2001 Volkswagen Jetta VR6 review from North America

Replaced transmission.

Replaced front hollow axle.

Passenger side window, broke in door.

Drivers side front end rocker or sway bar bolt missing.

Remote for door locks & trunk doesn't work from a distance, especially in the rain.

Dead battery upon new car delivery.

Empty radiator following 10k checkup.

Outside temp gauge on dash not in sync

with the one on the temp controls display on console.

Poor service from dealership.

My wife and I purchased in 2001 a new VW Jetta VR6 from Newton Motor Sports in Newton, New Jersey. We were excited to purchase the car because it handled well and had a V6 engine that seemed to have pretty good power. We were also sold on the fact that the dealership told us that they would have someone from their shop pickup the car and drop off a loaner anytime we needed service, and that would also wash the car while it was there.

On the day it was delivered to us we signed the papers and preceded to the prep-area where the car was waiting, this is where it all began. We were handed the keys and went to start the car only to find out that the battery was dead, I think this was an omen. Eventually the battery was re-charged and we were on our way.

A month later my wife and I were at the supermarket and it was raining pretty good. We were leaving the store in the rain and approached our car. As with most new cars they have a remote control to unlock the doors and trunk. I was about 15 feet from the car and pressed the button for the trunk release and it didn't work. I walked within five feet from the car and pressed it again a few times and it finally worked. Thinking that it had something to do with the remote I called the dealership and they told me either the car was facing in the wrong direction because of where the unlock sensor is on the car, or that the battery in the remote was bad. I decided to give it a day or so and the problem randomly occurred on and off.

About a month or less after that my wife was driving to work when she heard a loud banging sound coming from the right drivers side wheel. Since she was almost to work she brought it to the gas station that was right next door to her job. The mechanic told her that a rocker arm or sway bar bolt was missing and needed to be replaced or it could cause her to have an accident. He also told her that he believed there was a problem with either the trans or the front axle. We had him replace the bolt, but doubted that there could be such a major problem with a new car.

We called the dealership and told them what had happened. We were told that we should have brought the car to them rather than the gas station and that they would not cover the cost of the repair because we didn't do so. I made an appointment with the dealership and asked them to look at the trans, axle and the remote for the door and trunk locks. When we returned we were told that there was nothing wrong with the sensor on the car for door and trunk lock, but the remote may have a bad battery. I was also told that there wasn't a problem with the trans, but there might be a problem with the front axle since it was hollow. I asked if they would replace the battery in the remote and they said they would, but it would cost me $39. Needless to say I was not pleased since the car was new and it should have lasted much longer than it did. I then asked about the axle and they told me that I would have to make another appointment to drop the car off to have it replaced. I told them that they could pick it up anytime once they had a loaner car available. The service person told me that they do not have a pickup service and that we would have to bring the car in, one of the reasons we bought the car from them because this was a perk that they offered.

At this point I wanted another opinion. We have a friend that works for a VW dealership and asked them if they could have one of their service tech's look at it. We were told that VW knew of a problem with the hollow axles and that they were not recalling the cars, but instead were replacing the hollow axle with a solid one for any customer who complained about it. It's funny; it seemed to me that VW was intentionally hiding something to avoid a nation wide recall. We had the part replaced because it was under the warranty and it appeared that the problem went away.

A few months later we were due for a 10k checkup and an oil change. The night before we dropped the car off so that it would be ready by mid-afternoon the next day. The next day I picked up the car and drove it home and it seemed fine.

My wife was on her way to work and noticed that the check engine light came on, she immediately returned home and called me. I asked her to look under the hood while I was on the phone and we found that the anti-freeze reserve well was completely empty. I then called the dealership and explained to them that the car was just there and that there was a problem with the car. They told us to bring the car in and that they would have someone look at it. I told them that I wanted them to send a tow truck to pick it up and they instead sent the service desk rep to take a look at it, why I don't know. He arrived at my home and had a couple of gallons of anti-freeze that he was going to use to fill the reserve/radiator and then drive the car to the dealership. I then again I told him to tow it and he did. Later that day we called to find out what was wrong with the car and were told that the radiator was empty. I asked why, and they told me that the 10k checkup did not include emptying the radiator so they had not idea, believe it or not they told me that it may have been delivered to them that way from VW itself. With all of this said my wife lost a days pay of work because she had no way of getting there.

Well by this point what else could go wrong, it's a new car after all? Again my wife was at work and decided to go to lunch. She got in her car an let the windows down because it was hot inside the car. As she was doing so she heard a crashing sound coming from the front passengers side window. Thinking the glass broke she tried to make the window go up to see if it did and the window would not move. Again she called me and I stopped by her office on the way home to look at it only to find that the window was not broken, I also noticed that there was some sort of grease coming from the drainage hole in the door. I called the dealership once again and told them that we had another problem with the car. We were told that there were no loaner cars available and that we would have to wait until one became available. This was no good since there was rain predicted in the weeks forecast. We eventually had them take in the car and provide us with a loaner/rental car that we had to pay the insurance on and pickup ourselves at the rental agency. The next day we called to find out what was wrong with the window and we were told that VW has had a number of problems with the arm that lifts the window. They were breaking because they were made out of plastic, causing most windows to fall and shatter. I then asked if this was under warranty and was told that we would have to pay for it since we were past warranty. I refused to pay because of the number of other problems we had with the car and they agreed to absorb the cost. I asked about the grease as well, and I was told it was the fireproofing leaking out and not to worry about it.

OK, so here we are today, 1 year 5 months later from the time we purchased the car and guess what we need a new transmission.

We went through our friend once again and he couldn't believe all of the problems we have had with this car, or should I say LEMON! It's going to take them a few days to get the new trans in and I'm hoping that the car will be OK after this.

One last thing, I will be contacting a few of our consumer protection offices as well as a NY TV news station. The reason being is of course the problems with the car and the fact that I talked to the owner, (his name is Michel or something like that), of the Newton Motor Sports VW dealership who told me that this is normal and that we should expect to have a few problems with any car. I owned a 1985 Toyota Celica GT which had 340,00 miles on it and never had this many mechanical problems with it, as a matter of fact there were very few problems with it overall. I currently have a 1996 Honda Accord EX (126k) and have had it on the shop only for general maintenance, brakes, oil changes, etc.

So I say "Normal for any car", I sincerely doubt it.

---Mark & Gina Forder.