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Comments
The reason I bought a VW was probably the same as yours, I liked the car and it was full of promise. Good looking and apparently well made. Little did I know that this was just the promise, turns out the car is pure junk, service sucks and VWoA are a total joke. If I had known this, I would never have purchased the car. The reason I keep posting this on here is to try to help others from making the same mistake. If you have actually made the purchase, then I am sorry you did not heed the warning. If you are still looking then keep looking for a good car, you won't find it here.
My car has had so many problems, that I will just give you a few.
Window fell out, gauges stop working twice, relay overheating twice, ecm replaced, seat belts not working four times, drinks oil, rear struts replaced, inside fan replaced, corroded contacts in electrics twice, ecm reprogrammed, car lurched badly since new and still does, steering rack needs replacing and now the transmission has to also be replaced.
Now if this was your new car, do you think that you would write nice things about it. Look at it this way mine is now a year old, just imagine how long the list will be when it make it to two.
I will say that Mercedes has hired the most intelligent folks in Alabama and are doing an outstanding job with their ML. Although their employment of the intelligent folks has caused a huge shortage in other areas, especially govt.
How many of you would recommend leasing a Jetta as opposed to buying one?
Bubba
I say buy, drive and enjoy, I sure am.
Since this is the Maintenance and Repair Conference, our Jetta topic is quite naturally focused on issues Jetta owners are having with their vehicles.
Enjoy your ride!
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference.
You'll get good vibes there!
My car is made in Germany, in fact the VW's made in Mexico in my opinion are better than the German ones. Personally I think that the Mexicans have more pride in the car than the Germans.
However I would say that given a reliable Honda or my pile of junk it would be a close call.
Thanks.
So far the car has been fun and reliable. I still like to hand wash it every weekend, and admire its looks all of the time. What more could a car owner ask for?
My biggest issue at this point is not all the little things (and yes, I did spend most of the first year of Jetta ownership not in my own car for the time in was in the shop) that keep going wrong, but the fact that now that the warranty has run out (of course!) the CD changer has simply stopped reading the CDs. When I took it in, it took them 2 days to figure out that they would have to send it back to the factory to replace it - and charge me the full price of the equipment and shipping, etc. That didn't sit real well with me, so I began to look around at repair shops, and of course found out that the Panasonic service people won't touch it because it's installed by the dealer, the shops are the same way, and you can't take apart a VW installed stereo system - you have to replace the whole thing! I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. And of course now I am so insensed by the whole situation I don't really know what to do!
OK, now that you've heard my rant, any suggestions on my CD/stereo woes?
I traded it in this past February because I was afraid of more problems. I was even thinking of buying a Passat, but I was too afraid. Hopefully, my decision of a Nissan Altima GXE will be a good one.
I was bummed that the Jetta didn't work out for me. My sis had her Jetta for 10 years with just maintenace issues. So I thought I was on the right track. You just don't know when you are going to get a lemon.
I have a 2000 Jetta GLS TDI. Great car and nothing but good things to say about it. This is my 2nd VW and I've been very happy.
I do have a "ghost" in my car, though. The horn just starts blowing on its own. I took it to the dealer who said that they weren't able to duplicate the problem, so they did nothing. This phantom horn is rather scary when driving along for me and I'm sure for other drivers.
It is most prevailant in 2nd gear on acceleration, but has creeped up at other speeds and gear configurations - even in neutral.
Any suggestions?
I purchased 2 new cars last year for my 18 and 20 year old sons. They researched and one picked a 1999 Honda Prelude and one chose a 2000 VW Jetta GLS 4cyl 115hp.
I checked the oil level on the Jetta at 3000 miles and it needed 1 quart....the dealer serviced it at 5000 miles.....I added a quart at 7000 miles and 9000 miles....dealer serviced it at 10,000 miles. The Jetta is now low on oil at 12,000 miles and the dealer/factory rep. and I are watching it on a 1,000 mile basis.
It is consuming oil (no leaks) and I suspect the high rpms at 65mph don't help. The car feels like it is mis-geared with too high of rpm's in 5th gear. We have the 4cyl 115hp GLS and at 65mph it sounds as though the engine is trying to come through the hood at 3000rpm's.
We have also had the "normal" check engine light come on that the other 200 posters have mentioned
and a ghost window that goes down when it wants too! The front floor mats also ripped out and one seat belt recall.
VW and the dearlship have been good so far with paying for the repairs...and I am sure that I need a new engine....and I don't want to have a new car with a "factory replaced engine." This will be a big battle! Why are we all fighting these battles with our new cars?
The Honda Prelude has had Zero problems. Go figure.
Similiar problems....pls. E-mail me or post back......Thanks
Bill
YupOldBull@aol.com
Recently purchased a new GLS VR6. Love the car, depsite averaging 20 mpg for the first 900 miles. Unfortunately, I noticed two different squeeks in the car, and was wondering if anyone else has encountered this problem:
1. When I make a turn at low speeds (under 15 mph), there's a rather loud squeel eminating from the front of the car. It appears to be the suspension, except for it's only caused by the wheels turning, not by bumps in the road.
2. The sunroof makes a grinding roof when it's being raised. The noise is not as bad when the roof is lowered, and there's no noise associated with the horizontal (opening/closing) motions.
Has anyone had any similar problems???
Thanks in advance,
Boris
Key in under VW Passat GlS "Problems with 99 VW Passat" 503 postings so far. Lots of common issues that it shares with the Jetta.
The Jetta looks good in the yard and moving down the road, but it takes an awful lot of maintenance to keep it going. As I have read.... engine lights and window motors shouldn't keep us hassled all the time.
