Volkswagen Jetta Maintenance and Repair

blueguydotcom

Sure in 2000 the VR6 engine was more powerful than the 1.8T, but no now. The current 1.8T offers more HP...180HP compared to 176HP in the VR6.

hyundairacer

Has anyone had this problem? I have a new body 99 jetta. My just over 2 yr battery exploded one day upon starting the car. I took it to vw and of course they said it was not under warranty. But they said they would clean it up, neutralize the acid and replace the battery for only $400. Now, things are corroding. The modulator for the fan broke. Another $150. The radiator is corroded, but still working. I have the extended masterguard platinum vw warranty (the best you can buy), but of course, that's not covered. The dealer refuses to pay. How do I get into contact with Volkswagen Headquarters? Also, Don't buy these extended warrantys for the lower model jettas bc the only thing more that the platinum covers is power windows, sunroof crap, etc. I was pretty much lied to when they told me it was "an extension of the factory warranty." Don't believe it! Read the fine print! Also I hear all the rattles that everyone else does. I'm just sick of taking it to the dealer. I have also had the problem of all the door locks going down except for the driver's side. The dealer fixed that. (about the only thing that was covered by the extended warranty.)Also the AC makes funny sounds, sometimes drowning out the music from the radio at stoplights. This is absolutely ridiculous.

dad697278

We have a problem with Coastal Motorcars in Corpus Christi, TX. Took out relatively new
2001 Jetta (16,000miles) for an in between maintenance oil change, assuming that a "Volks"
dealer is more reputable and reliable than "Walmart" or "Jiffy Lube". Wrong, fifteen miles
from dealership on the way home, engine light came on as the engine quit. Was able to
forcibly steer to roadside, call 24 towing, haul it back to Coastal Motors. On the lot, service
guy pours oil back into engine(after re plugging oil pan!!!!!); says everything is fine, although the
engine is chugging like a diesel, which of course it is not. Dealership refuses to test, provide
new engine, determine damage. Called Volks Customer Care-apparently this is a "workman-
ship" problem (surprise!!!), so Volks will not back the dealer. NOW, 10 year 100,000 mile
drivetrain warranty from Volks will not apply to engine problems unless it can be determined
that the problem(s) DO NOT RELATE TO ANYTHING OTHER THAN MANF. DEFECTS>
Other than providing me with a loaded cannon (for the dealer), could someone suggest any
way to approach this problem with this dishonest dealer and an apparently unresponsive
manuf.
problem(s)

dudka

LAW SUIT???? for the new car, and emotional distress as well as legal costs and rental car. contact your local lemon law attorney. VW is responsible for the dealer's as it trains them to work on VW's.

juanjuan

This is coming from an owner of 2 Hondas and both of them have given me numerous problems which I wont go into. My wife drives the '01 Accord V6 and in less than a year we have been without the car for more than a month, the biggest one being that the speedometer died and they had to backorder it. 3 weeks without the car...we would have gone for the lemon law but my wife loves the car. Now, after her latest visit to the dealer(where they always treat her like a moron), shes ready for a change.
My main concern right now is that if I trade it in, how could I get at least get whats left in my loan. I've noticed from reading this and other complaint boards, that a lot of people who are not happy with their cars throw around the word "trade-in" like nothing. I mean, new cars depreciate the most in the first year and I'm hearing all these ppl just trading in their problematic cars like its nothing. Are they just taking huge hits or had a huge down payment or what? More specifically, Justin from message #1391, you traded in a 01 Civic...did you take a big hit or what?
To keep this in topic, we test drove the '02 1.8T and were enamored with both the look and the performance, however, reading all the posts here gives me flashbacks of all the hours of my life lost in Honda dealers for similar problems.

justin

I owed 125571 on the Civic, and they offered 12,500. So, they paid it off to make things easier. The Civic MSRPed for $17k in December of 2000, but Civics aren't all that anymore. You see ads for Civic EX 5 speeds for $13500 now a days....

thegrog3

I have a '96 Jetta III GL that seems to have a re-occurring heat shield rattle. I hear it's expensive to replace, it's been adjusted twice, any ideas?
thegrog3@hotmail.com

1081042

I have a 94 jetta 2.0L 5 spd presently it has 204k miles. From almost day one the vehicle has stalled and hesitated at speed. For instance, on highway doing 65mph the rpms drop off to almost nothing- if one changes gears or hits the gas the engine cranks back up to speed.

