Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Volkswagen Jetta 2006+
This discussion has been closed.
Most popular vehicles
Popular New Cars
- New Acura MDX
- New Acura RDX
- New Audi Q5
- New BMW 3 Series
- New BMW X3
- New Buick Enclave
- New Cadillac Escalade
- New Chevrolet Equinox
- New Chrysler 300
- New Dodge Challenger
- New Ford Edge
- New Ford Escape
- New Ford Expedition
- New Ford Explorer
- New Ford F-150
- New Ford Focus
- New Ford Mustang
- New Honda Accord
- New Honda Civic
- New Honda CR-V
- New Honda Fit
- New Honda Odyssey
- New Honda Pilot
- New Hyundai Elantra
- New Hyundai Santa Fe
- New Hyundai Sonata
- New Hyundai Tucson
- New Jeep Compass
- New Jeep Grand Cherokee
- New Jeep Wrangler
- New Mazda 3
- New Mazda 6
- New Mazda CX-5
- New Nissan Altima
- New Nissan Maxima
- New Nissan Rogue
- New Porsche Cayenne
- New Ram 1500
- New Subaru Crosstrek
- New Subaru Forester
- New Subaru Impreza
- New Subaru Outback
- New Tesla Model S
- New Tesla Model X
- New Toyota 4Runner
- New Toyota Camry
- New Toyota Corolla
- New Toyota Highlander
- New Toyota Prius
- New Toyota RAV4
- New Toyota Sienna
- New Toyota Tacoma
- New Volkswagen Jetta
- New Volvo XC60
- New Volvo XC90
Popular Used Sedans
- Used BMW 5 Series
- Used Chevrolet Impala
- Used Chevrolet Malibu
- Used Chrysler 200
- Used Dodge Charger
- Used Ford Fusion
- Used Ford Taurus
- Used Honda Accord
- Used Honda Civic
- Used Hyundai Elantra
- Used Hyundai Sonata
- Used Tesla Model S
- Used Toyota Camry
- Used Toyota Corolla
- Used Volkswagen Jetta
Popular Used SUVs
- Used Acura MDX
- Used Acura RDX
- Used Ford Edge
- Used Ford Explorer
- Used Honda CR-V
- Used Honda Pilot
- Used Hyundai Santa Fe
- Used Jeep Compass
- Used Lincoln Navigator
- Used Mazda CX-5
- Used Nissan Rogue
- Used Subaru Crosstrek
- Used Subaru Forester
- Used Tesla Model X
- Used Volvo XC90
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Much is made in this forum and most others of the 0-60 MPH times. It's B.S. First, I want a car that can get me on an expressway and into the flow without any trouble. Second, I want a car that can get me from 60 to 80 MPH quickly when I kick it in the butt. This car is quick at 60-80 and gets me in the traffic flow without any fuss every day.
During the Toronto trip I had it up to 90 MPH and I was surprised how quiet it was. The 6-speed keeps the RPMs relatively low.
Does the car have faults? Show me a car that doesn't. I'm new to this forum and I will write a full report when time allows, but so far I like this car.
Thanks
The Sand Samurai...
I read the CR review of Jetta this afternoon at the library. They measured 24 mpg average and 17/33 city/highway. They also tested the TDI, but I did note the mpg that they measured.
best mileage 44.67. Love the 6sp Direct Shift Tranny. Driving mixed freeway and county roads in the Tacoma, WA. area. I expect this to be my last car, since I plan to drive it to at least 200,000 mi., at about 14,000/year. At that rate I will probably be too old to drive by the time I get to 200,00. Best car I've ever had. Got it for $500 over invoice.
Oh yes, can't trust the average mileage computed with the electronic display. It always looks about 6-8 mpg. better than when I divide actual miles by actual diesel pumped. This, when I pump from the same pump and the same way every time.
I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Get a Costco membership and start saving. BTW..I don't work for them, but I have referred many friends who say they will never buy another car again any other way.
Now...tell me is the TDI worth the extra cash?
I've used Costco in the past - sometimes their prices are indeed the lowest in a given market, sometimes not. The key is what the local dealers are doing - so I need to know where you're located. Thanks for the help.
I just signed for a new lease on an '06 VW Jetta and am expecting it this week. After negotiating, my sales rep sent in the business manager to tell me about a new coverage program where you can be covered for up to $5,000 in damages when you turn in the car at lease end. They gave me a brochure and it sounds like I have to decide when I come in to get the car.
