Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Volkswagen Jetta Maintenance and Repair

1…125126128130131

Comments

  • cjsblkvw97cjsblkvw97 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 97 Jetta 2.0 Manual Trans, when I turn the key to on position the oil pressure light blinks but once I start the car it shuts off completely. What could this because from?? :confuse:
  • eliaselias Member Posts: 2,209
    that one-blink seems consistent with the normal diagnostic where every dashboard lights up for a second just after you turn key to "on" position.

    also there's no oil pressure when the engine is not running, so even if the dashboard were reporting 'oil pressure low', that would be correct/no-worry.
  • mrbert29mrbert29 Member Posts: 37
    Elias, needed to ask you a question. I just had my water pump replaced because of a blown gasket. The replacement was done by a local auto repair shop who I was told does work on foreign cars and is trusted. So, obviously it was not done by Volkswagen. Nothing seems to be wrong but when I parked the car recently I was hearing the cooling fan blowing. Now, the temp here in GA lately has been in 50's at night. I also had not run the car out of the ordinary and I even had the heater blowing on low. Is it normal for the cooling fan to be running considering the temp and environment I had just described? The only other time I've noticed this fan blowing was obviously in the summer when temp was in the high 80s to 100s. Should I also have VW check if the work was done properly?
  • mrbert29mrbert29 Member Posts: 37
    Is a water pump replacement fairly simple? I had mine replaced on my 2006 Jetta because of a blown gasket, but the work was done by local auto repair shop that does work on foreign cars. It was not done by VW. Should I have VW check the work?
  • bpeeblesbpeebles Member Posts: 4,085
    edited November 2010
    If you are running the 'defroster' for the windshield, this may enguage the AC to help remove moisture from the windshield. Anytime the AC compressor is enguaged, one of the radiator fans is also running.
  • eliaselias Member Posts: 2,209
    edited November 2010
    hi mrbert. what bpeebles said. seems like all could be nominal with your car - no need for anyone to check it, based on your description. to watch for potential future malfunction relating to cooling, i recommend to keep your eye on engine temperature / warning-light and make sure it doesnt overheat.
    if engine overheats, you can try use max-heat/max-fan to cool it (especially fun in summertime!) ;)
    cheers!
  • baseline1baseline1 Member Posts: 6
    Hi,

    I have 2001 Jetta VR6. And I just found that I had coolant leaking problem.

    When I checked it, I located the parts which is like the part shown in the link below:
    http://www.bizrate.com/automotive-parts/oid726644457.html

    Is it the water pump? Is it the only water pump in this model. Somebody said there possible one model has two different water pumps.
  • jkzjkz Member Posts: 1
    The heater flapper on our '94 Jetta is stuck on the AC side; which means we get very little heat. A fix apparently includes removing the dash which costs too much. Is there anyway to get to this seemingly simple fix without the dash removal? If not are there any portable, in-car heaters that would work. Thanks in advance.
  • bpeeblesbpeebles Member Posts: 4,085
    Dont forget that the 'normal' heater in your car gets its heat from the engine.
    a 150HP engine is generating over 10,000 watts of power. This is not easy to duplicate with a small electric heater.

    Any of the 'portable' heaters I have tried (plug into cig. lighter outlet) are pretty whimpy.

    Looking at the numbers tells the story... Most of these outlets are fused at 20Amps.
    12V X 20A = 240watts maximum. This is not a lot of heat when you need to remove ice from a windshield which is 10F outside.

    Also, the intense localized heat from one of these can easilly crack a windshield if it blows directly on it.

    Are you CERTAIN you cannot reach up under the dashboard and move that flapper to "heat" for the winter?
  • ajaygargajaygarg Member Posts: 2
  • ajaygargajaygarg Member Posts: 2
    Hi

    I recently bought a used Jetta 2000 model. It has run close 110,000 miles.
    I want to know what regular servicing does this car require, and at what intervals.

    Thanks
    Ajay
  • shaneg80shaneg80 Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2010
    I'm thinking about buying a 92 Jetta. It has a bunch of stuff done to the motor. It blow out the rear freeze plug, and got hot. It still runs strong, but has a miss to it. Is it worth buying to fix up? I don't know much about Volkswagons as you can see.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    sounds very risky to me. These motors don't like to overheat. I'd only buy it if it were dirt, dirt cheap like $500 or something.
  • bpeeblesbpeebles Member Posts: 4,085
    edited December 2010
    5W30 oil every 7500 miles

    The 2000s were known to consume some oil. This is NOT a problem as long as you keep it topped up so the oil-lite never comes on.

