Volkswagen Jetta 2005 and earlier

donnabgood

I just got my second set of coils put in my 02 Jetta 1.8t.. or rather just brought it in for the second time after them replacing the #1 coil about 3 months ago..then I bring it in this past weds. for the same problem..I get a call later that evening saying we fixed the #2 coil, and the window regulators that are on call..I said oh you fixed the window regulators last time with the #1 coil went out, and I want all my coils replaced this time.. not just the faulty one..because if this happens to me one more time we are in lemon law court..I thought it was three times with the same problem makes your car a lemon, but the service advisor said no, it is 4 times. anyway he got my point, and said ok we'll replace all four coils.b get a call two hours later and he says your car is ready.. all four coils have been replaced.. pick up the car, and I really could not tell from the receipt if they replaced all four coils.. so I bring it over to another mechanic, and I play dumb and I ask him what the receipt says..he reads it, and says they replaced a faulty coil, #2..You can imagine I am irritated at this point, because this service writer wanted the rental car back, and made me pick up my car at 10 to 8 before the shop closed otherwise they would've charged me an extra day..so I find the orginal service writer, the one I have been speaking to on the phone, and said they really only fixed one coil, and now I could not afford to wait for my car and come back again another day. That I was an F&I Manager, and I could not afford to leave the lot, because my hours were the same as his..his whole attitude changed towards me dramtically..he assured me that all 4 coils were indeed replaced, and blamed it on the computer not being updated..and then I asked him to write it down on the receipt, which he did.. the whole thing seems a little weird to me..I wonder if all four did get replaced? I am not overly worried about it though, because if another should go out, and my being the orginal owner I will be protected under the lemon law,but here is the concern. I have been lucky both times when the coils did go out I noticed right away on start up, and was able to drive surface streets on reduced power to the dealership..but I worry if the coils should go out on the freeway, or mountain road suddenly, how risky that would be..? has anyone's coils gone out in a situation like that? I hope not, but now I am interested in hearing if anyone has coils problems what to expect in those situations? BTW my car only has 6500 miles on it. Thanks for your advice..

Donna

vocus

Lemon law varies by states. Also, your car doesn't have the same problem over and over unless it's the same coil going. That's what court would tell you, more than likely. If the service form said one coil was replaced, that's what was replaced. The only way to find out is to get under the hood and take off the coils and look at the serial #s on them.

vocus

35.5K

Why do you ask?

fish8

in one of my car magazines that the new 2005 Jetta/Golf will come to the states in the first part of 2005. The base engine will be 150hp and it sounds as though the 1.8t will remain at 180hp. It will be interesting to see the numbers for the base 150hp engine. That's a pretty big jump in power.

vocus

Prolly gonna be the 2.0 DOHC engine, kinda the same engine that was in the last GLI models back in 1992.

8u6hfd

It's a 2.0L 20valve engine. IIRC, it makes about 155 lb-ft at a higher rpm.

This motor is already available in Europe for the Passat

chmeeee

I believe its Gasoline Direct Injection, which is much better technology.

adg44

I don't remember!

vocus

I was asking about suspension before, and had said my rear brake pads have worn pretty well down. Did it possibly have something to do with that?

blueguydotcom

I went through my first set of pads in 20k miles. My current set doesn't seem to be lasting much better

But then again, my Jetta feels like it could stop on a dime when compared to the awful Mitsu Outlander rental I have this week.

How do American (mitsu is basically DCM) car companies sell their vehicles? In the past few months I've had a Taurus, Focus, Outlander, Sebring and Neon. Not a single one is worth the scrap they're built upon.

fish8

I'll give you one word to answer your question: REBATES.

Though my wife drives a '02 Tahoe and it has been flawless in over 22K miles. But, the panel gaps are tremendous.

