Volkswagen Jetta 2005 and earlier

sean89

vocus
thanks for the reply. I do not have the monsoon though. I have the standard radio. Do you think fuse #42 will still be the problem, or a different fuse?

thanks

8u6hfd

Yeah pull the #42 and replace after about a minute.

I have a non-monsoon also

justin

DC dealers seem okay, just a little overworked. the dealers refuse to spend money on ample numbers of service bays. VW sales have exploded over recent years, but service space and technicians have not kept up.

good luck with the fuse. if you have done it before, i would try it yourself first. why not? saves you from letting the dealer get your car greasy.

vocus

If you pull the fuse, the problem will come back. And you have to keep doing it. Just take the car in and have it done.

sean89

Hi,
Thanks for all info, since my car is under warranty, I think I will have the dealer fix it.
I will have a look at the fuse box today though.

I have two more questions for you all though. In the past I’ve noticed that when I start my car up in the morning, the engine/front of the car shakes/vibrates. The shaking occurs when I put my foot on the brake and shift the car in reverse before backing out off my garage. And it only occurs when I switch the car out of Park and into reverse (while depressing the brake). This shaking will only occur in the morning. I notice when I leave work in the evening the car does NOT shake before I reverse out of the parking space. Have any of you experienced such shaking in your jetta? Is it normal or does this indicate an engine or some other sort of trouble.

Also recently I have noticed when I park and turn off the engine, there is some burning smell, like burning rubber, coming from the car. Is this normal, or sign of a major problem?
There was no such smell when I first bought the car.

Thanks

justin

I have ALWAYS had that problem. The one where when the engine is cold the car hesitates when backing out of the garage in REVERSE. The dealer explained it to me. I forget now - but basically it is okay, normal, whatever. Something about when the cars are first started, that is when they pollute the most, so VW emissions systems does something with the gas/oxygen, to lower power for a few seconds. It could be load of BS. I am used to it now anyway. Both of my Jettas did/do that.

Not sure about the rubber smell.

vocus

You should wait until the RPMs of the car drops to the normal 800 or so. Mine idles at 1200rpm when I first start it, and gradually goes down (in about 30-60 seconds, depending on how cold it is outside) to the 800. I don't take the car out of Park until the RPMs drop though.

With the smell, mine did that as well. I don't know what it is though. I did ask the dealer about it, and he said that it's not harmful. But my car stopped that smell after 15K miles or so. Now at 25K miles, it doesn't do it anymore.

The engine fan, however, does run sometimes when I park the car. Even with the engine off. I didn't think it was able to do that, but I hear it sometimes.

vocus

Hey, I see you became a member of Vortex as well.

sean89

Yup I took the “plunge”
I have been concerned about the shaking and smells and the radio not working was very annoying so I posted to vortex and Edmunds…
Thanks for all the feedback. The smell and shaking still seems weird though, b/c I’ve never heard of any other car doing that and it being considered normal...but i'll try to wait until 800rpms

pat

Looks like you are using MS Word to compose your messages and due to the proprietary special characters Microsoft uses, your message is not being posted the way that you typed it.

To fix this, find the "Smart Quote" setting and turn it off. This will make Word use standard special characters, rather than the proprietary ones.

In my version of Word (2000) you do this by going to the Tools menu, then AutoCorrect, then AutoFormat As You Type. Under Replace As You Type, the first setting says "Straight quotes" with "Smart quotes" -- you want to uncheck that and "Okay" your way out of there.

If you have a different version and this doesn't get you to the right place, use the Help feature to look for "smart quotes" or just "quotes".

Hope this helps!!

vocus

I have seen that on other message boards as well. I never knew what caused it.

vocus

I know the smell is normal, but it does go away eventually. Be glad the car's not a Kia or Hyundai, they smell putrid for the first couple hundred miles, due to their undercoating. The smell has gone out of my 2002 1.8T though, and it will be a year that I have had it this Sunday coming up.

