2001 Volkswagen Jetta VR6 review from North America

Latch from armrest broke off under normal usage (IE: no kids, etc)

Driver's side window fell into door 3 times.

Passenger side front window fell into door 3 times. This was due to the clips being made out of plastic. They have finally made them out of metal now and have actually both recalled it and have extended everyone's warranty for 7 years for it. Problem is, I took my last incident to a VW dealer to get the last window-fall-in fixed, they assured me and reassured me that they used the new metal clips on both sides. My window just fell in again and a second VW dealer (hellish nightmare of a place) showed me the broken part UPON MY REQUEST and indeed it was PLASTIC. So either the first dealer lied to me and lied on my work order sheet that they replaced it, or they used the old defective plastic clips.

Plastic piece randomly flew off of the moon roof one day as I was opening it. Might just be a cosmetic part since the moonroof still works, but still. I *just* went over my 2 year warranty and they want to charge me approximately $20 for it. Mind you I bought the 5 YEAR EXTENDED Warranty and apparently nothing is covered under this warranty. Scam.

My engine light just went on. The second dealer wanted to charge me $80.00 just to see why it was on. They found the reason is a faulty Coolant Temperature Sensor. Guess what, this sensor is NOT covered under the 5 year extended warranty I paid for. It's considered "wear and tear". On a 2 year old car. A sensor. Asinine.

Since buying the car, it hesitates when I first start up the car in the morning and make my first stop sign stop. The car doesn't respond to hitting the gas pedal for a good 2 seconds. When you're trying to merge into traffic this is a terrifying feeling to experience every morning. Now it happens twice every morning, the second being while trying to enter onto a road where people speed faster than the limit. I have brought this up to my dealership numerous times when I brought my car in for something. They: 1) say they don't know what causes it 2) act as if I'm making a big deal out of nothing 3) have never checked it out, even after mentioning it to them countless times! They always snipped back "Well, is the tank empty?" to which I always felt intimidated and tried explaining that it happened all the time, regardless of fuel levels. Since it was only happening in the mornings going to work I didn't know how to deal with it (since the mechanics weren't) so I had no choice, but to let it be. Now that my warranty is up, and now that it's happening 2 times every morning, they want to charge me $80 to check it out. They also won't do a thing until they can recreate it. Stupid, since I can just go on YAHOO search and find countless other VW owners who deal with the same dangerous problem.

The gears slip, usually when going on an incline/hill. But it has happened on straight roads as well.

The radio. Sigh, the radio was a year's endeavour. Living in LA I listen to AM talk radio often, and after hitting a pothole, the signal was fully stat-icky. It would pop in and out of being perfectly clear and being nothing but static. Upon telling the mechanics this they kept insisting it was the stereo itself and not the antenna no matter how much I protested and gave them symptoms to back up my assessment. Then the CD player (single) would randomly say CD's were "errors" (it even said it on a brand new CD I had just unwrapped from the store, so no, it was not the CD's) and since the cup holder goes over the slot of the CD insert, I'd be driving down the freeway and the CD would be clicking, trying to make it's way out of the player while pressing into the back of the cup holder. After going through about 3 of their stereos, they finally admitted that they can't do a recall because they don't have working stereos to replace them with. Finally, 1 young German kid who was working there did something so simple as to wiggle the antenna (AS I HAD BEEN STATING 3 STEREOS AGO) and sure enough it caused static. He had found what was wrong with the AM stereo (loose antenna, duh), but the CD player itself was still malfunctioning and defective. Even VW's own employees had the same stereo issues with their cars. And as a side note, when the AM stereo wouldn't "duplicate the problem" while sitting there, the mechanic flat out blatantly implied I was lying. I asked him "Are you calling me a liar?" he said "well, the gauge is saying it's not broken" to which I responded "get the H__L out of my car" and left. I was through with the abuse. I threatened them with exposure on 20/20, Dateline, and every other show I could get to because everyone, including their own employees, knew of the defective *overpriced* stereos VW was installing into our cars, knowing full well most of them are defective. VW, after a year of dealing with this, bought my stereo back full price after my threat of exposure on TV shows. I bought my own stereo/MP3 player from Circuit City and it rocks and kicks that VW stereo's rear-end out of the water. When they tell you that you cannot have your own stereo, it's false. All you have to do is keep their old hunk of junk so that when the Engine Check light goes on (oh, and it will) they can do their diagnostics through the stereo. Yes, you heard me right, they do their engine diagnostics through the stereo. So, this last time just the other day, I, personally, took out the stereo myself (mind you, I'm a girl, but I'm not afraid to take care of business!) and left their crappy stereo on my car seat and let them do their precious diagnostics through the stereo system (stupid engineering, and hey, I'm German. I'm embarrassed to admit it when it comes to this VW fiasco...)

The netting in the trunk is broken. The little plastic plugs fall out easily. Forget putting anything in there.

The front right side makes this odd clicking noise that gets faster and faster until it stops. I have no idea what this is. Hah, if I don't know, VW sure doesn't know. They don't even bother checking.

The doors POP and CREAK everytime they have to replace the clips when the windows fall in. It does this on every stop and go, and every turn. Highly annoying and makes the car sound like a junker inside.

Doors squeak and popping noises come from inside the doors themselves.

On hot days this GOO comes pouring out of the doors. It looks like a waxy/oily lubricant. This is "normal" according to VW. What's normal about ruining your clothing as you enter and exit your automobile? It's so bad that it collects on your driveway and smears across the sides of your car as you wash it. Wax and oil are the 2 biggest stain-makers. Good going, VW.

I really wanted to love this car. It's like an abusive relationship in that I still want to love this car, and I appreciate how it drives as if it's gliding across wet ice. I love so many things about the car, but again, it's an abusive situation because of the incredible amount of problems it causes me. And dealing with the second dealer has made me go through tears, frustration, anger, and downright abuse from everyone from the service department to the head honcho. I can give one example here of oh so many: When I was dealing with the car stereo situation he gave me a phone number to call: an #800 number. He, in all his glory, assured me this was the number to call and they would help me and take care of my problem, etc. I felt relieved, but deep down I knew better from all my previous dealings with his company. I requested to use his phone right there and then to call the number. Thank goodness I did because when I dialed I got those familiar 3 tone-beeps followed by "This number is no longer in service... the number you have reached is disconnected or no longer in service". When I brought this to his attention, he frantically dialed the number 2 more times. I give him an Oscar for his acting abilities... I looked at him and said "This, sir, is why I asked to use your phone to call right now". I could go on with similar stories, but you get the idea of the "quality", the treatment, and the overall hassle I've had to deal with owning a 2001 Jetta VW. Very sad to me since I am German, I have pride in being German, and I really want to keep this car so badly, but at what cost.