I take very good care of this car and maintain it according to and beyond vw specs. I have replaced the MAF, O2 sensor and various other relays , sensors and the like.

Would anyone have any ideas on this one or have you experienced something similar?

eduardojr10

I have a 2000 Jetta (Automatic) purchased late 1999. Use only on weekends on long driving and at times in stop-and-go city traffic (about 2-3 days per week). 52,000 miles.

1) Normally, how long do rear brake rotors and pads last (with usage as described above)? Had the damn thing changed August of 2000 with VW reimbursing me. Should I call again to get reimbursed?

2) MIL light has come on for the 3rd time now in a span of 6mos. (5/01-11/01), with service dealer stating three different problems each time. Service reps state MIL light can go on for 40+ reasons. Is this true or should I call VW to get $$$ back for unnecesarry expenses incurred?

Any insights would be great.

rkr61

I have a '01 Jetta Wolfsburg that has a problem with wind noise around the driver's door frame. The door also creaks during acceleration and braking. I took it to the dealer today and, of course, they made it worse. They are ordering additional weather stripping. I'm not too comfortable with this solution as it seems the door was not installed properly. Anyone else having this problem? Any suggestions? Thanks!

1081042

I change my rotors and pads at 100k intervals. I use parts from NAPA and have never had a problem.

As for the dealers and MIL lights, I do not trust the dealers on this one. I bought my own OBD tester so I can figure out what is wrong and fix it myself.

I hope this helps.

xorbe

rkr61: oil the hinges in the driver's door. I'm not lying! I do this every 2-3 months when the accel/decel groan-creak comes back.

eduardojr10

Rotors
100K!!! Wow... I will have to speak to VWoA again on get reimbursed...

OBD Tester
Suggestion on brand and maybe website? Is it easy to use and read the diagnosis? Does the program give you step by step on how to fix the problem?

thx again

blackjetta18t1

mine is solved by lubricating the weather stripping above the doorsill with this BMW stuff called Gummi-Phlege, the dealership uses it, it works

divewreck

Do all VW's require brake fluid replacement every 2 years, or just Jetta's? If so, why? I've never had a car that even suggested this be done

twig93

Anyone have trouble with theirs? Mine is the 6 disc changer mounted in the trunk. When my car was still under warranty, I had it in because I kept getting a CD Error or CHK. MAGAZINE message. The dealer said there was nothing wrong. Now, all I get is those messages and if I can get a CD to play they all skip. When you turn off the whole system, you can hear a shock going through the speakers AND when the rear defroster is on I get no radio reception at all. It is going in on Monday and I hope they don't expect me to pay for it. This was something I had already questioned while still under warranty.

My trunk lid also does not lift by itself. I have to push it up. This happened last year too and I was told it happens when it is cold. I questioned this....when you pay so much money for a car shouldn't the trunk lid lift in any kind of temp.?

dann1234

I have a 99 wolfsburg jetta and I was wondering if anyone would know what would cause a turn signal to start blinking twice as fast. My left signal in now blinks twice as fast as the right signal. Is this a sign of future electrical trouble.

alcan

Read this article, then decide:

http://www.batauto.com/articles/brkfld.html

akangl

The trunk lid on my 01 GLS never popped up, I always had to lift it up, summer and winter. I thought that was normal, either way it didn't bother me.

I can't help you with the CD player thing, mine didn't have a CD player, I just used a car discman and it worked great.

