Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-47
VW Jetta with EPC light on, car won't go into gear. MSecond time it two weeks. Must tow again. Unless someone can tell me what the secret is to getting the EPC light off.
I've had a VW Vanagon before that had special light come every few thousand miles. A mechanic friend told me the sole purpose of this light was to force you to take it into the dealer so the dealer could charge you to push a button that turned off the light. My friend also told me how to find the button so I could turn it off myself and keep going. Is there such a button to get the EPC light off? Thanks.
I wasn't aware that there are so many other problems with these VW's. I have a 2000 Jetta 1.8T, and it has been to the dealership SIX times since June 2000 for defective regulators in the front passenger and driver windows. Luckily, they have taken care of the problem each time, even though I'm out of warranty. They claim that this problem should no longer occur, since VW has fixed the part.
I'll believe it when I can drive for more than five months and not need to return to the shop.
Another thing... What is that terrible grinding noise in my brakes? I cannot bring myself to pay VW $75 just to simply tell me what might be wrong.
That wax that I am told is added in/on the doors to prevent damage from salt on the road during snow (even though I'm in southern California, where the temperature is considered cold at 60 degrees) is one of the most annoying things I've ever experienced in a car.
I doubt that I will ever buy a VW again. We have had a few in our family, but none with as many problems as this Jetta.
You have been forewarned, read on.
I purchased a Jetta based on driving experience and consumer reports recommendations and talking to previous Jetta owners. So I purchased a 2000 Jetta GLS somewhere around $22K and to put it bluntly, it's a hunk of junk.
Here's the laundry list of problems in the order they occurred...
1) Monsoon soundsystem replaced 3 times (under warranty thank God), and is now somewhat working although radio buttons are occassionally sticking.
2) Front Cup Holders broke.
3) Rear Ash try broke and I nor my wife even smokes we were just checking it out.
4) Grease seeps out of bottom RUBBER trim on both driver and passenger doors.
5) Fan switch - not working on 1 & 4 speed.
6) Left tail light burnt out with 25K on car???
7) Bulb that lights up AC and Fan dials burnt up
ps - VW said it's Wear & Tear and I laughed at rep cause we do most of our driving during the day and this should of not happened. It's called producing JUNK.
7) Right tail light burnt out.
8) Rear Brakes went up at 31K
9) Lost countless carpet clips off VW floor mats cause they pop off.
10) Engine Temperature Gauge decides when it wants to work and when not to.
11) And today, our GLOVE Box cover hinge broke.
12??) I have had no window problems yet, but I believe it's on the way, see no 4.
Thankfully our Jetta is paid off, but if it weren't I would definately trade this hunk of junk in and get another Honda.
This car is not a cheap, but it was cheaply made and it's apparent that VW has cut corners on quality, in order to allow for a bigger profit margin. My first VW experience is definately my last and I will not be buying another. I love being approached by potential buyers cause I am more than happy to forewarn them of the problems we have experienced with the car.
Wow, my boyfriend sent me this page and the more comments I read the more sick to my stomach I get about my own car.
I just had it towed out of my driveway to the dealership because I could barely get it around the block.
I have a 2002 GTI 1.8T and this is the 3rd trip in a month into the dealership for the same problem. My engine light doesn't just come on, it flashes and the car won't drive. It has no power. My car only has 25000K on it.
The first two weeks I had the car I had to get the front headlight replaced because it was loose and I'm sure it caused huge annoyance to any driver in front of me at night.
I've also had to get the driver side power window replaced because it grinded and sounded like it would fall in. It still makes that sound every once in awhile.
The sunroof had to be adjusted also because it squeaked.
I hear many strange noises coming from my suspension when I go over bumps - I wasn't sure if this was just my imagination, but now I know it's not.
Finally, the service I have received up until now - with one exception - has been horrendous and frustrating.
I am really disappointed because I love my car and wanted to buy it when the lease was up. I'm having second thoughts about putting any of my own money into now if I don't want to keep it in 3 years. What a shame that VW is getting such a bad rep.
It would seem that VW is going to become another crappy profit-hungry car company just like many of the others. Maybe I will consider a Honda or a Subaru next.
Wow. And we thought we were the only ones. Where to start?
We have a 2000 Jetta GLS 2.0. I now compare it to a $22,000 Chevette! It has a mere 35000 on the clock, and here are rundowns of the problems thus far. (All, but last few have been corrected)
Airbag light on.