Also, you admit that your drive your jetta hard and that is the reason why your brake pads wear so fast. I agree though...the jetta can stop better than any car I have ever driven.

flaca

My 2001 Jetta with 20K had the rear pad breaks replaced under warranty. They are known to wear out faster than normal. 99 year models were installed. They last longer.

vocus

For anyone with a 1999.5-01 Jetta and prematurely wearing pads (not sure of the mileage they consider 'premature'), there is a TSB where VW will replace the pads and/or rotors free of charge. They will just use the same cheap stock crap though. I have Mintex red pads on the way, and am getting new stock rotors. Will end up going to my buddy at Meineke (and I know they prolly don't have the right tools, no one ever does for a VW). If that doesn't work, I will do it myself.

vocus

You're right, rebates. Some people won't buy foreign cars either (particularly older ones) for some reason. Others say American cars are easier to work on and/or get parts for, and are cheaper to work on as well.

flaca

Anyone know about Jetta's 2001 model year 24 month warranty being extended to a "quiet 36 month warranty"? Where can I read about this since I still have a problem with the check engine light.
Thanks

vocus

That would probably only be good on certain repairs, not the entire car. I would talk with VWoA about it.

nale

Hi, I've been quoted the following for a 2003 Jetta GLS 1.8T automatic with Monsoon/ESP/Cold Weather:

$21,750 (Invoice 20,921, TMV 21,042, MSRP 22,845)
36 month lease, 15k/year
$348.48 monthly payment
$12,336 residual
0.0014 money factor

What do y'all think? The dealer is firm on the price. This is the only dealer that I looked at so I could potentially shop around some more.

r2s2

This seems to me a reasonably good deal. Some would say the price is a little high, but so much depends on your location and demand for a particular car. The money factor helps make up for the price though; it's about a 3.5 percent interest rate -- pretty good!

Never hurts to shop around, though, so long as "your" car isn't sold while you're doing so . . . Good luck!

cards28

Being in the accounting field for over 26 years, I haven't seen a contract that I have liked. You make the moly pymt and loose all equity in the end (yes, rear end). They can make numbers dance all over the place and make you feel foolish if you don't take the deal. BeWare!!!

cards28

Has anyone seen the May issue of Motor Trend page 32? Drive, if you can, to the dealer and line up to get your coils replaced, good or bad. ...a "higher-than-normal" failure rate..."a ground swell of consumer problems"... Du!!!
Good luck.

pat

nale - you might also want to ask that question in Lease Questions - Ask Here over on our Finance, Warranty & Insurance board.

Good luck - let us know how it works out for you.

blueguydotcom

As someone with a lease, i'd say avoid this UNLESS you can write off the car on your taxes. otherwise, a lease is little more than a giant ripoff.

nale

Thanks for the input. I am getting another quote from another dealer to compare. Also posted on the leasing board for more feedback. And I know all the evils of leasing, but certain circumstances just make leasing the better choice for me right now. Thanks again! Nale

fish8

I am with you. I am currently in a 3 yr lease and it is the right move at this time in my life. Also it takes someone with really good credit to be approved for a lease.

vocus

http://camo.flage.net/albums/albva02/my_car_dropped.sized.jpg

Thoughts?

blueguydotcom

What have you guys paid for your 30k service? I'm wondering if i should use VW or go to my old, trustworthy mechanic.

Anakin

whoa, that looks lower than my H&R setup.

What did you get?

fish8

It is tasteful. It looks like it was lowered. yes? I like the wheels, though I prefer the non-lowered look. But, it does look good.

vocus

You must mean 40K. VW's 'big' service happens at 40K, not the more traditional 30K. The 40K service's price is $400 or so, from what I have heard.

vocus

Thanks guys. I got GTI wheels on the car, and tinted side and bumper lights. The 'drop' is P-chopped, not real (yet). I didn't plan on dropping, only adding the Autotech rear swaybar. After seeing that pic, though, I might have to reconsider...