I just traded my Jetta in a week ago, it wasn't that I didn't like the car, in fact it was a great car. My hubby had an accident and driving or riding in it was difficult for him. We bought a 98 Jeep, I just hope the Jeep is half as reliable as my little Jetta was.

twouvakind

I unloaded my 99 A4 GTI before i was upside down on my loan. Little nickle and dime woes just out of warranty. Yea....the drivers window, the sunroof shade clips etc. I was able to repair them myself ($140 for the window regulator)But what about the people who can't do the fix it yourself? At the mercy of the dealer. Oil consumption: a quart of mobil 1 every 1000 miles or so? After 51K we parted. Did you know it costs a dealer $400 to certify a used VW? Do you think that includes a ring and or valve seal job? LOL! Heaven help the sap that bought my well maintained A4 (I got $10,500 for it, i owed 9,500) It had a real funny problem in the rain soon before I unloaded it (driveability and the cruise control) Oh well. My 2001 Sephia LS has a long way to go in warranty. I feel guilty sometimes when I check the oil...no add ins in 5K.

pkts

Hey Dan,
My car (not a Jetta or VW) did the same thing, it just means your turn signal bulb is out. Check it just to be sure.

Toby

justin

sometimes mean one of your outside blinkers are not working.

the trunk on the new jettas NEVER pops up....it pops and opens, but you have to lift it. i don't mind. i like that it is hard to open and close....seems more sturdy.

desh1

I have a new '01 Jetta GLX. It's my first VW if you don't count the '49 bug I had a looooong time ago in college. The wiper arm on the passenger side has a curve in it like a backward "C". not real bad, but a curve none-the-less. Is this German engineering or a defect??? I 'd feel a little silly calling the dealer because I have had 2K miles of no trouble... so far.

dndkk

Just purchased a 2001 Jetta TDI with leather seats. It has 23k on it. My problem is that the seats make a thunking noise when I'm stopping. The dealer says this is something they are working on and are aware of the problem but that isn't fixing it..anyone with a similar problem and a possible solution? Otherwise love the car and the mileage is fantastic..

blackjetta18t1

i have the same thing, it was fixed by replacing the seat frame but it's back

dndkk

That sucks eh. Is it the same problem again or a similar sound. With what your saying I guess changing the seat frame isn't an option. Are they going to replace it again or come up with a new idea?

aaron300z

Test drove the Jetta 1.8T. The car is awesome. It feels very solid, good quality. I'm sick of the week feel of the japanese car. My family have 3 [non-permissible content removed] car and trust me they break down too.
I can tell you that because I'm the one who always goes to take the car to the mechanic.

My girlfriend's mother has the 2.0 engine and the car it's been awesome for the first year. We even had 5 people on it and the car was moving and running very smooth with all that weight.

blackjetta18t1

I installed the Panasonic Changer yesterday and it looks great, totally OEM, however it does nto work. I have the adapter and all but there is no power going to it. The magazine will not eject even with the fail safe. The headunit reads nothing and sends no power. I've talked to some people and they don't know what it is, Crutchfield says its either a broken changer, or the car needs to be programmed, so I call the dealership and they say they have no idea what I am talking about and do not program them. I called another dealer and they said they have never heard anyone install a Panasonic changer but they'll try to program it for 32 bucks. One guy said if no power is going to it, then that means either the changer is broken or the wires are messed up, what do I do??

01_jetta_glx

Just wanted to add my input to this very informative forum. I bought my Jetta last July. I had been in search for something luxurious, good looking, sporty, nicely engineered/reliable, and a good value. I also had a $25,000/OTR spending limit. Camry XLE V6 was something ridiculous like $27,000. Accord EX-L V6 was decent, but every other car on the road is either an Accord or a Camry, and among us Indians/Pakistanis, we must own half of them. It's just an Indian/Pakistani thing. And I wouldn't wanna add to that. ;-) Anywho, the dealer wanted $28,000 for a Maxima GXE that was a 2000 model!! The nerve! Didn't waste anymore time there. Soooo, I thought I'd stop by VW and just check out a Jetta. After the test drive, I was VERY impressed. Edmund's review was correct, the VR6 IS "buttery smooth". Could hardly tell it was there! If I was gonna buy a new car, it would be the Jetta GLX VR6 with a manual tranny and the 17's. I know it's not in the mid-size class, from which I mentioned the cars I test drove above, but I think German cars should just be in a Class of their own. "Compact, Sub, Mid, Full, and German". The ride is very smooth. Even with the 17's and S/S.

Problems: Thank God almighty I haven't had any of the problems mentioned in some of the stories I just read. I do have some MINOR annoying issues though.

-There was a vibration in the right rear door every time I put on music with any bass. even with the bass being flat (0), the armrest in the door vibrates. I put my hand on it, it goes away. Mentioned it to the dealer at the last servicing. They took the door apart and put some "insulation". It fixed it.

-Now I hear a noise in the FRONT passenger door. Slight, but VERY annoying creaking. Audible especially on bumpy roads. May tell the dealer at the next service.

-Road Noise is SOMEWHAT of an issue. I usually don't notice it becuase of the music. But I do wish VW did something about it. In a car review guide I read the Jetta was rated a 50 in the road noise section compared to the Accord or Camry with a 65 rating.

-I'm noticing the sunroof shade under the sunroof is getting dirty. Looks like from it going inside the ceiling of the car. It has streaks of black dirt/grease. That's annoying, but I can clean that up. But that never happend in my civic!!

Other than those few issues, I haven't had any problems. One thing I would like to mention on the safety side is that I was rear-ended in Toronto 10 days after I took delivery of my Jetta. An '84 Buick LeSabre hit me when all the highway traffic was coming to a standstill from around 80MPH, around the corner on QEW. The ABS helped me out from hitting a brand new A4 ahead of me, but I wasn't so lucky. There goes that high you get of owning such a nice ride, out the window. But to my surprise, the damage was only on the bumper. Tail lights/trunk were spared. The POINT I'm trying to make is that Volkswagen did such a nice job with Jetta, that
I almost didn't feel the hit. (6,000 LBS of metal coming at you at atleast 40MPH (that's a scary site to look at in your rear view mirror!!). If I was in my '99 Civic, it would have been torn up.

Overall, I think it was a nice deal to get all the goodies, at a nice price. I paid invoice, $25,100/OTR.

PS. Treat your car like you want it to treat you. Don't drive like your driving a 911 Twin Turbo, when your in a Jetta.

twig93

Had the same problem with the door creaks...in both my front doors. Took it to the dealer and asked if it could be the door hinge mechanism. I was told no (what do I know?). So 3 different times they had my doors off to lube all the parts. I was told the creaks were the doors were flexing. After the 3rd time of driving off the lot with greasy fingerprints all over my doors and doors still creaking, I went to Wal-Mart. I bought a can of WD40 for $1.88 and sprayed like crazy. I got the door hinges and anything else around them. Guess what? NO CREAKS! After a few months I had to spray again, but otherwise they are fine.

I also wrote a few posts up about my CD changer not working. I was told that it was in electrical lockup due to a build up of static electricity. The static elec. comes from the tires running across the road. Bad grounds in the Jetta also. Hmmmm. All they had to do was unplug the whole system and plug it back in. I was told I may have to do this from time to time because they don't know how to fix it. Well, driving home from the dealer my CD's started to skip. By the morning, some CD's were locked up again. I'm sure they didn't mean I would have to get out every mile and unplug the whole system? It goes back in tomorrow.

blackjetta18t1

i had the creaks, after numerous cvisits to the dealer, i found out they use this BMW product called Gummi Phelege, that you can pick up form a BMW dealership for about 7 bucks. It's a rubber lubricant and you just put it on the weather stripping? or the rubber lning above the door. It'll hush it right up

eas2

I am considering buying the 2002 Jetta Wagon 1.8T rather the 2001 Golf 1.8T for increased space. Anyone have any thoughts about that? I have a dog, labrador retriever and am considering possible future kids. I want the space without having an SUV and I like the power...I prefer 1.8T to Vr6 because it has better gas mileage and is less expensive. Are there more reasons for repair with a turbo? Any negatives in getting a wagon version of a car? Thanks.

chrislind22

My daughter has a 1997 Jetta GL with and automatic transmission. She has 82,000 mile on it and the transmission has never been serviced. I understand that it is a difficult trany to service. Special tools and gauges are needed. Amco will not do the service on a Jetta transmission. When should this be done? The dealer said it would only cost about $60. I just have to get the car away from my daughter long enough to get it in to the shop. Has anyone ever had their Jetta auto transmission serviced? The mechanic said he has only done 2 in 11 years!

twig93

Well, they graciously replaced the whole CD player. However, the second I started the car, the CD that was on started skipping. I ran back in to have them listen and they were annoyed. Of course, once they started flipping through the other discs, none skipped, not even the original.

I drove the car over the weekend and a different one started skipping. I don't understand, the first time I brought it in they mentioned the ground being bad. Now, they're saying because the changer was replaced there should be nothing wrong and don't even mention the ground.

It is not my CD's because there are 6 discs in there and they all skip and at different times. Sometimes one will be the only one skipping, then it won't skip for a while and 2 others will start. They told me that they just received a bulletin that some CD's are thin and will skip. So, I checked all 6. They are all the same size except for one that is thinner, but that isn't even one that is skipping often!

759397

I have a 1997 GLX and I have 62k on it and only one real problem has popped up (knock on wood). I had to have the mass air flow sensor replaced. Thankfully it was under warranty at the time (by 500 miles). Of course I now have to do the 60k mile rippoff service for $400. I also hope I don;t have to replace the damn air flow sensor again because the other day I started it and it was acting funny again....kind of chugging and idel was very uneven. So I took our other vehicle. Then when I got home I started it in the rain and everything was fine, took it for a spin not problems smooth as ever. Go figure.

Some of these stories are really making me consider just driving this into the ground.

I need to throw some money into it now anyways, the 60k service and new tires (I'm still on the original Goodyears 62,000 miles).

seanblue

Hey-

I own a 2001 1.8T WE and the clutch blew out last night. The car only has 17k miles. Has anyyone else experienced this, or has anyone seen similar postings?

My VW service station is hoping they can find something falty so it can be covered under warranty, but heck- how can the clutch blow at 17k miles??? Appreciate any responses

akangl

I started having problems with the clutch in my 01 GLS 1.8T at about 18,000 miles I think. When I traded it in 2 weeks ago you might as well have shifted without the clutch. It was extremely high off the pedal and didn't engage or disengage with any consistancy. Funny thing was the VW dealer thought the clutch was great in the car. I never abused the car. Everyone who drove the car right before I got rid of it thought that something was wrong with the clutch. The car had 19,996 miles on it when I traded it in on a 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

seanblue

Hey-

Did your dealership say if the clutch was covered under your warranty? I'm not in a position to trade, nor shell out $1200 to fix.

Anyone have experience with pleading my case here so that I don't get socked for the cost here?

Thanks

Mr_Shiftright

Getting a clutch fixed under warranty is very tricky. It would have to be inspected and if the material on the clutch face is worn and nothing else shows up (broken springs on pressure plate, frozen throw out bearing, faulty clutch hydraulics, etc.), you may have to eat it.

Are you all aware of the service website maintained by VW/Audi? You access it from the VW home page, and it has all kinds of good information, even TSBs in full text. Worth a look as it may discuss your particular problems.

blueguydotcom

How much of a hit did you take getting rid of the 01 Jetta? I'm curious as I own one and would like to part ways soon.

dndkk

I was looking for the service site you mentioned and can't seem to locate it. I looked at vw.com and that got me nowhere..Can you please provide the correct address as I have a few concerns with my 2001. Tks.