Mine doesn't shake, but it does idle high. You might wanna ask the dealer about the shaking. But try letting the RPMs drop before taking off, and see if this helps.

sean89

When the dealer fixed your radio, did they say what exactly caused the fuse to blow? Because it could be due to bad circuit/electrical design. Did they actually fix the problem or just replace the fuse. I don't think replacing the fuse is a real solution.

Oh well I'll call the dealer (congression vw, rockville) tomorrow.

ps: pat, thanks for the hint

venus537

vocus:
i know this was many posts ago, but i'm the one who went from a 2001 vr6 to a 2002 1.8t. IMO the 174hp vr6 is clearly out classed (fuel economy, smoothness, quietness, responsiveness) by the 1.8t.

justin:
no matter how much you may screw over the dealer with a trade in, they're screwing you back even more. i also trade my cars in too, but i hope to sell my current car myself when the time comes.

8u6hfd

I have a 2002 jetta 1.8T. I’ve had the car for 7 months. This morning tried to turn my radio on and it did not turn on.. I tried to turn the radio on when the car was running and when it was off, but had no luck. The radio will not even eject the CD that is currently in the cd player. I

I had the exact same problem 3 weeks ago...try the fuse #42 (there was a Technical Service Bulletin issued by VW), it only takes a minute to do.

The fuse isn't blown....it clears some kind of memory. You'll have to re-program one of your presets.

If the quick one minute solution solves your problem, you just saved yourself the hassle of going to the dealership.

You'll never know it's going to work unless you try.

vocus

I know this "#42" trick. The dealer does have to replace the fuse, someone from Vortex told me, but I don't remember why. If you take the car in with the dead radio, they will replace it. If you tell them it died, they will not do anything. This is what I heard anyway.

My radio died before I heard about the trick though, so I just took it into the dealership and they said they "reprogrammed" it. They also stole one of my CDs, which I had to go on a hunt for.

vocus

Since you have experience in this matter, how was the trade on the 2001 VR6? How many miles, and what did you get for it? If you don't wanna post it here, feel free to use the email in my profile (lanhamdata@yahoo.com) and let me know. I am really curious, since I might be selling my car shortly to cut monthly expenses. Thanks!

Also, I drove the new VR6 and didn't really like it. The pedal seemed to have to be pushed a good deal harder than the 1.8T's does.

justin

i agree. dealers bend you over each and every time. but what i am saying is that my conscience won't allow me to sell my car to a poor shmuck out on the street. i will gladly sell a crappy car to a dealer, and enjoy doing it! can't do it to the person that comes to my house and is nice and asks why i am selling the car. just can't lie like that! i am a true believer in "what goes around, comes around."

8u6hfd

the VW techs at TDIclub says you don't have to change the fuse.

maybe I should fork over $30 to Alldata and get all the TSB's.

vocus

I don't remember if they changed the fuse or not. I had someone tell me that you do have to, but this was just a fellow owner, not a tech. I will ask my tech friend when I speak to him again.

beanboy

You've moved on to a VW Jetta 1.8T eh?

-B

markjenn

I think most dealers handle "crashed" radios as follows:

1. If radio is working but customer said it died, tell customer not to reset the fuse and bring it again when it has failed. (It is pretty much an axiom in dealer service that you shouldn't make repairs that can't be verified.)

2. If radio is dead and this is 1st complaint, pull fuse and return to customer.

3. If radio is dead and this is the 2nd complaint, replace radio.

FWIIW, I've had a similar radio in an Mercedes ML crash twice in 40K miles and I just reset it both times It has been fine for the last 20K.

Given that it is so easy to reboot the unit and that a new unit doesn't really guaranteee that the problem won't reoccur, I think an occasion reboot is probably a better cure then replacement, sorta like having to reboot your computer every few weeks - not desirable, but easier than spending hours and hours trying to track down something that you may or may not find.

- Mark

willg1961

I have a 2003 Jetta 1.8T and it's been terrific for the first 1,000 miles. My only complaint is the way the car bounces up and down going over bumps and uneven road surfaces. I do not have the sport suspension, but was wondering if there's an inexpensive way to tighten things up a bit without voiding warranty. Thanks.

vocus

You might think about getting a stiffer stabilizer bar. Stiffer springs will also fix your problem, but will turn the ride harsher.

vocus

I got the Jetta on 11/3/01, so it will be a year on Sunday that I have had it. Where have you been?

anonymous02

"bounces up and down"?

Sounds more like shocks than springs.

rickrover

One one of the best and least expensive ways to tighten up the suspension is to install some Eibach sport springs. These are the exact same springs that the VW dealer sells as an accessory. You can get them from Tire Rack for about $190. Getting them installed is easy - I'd use an independent VW repair shop for another $150 to $200. They don't void any warranty, obviously VW wouldn't warrant the Eibach springs but any other suspension warranty is intact. The Eibachs would actually have a better warranty than the VW springs since they are warranted for the life of the car. You don't have to change out the shocks or anything else. The lower the car a little and tighten up the suspension perfectly, the ride is still very comfortable with significatly reduced sway. To take the suspension tuning a step further you could add a Neuspeed 25mm rear sway bar -and step beyond that would be to add Bilstein shocks. Start with the springs and see what you think - I'm totally satisfied with them.

You don't have to replace the fuse to get the radio to work again, just pull it out and put it back in. I had to do it when my car was new, it hasn't happened again in months.

vocus

So you got the same springs that VW provides in the sport suspension package then? I have those now, but want something a little stiffer. I want sport springs maybe.

Anakin

Try H&R sport springs with the Bilstein Sport shocks.

That combination was recommended to me as the best combination of ride comfort and performance. I intend to get that combo if I can ever manage to scratch up that much cash in one place ;^)

vocus

You can get a set of used H&R springs from Vortex for around $100 or so. People are always selling them. The shocks are pretty expensive though. You can, however, run stock shocks and sport springs for a little, but it's not recommended for the long term, as the shocks will wear quicker.

justin

i started my car this morning, and i was on an incline (not in my garage for once, actually in the driveway). within 5 seconds, the coolant light started beeping and blinking. i just revved the car in park to about 6k rpms, and it stopped. never came on again the whole commute to work. the actual temp gauge was dead center, as usual (once car was warmed up).

did you ever figure out why your light came on? do i need to add that to my list for my next oil change?

vocus

My light came on this morning as well! I was parked on the right side of the street AGAIN, tilted to the right a little because of the gutter. Light flashed like crazy and started beeping. I popped the hood to check the level, and it was fine. Had to stop within 6 blocks for something, so I turned the car off there. When I started it back up, no more light. The low coolant sensor must be on the left side of the tank, that damn thing flashes every time I park the car leaning to the right a little bit. It doesn't even gimme a second thought anymore.

Also, you revved the car to 6000rpm?!? You shouldn't do that to a cold engine, especially with a turbo. You will destroy the turbocharger before its expectancy. The way I do it is I start the car, let it idle until the RPMs drop to the normal idling 800rpm, then take off. I drive below 3000rpm until the coolant gauge is up to the normal 190.

Also, my digital clock graphic "froze up" again this morning. One part of the "9" in the last digit of the time disappeared, but it came back when it changed to a "0". Weird.

vocus

I asked them to check my car for a coolant leak when I took it in before, to be safe. They said it was fine and there was no leak.

The coolant level should be filled up to the area in the tank right below where the tank itself gets thick. If you look under the hood, you will know what I mean by that. Also, you have to use the pink coolant, and it's like $9 a gallon!

anonymous02

sun spots?

low gravity day?

high gravity day?

;-)

vocus

What are "sun spots"?