Anakin

The non-lowered look is also known as the "4x4 look" because of the huge wheelgap.

vocus

Maybe on the stock suspension Jettas. I have ths stock sport suspension, and my car sits lower than the stock Jetta does. Not as low as the pic above though. Here is mine now:

http://camo.flage.net/albums/albva02/IM000316.sized.jpg

justin

keep your car the way it is, height wise. looks sweet. all you need is a tasteful tint job like mine, and you will be all set for summer!

i looked at the new Accords this weekend. i wonder if BMW knows that Honda has been stealing outside mirrors from the 3 and 5 series and putting them on new Accords....

renfrew

Does anyone else but me think the new nissan maxima looks remarkably like a VW Passat?

Anakin

mirrors from BMW, taillights from Mercedes... is nothing sacred?

blueguydotcom

I thought 30k involved an oil change, tire swap and a few other details.

chmeeee

I think the tailights are the most blantantly obvious ripoff, I have actually mistaken it for a Mercedes from behind at a distance once or twice.

fish8

Didn't notice the passat resemblance. But I did notice the 265 hp engine.

bborowski

Am considering purchaing a 96 Jetta with 110,076 miles, 5 speed manual. Am concerned about the mileage. Any input on higher mileage vehicles?

renfrew

Noticed the specs for it too..and the nice interior pics Certainly a nice looking ride.

But if i was going to drop 30k i would just get the passat w8 4motion for a bit more. 270 hp engine and more refinement to my eye...

blueguydotcom

Well, I drove an 03 Accord EX V6 Coupe a while back. The engine's amazing and interior's extremely plush. Not fond of the styling and the car definitely needs some suspension work, better tires to make it reasonable for a daily car - way too soft and squishy for me. with some work (and if I ignore that ugly body) the accord coupe could be a sweet ride. For 23k for a fully loaded EX V6 model it's tough to find a better deal.

I haven't driven the new Max but I've seen a few and I'd say it's quite a bit like the Passat. But unlike the Passat, the last gen Max is rated tops (besting the Accord and Camry) in reliability for V6 midsize sedans (most camcords are 4 cylinder versions). The switch to the FFL platform will only improve the Max's handling and the engine flat out clobbers VW's sorry (and poor selling) W8. The W8 doesn't offer much oomph and it is afterall a VW. Oh, and the Max has infinitely more interior space than the tight quarters of the Passat.

I found a local dealership that'll do a 30k service on my Jetta for $65. Not sure if it's worth $65 to get an oil change, tire rotation, fluid top-offs and inspection.

vocus

I wanna do the tints eventually, but don't know when yet...

justin

just remember, a tint is the easiet thing you can do to your car. and cheap too. and, to me, it makes a world of difference on the appearance (if the tint is subdued and applied correctly), and it apparently helps the interior from not fading, especially the rear deck area.

justin

this time something simple. sometimes, when i turn my lights on, the climate control panel doesn't light up. if i hit/tap it, it lights right up. did some searching on Vortex, apparently a 50 cent bulb is faulty on a lot of MK4 Golf/Jetta climate control panels. called the dealer, they said it takes less than 5 minutes, don't even have to make an appt.

thank god, i was fearing the worst. i had images of terrible electronic glitches of MK3 VW's...

still uneasy about bulbs acting strange, but what can you do??

blueguydotcom

maybe my Jetta's self-locking and such is a result of a simple bulb too. Somehow i doubt it.

vocus

Had that problem at around 14K miles. Have 36K now, and it never came back after they replaced that bulb.

vocus

There seems to be a door switch problem on the driver's side of some MKIVs, so that might be your problem as well.

justin

i think your car acts testy because you trash talk FWD cars at every turn.

blueguydotcom

Vocus, thanks for the tip, I'll mention it monday when the car gets serviced.

Justin, lol. Could be.

Anakin

Where is everyone?

Seems like nobody says anything except when they're whining about problems.

Just thought I'd pop in and say I still like my Jetta.