condition, but production records could not isolate which cars — so every one of the 48,165 goes to a dealer for a physical inspection of the connection rather than symptom-based diagnosis.

48,165 model-year 2025-2026 Jetta sedans recalled; six claims including three engine-compartment fires, vehicle damage only.

The defect was invisible: no warning light or symptom distinguishes an affected car, so owners had no way to self-diagnose.

An open ground circuit draws excessive current through the oil-pressure unit's wiring — a slow path to melted connectors and fire.

Only an estimated 1% of the population was defective, but no production record could say which cars, so the whole build window was recalled.

Three of the six confirmed claims were engine-compartment fires, which made the campaign a fire risk rather than an electrical nuisance.

An unconnected ground wire is an assembly defect no dashboard will ever show — the only detection that works is checking the population, not waiting for symptoms.

The campaign (26V138 / 97TC) covers all 48,165 cars built in the window, with dealers inspecting and reconnecting the ground wire. VW's filing records vehicle damage only, and the company told NHTSA it was not aware of crashes, injuries or deaths associated with the defect.