By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
What they do is they send the spark from the spark plug through the ignition, so the fuel can ignite and power the car. When one of them goes out, the car loses power, smells like rotten eggs, and the CEL starts flashing. At least that's what happend when one of my coils died on my 1.8T...
I have the bulb, I am just not sure how to get to the fixture.
Any help would be great. thanks
Has anyone ever noticed that the cummulative electronic trip computer (mode #2) resets itself? This has happened to me a few times.
The computer resets itself? The time, you mean? It might do that every time you turn off the car, but I didn't think it was suppose to. Check your owners' manual for more info on the MFA.
Boston Boy
If there was a current "coil problem" with the vehicle.... It would be VERY apparent just by driving a few 100 yards.
You do not say which ENGINE is in the vehicle... Are you aware that the "coil problem" only affects specific engines produced during a specific timeframe?
What about this quart of oil per 1 thou miles? sounds kind of high to me.
No coil problems in the GL, only in turbos.
A long time back I had posted this problem of the car surging on upslopes and hunting gears on downslopes. Well the matter really got worse yesterday when the car clearly was having trouble going from 2nd to 3rd gear. When changing it would show high rpms and then suddenly find 3rd gear and lurch into it.
The dealer could not find anything wrong and I went to take the technician with me for a ride....and presto problems gone. He had hooked it to the diag tool and found nothing. However he did reset the throttle. Aparently the car has an adaptive shift system and after prolonged driving by 1 driver, it adjusts to the driver.
Just a few days back the wife and I swapped cars and he says that this could have made the car go bonkers since after 2 years it was made to drive "differently" by another driver.
One thing I gotta agree. When I bought this car, I used to spun the wheels for almost a week. Then the car seemed to have mellowed and I attributed that to me learning to drive the VR6. Today I drive off the lot and spin the wheels at almost every light. Seems like the car just woke up!
Technician's suggestion: Both drivers drive the car for continuous drives once a while. He claims he has heard of this problem before.
Waiting for the oil-pressure light to come on is TOO LATE... engine damage has allready taken place once the pressure is lost to the bearings.
I am not trying to scare you... I am just telling you straight-up that the 2.0 is known to use oil.
This is not really a problem unless the oil-level is allowed to get too low thus cause damage.
I beleive the newer 2.0L engine (2002.5 +) has this "oil usage" problem solved.
With 56 thou, could be good value if maintained right, but could be buying trouble if say waited for light to add oil as you stated .
You VW drivers are a committed bunch; and if VW listens to you all and correct the issues,they will have one fine vehicle. I think they can do it.
sincerely,
boston boy
Email me (the address is under my username) and I will hook you up with some sources to get better answers than here.
I recently bought a 95 Jetta (October) and have been very pleased with it up until this point. I was having a few transmission problems (v. infrequently) and it was recommended that I get my auto transmission fluid checked/changed. So I had my fluid/filters changed and thought everything would be ok. Well, the following week I was late for work and didn't realize I was low on gas and ran out (dumb mistake, I know). I got gas, and went on my merry way. The next morning I was heading to work and after about 3 minutes on the interstate (60mph) my car felt like it was losing power, slowing, and then regaining power and speeding up. It is still running the whole time, just losing power. This happens until I leave the interstate. I don't take the interstate home, so I don't know if it would happen then, but it seems to only happen when it is a cold start and I am driving at high speeds. I got the fuel filter changed yesterday in an attempt to fix this for as little $$ as possible, but this morning I had the same problem. When I go out with a repairman, there are no problems, but it isn't a cold start because it warms up on my drive to the shop. Any suggestions????? Please help!!
Thanks, Alaga
Check engine has been 1 year to no avail of being fixed. Numerous stuff has been changed - and it still lights up. I gave up on that.
Thanks
Unless you have something wrong with it, not covered by warranty, how much should it cost to put a 6 dollar retail bottle of fuel injector cleaner in the tank?
I would not have them do whatever they think needs done. You may end up with problems due to them messing around in there.