Bulb in HVAC controls burned out.
Cruise control not working.
The drivers window (there is an understanding that VW will fix this for free now), The cheap plastic clips that secure the window to the track broke, dropping the glass into the door. The dealer did repair this with updated parts that are now metal, and did both front windows free of charge.
The temperature gauge works when it wants to.
The check engine light is on more than it is off. No problems ever found.
And the drivers side heated mirror seems to not be working now.
And the transmission takes forever to engage from reverse to drive. I'm sure this will be the next to go.
I'll never own another one. German engineering? This is coming from people who are fascinated with their own fecal matter. No thanks, I'll stick with domestics that I can work on myself, and get the parts without having to take out a second mortgage. Best of luck, buyers beware!
-Greetings from Baltimore, MD.
2000 VW diesel beetle. Love the mileage, but the repair expenses are awful. If someone would have told me I needed a $750 timing belt replacement at 40,000 miles; or a $1100 glow plugs/mass air sensor at 60,000 miles I would have never bought a VW. Brakes always seem to go away, taking the rotors with them, headlight bulb replacement (5 in 60k) cost $60+. Rear window shattered while parked (in garage). BOTTOM LINE: every 5k oil change runs up a $500 bill for something or another. I'm beginning to feel the dealer's are making up small sales margins with the promise of huge repair/service profits. Too bad, I'd have bought several more VW's for my business. Honda's anyone?
Wow where do I begin! I Bought my 99 Jetta GLS in 2003 and two days later it was back in the shop getting the transmission checked. I bought an exstended warranty for it and so far they have only covered 3 things for it.
My check engine light is back on.
My battery light stays on.
My temperature gauge doesn't work.
Cup holders broke when I put a can in it!
My sun roof won't open anymore.
I could just go on!
I was driving home late at night and the car lost all of it's power and turned off. I had it towed 96 miles and they had it for about 13 days. They charged me 563.00 to replace the part. It was a main tube or something.
Again I was driving and I heard a weird noise and it's catalytic converted needed replaced (warranty) so they had it again for another 14 days. My tranmission went out and I had it towed to another dealership who had it for a total of 22 days (warranty) I was driving again and my half axel went out and they have had it for 16 days and they told me it would be done by next week.
That's enough problems to make me want to buy something else like a Toyota!
I have a 2001 VW Golf and I have had a lot of problems such as:
Driver's side window clips replaced twice and the front passenger one time.
Broken gas flap.
My check engine light came on at 10,000 miles and did not take it in. It ran awful, I was getting bad gas mileage, burning oil, but I instead kept on driving it. After about 13,000 the light cut off and the car ran like was new again.
I have owned a 69 Bettle and loved it, but I will never buy another new VW.
Wow! I guess I'm not the only one with V W issues! I have a 2002 VW Jetta. I bought it just over a year ago and I have 39k miles on it. At 5k I started having transmission problems. it shifts very hard between 2-3. The first time I complained they said it needed a new computer chip. so they replaced the so called chip and it was still shifting hard. They then decided that I needed a new transmission at 10k. At 15k same problem all over again, however I have been to 2 different dealerships and 1 can't even feel the hard shifts and the 2nd says its "a normal condition" what is that supposed to mean? I'm to the point that I just want a new car. I have been trying to work this out for the last 20k. I am very frusterated!
I guess I should consider myself lucky, compared to everyone else on here mine sounds like its in okay shape for VW.
Hello fellow VW sufferers.
I have a 2000 VW Golf w/2.0L 5 speed with 53K miles. You ready for this one. The check engine light came on about 10K miles ago. I took it in to 3 dealerships when the light first came on. This is how the story goes. I bought the car used and it is a certified pre-owned thus the warranty issue. Dealer #1 told me nothing is wrong with it, and they reset the light. On my way home the light came on again, there was a VW dealership off the freeway so I took it in. 5 hours later they told me it was my radio, since it was an aftermarket radio (which came with the car) it could not communicate with the cars computer. Funny, but how for the first 4 months when I first got the car, everything was working great. So I take it to the VW dealership that I bought the car (TransOcean VW Pasadena, CA) and told them what the other dealership told me. 4 days later, they called me and said that the radio was fine and that they could not see why the check engine light is on. Pissed off at this point that I had to pay for a rental car. I p/u my car and have been driving with the check engine light on since that day. I'm only hoping that the bulb will burn out and I won't have to look at it for much longer. Good luck to all you VW sufferers out there. I miss my TOYOTA (Oh what a feeling).