    Timing Belt every 60K miles (including pullies and waterpump)

    Change the Cabin Filter

    clean the SnowScreen
  • swjetta2011swjetta2011 Member Posts: 3
    I have a new 2011 sportwagon jetta & already have some problems - mainly regarding the windows. My rear driver's side window was taking a slow time to go up & thereby activating the pinch protection mechanism. I brought the car to the dealership & they cleaned & re-greased the window mechanism & now seems to be working fine. So perhaps, all that your dealership service people need to do is to clean out & re-grease your car's window mechanism gears??? Just a thought. Hope this helps.
  • swjetta2011swjetta2011 Member Posts: 3
    I just purchased a new 2011 VW sportwagon jetta in November & recently discovered that when my rear windows are down while I'm driving, that there's a really loud thumping type of noise. The dealership told me that the noise is the air going through the rear windows & if I open up the front window a bit that the noise will disappear. I tried that tonight & they were right BUT my point is that I don't think that I should have to have this loud noise AND shouldn't have to adjust my front windows to make it disappear. I REALLY wish I knew about this BEFORE I bought the car (I wouldn't have bought it!). I'm just wondering if any other VW owners have had this problem &, if so, how did you resolve it?

    How could have VW ignored this problem? I just don't get it!

    Thanks for any feedback that any of you might have.
  • jeffyscottjeffyscott Member Posts: 3,855
    That is certainly not unique to this model, a lot of cars will do that sort of thing with one window open or with just the back windows open. I think my Mazda6 does that...not positive as I am not in the habit of driving around with just the back windows open.
  • asaasa Member Posts: 359
    You are correct -- most newer vehicles do this. The window glass is close to the exterior for less drag turbulance and the wind blows across the surface just as it does blowing across the top of a Coke bottle. The noises are similar.
  • bvdj84bvdj84 Member Posts: 1,724
    Is it correct that my first paid oil change and tire rotation is not until 10,000miles?

    I am thinking this is too long. I would rather not wait that long. For me, I will have that next August and that would seem to long to be running on new car oil and not to have the tires rotated. I am assuming that I would be responsible for the services in between the paid program intervals? I will probably get it done around 5k give or take. Certainly not 10,000 miles. If it is every 10k, that is roughly only about 3-4 times for me, since I lease. That is not enough. Perhaps it is, but I wouldn't feel right.

    Am I thinking correctly? lol
  • jeffyscottjeffyscott Member Posts: 3,855
    No you are not thinking correctly :) . 12 months or 10,000 miles is the maintenance interval. It uses synthetic oil, so that time frame is very appropriate and probably conservative, if anything.

    As for tire rotations, I don't think the interval matters much so I wouldn't worry about 10,000 miles. The only purpose of rotating is to equalize the wear.
  • belaircarguybelaircarguy Member Posts: 107
    I have a 2007 Jetta 2.5, a 2009 Jetta 2.5, and a 2008 Beetle convertible. All have the same schedule of 10,000 miles for oil/filter, using synthetic oil of course. I have done the changes at 5,000 miles, and in the case of my 2009, I also had the "free service" at 10,000, 20,000, and 30,000. While synthetic oil is a great thing, some problems have existed in cars that went long on changing the oil. The new Mini Cooper had recommended 15,000 changes (a least a few model years ago), using synthetic oil and had many engine related problems. The virtue of synthetic is that is does not lose its oil lubrication properties, and supposedly does not generate the by-products during use that a regular conventional oil will. Of course, the oil is still going to get dirty and must be cleaned up with the oil filter.

    Oil and filter changes are about $60-70 using synthetic oil. This is still cheap insurance to insure your engine is running with new fresh oil, and certainly not overly expensive.

    It is your decision, but certainly changing the oil / filter more often is not a problem, and it gives me extra peace of mind that the engine should be getting the best care.

    Bel Air Car Guy
  • bvdj84bvdj84 Member Posts: 1,724
    Good points!