My dealer service mgr. and VWOA Rep. are currently trying to convince me that adding one quart of oil every 1,000 miles in a new Jetta GLS is normal. I have 12,000 miles on mine now and I burn (no leaks) a quart every 1,000 miles. This is nuts.
I still say that 5th gear is mis-geared in that the rpm's are too high at 65 mph. We have the 115hp. 4cyl and it just works too hard at 50mph and above. It's like 6 big guys pounding with large hammers under the hood!!!! Loud noise.
I only have 12,000 miles and 1 yr. Can't wait until I start having the sunroof track, rack and pinion, CD player, and window motor problems.
So much for the guy that says we should say nice things only or not post here......Nuts
YupOldBull
If someone said "say nice things only or don't post here", that person misunderstood the purpose of this conference.
Town Hall has other conferences where folks are more likely to get a balanced perspective on all vehicles such as Sedans, Coupes, SUVs, Vans, etc. All are accessible using the drop down Conference list on the left side of this page.
:-)
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
Seems that VW have a problem with automatic cars shifting real bad, but refuse to fix it as they will have to do the same for many more.
I wanted a VW to drive, seems that VW would prefer me drive all the competition instead.
Just read in Car and Driver that VW spent $117 million advertising the Jetta, shame they didn't spend some of that on making it a good car. I think that a satisfied customer is the best salesperson for a car.
238 defects per 100 cars for the Jetta. Can't wait to settle my suit and be rid of my POS.
www.myvwlemon.com
Have you had a chance to visit our Sedans conference yet? That would be the best place to find opinions on the 2001 Jetta TDI GLS.
You can use the Topic Search feature on the left side of this page for Jetta to find all the topics under Sedans that might be helpful to you.
Good luck.
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
Just realised that my chainsaw burns less oil than my 2000 Jetta Gls. Works better too.
Yup
I have just purchased VW Jetta GLS 1.8T.
While I was driving on a Highway I tried the Cruise Control... It worked fine, but I could find any Cruise Control "ON" Indicator on the Instrument Panel.
The Owner's manual says it's located left side in the Tachometer area, but I do see no CC ON light when I use CC. Is it a normal condition?
And, my stereo sys. is the Monsoon Package... I'd like to install a CD Changer. What brand should I buy if I want to install a aftermarket product?
Can anybody help me?
Thanks,
It's funny that there's no CC Light on the Inst. Panel.... Hmm...
At least, my car is normal...
Yes, the manual says CC light is on left side in Tacho Area..., but no light on my Panel.
If anybody has CC light on the panel, let me know...
About CD Changer, so should I get it from a dealer? It seems to be overpriced...
Click on "forums" then scroll down to Car Audio. You'll probably get a good idea of what will and won't work there. It's pretty extensive.
Thank you...
If you use the Topic Search feature on the left side of the page once for each vehicle, you should be able to find topics where each vehicle is being discussed.
Good luck.
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
on it. I think I am using it too much as evidenced by its mileage.
My concern is that it seems that its about to break down once
my warranty runs out. I hear squeaks and engine noise that I've never heard
before. As I noticed from posts here, the cost of maintaining is too much.
The nearest dealership is about 2 mi from home, but its a pain to get an
appointment with them. Always backed-up and never have time for emergency
appointments. More so that I have taken the car several times already
for unscheduled maintenance - when the engine malfunction
light stayed on, another when they replaced the water pump motor as the temperature gauge lighted up. ( They eventually replaced some chip for the engine light to function properly ). To have these replaced under warranty is OK, but what if it breaks down after 24000mi or 2yrs? Come to think of it, the car is still 1 yr young and have these problems already. remember ( when I was younger, living outside US) that VW cars are being laughed at because of the way they look and having poor performance, now I realised that there is a reason for it. That in mind, I think I'll give up on this car once I have decided what to get next.
and I don't go for the disclaimers of some the above posts that, hey, ALL manufacturers make SOME lemons.
NOT ALL manufacturers MAKE SOME lemons.
Honda and Toyota ARE NOT in the lemonade business.
If one looks at the corresponding Honda thread, it's obvious that Honda quality is declining.
There are some complaints about tranny problems and engines leaking oil.
But the difference is that HONDA does RIGHT by their customers. If the car is a true lemon (VERY RARE), it's quickly taken off the customer's hands.
It's a matter of objectives.
Honda still has customer satisfaction as its number one priority.
I was thinking about buying a Jetta for the same reasons others have mentioned (tired of boring cars), but after reading this thread, probably not.
If one wants to gamble, there's Vegas.
any way the car has been great for the 6 weeks i have had it. it looks and drives better than anything honda has for $16000.
I traded an '84 Honda Accord I'd driven since new and test drove the new Accord EX before deciding on the Jetta. Slightly smaller but more goodies and more excitement for the buck! Truly a compact luxury/sport sedan. If you don't care about size or the lowest price and really want a quality car that's lots of fun to drive and comfortable too, take a drive in a Jetta before making up your mind. The test drive it for me.
a bad paint job on the hood which I am going to get repainted.The jetta has come a long way in twenty years!
Is this a Jetta you are thinking of purchasing? You might want to look through our Smart Shopper Conference - that's one place where folks go around here to get purchase advice. You could also check out the Jetta topics in our Sedans conference.
Or have you already made the purchase? If so, are you having a problem?
This conference deals with maintenance and repair issues for already purchased vehicles, so if you are having those sorts of issues, perhaps we could help.
If you want to look for other topics in our other conferences, the easiest way to do this is to key Jetta into the Topic Search feature on the left side of this page.
Good luck.
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference