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Comments
I have almost 37K on the Jetta now, still liking it as much as the day I got it. I am getting an Autotech 28mm rear sway on Saturday, then new rear rotors/pads, alignment, and Eurosport exhaust in a week or so. Will like the car even more then.
If only my Jetta were:
A. reliable
B. faster
C. RWD
D. leather-lined.
I have a 2002 1.8T. Wife has a 2002 Beetle 2.0. Both came with Michelin tires. Saw someone post about a 2003 VR6 with Goodyears and was wondering if VW switched to that brand? I thought they just switched to Michelin? (which i like better than the goodyears)
thanks
Goodyear
Michelin
Continentals
"quicker" most often means ACCELERATION.... ie 60foot time or 1/4mile time. This can be directly mapped to available TORQUE from the engine.
"Faster" usually refers to top speed.... but can also refer to ET speed thru a roadcourse. This is attributed more to the handling characteristics of a vehicle and the driver skill.
Of course, a vehicle can be made to be "quick" or "fast" by just changing the gearing of the final drive ratio.
Gearing for a fast top speed means that the accelleration is like a slug (very slooww)
Gearing for accelleration (quicker) will hurt the MPG on long trips because the engine is always at high RPMs even in high gear.
quicker may be the absolutely correct term from an English scholar's point of view, but I never hear car buffs starting, "The 911 turbo is quicker than the standard 911." Most of us say faster.
vernacular it's an odd thing.
When it comes to QUICK -vs- FAST, the dragstrip is where this stuff is decided. There is such a thing as a vehicle doing the 1/4 mile with a FASTER speed but a SLOWER time than another vehicle.... it is NOT the QUICKEST car! (but is the FASTEST) Too bad the awards are given to the QUICKEST ET!
BTW... I am going to NED (New England Dragway) this weekend for the "import wars"... this is a GREAT competition. All of the street ricers that think they have fast cars are EMBARRASSED by the Dodge 2.2L turbocharged vehicles.
It is a tad humorous to see a Honda Cvic with $10,000 worth of go-fast goodies get clobbered by my buddies $2000 1991 Dodge Shadow. (320HP!!)
Since this is a Jetta forum... yes the VWs do respectably well too.
Blueguydotcom is right in saying that most people that are not totally into the details of this world would probably just say faster without thinking twice. Most people that have an appreciation of cars do so with an eye for the visual or the physical components. They do not often extend that to thinking if the verbiage they are using best describes the situation.
In other words, the layman is going to use whatever word they would normally use in regular conversation. The one who is immersed in the automotive world a little deeper is going to use and understand the proper terminology.
Have fun this weekend! I have a friend that dragraces his civic in NE. Always gets blown away by something you would not expect. Glad to hear the VW's give a respectable showing.
today i get to finally leave houston and thus the 03 alero i'm driving. wahoo! I can't wait to get back into my little car.
BTW, strangely VW service claims to have fixed all my electrical problems and even removed a nail from a front tire. Are they actually taking service seriously?! Maybe the Touraeg will encourage them to step up service levels to at least 1980 levels.
So after two MkIVs, I've finally moved on!
On the Golf (when it was available) and Jetta, 195/65 r15 is the standard size, still is. GTI 1.8T's got 205/55 r16
tires by renfrew
I would have to say, on the consumer end, luck of the draw. At the factory, probably what they had at that time.
Service advisor (who actually is a great guy and usually very helpful), said that VW fills it just to the minimum and all new VW's usually have to get it topped off. Shuffle the blame all you want, but the service guys should have checked, especially if they knew it was an issue.
And I should have checked after the 10k service to make sure, but alas I did not.
Okay thanks for letting me rant. Has this happened with anyone else? Or was the dealer just covering for not checking?
Car was in perfect condition, 15,600 miles, Wolfsburg Edition, sunroof.
I had an Eclipse CD5441 head unit in it and a Blitz DTTDC - I sold the whole thing for 15,500.
I had to get mine topped off at 15,000 miles.
They somewhat drink a little when they are new.
As long as there are no leaks, you'll be fine.
Given the data and your situation, I can only reasonably conclude that it was FLAT overlooked.
I think we are in an age where we have to know almost as much if not more than the folks we depend on for service.
One of the first things I did when i took delivery of a 2003 VW Jetta was to scour the owners manual and order the Bentley technical data. Topping of fluids is mentioned several times. . If you had been on a trip when your check coolant light came on, well I hate to count the ways you would have been SOL. The fact is that most parts stores DO NOT sell the G12 mandatory antifreeze and at 12.95 retail, litre. Yes, you could have substituted with water, but again because of the long term nature of this anti freeze (life) you will probably want to use distilled water. Because it was low for an indeterminate mileage and time frame, but seemingly near new, I would keep a VERY sharp eye on these levels.
justin, are you buying a miata? I'm SOOOO tempted to pull the trigger on a 99 or 2000 model. You can snag one for under 10k and I know from experience they'll run forever and be super cheap to fix.