    I will still probably schedule an oil change and rotation at about 4k. This coming spring, it will be ready! Especially the tires being rotated. I have the SE and it has the Hankook tires. I am impressed with these tires, as they were on my 08 G6 and looked quite clean and great condition with 40k on them! Even my dealer stated they looked really good. I am not really hard on my cars though either.
  • 2002jetta2002jetta Member Posts: 3
    Are you serious? Have you ever driven any car before..... ever? EVERY car does this if you have the windows open to a certain point where the air isn't flowing properly. Wow....
  • swjetta2011swjetta2011 Member Posts: 3
    I'm really happy to say, 2002jetta, that NONE of the cars I've driven ever had this noise. These cars include, Acuras, Hondas, older VWs, Toyotas, Pontiacs.
    Thanks to ASA for explaining the reason that this seems to occur on newer models.
    I'm now curious if putting wind deflectors on the windows could help resolve this problem. Has anyone ever tried to get rid of this noise this way?
  • bpeeblesbpeebles Member Posts: 4,085
    edited January 2011
    You should not have the windows open when driving at speed, this simply makes the car less aerodynamic. (consume more fuel) Adding those silly-looking deflectors around the windows makes the car even less aerodynamic and consume even more fuel. I even remove any factory roof-rack and leave it at home because it also consumes fuel to leave it installed all the time.

    Considering that I get over 650 miles per tank of fuel, I think I am getting pretty good MPG.

    for ventalation, use the sunroof. It is DESIGNED to be open at speed, has a buit-in wind-deflector which retracts at speed and allows plenty of ventalation.
  • erickplerickpl Member Posts: 2,735
    Does anybody have information on swapping bulbs on a 2007 GLI with HID low beams?

    My daughter's GLI has the driver side low beam HID out. It flickers when it comes on but won't stay illuminated (and doesn't come on after a while). I'm not sure if it is a ballast issue or a bad bulb. I want to swap the bulb from the passenger side to the driver side, but before I did that, I wanted to make sure how to put it in and take it out without breaking anything (it's been cold out and things are more brittle).

    Is there a way to remove the entire assembly to make things easier?

    ANY input would be appreciated!!!

    -Paul
  • 99wolfsburg99wolfsburg Member Posts: 4
    why not just pull the bulb out of the side that is not working and check the bulb with an ohmeter. it may just be a poor connection at the plug in. you can also check the voltage to the bulb at the plug in when the bulb is disconnected. no need to mess around with the other bulb which is working
  • billpaulbillpaul Member Posts: 103
    "I even remove any factory roof-rack and leave it at home because it also consumes fuel to leave it installed all the time."

    Great idea to remove the racks, but what is involved in doing this? Are there holes to fill, painting to be done? Is this a job for a body shop?
  • microjmicroj Member Posts: 10
    I have a 1998 jetta GLS 2.0 manual transmission-57,000 miles
    I recently had the transmission rebuilt and now there are some odd noises coming from it.
    When i engage the clutch in the lower gears I hear a "woo woo" sound and on the highway at around 60 MPH or 27/28,000 RPM there is a steadier whine/ Howling type noise when if I take my foot off the accelerator. Does this sound like a bad rebuild or will the transmission need time to break in?
    It is under warranty for a year so other than the time without my car I don't mind taking it back to be fixed. If it is a bad re-build will driving my car damage anything else or will damage be only in the transmission?

    Thank-you for any responses.
  • bpeeblesbpeebles Member Posts: 4,085
    You asked "Great idea to remove the racks, but what is involved in doing this? Are there holes to fill, painting to be done? Is this a job for a body shop?"

    On my Subaru, there are perminant "rails" running front-to-back. The parts I remove are the crossbars which run side-to-side. These come off with a screwdriver-like tool which I found in the glove-compartment.