I assume this will be tacked onto my monthly payments if I choose to do this, but is this just another scam? My last car was spotless, and I am a light user to begin with. Has anyone else been offered this protection program? I plan on not doing it.
Thanks.
I have to respond also on this matter. I own a '05.1/2-2.5 liter, 6 spd auto and just finished a 2300 mile trip from Florida to Kentucky and back to N.C. and then to Fl. again. I ran mostly above 85 mph, up hill and down, straight flats and to the mountains. I never got less than 29 mpg and 30 mpg steady. The car is awesome in all categories of driving. The power seat w/lumbar adjustments made it very comfortable to drive straight thru 990 miles the first day. I never thought I would spend this kind of money on a VW or any car for that matter, but I looked at alot of cars prior to this purchase and am very satisfied with my choice. Having worked for VW in the 80's and other types of car dealerships as well, you'll find it a great value, especially with the warrantee! Tried a Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Mitsubishi Galant, and a few others, and it wasn't a hard decision. Great car!!! Oh, I have 7600 miles on it as of today.
Bob
Any other advice on the various 06 jetta types will be appreciated.
Yes if you use regular all the time.
An analogy would be eating a donut. Sure you can have one and suffer no ill effects. But a dozen a day for 20 years will catch up to you.
If you’re starving and there is nothing else to eat go for the donut, otherwise get the steak.
The knock sensor will prevent damage to the car for the most part. However, if I knew I wanted to keep the car for more than 4 years/ 60,000 miles, I would not fool around with this. Get the 2.5 engine then, which is designed for folks who insist on regular fuel. If you drive so many miles that the difference actually matters, you may consider the TDI, instead (if available in your state).
I currently drive a jeep cherokee, but I want a car with better milage. I have looked at some luxury vehicles, but I want a car that I can throw a snowboard in the back and a mountain bike on top, which I can with the jetta. I test drove an 06 TDI, 2.5, & 2.0T. The TDI had low end torque, but was a little disappointing between 60mph & 80mph. The 2.5 had decent power, but the 2.0T was a lot more fun to drive. My long term girlfriend was not comfortable in any of them. She likes VW, but felt that the seat and ride was stiff and uncomfortable, (we previously looked at luxury sedans). She hated the sound of the TDI, I thought it was a unique characteristic.
I am looking for more info on the various jettas before I make my decision. Could someone please reply back with some insight on the pros and cons regarding each of the three?
I must say as objectively as I can, I consider it a steal at just under $25K after negotiating to get leather, power seating, winter package, performance, and other amenities that most Audis, Acuras, and other high end vehicles offer for much higher. I swear the solid handling yet somewhat stiff feel made me think I was in an Audi A4 too. Although one issue I have that Edmunds actually mentioned is the problem with the wide posts in between the front and back windows. It will take time for me to get used to that as I occasionally browse over my shoulder on the highway before changing lanes.
Being a young professional, it's nice to get these features so early in a car ... and it's amazing how few people know of the new Jetta and the options. I think VW needs to improve their PR efforts around the Jetta. A lot of friends either get higher priced cars and suffer the consequences in their payments or get something like a Mazda 6 or of that likeness with few perks and still pay around my price.
Hope this helps as an initial review for your search.
The turbo CANNOT be run on regular. A few months ago I was at Dirito VW in Walnut Creek, one of the larger dealers, and they had prominent signs in the cashier area warning customers with turbos to use ONLY premium. This was after gasoline prices skyrocketed, and customers were trying to use regular.
The dealer you spoke to, may have been confusing the turbo and non-turbo requirements.
Fuel requirements and recommendations are spelled out in most VW brochures, and also in the manual. I'd always go by what's written. I have received patently incorrect advice even from experienced VW service writers.
VW leadership has introduced some tough cost-cutting measures, so that the German manufacturing sites remain competitive. In exchange, it has agreed that certain models will be built in Germany, like the upcoming Golf-based mini-SUV, which will resemble this car. See also text here.
I am however seriously considering a VW Jetta Package2 2.5 automatic. I saw one in blue the other day and man oh man, I just like the looks. The Jetta is one of my top 3 choices. However, I am a little shaky on the quality issues I am reading around the internet. Feed me some good stories of VW reliability/quality please! I don't want to buy the same old sedan everyone wants like a Honda or Toyota. I want different..Thanks!