And I hope you weren't referring to my coolant light as an electronic problem. I do think about the clock display though. But they are liquid crystal, and of course liquid freezes up a little when cold. I never have a problem with the clock doing that when it's hot outside. Weird.

sean89

Hi Everyone
Just wanted to let you all know I took my jetta to the dealer this morning. They said VW has acknowledged there is a problem with the electronics of their radios, but VW does not know what is causing it. The dealer will order me a new radio today and will try to temporarily fix my radio by pulling/replacing the fuse, so that I can use the radio until they new one comes in. I will pick my car up after work, and take the car back once the new radio arrives and they will install it.

protege_fan

Is the LCD display in your Jetta the same or similar to the one in your previous car? We get some very cold days up here and my LCD display hasn't frozen up on me like you've described.

vocus

The Jetta has the LCD for the clock and the odometer. It's larger thnn the Protege's was. The clock is 2x the size of the odometer, and the odo/trip shows both at once, not one at a time like the Protege's. I don't think that would make a difference though.

newcar31

The odometer on the Protege is LCD.

protege_fan

My watch is digital...on an LCD display. The odometer and the clock in your former car are both LCD.

vocus

If they are the same LCD, I don't know what is causing the "freeze up" then. Never had that problem in my Protege either.

I am thinking about selling the car soon anyway, because I wanna do some major home improvements and I am thinking about going back to school. Can't afford to do all that and have a new car note too, unless I get that 35-40% raise I would like to have. Also, I would rather put the money into the house, where I will make it back if I ever decide to sell it. I wanted a Jetta since the MKIVs came out, now I had one. Now I want other things more important than a car.

justin

i didn't bother actually checking any fluids. i just had a 15k check up - that is the dealers job. once i revved it, it stopped anyway. the car was on for about 5 seconds before i revved it, so all in the clear there. glad to know it is just a weird VW thing. my clock has not done its weird thing yet this cold season, that i know of. when it did last year, it only ever lasted for exactly one minute. who knows, it could be doing all night long when it is really cold and i just don't see it, haha. again, i am NOT having them take apart the dash to replace that. no way.

chmeeee

You shouldn't be revving the engine that high at all until the temp gauge is at least past the three thicker bars at the lower end.

anonymous02

I wouldn't rev an engine if I thought the car was having problems. The only thing I can think of was in the SAAB owner's manual, it gave a VERY SPECIFIC RPM range to keep it in if the lifters needed to get pumped up with fluid (and it worked!).

vocus

You still shouldn't rev the engine like that when it's cold. Not good for it at all, especially the turbo.

And with the dash, mine only lasts for exactly one minute as well. But this morning, the dash did it after the car had been running on the highway for a good 20 mins., and the engine and interior were warm. I don't get it.

sntx

It takes the oil longer to reach normal operating tmeperature than the coolant (about twice as long), so waiting until the coolant has reached temp is not long enough wait if you want to do hard reving. This of course only matters if you care about the life of your engine. Personally I am of the opinion that you should care even if you are leasing the car and it will later be "someone elses problem".

Dealership technicians do not generally check fluids unless a sympton indicates a problem or they are asked to. It is very important to check your fluids regularly.

justin

hmmmm, i guess we can agree to disagree on the engine revving thing. the car would not let me rev it if was going to damage it. VW would have included some computer chip to prevent it. too many warranty repair bills for damage if that were truly the case. cars take abuse! that is the reason we have them don't get me wrong, i don't rev the car when it is cold usually. can't go that fast when backing out of my garage, haha. but i highly doubt that my high rev for 10 seconds this morning did anything to my car. all i know is, it actually FIXED my car. as my grandpa used to say, "it just needed the cobwebs blown out!" haha.

justin

besides, they have rev limiters on the car anyway. they don't come on at 6k rpms. if cold engine revving were TRULY an issue, they would have two rev limiters, depending on engine temp. again, if it were a problem, you bet VW would cover their butts so that they wouldn't have to pay for all of the repairs...

anonymous02

They don't have those, but it would be a good idea. A timer would be the best idea. Don't let it go out of Park or rev beyond 2000 for the first 45 seconds or something.

sntx

Reving too high before the oil is at optimal temperature effects the long term life of the engine. It is not a warranty issue because of this. It is mentioned in the owners manual not because VW is worried about warranty repairs. It is there as a guidline on making sure your engine has a very long life. When you hear about engines lasting 1,000,000 miles or more it is not a fluke, it is because they were good engines that were broken in properly and driven and maintained responsibly .