Volkswagen Jetta 2005 and earlier

justin

of course a turbo four should get better mileage than a V8. but lets be honest, none of us turbo freaks bought the car because we thought it was going to be economical! none of us!

in the Jetta, leather all the way. it is a "hearty" leather (read - almost fake )

justin

i want to switch to Mobil One. what type do i get for my 02 Turbo? i know the brand, but what model/viscosity? is there a matching filter? do i have to use a Mobil One filter too? getting my car serviced at Jiffy Lube probably...screw the dealer

agreenberg

Over the past several years I have fortunate enough to be able to afford BMW 5 series automobiles. But the recession has finally caught up with me, and I now need to select a much lower-priced car. I test drove the Jetta and loved it. It really seemed like a junior Bimmer to me.

Here's what I dont understand: I know for sure that I would be very unhappy downgrading all the way to a Civic, Corolla, or Focus after getting used to high-line cars. Yet the Jetta is in the same class as those cars, What am I missing? Am I in for an unpleasant reality check once I take a Jetta home?

Anakin

I think the Jetta is sort of between classes. It's obviously a small car, but it sort of bridges the gap between economy and midrange classes depending on the options you choose.

As for the reality check, I don't know how you'll feel. I have been happy with my GLS 1.8T. It has almost 25k miles on it, and zero problems or issues. Others here have had problems, some bad, some nitpicky.

If you're buying a 2003, I think you'll avoid most of the issues others have had, like window regulators and coil packs.

chmeeee

I think you could say that the Jetta is about halfway between a Corolla/Focus/whatever and a BMW 3-series/Audi A4/Saab 9-3, depending on the options. Obviously a GLX is leaning more in the direction of the BMW, while a GL 2.0 more towards the Focus.

I have 23k miles on my TDI with no problems but a broken regulator, actually caused by a rotten thief smashing my window to still my lousy free cell phone.

venus537

just in size, otherwise this car doesn't have much in common with your typical economy. Which you know from your test drive.

adg44

Mobil1 5w30 is what you want. You'll need 5 quarts.

Don't go to jiffy lube, most dealers have a special ofr $29 for the oil change which isn't bad at all. You also need the replacement drain plug and you should only use VW filters - they are the best for our cars.

- Anthony

8u6hfd

the oil change special is using Castrol GTX, not Syntec

vocus

A co-worker of mine has a 2000 BMW 323i, and she has driven my car on a couple occasions (02 1.8T). My car has some stuff hers doesn't, which surprised me (like she has vinyl with no seat heaters, and also no lumbar support seats, no CD player, etc.) She really liked it, which surprised me. She also said mine had more power than hers, but doesn't handle as well (which I already knew). I didn't tell her how much less my Jetta was than her BMW...

justin

Jiffy Lube did everything for around $85! Oil change with Mobil One, tire rotate, and air filter (they said I didn't need one, but I wanted it anyway). i must say i was skeptical about them - but i actually watched them do everything - i was worried they wouldn't use the oil i want - but they actually poured it in from sealed bottles - not that big hose from the ceiling i also had no idea my wheels had a lock - i had to search through my trunk for a wheel unlocker thingy. i was a little concerned about using a Mobil 1 oil filter too - but the Mobil 1 website say all filters will work just fine.

the only thing i need to do that they couldn't do was change the pollen filter. anyone done that on their own? i have screwdrivers and a hammer and plyers - does that mean i can change my own pollen filter if i buy one from the dealer?

vocus

I think you go in from the back of the glovebox to change the pollen filter, but I could be wrong. It's a pretty easy job too, from what I have heard.

I haven't changed my pollen filter in 33K miles, will do it at my 35K in a month or so. I also need an alignment and a new tire (damn potholes!), so I will be doing those soon as well.

nomadnyc

Have leatherette (i.e. vinyl) in my car also. Did not want leather do to the upkeep. BMW's leatherette looks like leather. Many people that get into my car assume its leather.

When we went for the jetta we asked if they had a vinyl interior. The answer was no (thats why we chose the leather) but were told that the Passat would have a vinyl interior next year.

adg44

I believe this is the one under the rain guard for the windsheild..... there are 4 screws on the left side when you pop the hood, and under that is the filter. It takes 5 minutes to change.

Yes the dealer charges 29 bucks with their GTX oil, but you can give them your oil. It's still fairly cheap.

8u6hfd

a nice guide here:

http://www.pureoil.com/Pics/Cabin_instr_PDFs/6943585.pdf

vocus

Thanks for posting that link. I will definitly replace mine myself rather than going to the dealer for it.

cards28

Has anyone used the lint rollers to remove the lint on the cloth seats? BTW, it works on leather, also. Just kidding. :O

I've been out of commission over the last couple of days because my computer died. Had to give it a proper funeral and all. Now, that was not fun. The new computer runs almost as fast as my Jetta 1.8T.

vocus

I know what you mean about slow PCs. I need to replace mine at home too, but anyway...