Is it true these vehicles require synthetic blend oil? ouch! if this is true..
Thanks.
2001 Jetta wagon. Fun car with the hyper little 1.8t. A couple bugs included: all 4 coils that were replaced by the dealership. They even sent recall notice before they went out. Another window regulator, also taken care of under warranty. From my understanding VW issued a bulletin on this and it's quite easy to have them fixed for free when out of warranty. My biggest gripe was when the alternator died at 30,000 miles. Valeo (made in France. I swore this was their covert technique to bring Renaults back into the country piece by piece). This is when VW over-torqued me by refusing to take care of it. They had the nerve to suggest I spend $800 for a new Valeo alternator. I ordered a rebuilt Bosch and motored happily down the highway. :shades:
Next up was a 2004 Passat wagon GLS. Zero problems. Wonderful car. I just couldn't take the Tiptronic XMSN with the 1.8T. It was my first (and only) VW that bored me to tears. But a good, reliable car that had the window regulator issue behind it. Seems VW has finally fixed it and the coil problem.
Being the dull animal it was, I left it behind in a cloud of dust kicked up by my 2006 GLI. So far, a great car. Being a new model year for this one, I'm bound to have some faults. However, after being quickly looked at by the dealership (and Moffit VW in Bossier City, LA has good service) I was assured that catastrophic failure was not going to occur. I'm due to leave it with them overnight at the 5,000 mile service and let them dig into it to locate and remedy an annoying rattle at engine idle. No, it's not the motor. I have faith it will be taken care of.
Before my personal ownership stories, I was stationed in Germany twice and had friends with VWs going on 200,000 miles. We in the U.S look at vehicle maintenance different than other folks do. We seek cars that need little attention, and call them great. In Germany, cars cost much more and folks tend to keep them longer. The cars are designed to be safe, efficient AND perform on roads like the Autobahn for extended periods of time. Unfortunately, German cars (and especially VW/Audi) are kind of weird. They require maintenance at their specified intervals. Their equivalent of our state inspections are murder. Their safety organization (TUV) will almost tear the car down looking for problems. Therefore, the Germans are very keen to regular maintenance, which = long lasting VWs.
So, to answer your questions of VW reliability, given the CARE THAT IS SPECIFIED IN THE MANUAL (something a camcord owner can't grasp) they will work just as well. Well, until they have window regulator and coil problems again...
Go for it. You'll love it!
The Sandman
That car would be a CamCord - also known as an appliance... :shades:
No guarantee that you will have zero problems with those either. There are people who have problems with those as well...you can read about them in the edmunds forums.
It may well be that the odds of getting a dependable unit are perhaps greater with camcords than a Jetta. But what if one really does not like the camcords, yet buys one anyway because of the dependability and is one of the unlucky ones who has problems anyway
I'd also argue that the Jetta is a bit safer car than the camcord and that is important to me.
I guess we'll see if VW has come up with a dependable car with no other issues in the Jetta 2.5. I understand that was one of the goals of that particular engine. Its early, but it seems to be the case so far.
My coworker just got rid of her 2003 Beetle: what a beautiful piece of junk! Twelve (!) visits at the dealerships for the transmission fix, never done correctly (I could see two-three before they get it right, but twelve!??), really poor treatment at two of three dealerships, also sunroof leaking after less then year and introducing molding, etc.
Here is the kicker: the manual/maintenance schedule says absolutely nothing (allegedly - I did not see it, so can't tell for sure) about cleaning passages in the sunroof - yet when it started (less the year after the purchase of new car), they showed her the finger, saying it was a maintenance issue, not a defect. So let me get it straight, Mr VW of A: you design a product requiring special care (not sure if others do, lets say they do), never tell me about it, then when the problem arrives (and it is very soon), your representatives tell me it is my fault due to lack of care. Beautiful! That's what I call standard of excellence.
You know - I love Audis, like VWs, mostly their interiors, ergonomics, the way they drive. Cars are really nice when new. But 30 years in the market would be enough to fix some basics, not to mention that no matter how much they try to dispell it, the statistics are still merciless: no real improvements within last five years, according to CR. I know, I know, they hate VW and they are bad statistical sample, and they are all part of conspiracy, and Shipo, Mark, and all others have leased 4-10 cars in last 10 years and they were all great, so it all must be some really bad conspiracy or some really bad data sampling.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
I thought that VW reliability was getting better only the others were also increasing their reliability.