They are looking to make some xtra $$ off of you.
IF IT AINT BROKE, DONT FIX IT!!
My 2-month-old, less-than-10,000-miles-on-the-odometer Jetta.
After six weeks of stereo bliss (the radio in my Chevy S10 was lousy), my AM reception suddenly died. I commute pretty close to Cleveland, which has a 50,000 watt AM station (WTAM). I can't even pick it up downtown, let alone on my 100-mile-a-day commute (THIS is why AM radio is important).
I've taken it to the dealership once, and they replaced the radio (Premium unit, not Monsoon). That didn't fix a thing. They tech said the AM antenna is inside the head unit, and that there wasn't much else to do but try another unit.
A little scrounging around Edmunds shows a TSB and other issues with AM reception. However, the old posts say replacing a cable between the head unit and the antenna fixed the problem.
Did VW change radios for the 2003 model year? Is the AM antenna inside the head unit, or is it with the FM antenna outside of the car? Am I working with a bonehead dealership?
I have another appointment Monday morning (my THIRD trip to get this fixed) Any help or suggestions would be mucho appreciated.
By the way, outside of the radio, my Jetta TDI works great -- no rattles, buzzes, shakes or vibrations. And 46 mpg average, to boot!
Mark
It tells you every 2 years, regardless of miles, get the brake system flushed and refilled with fresh brake fluid.
The fuel injector cleaning...the dealership is trying to hose you.
It is however a good idea to periodically get a fuel induction system cleaning done, but it won't cost you $400. It should cost $200 tops.
Yeah, dealerships in general charge more than independents, but YIKES 400 dollars for a service that a 6 dollar bottle of fuel injection cleaner can take care of!!? What would anger me is if they charged you 400 and only put the 6 dollar bottle in and called it complete!!!!!!
Unfortunately, it seems that I've had the worst luck with my '96 Jetta. Despite all the problems though, I still love it to death. See, MY problem is that I can't afford to fix it!
I need to get it repaired desperately.
But first and foremost, I'm having alot of trouble with my tires. Basically, I need to replace all of them. I've had 2 flats in less than 2 weeks. It's been awful.
So my question is...what tires do you recommend? And how much do they usually sell for? Someone had once told me that Jettas' tires are more expensive than others because they are so small - is this true?
Your help is GREATLY appreciated! My poor car..
Sumitomo makes I think 2 tires. ($45)
Actually, this started around 2002.5.
I took my Jetta back to the dealership today, and the service tech said he would run "several tests" on the radio. He didn't go into great detail about what they were, but I'm assuming they checked signal strenth from the head unit and along the cable.
Of course, he couldn't find anything wrong.
On a whim, he decided to replace the antenna amplifier and mast. AM signal returned.
I'm going to wait a week before calling the problem fixed. On the way home tonight, I was able to catch the entire Indians game (is this what it feels like to be a Cubs fan?). Good strong signal.
I'm supposed to call the dealership tomorrow to let them know how the fix turned out. I'll try to get more information about what he did to fix it and what those tests were.
Mark
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/hpas.jsp
We love the car. I love driving it on weekends and it fits my wife’s needs during the week.
We have had some problems. The first thing I noticed was a few drips coming from the driver side door (would happen if we opened the door while it was raining. When we shut the door and then started driving it would drip). The dealership could not fix this.
Our front brakes started chirping at about 8,000 miles. The dealer replaced the front brakes on both sides.
Now I have started to notice something strange with the transmission. When I stop at a red light, and then slowly start to press the accelerator there is a pause and then the car lunges. Almost like it is kicking into gear. It is not a smooth transition from stop to start. I never have thought that the car was changing gears correctly, but never worried about. This lungeing is a pain.
The other problem we are having is the air conditioner doesn't seem to cool off the car.
I am taking the car in this week, but I was wondering if anyone else had these problems.
Thank you.
r2henshaw: It's no fun having all of those problems hitting you all at the same time. I hope you get them resloved sometime real soon. Good Luck!
and the whine/whistle of the turbo is the best part of the car