The water pump failed "prematurely" according to the dealer. The coolant light did go on, but the temperature gauge never climbed - and I could tell the car was starting to run hot.
The air conditioning failed. There was no refrigerant left in the system - the dealer couldn't find a leak and suggested that perhaps "they didn't fill it up all the way when they built the car". It seems more likely that there's a bad seal somewhere that's small enough that it can't be detected with the dye they shot into the system, but big enough that in another year, when the car is out of warranty, it'll run dry again.
The door locking pin rattles and buzzes on the driver's side door. The dealer has tried to fix this several times. First they removed the door panel and found a loose retaining clip. No difference. Then they tightened the latch on the door. No difference.
The seats have fabric that grabs lint and dirt from clothes and hangs onto to it unless it is very carefully vacuumed. I understand that Volkswagen has switched to a different fabric.
The right front passenger side door speaker buzzes with the volume turned to a very modest level and no extra bass or treble added.
Although I really enjoyed the car and found it spacious, sporty, and priced right, the problems I described above, combined with the stories I know from friends about failed window regulators and the short Volkswagen warranty on 2000 models scared me enough to sell the car.
I have a friend who owns Volkswagens and she told me that if one gets a bad model in a particular year to get rid of it - "You won't believe how many things can keep going wrong". Good models in good years are great, she says. I bought an Acura CL-S Type S and know from owning an Integra for 7 years that it'll likely be trouble-free.
One other comment: VW service departments are overloaded with repairs. The two dealers I called for an appointment each told me that the next available slot was a week away, even though I told them the coolant light was on and the car was leaking coolant. In the meantime, I had to go without my car and without a loaner. Parts were not in stock and delayed the repair another several days - at which point a loaner car was offered.
A Volkswagen salesman I spoke with when I accompanied a friend to a dealership where the friend was buying a 2001.5 Passat told me that the Pueblo VW assembly plant ramped up production too quickly in 2000 and 2001. From 50,000 units to 250,000 - and that some of the problems stem from this decision. Golfs were moved to Brazil for assembly. Beetles are being held at 50,000 units. He thought they were scaling back on the number of Jettas being produced until the quality could be brought up to a better standard. Food for thought!
I am experiencing all the problems that I red in this site. exactly, like some body is reading my mind. problem after problem and when you call the dealer, you have to wait for a week and parts are not here. there is not a month that I do not spend money on this piece of junk. DO I GO AND BUY ANOTHER VOLKS WAGON OF ANY TYPE... NEVER EVER.
My experiences with the 2000 Jetta have been similar. I have taken the car in 6 times for the engine check light. It even went off the day after I drove the car off the lot! My glove box broke. I had it replaced only to have it break again in 2 months. The cup holder broke, and I don't even drink in the car! The front bumper spoiler caught on a curb and ripped. The car burns oil. Don't know where it's going, no drips, no smoke. Dealer says the engine appears fine. The funky keys have been another nightmare for me. It will cost me $200 to replace the key and reconfigure my alarm to get one that will stay on a key chain. I have spent more money on this car than the previous two combined and I'm only at 61M miles! I love the way the car handles and drives, but I would NEVER buy another VW product. I've been lucky, the dealership has been great and I bought the extended warranty. I am thinking of buying another warranty after this one expires.
I've had the same problem with my bumper I just bought a 2000 Jetta GLS and last night the first day I bought the car, the bumper cracked. I don't know what to do because I'm either thinking of getting it replaced or leave it and see if it gets bad enough where I would have to replace it. Also last night I noticed when I was sitting in neutral the car was shaking a bit I don't know if anyone has had this problem, but I'm guessing the belt could be adjusted on it. I don't know if its the same problem with the new Jetta, but the old ones they should have fixed this problem by making the car higher then people wouldn't have to deal with this problem anymore or atleast then I wouldn't have too.
I just recently bought a 2000 jetta V6 (my dream car) and I haven't had any problems out of it until yesterday. When I bought the car the glove box was broken & so were the cup holders, but I thought, no biggie, since this was the car I had always wanted. Two days ago I paid $48 to get the oil changed which included an extra $12 because my car has a special oil filter that can only be bought directly from the Volkswagen dealership. Everything was fine until my fluid light came on yesterday and my car started to over heat. The fluid level was very low so I added some water to it until I could get it home. I called the Volkswagen dealership and the guy said that the 2000 jettas have a specific coolant that has to be put in them and its only at the dealership for $30 a gallon! I don't know what I've gotten myself into with buying this car, but I just hope it will make it until I have it paid off then I'm trading it.
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