Making up numbers here if you have 80 problems per 100 vehicles or 160 problems per 100 vehicles, you more than likely need to make a trip to the dealership. So either you tell them “fix this” or “fix this and that”. As long as it’s fixed right (key point here), and are not stranded, you’ll probably be in for warranty service anyway.
It’s the persistent plaguing problems than quickly deteriorate any brand loyalty.
MSRP $26,740: offered to me at $21,240.
IS THIS A GOOD DEAL??? :confuse:
The best place to find out the answer to that question is our Volkswagen Jetta: Prices Paid & Buying Experience discussion.
There you can compare notes with other buyers and see what kinds of deals they are getting.
Good luck and let us know how it goes!
I want something fun to drive, that is different this time around. I have owned a Honda and it did have its share of issues. One was an electrical issue that took 2x to the dealership to fix. It was a reliable car all around. But the driving experience would put you to sleep. The Ford Fusion was in my list of top 3, but after the IIHS testing of this vehicle, YIKES!.. I am not buying for another 3 months or so..
Thanks for the input..
:confuse:
Not sure what the point of that comment is supposed to be. :confuse:
I believe that the Mexican plant is in Puebla, which VW spent billions on recently for the new Jetta line. I thought they had quality control issues in the past but not sure how the manufacturing facility rates now.
Perhaps some people have old issues with the plant, or more specifically the vehicles produced there, and require published reliability reports for reassurance.
I've got news for you - there were many Jettas (of the previous) generation sold with engines and transmissions built in Mexico. If they were as inferior as people perceive them to be, there would be reports of Jettas breaking down everywhere. My 1997 Jetta's engine and transmission are Mexican-built, but guess what - it just turned 170,000 miles and doesn't burn a drop of oil.
All VW engines have to conform to their specifications - no matter what country of origin they come from. So as an engineer, former mechanic, and owner of 5 VWs - this argument that Mexican built cars are inferior just doesn't hold water. A car is only as good as the maintenance performed on it. So let us all dispense with this "superiority complex" (or worse) that seems to surface when discussing this particular issue...
B.T.W. - If you bought a new house in the past 5-10 years or so - the majority of homes were built using Mexican labor. So I guess people are going to start dumping their homes left and right, huh?
When the outside temperature is below 40 degrees, the temperature display flashes and makes the 'ding' sound. Do any of you know why it does this?
The manual says to check the oil after every refuel. Is this really necessary? I've never done this on any car I've owned before and never had any oil trouble. But then I've never owned a VW before...
Do any of you know where the audio amplifier is in the car? I have the 10 speaker, cd changer, serius sat., non-navigation version.
Thanks!
The snowflake will appear when the outside temp is between 23 and 39 degrees - that's when black ice can form.
just brought a 2006 GLI, love it, wanna married it but:
* How does that Bi xenon washer works?
* I cannot seem to turn on lights else then the xenon headlights and fog lights, if i go high beams, xenon headlights become lighter but the headlights towarding center still not on...
* reading thru blog, really worried that VW's reliablity now, I was gonna buy TSX ... But this mexican Jetta is just too fun to drive :-)
* when Fast Forward on MP3 folders, it won't jump to next folder, it will go to the beginning. But if you finish the last song in the folder, it will go to next folder.
* Do u guys recommend install turbo timer for GLI? It's 2006 already, turdo technology should advance by now ... will it void warranty if install it?
-kyle
Thanks,
Kevin
second thing i have a rattle in the door by the light door lock from the stereo and my vents in the center console click or rattle on bumps or when it is cooling of from the cold ac???
Any feedback? car is fun to drive for me!
You can find most of the information you are looking for in the manual. I don't own one, but I know it states in the manual at what intervals the headlight washers come on (automatically) when using the windshield washer, or similar.
You have an extra set of light bulbs that is used as the "flasher=get out of my way" light, I believe when the DRLs are on, rather then when the main lights are on.
Turbo timers are not necessary; virtually all modern turbos are cooled even after you shut off the engine. After extremely hard driving (that 10-mile mountain pass where you felt like passing all those non-turbo vehicles at 75mph fully loaded) you may want to take it easy for a couple of minutes before shutting things down (even if your passengers have to visit the rest room