So how's the Jetta holding up? How many miles now?

cards28

Hey, I have just under 1,500 miles now and haven't had any problems up to this point. Knock on wood.
It's fun to drive. Last weekend my wife and I were driving back from my Mom's and a car on my left looked liked he was playing with me. I can't remember what the make was, but both of us was were waiting for the light to change. As it changed to green I just punched the accelerator (lightly, I think) and spun the wheels, to my surprise, the G forces threw us back into our seats as my wife screamed, "What are doing"? It really surprised me and it just re confirmed what kind of power this little engine, 1.8T has. The little engine that could. Having fun learning to drive it, though.

vocus

I know what you mean. I had to learn the sensitivity of the pedals when I got my 1.8T as well. I always seemed to almost spin my wheels upon taking off quickly, or almost throwing myself through the windshield when stopping quickly.

justin

changing the pollen filter looks pretty easy. i will do it this weekend.

vocus

Feel free to double your pleasure by changing mine while you're at it.. I will even bring my car down to you

I could use a wax too, as the car's almost 17 months old and never been waxed yet.

Anakin

Hah!

I have to use duct tape to take the lint off my seats. Even then, it still won't take all of it off.

*grumble*

vocus

I was going to get the cloth seats when I got my Jetta. The only reason I did end up with leather was because I wanted the adjustable lumbar support, and it doesn't come with the cloth seats. Boy, am I glad I got leather now, after hearing all these cloth horror stories!

wcwag

I have a '03 Jetta 1.8T. Today is the second time someone on the road called my attention to the fact that "your fuel tank lid is slightly open"! Has anyone else had problems with lid opening (not fully, just a little)?

vocus

Sounds like your fuel door lock may need an adjustment. Not too common, but not totally absurd.

Also, have you had any snow recently? If so, there could be some ice in there holding the door open a little bit. Have heard of this happening before too...

wcwag

No show;I live in the South...New Orleans area...I will get that adjustment...thanks.

8u6hfd

chances are, you might break the cover....no need to worry, as the cover is relatively inexpensive

deuskid

I have 2 questions:

1] seems like a lot of lint problems. Is this only on the velour or both Cloth and velour? [I wish the leather wasn't >$1k or I'd spring for it].

2] how does one release the pressure in the fuel line so that a fuel filter can be replaced?

thx

john

vocus

1) The $950 you spend for leather is definitely worth it if you don't wanna spend every weekend with a lint roller cleaning the seats. I don't know about the GL cloth seats, but who wants the stripped GL model anyway? (j/k)

2) Not sure about that one.

8u6hfd

1. Lint is a problem for velour, not the cloth

2. I don't know. Back in the days of my old Camry, I'd pull the EFI fuse, crank, and then open the gas cap. My current car is a TDI, so I need not to worry about releasing pressure when changing the fuel filter

nomadnyc

Reported before that the Jetta had a scratched windshield upon delivery. Took the car for it to 'serviced'. VW told me (get this) that a pebble must have got caught on the windshield wipers when they were installing them. "Or" I responded, "someone hit the wipers with no rubbers on" (to which they laughed). After they said they would try to polish the scratches out, now I am told that they are installing a new windshield. Now I am concerned.

bpeebles

(nomadnyc) I would be concerned too... but, other than replacing the windshield, what more could they do to appease your concen of a scratched windshield? Replace the entire vehicle?

Besides... I do not know of any dealerships that actually replace windshields themselves. This task is usually "venderd out" to a local professional firm that does auto glass for a living.

chmeeee

The amount people worry on here about the velour is a little silly. I have de-linted my seats probably three times in the 23,000 miles I have had my car, and they look fine, clean, no problem. I guess my message is, unless you are anal, the seats will probably be fine.

Anakin

You must not have pets. :P

My seats look like my dogs ride in my car.

They have never been in my car.

venus537

it's a transfer thing. the pets gets on you and then you get on the seats.

i think my next car will have leather. it feels good on the body.

Anakin

Yeah, I know how it gets there, but it's a royal pain to get it off the seats, which is why I try to warn people about the velour.

vocus

I know what you mean about the velour. I have leather, and brought my new dog home from its previous owner one week ago Saturday. My car looked like a (white) bunny exploded inside.. even on the seats. I brushed the hair onto the floor, and the seats were fine. I went to the gas station and used their vac for 5min., and my car was as good as new. I guess it would have been about 10x harder with velour...