Mr_Shiftright

I think this is it:

http://www.vw.ddsltd.com/

but don't forget to check out http://www.batauto.com as well as the NHTSA site run by the gov.

akangl

I took a fairly nasty hit, well, maybe not that bad considering my car was high miles. I got $16,500 for it, real money, in trade for a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The car had one small dent and a couple scratches, it also had 19,996 miles on it. It was a GLS 1.8T 5-speed, the only option was the cold weather pkg. I don't think I did bad, the Jeep is great.

jcp5

I have owned my Tulley(NH) 2000 Jetta for approx. 2 yr/48,000 highway miles. Here are the problems I have experienced...

* The car burns oil rapidly between oil changes and requires maintenance
* My drivers side AND passenger side window fell into the door and after the secretary told me there was nothing they could do (mind you, it was raining and I had a 1 hr commute home) I had the manager help, if you call it that...I was charged $250.
* The sunroof is broken (its $85 just for VW to look at it)
* The Mass Airflow Sensor needed replacement at 40,000 miles ($550)
* There is a rattling in the passenger side speaker (dealer can’t figure it out but charges for checking)
* The dash board lights sometimes don’t come on

Please note that all of these problems are not due to misuse of the car...at one time I ran a car detailing business and I treat the car very, very well and have been disheartened by its problems.

VW service is horrible!! and the workers are very unsypathethic to any problems. Since its not one problem that recurs over and over I dont qualify for the lemon-law; a loophole if you ask me.

I will never buy a VW again.
Feel free to ask me any questions… jeffebay2000@yahoo.com

xud

I have had my 02 VW Jatta 1.8T for two months now. On week 3 I noticed the
both left door and right door rattle on bumpy road. The rattles have become more
serious now, even on less-bumpy road. A visit to VW dealership did not fix it.
I also tried to spray WD-40, as twig93 did on post 1431, But it did not help either.
It really looks like a design flaw for the Jetta IV by VW.
Does anyone have good idea how to fix the rattle? Has anyone else tried
"Gummi Phelege" (see post 1433) to fix it? Did it work? Thanks.

blackjetta18t1

are the noises like creaks where when you stop and go and hit bumpy roads and sounds like the door is shifintg and it's really loud? If that's it, then the Gummi should work if you lube the weather stripping? around the frame of the door...

vocus

Mine does that. It sound like the passenger's door is rattling or something. Weird. What's the fix?

justin

okay everyone. i will post the fix again. go to the dealer and request that they install "foils". if they don't know what they are, have them call Alexandria VW in Virginia. my 02 Jetta GLS 1.8t was rattling - both front doors. does not do it anymore.

hope that helps.

xud

Thanks blackjetta and justin for the suggestion to fix. I will ask the dealer about installing
foils in my next appointment. The creaks happen when the car is moving. It appears
that the doors are shaking against the door frame, causing the creaking noise.

BTW, Blackjetta, what is weather stripping? where is it located in the car?

stevej10

I have a '99 Jetta GTS VR6. Its a great car and I love its handling and quickness but due have some problems.

I have never had any oil problems but have had to have my Mass Airflow Sensor replaced at a little under 40K. They had the just expired warranty pick up 80% of that so it wasnt much of a hit.

Also, the Coil Pack keeps collecting moisture so if I done drive it for a day, when I start it up again it misfires, lurches, pops and quits. Then it works just fine. A bit of a pain though. Thats a $400 repair so Ill live with it.

The stereo is a joke. Your better off putting in your own. Maybe a year in, the back speakers started popping and hissing, and now (2yrs) the CD player doesnt accept my CDs. They said it would be $250 to fix just the CD. Screw that! Ill get a new non-Monsoon one if anything.

I did have the same seat problem as did #1425, but it was barely noticeable and has gone away.

As for the service, I have had nothing but good experiences. Whenever I take it in (routine maintenance) they are very quick and thorough and have always done a great job. Its a problem getting in only because they are so busy. I did go to them for a oil change and they did rush me in without an appointment once which was a nice surprise. Very understanding and patient. No problems there, at least in the Twin Cities (St. Louis Park that is)