Volkswagen Jetta tire size
Original tire sizes for the Volkswagen Jetta, model years 2005 through 2018. Trim levels and wheel packages change the size within the same year, so confirm on the door-jamb sticker before ordering.
Check before you order. The surest answer is the tires on the car right now: the size is molded into the sidewall. The placard inside the driver's door tells you what the factory fitted, which can differ from what a previous owner put on. Our guide on reading a tire size shows exactly where to look.
Size by year and trim
Tire size by model year
| Model year | Tire size | Trim or package | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Volkswagen Jetta | 195/65R15, 205/55R16 | S or Standard | $50 |
| 2017 Volkswagen Jetta | 195/65R15, 205/55R16 | S or Standard | $50 |
| 2016 Volkswagen Jetta | 195/65R15, 205/55R16 | S or Standard | $50 |
| 2015 Volkswagen Jetta | 195/65R15, 205/55R16 | S or Standard | $50 |
| 2014 Volkswagen Jetta | 195/65R15, 205/55R16 | S or Standard | $50 |
| 2013 Volkswagen Jetta | 195/65R15, 205/55R16 | S or Standard | $50 |
| 2012 Volkswagen Jetta | 195/65R15, 205/55R16 | S or Standard | $50 |
| 2011 Volkswagen Jetta | 195/65R15, 205/55R16 | S or Standard | $50 |
| 2010 Volkswagen Jetta | 205/55R16 | Standard | $55 |
| 2009 Volkswagen Jetta | 205/55R16 | Standard | $55 |
| 2008 Volkswagen Jetta | 205/55R16 | Standard | $55 |
| 2007 Volkswagen Jetta | 205/55R16 | Standard | $55 |
| 2006 Volkswagen Jetta | 205/55R16 | Standard | $55 |
| 2005 Volkswagen Jetta | 205/55R16 | Standard | $55 |
Which brand should you pick?
Volkswagen does not stamp its own approval code on tires the way Porsche or BMW do. Any tire in the right size that meets or exceeds the load index and speed rating on your door placard is a legitimate replacement, so pick on wet braking, tread life and price. Our picks for each size are on the size pages below.
The drawing carries the sizes we list for this car, so you know what you are looking for. The placard on the car is still the final word, and it is the only place that gives the cold pressures: the number molded into the sidewall is the maximum the tire can hold, not what your car wants.
What those tires cost
About the Volkswagen Jetta
The Jetta is Volkswagen's compact sedan, the sedan version of the Golf and for decades the brand's best-selling car in America. It spans everything from 15-inch steel wheels on a base S to the 228-hp GLI on 18-inch summer tires. Tire buyers come here mostly to work out whether their car is a plain Jetta or a GLI, because the two barely overlap on size.
Launched in 1979. Launched in 1979, the Jetta was created by grafting a trunk onto the Golf to give Volkswagen a conventional three-box sedan for markets, America included, that would not buy a hatchback.
How to tell the model years apart
Wheel and tire sizes follow the generation, not the badge, so identifying yours matters before you order.
1999-2005
Fourth generation (A4)
The rounded, softly detailed Jetta with an oval grille opening and round headlamps, sold here as the Jetta and the Jetta Wagon. Interiors were the high point, with blue-and-red instrument lighting that became a signature. The GLI version of this car used 16-inch wheels and a VR6 or 1.8T engine.
Tire sizes: 205/50R16
2005-2018
Fifth and sixth generation (A5/A6)
A large step up in size, with a squarer greenhouse, a horizontal grille flanked by angular lamps, and from 2011 a simplified body with straight character lines and a flat trunk lid. Base S cars ran 15-inch wheels with 195/65R15 tires, SE and SEL used 16s and 17s, and the GLI is identified by a red grille outline, twin exhaust tips and 17- or 18-inch wheels.
2019-2024
Seventh generation (A7)
Built on the MQB platform and revealed at the Detroit auto show in January 2018, it is the longest and lowest Jetta yet, with a strong crease down the flank, a grille that merges into the headlights and, on the GLI, a honeycomb lower intake. Facelifts in 2021 and 2024 revised the grille and lights. The GLI carries 225/45R18 summer tires; ordinary Jettas stay on 16s and 17s.