We have a 2000 Jetta GL which we purchased new and until recently were fairly pleased with it. We have gone through the rear brake pad replacement at 25,000, air conditioning failed at 17,000 (still problematic at times) has been back twice for this. First check engine light came on at 21,000, then at 32,000 and twice since, same double talk from the dealerships as others have commented about, regarding why these sensors keep failing. One dealer tried to make us believe he was doing us a big favor by replacing a bad sensor and wanted to charge us $190 for diagnostic services, I told him that this was emissions related and by law the manufacturer had to replace it, they took the charge off after we had our talk.
Ah, the trunk lock solenoid - failed at 37,000 and replaced under an extended warranty (something which we have never taken out on any of the other 8 cars we have owned) but since we never owned a VW before we thought maybe we should, though we are not happy that we have had to use it. It is now 42,000 miles and the check engine light is once again going on and off, I think we now know where the old Chrysler K-Car staff went.
I have a 2001 vw jetta. at 1000 miles the transmission went. car was kept in the garage for one momth before they
could find the problem. windows rattle on the two front sides. tapping noise under the engine, vw say I have to live with it, design problem. black paint peeling off around
light switch knob that turn the headlights on. finsh coming
off my steering wheel. also door would rattle on driver side. on my 98 vw beetle transmission went at 30000 miles. black paint peeling on driver door handle. no more vw for me. bmw quality cannot be beat new or used.
We have a 2001 Jetta GLS with about 11,000 miles on it.
This past Christmas we were visiting out of state and barely hit a minor bump on a rural road. The oil pan cracked and immediately emptied. The car was towed and the oil pan was replaced.
After the oil pan was replaced, the mechanic noted a distinctive ticking sound that can now be clearly heard deep in the engine. This ticking noise seems to increase with acceleration.
The mechanic said he could not identify the cause of the ticking without further investigation. He wrote in the report that he wondered if it was a ball bearing that was loosened when we hit the bump.
He told us it would cost thousands of dollars just to have the problem diagnosed because they would have to take the engine apart. He then said we might have to have the engine replaced.
He did not have time to deal with it then and we had already been stranded an extra week waiting for the oil pan. On the mechanic's advice we drove the car home 200 miles. The noise did not get worse, nor did it improve.
We took the car to a local dealer to identify the problem. They accessed the first mechanic's report and basically repeated it back to us with no new information. They also told us it will take thousands of dollars to simply diagnose the noise because it is inside the engine. They also said that we will probably need a new engine.
The recommendation of a new engine is remarkable to me since neither dealer has actually diagnosed the problem and apparently won't unless we give them $1000's of dollars to take the engine apart first!!!
I do not understand how it can be possible to need a new engine in a (basically) new car after simply hitting a bump in a road? How can a cracked oil pan (which I understand is a weakness in the Jetta have created such a fiasco?
Has anyone else had this kind of problem? and if so can you help us identify a solution? Thanks so much for any insights. We are sick to our stomachs over this.
I had a 2000 VW Jetta GL. I must have taken the car in about 20 times in 4 years. Unfortunately I wasn't that familiar with the lemon law. I had the airbag light come on, problems with the air vents, the radio went out, they left out the 12 volt circuit, springs fell out of the seats, wheel well liners split, etc, etc. I was recently in an accident (not my fault) and my airbags did not deploy. Please be careful out there. Needless to say, I didn't go out and buy another VW.
I have a 2002 Jetta. It's in the shop again for the third time this month because it stalls and completely dies when I go to start it or while I am in the middle of driving it. I faxed my papers to an Attorney today who deals with the California Lemon Law. I've had a lot of the same problems everyone else has had ie: my window clips being replaced and my check engine light coming on for no apparent reason. I feel completely unsafe in my car. I can't trust that after a third time that the problem will finally be fixed. I just hope my car qualifies as a Lemon. If it does, I am bidding farewell to my dream car and I'll be doing some extensive research into a much safer car.
I wish there was something we could all do about this VW epidemic. Why would somebody sell a product that won't last very long without going bad?