    I would not advocate removing anything perminantly mounted to the roof of your car... but some of the crossbars are removable and can improve econmey by 1 or 2 MPG.
  • jeffyscottjeffyscott Member Posts: 3,855
    I can not believe the cross rails on a roof rack could possibly affect mpg by that much. A much more believable 1% loss, 0.2 mpg was measured by edmunds here: http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/we-test-the-tips-part-ii.html#aero
  • tae3tae3 Member Posts: 1
    it means your battery died, you need to go to the dealership or just a stereo shop. newer radios have a special key to be removed. when its removed have the serial numbers written down. the dealership will match those with your VIN number and they will give you a key to unlock the stereo. :shades:
  • ecervantesecervantes Member Posts: 3
    A family friend is about to sell me a 2000 jetta gls 5 speed. Very nice clean car, the cars motor is great. no weird noises come from the car or anything, but when i shift gears on it, the car moves. You have to hold the wheel tight or else the car will move to my left. this only happens when i shift gears tho, once im done shifting it goes away, car runs fine, on the freeway its fine, so what can i be? and how much would it cost to get fixed? im paying $2000 for the car which is cheap but i dont want something thats gonna cost me 1000 to fix.. please help!
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    motor or transaxle mount I would guess. You probably don't want to sell this to anyone in that condition.
  • ecervantesecervantes Member Posts: 3
    i am not selling the car, my friend is selling it to me. but is the car worth buying then? my brothers srt4 did the same and he got a alignment and it was fixed, but it does not pull to the left hard, just for a second then it goes back to normal, would the car be worth buying then? i am 18 and buying my first car so yeah... bare with me...
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Well you said this pulling happens when you shift, so this leads me to believe that this is not an alignment issue.

    I wouldn't buy it without having it checked out. It would only cost $100 bucks or so to have someone look it over. If you buy a car for $2000 and it needs tires, motor mounts and an axle boot, (for example) it wasn't a $2000 car after all.
  • bpeeblesbpeebles Member Posts: 4,085
    I am assuming you are saying that each time you push in the clutch to shift gears, the vehicle 'veers' to the left a little bit and you need to correct by steering to the right a bit.

    *)Does this same "veerng" to the left also happen when you let off the throttle WITHOUT touching the clutch?
    *)Does this same "veerng" to the left happen when you hit the brakes?

    I am asking these specific questions because I once had a VW that would "veer" slightly to one direction when I lifted off the throttle and then "veer" the other direction when I applied the throttle again.

    This turned out to be a 'sloppy' tie-rod-end which was allowing one of the front wheels to steer itself slightly based on weather it was pulling (accellerating) or pushing (decellerating).
  • ecervantesecervantes Member Posts: 3
    yes when you step on the gas hard the car will move to the left a bit, and when you brake and even more when you shift between gears. so it can be the trans mount or motor mount or a tie rod?
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    It sounds like a motor mount to me but instead of having us guess, just take it to a shop and have it checked out. With a Volkswagen, that is an especially good idea anyway!
  • 123332123332 Member Posts: 1
    so i have a 1997 vr6 jetta DOHC with 179 000km but my clutch failed and i am about to get my clutch replaced by a mechanic who lives far away for a cheap price, the only problem is that i need to know if i need any special VW Tools to install a clutch kit, clutch, pressure plate, gasket, bearing. i have been looking for a long time but no answer so far.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Let's see....for the clutch itself:

    You'll need a flywheel locking tool or equivalent (tool # 3067).

    A clutch disk alignment (centering) tool # 3190A

    If you remove the flywheel, you'll need new flywheel bolts

    To remove the transaxle, you 'll need some kind of engine support bridge to hold the engine up temporarily.

    Also, you'll need a transmission jack

    I presume your mechanic has done this job before?
  • spenseroneillspenseroneill Member Posts: 2
    i ran into this problem too and could not find a solution online anywhere it plagued me for days, but alas i have a solution. hidden to your eye is a windage try that is holding your pan up. it follows the shape of your oil pan so it looks like its a gasket but nay it is not. separate the two and it should come down.
  • scottcoopescottcoope Member Posts: 1
    My Girlfriend has a 96 Jetta VR6 Automatic. She dumped her coolant in my driveway made it about 5 miles and the car made a loud pop then died, she smelled rubber burning. The car never overheated. I filled the resrvoir with water and it did not leak out, as soon as she put it in gear to go it dumped it's fluid again she made it the 5 miles back to the house and it died in the driveway, I don't see any obvious leaks when the car sits. It's a real nice car for it's age but were not sure we want to have it towed just to find out that we are looking at a several thousand dollar repair. Any ideas on where to start with a home repair?
  • bpeeblesbpeebles Member Posts: 4,085
    First of all, driving without antifreeze is NEVER a good thing... how can you possibly say "The car never overheated." ??? I hope you realize the temperature-gauge does not read properly when there is no antifreeze in the system so it cannot be used as a guide.

