2002 Volkswagen Jetta GLS review from North America

Hi I own a 2002 Jetta 1.8 turbo with an automatic transmission. I have recently been trying to fight Volkswagen for failure of the transmission at 64,000 miles. I also have had a string of problems with the car since I bought it brand new in 2002. My radio died 4 times and had to be replaced twice; additionally, all ignition coils were replaced after my car broke down on the road from ignition coil failure in 2003. My bumper has been ripped off many times due to it improperly latching on to parking curbs when driving away. Also; the spring beneath drivers seat has broken off, there is peeling of interior door handles and dash console, and there is a broken latch in the middle console. Not to mention, my turn signals were faulty and bulbs kept burning out, including the brake light bulbs.

More importantly, I have had engine, transmission, and electrical problems with this car. After the ignition coil failure, I have had to take it in twice for engine problems; the engine light turning on, a broken air pump, and engine oil leakage, and recently I have had to replace more ignition coils and all spark plugs after my warranty was over at 50,000 miles.

While under warranty, the coolant temperature light turned on 4 separate times and to 2 different Volkswagen dealerships. After finally being fixed the 4th time, and the warranty was already over 50,000, the car broke down recently while on the road 2 more times because of coolant hose leaks and other cheaply made parts that needed to be replaced in the coolant/engine system.

After all of these repairs, I still held on in believing this to be a good car.

Now I am at 64,000 miles and I have had a transmission failure and was told it is intermittent by the dealership. The reverse gear stopped working one day and there was no engine or warning light on. So I took it in to another dealership and they performed a diagnostic test which I paid for. The onboard diagnostic showed that I needed to replace some shorts in the shifter, but did not show any other faults that are related to the failure of the transmission. I agreed to pay out of pocket expenses of $1000 for these parts because the dealer told me they needed to replace these in order to further diagnose the transmission. Now they have said it has failed and I need a whole new transmission that will cost $6000, which is nearly half the worth of the car. Now what should I do?

I called Volkswagen Customer Service and made several complaints, but they were completely unwilling to help. I even called the BBC Autoline and they also told me that I am out of warranty. Since I have been doing lots of research about the VW Jetta, I have found that most VW Jetta complaints were during the years 2000, 2001, and 2002. It seems that most of us just got a bad bunch of lemons from the factory and all of us have similar complaints. If you check http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems, you can look through hundreds of government-documented complaints of the VW Jetta.

Since I am stuck with an unsafe and inoperable car, I am trying to figure out what I can do in order to pursue this further. I am completely unsatisfied with Volkswagen Customer Service and Volkswagen's claims to offer reliable, safe and outstanding performance.

If anyone has similar issues as mine I would like to hear them! Email me. LOzeri81@aol.com.