Anakin

:P

chmeeee

What kind of dog? Puppy? :-) I like dogs.

vocus

She's a 7 year old Shepard/Akita mix. My co-worker had a baby, and the dog was used to having the man and woman to herself, and was also 'rough' when playing with kids. The woman mentioned the dog at work, and the fact that she and her husband had it since it was 4 months old and was upset about getting rid of it.

I couldn't see the dog going to the pound. (The pound said since the dog isn't that good around kids, they would have put her right to sleep.) I begged and pleaded with my dad (who is also my roommate), and we went and got her last Saturday. She has had 2 little accidents in my house, but that's to be expected upon changing surroundings (I am getting new carpet this summer anyway, so it didn't really bother me that much.) She is very sweet though. Her name is Shadow, and she follows true to her name (she is on the floor next to me in my home office as I type this).

Kirstie_H

A journalist with an international newspaper is interested in hearing from people who've bought Volkswagens in the last few years. If you'd like to share your story, we'll need your daytime contact information, vehicle model and year and, if you like, please also provide a brief overview of your ownership experience to date. Please respond to jfallon@edmunds.com by Tuesday, March 25.
Thanks for your consideration and participation.

nomadnyc

The alternative was to possibly polish out the scratch. The particular strach ran the entire path of the windshield wiper. After they saw it they knew they could not polish out the scratches.

The dealership has performed very well without any questions asked. I have no complaints in that area. My only concern is whenever a windshield is replaced a strong possibility of leaks exists. Keeping fingers crossed that this will not be the case.

adg44

I think I could give some good insight.... in the last three years I've bought three volkswagens.

pat

adg44, reply to the email address that Kirstie posted. No one will see any questions or comments you post here.

Go for it! :-)

maurcedes

I'll never have anything but leather anymore and here's why. Getting into a velour car seat with a skirt and panty hose on is annoying as hell. Whatever piece of fabric hits the velour first, stays there. So you end up with the entire skirt bunched up under you, or the waistband trying to pull the skirt off, or the hem hanging out the door when you close it. AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!

justin

guess what? i can MAKE my CEL light come on. pretty scary, huh?

it is simple:

when the car is cold, start the engine, immediately rev it to 3k rpms, let the revs die, then put it in reverse with foot on the brake. the car wants to back up fast, but i clearly can't do that in a parking garage, so the car just stumbles, coughs, and practically dies. then, a second later, it recovers, WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON. then the car drives like it does when the coils are bad. all i have to do is turn it off, and restart it, and MAGIC, it runs wonderfully. will the CEL store any codes? should i take the car to the dealer?

vocus

That car is gonna come after you one night in your sleep if you keep abusing it like that...

I have had the car act funny when trying to take off too quickly when cold one time, but only once. And no CEL came on either. I always let the RPMs drop to idle level (about 800rpm) before taking off in the cold. It's also not good for the turbo to rev the engine when cold. A sure way to turbo replacement...

Any time the CEL comes on, there should be a DTC stored for it (the trouble codes). You just have to get a VAG-COM and see what it is.

justin

i am taking the car in to Alexandria VW tomorrow morning. they tell me over the phone that if the engine light has been on at all, they can tell. something about codes. however, i am not convinced, since when my temp/coolant light came on, the dealer actually had the car when the light was ON, and it didn't spit out any codes. they ended up replacing sensors and an entire reservoir - lucky it worked.

i think i will probably get up early, go the the dealer, and they will tell me that nothing is wrong. and then i will be getting a new car in the immediate future if they pull that crap....

just so you know, i don't want you to think i was looking for ways to make the light come on, i just noticed it one day last week when i started the car and took off. every other fuel injected car on the planet has a strict no-warm-up rule. not sure why VW cars require it....and the revs being high when i first start the car is ridiculous too. this is not a carbeurated engine (right?), and it doesn't have a mechanical choke (like my old Tercel), so outside of emissions crap, it shouldn't care if i start it and throw it in gear and leave....

vocus

If the CEL comes on, they can tell. Not with any other light though.

adg44

But the CEL automatically stores a DTC, because one has to occur for the CEL to illuminate.

The EPC light and other emissions control lights will store a DTC.

They will hook it up to the VAG, and they will beable to look under engine faults and find your code. Alexandria VW is one of the worst dealers though in the nova area, so be forewarned.

Most likely nothing is wrong, you are abusing the car when you do that which is why a code gets thrown. It's most likely nothing however and they will just clear the codes and send you on your way.

Starting it and throwing it in gear is fine, but when you rev it to 3000 when cold then throw it into gear with your foot firmly planted on the brake, what do you expect to happen?

The engine will rev to about 1200 RPM when cold for about 30 seconds, that is normal. Every car I have driven has done this.

- Anthony