Two post-warranty trips to the dealership have easily exceeded the cost of my extended warranty and I still have 15k miles left to go. Money wisely spent I guess one could say.
In the 6 months I had it I put 7,000 miles.
As they say, buy cars for fun, not for investments!
I love the way it drives, it has a lot of torque. I definitely suggest test driving one. You will love going 600-800 miles between stopping at a gas station.
As far as the 2.0 goes, I have a friend with a 95 Golf with 117,000 miles on it. The only problems he really has right now is the doorlocks are all falling apart on him (obviously not engine related). The 2.0 is still the same basic design now.
My costs come out to about the same as they were for my old Lumina (same 3.1 V6 in fact), which had 4000 mile oil changes.
Also, its easier to change the oil, if anything, on the TDI, because the filter is a drop in cartridge right on top of the engine.
Are you comparing a 2.0GL to a TDI GLS?
For every 1 story like that, there are 100s of people with no problems at all, but you won't here from nearly as many of them, because who comes to a board to complain that they have no problems?
The stats on VWs totally refute the concept that only 1 out of 100 will suffer problems. If VW is churning out 2-3-4 problems per brand new car per year then the odds are quite good someone will suffer some malfunction. Almost every 1.8T owner received a recall notice...you own a 2000-2002 1.8T the odds are quite good you received a notice that your car's engine will experience a malfunction unless you bring it in for service. And that's for the few who didn't have problems. Window regulators...ahem, that's for all Jettas prior to 2003.
The only problem I have ever had was the coilpack issue, for which there was a recall. I paid nothing for the repair, and I had my car back the next day.
I got black with red inserts (to match my car, naturally
They are excellent. Nothing sticks to them. Fit is good, and now I can clean up my car with the auto vac at the car wash. No more using yards of sticky lint roller for me.
I know this thread only exists for people who are having problems, which is a small percentage of all owners, but I'm just curious how reliable you would consider the Jetta to be. I also wanted to get an idea of any known problems I should keep any eye out for. I'll be running a CarFax report on any car I consider.
The other cars I'm looking at include the Honda Accord Coupe, the Toyota Solara and the Honda Prelude. Thanks.
The fact remains that you had the issue...a gross oversight on VW's part that led to problems for many of us. Having one's car in the shop for one day is, imho, one day too many. As it stands now I've had my Jetta in for repairs done to the following and it's only 22 months old:
Coil pack
AC
Armrest
Windows
Electrical system
Brakes
ABS
Loose interior components
I'd think anyone who has hauled in a new car this many times might be inclined to push others to avoid that same fate.
A small percentage of owners? All 2000-2002 1.8T owners got a recall notice. There's a standing TSB for the window fix too. It's not a small percentage. There's a reason VW's listed in the middle of the automotive pact for initial quality...their quality sucks. Being in the 50th percentile is a sign that the company is shoddy to the max.
but I'm just curious how reliable you would consider the Jetta to be. I also wanted to get an idea of any known problems I should keep any eye out for. I'll be running a CarFax report on any car I consider.
My car is safe, luxurious and fun. But I wouldn't wish a VW on my worst enemy. I knew the car would be unreliable before i bought it and decided I'd take my chances as I really, really dug it- the price, performance, safety and features were impossible for me to ignore. I paid for the extended warranty and at 31k miles that cash outlay has easily covered my rear.
If you're looking at a used Prelude and it's that v. a Jetta, go for the Prelude...a better car in pretty much every respect (though it has zero torque).
So go buy a Camry already. *rolls eyes*
In 2003 no such camry exists. I drove the 02 SE V6. It's a dog. No power, poor handling, sloppy transmission, feels like a tin can and the car creaked incessantly on just a test drive. A horrid car end to end.
Rolls eyes...wish people wouldn't offer inane rejoinders that relate to "if you don't like it get this [insert banal appliance]." Forgive me for hoping the Jetta wouldn't sink below my already low expectations. God forbid a company build a reliable, safe, luxurious, nice-handling, spirited car. No that's asking too much. silly me. I should just accept mediocrity and whistle on my merry way.
Okay I came in for the window regulators, as the dealership was glad to replace them before they failed.
I can easily say, that this car is screwed together better than my cousin's 2001 Mercedes SLK 3.2L V6 (which they pay $800 a month for), when you go to the interior (German quality in general has gone down as of late).
TSB's and recalls happen. But when you get a ton of variety of recalls on the same car, as in the Focus, that's a concerning story, especially in the first year of production for the American market.
A ton of people here at Edmunds exaggerated the oil sludge problem in the Camrys, yet, people are still buying Camrys in numbers.
I just don't understand why you keep driving your Jetta and coming in here to complain about it.
If it's so horrible, sell it and get something else.