Tire sizes: 225/45R18
What the press said
The Jetta has been reviewed as the sensible German compact for forty years: praised for trunk space, rear legroom, ride quality and fuel economy, criticized for interior materials that slipped badly around 2011 and for an automatic transmission that has never been the class benchmark. The GLI versions have always been received more warmly, essentially as a Golf GTI with a trunk. The 2009 Jetta TDI won Green Car of the Year, an award that was later rescinded when the diesel emissions scandal broke.
If you're looking for a German compact sedan that's fuel efficient and impressively spacious, the Volkswagen Jetta is your only option.
Car and Driver, 2026
| Model year | Units sold in the US |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 131,109 |
| 2016 | 121,107 |
| 2017 | 115,807 |
| 2018 | 90,805 |
| 2019 | 100,453 |
| 2020 | 82,662 |
| 2021 | 61,967 |
| 2022 | 38,260 |
| 2023 | 47,407 |
| 2024 | 71,829 |
| 2025 | 54,291 |
US sales peaked at 177,360 in 2011 and have since ranged from 38,260 in the supply-constrained year of 2022 to 71,829 in 2024.
Was it a success?
The Jetta remains a genuine commercial success in a shrinking segment, outliving most of its direct rivals in the US market. Resale is modest, which makes used Jettas cheap and plentiful. Reliability reputation is average: the later 1.4T and 1.5T engines have been reasonably solid, while earlier cars are known for coil packs, water pumps and plastic cooling components, and the dual-clutch and conventional automatics both have their own service histories.
Did you know?
- The 2009 Jetta TDI was named Green Car of the Year by Green Car Journal, and the award was formally rescinded in 2015 after the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal.
- In China the Jetta's descendants are sold as the Sagitar, and Volkswagen also created a separate budget brand simply called Jetta, which sells its own SUVs.
- Volkswagen has sold the Jetta under a long list of alternative names including Atlantic, Vento, Bora, City Jetta, Clasico and GLI.
Tire options on the Volkswagen Jetta
Jetta tire sizes are among the cheapest you will find on a German car. Base and mid trims run 195/65R15, 205/55R16 or 205/60R16, SE and SEL move to 225/45R17, and only the GLI gets serious with 225/40R17 on older cars and 225/45R18 summer tires on 2019-on models. Everything is square and front-wheel drive, nothing is run-flat, and the spare is a compact steel wheel under the trunk floor. Original equipment was mostly Continental, Hankook and Bridgestone touring all-seasons, with the GLI leaving the factory on summer tires that need swapping out before winter in any cold climate. All of these sizes have deep winter tire selections, and dropping a GLI from 18s to a 16- or 17-inch winter setup is standard practice. The 15- and 16-inch sizes are where the Jetta becomes genuinely cheap to run, often under a hundred dollars a tire for a decent mid-range all-season.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, caranddriver.com.
Volkswagen Jetta tires: common questions
What size tires does a Volkswagen Jetta take?
The most common original size is 195/65R15. Other model years and trims use different sizes, so check the list on this page and confirm against the sticker inside your driver's door.
Can I fit a different size on my Volkswagen Jetta?
You can, within limits: the overall diameter should stay within about 3 percent of the original, and the load index and speed rating must meet or exceed the door placard. Anything further changes your speedometer reading and can rub at full lock.
Where is the tire size on a Volkswagen Jetta?
Open the driver's door and look at the white and yellow placard on the door jamb or the B-pillar. The same size is also molded into the sidewall of the tires currently on the car, unless someone changed them.
What size tires does a 2018 Volkswagen Jetta take?
The 2018 Volkswagen Jetta came from the factory on 195/65R15 and 205/55R16. Wheel packages can change that within the same model year, so check the placard inside the door jamb before you order.
What size tires does a 2017 Volkswagen Jetta take?
The 2017 Volkswagen Jetta came from the factory on 195/65R15 and 205/55R16. Wheel packages can change that within the same model year, so check the placard inside the door jamb before you order.
What size tires does a 2016 Volkswagen Jetta take?
The 2016 Volkswagen Jetta came from the factory on 195/65R15 and 205/55R16. Wheel packages can change that within the same model year, so check the placard inside the door jamb before you order.