    Next, figure out where the coolant is coming from. It should not be very difficult with such a large leak.

    Finally, lets not forget VW *REQUIRES* special antifreeze. (substitutions are not a good idea because incompatibilities may cause gelling)

    Obviously driving it AT ALL is asking for $$ problems like warped head.
  • paulie1237paulie1237 Member Posts: 1
    Hi I just took out the switch on mine the two red color things ar paint balls use a small screwdriver dig out most of the paint and the screw sriver will catch the screws unscrew them out uper and lower ( K)
  • tdilovetdilove Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2008 jetta. In the last couple of days when you start the car there is a buzzing noise coming from the right side of the car. Does anyone know what this is. or should i take it in asap ?
  • intelmanintelman Member Posts: 5
    I have 46,000 miles on my 2009 SE. I have some bubbling paint on the front edge and underside of my hood. The dealer says it is a paint problem and not covered anymore since the warranty has ended. However, the car has a 12 year unlimited mileage corrosion perforation warranty. The dealer was going to have the area rep come down but now it seems he is not coming based on a conversation he had with the dealer.

    I went to a body shop and they said it is definitely rust coming through the paint. The paint thickness measures 4.9 mils.

    I can see this being a major headache to fight VW on this claim. I have read where VW Customer Service is pretty bad. The service advisor is already giving me the run around. This is the last VW I buy, I'm switching back to Japanese (Subaru, Honda, Toyota).
  • revmarketrevmarket Member Posts: 48
    Can not diagnose it for sure from here.
    Could be a bad speaker, or speaker wire.
    Try to isolate where the buzzing is coming from and re-post.
  • dckozak1dckozak1 Member Posts: 18
    edited July 2011
    Several months ago my Jetta started showing symptoms of some sort of power train problem. The car is a manual trans with 96K on it. I'm the third owner and, to the best of my knowledge, there has been no previous problems/work done on this system. My first hint of a problem was feeling a unusual
    vibration through the stick shift and the clutch petal. This was only felt at idle and generally when the car is in neutral. The feeling was like something slapping the transmission from the (freewheeling) side of the engine. It was definite but not consistent. Increasing rpms did not change the frequency or increase the amount of noise or feel, on the contrary, at about 1000 to 1100 rpms it would go away and run smooth without any slapping, noise or vibration. Likewise with this, you could feel a higher frequency vibration threw the clutch even at higher rpms when you would run the gears. This feeling was bad enough to be noticed by my wife as unusual and lead her to avoid the car. The last noticeable thing about this was the sound coming from the exhaust, while running the gears (worse at higher [3000+] rpms) was like a hole in the muffler or exhaust pipe.
    My local mechanic couldn't find a solution and shortly before I was to take to the dealer, something really strange happened. It all stopped, no problems, no vibration, exhaust sounds, all normal.
    This lasted about 2000 miles and than slowly started coming back, not so much the slapping on the stick but the rest and another noticed charismatic of this problem, when you are in any (higher) gear, while cruising, if you let off the throttle you can feel a noticeable thunk through the power train. Its somethings worst than others and can be "managed" to either make it worse or smoother depending on how you manage the throttle and whether you are accelerating hard or decelerating. One other thing, when coming off the clutch, one can sometimes notice a feeling of the clutch petal not releasing cleanly, it feels like it pops off the foot near the top of its travel. Not always noticed, but sometimes.
    Having said all this, the problem is again (!!!!) either (temporary) gone or diminished.
    I would be grateful if anyone has had this problem correctly diagnosed or a mechanic who was worked on this or a similar problem.
  • hassansmithhassansmith Member Posts: 1
    i bought my 2002 jetta 8 months ago and yes i should of took everyone's advice the first time....instead id figure it couldnt happen to me...ive replaced my transmission three months after i purchased it for $3,200..the i had to replace my shocks & mostly everything in my front end with it in the past 2 months which cost another $2,000....and all these little sounds are still there with little results...my problem i have now is a grinding sound from my front end...the idiot mechanic who has been taking my money says it could be a wheel bearing but he wants to remove my tanny again and look in it again...any ideas on which it could be so i can save time and money???
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles