1999 Volkswagen Jetta Wolfsburg from North America - Comments

Hi folks. I have a 99 Jetta later model. I bought it used last year. I'm pretty handy at fixing my cars over the past 30 years, as Haynes manual and junk yards are good resources. But every so often I get stuck.

Since I bought Jetta, I cannot solve a terrible intermittent sound when starting car. It sounds like a "goose" or "crow" and is loud. It lasts about 1 second just after car starts. It does NOT do it all the time, but often. I spent a day once trying to isolate the problem and could not solve it. I eliminated possibility of starter motor. I suspect it may be a vacuum pump somewhere. Also, I heard another Jetta make exact noise at a gas station once. But I was not fast enough to run over and ask driver about sound. Any ideas out there?

Another issue I'm working on for past couple days is bad AM on factory radio. I replaced with non-VW radio and same problem. I made mistake of buying new roof mast from dealer for $52. It did not fix problem and VW won't take it back. I should have stuck with junk yard. It would have cost about $5. to try it out. Shame on me.

Sometime later I'll try to fix broken cruise control.

A few nights ago while on a trip back home and about 200 miles from home, I could NOT turn alarm OFF. Seemed like batteries in remote were bad, although less than a year old. Remote did nothing. I checked manual and found no good info to get me going. I could unlock door with key, but when I tryed to start car, alarm would sound and car would not start. I even called VW number in manual, but they did not know how to help; 9:00PM dealers closed for info. Finally I discovered when you unlock the truck with the key, you have about 10 second to jump in car and start it. I then got back on the road. Later, the remote worked again.

That's it for some of my observations and hope for help.

Tommm.

We just got rid of our 1999 Wolfsburg ed Jetta...

3 transmissions... 1st after 3 months of ownership 3000 miles...

Radio volume up and down when you try to adjust the volume...

Car molding falling off doors..

Check engine light was on and off, and then finally on, so we could not get our smog check here in California...

$900 to fix the flutter valve...

Window and sunroof all broken..

6 CD player broke in trunk...

Rear door broke.. flings open...

Radio causes battery to drain.. if the car sits not driven for 1 week, it will not start unless you disconnect the radio fuse before you go on vacation...

So many other things.. but these are the worst...

This was a 5 speed manual with 62000 miles... barely driven,but around town here in San Diego... finally donated today to Father Joes for possible deduction since if they can fix it and sell at auction.

It will not start, and no one can find the problem... different places have tried to fiqure it out.

Paid $300 for diagnosing without an answer. Towed twice now...won't start... despite all the testing... went to arbitration with Volkswagen and lost... contacted lemon law attorney and they said there was not enough wrong... just a joke..

Stay clear of this car... this has been a nightmare for 9 years on and off.

When it works it works well, when it's not working properly Satan is involved. Yes it's a 99 Jetta GLS, no surprise there.

Simple front bumper cover replacement leads to stupid Anti Theft system lockdown. I'm assuming the body shop techs disconnected the battery while doing work. The remote no longer unlocks or locks the car or seems to work. Alarm triggers instead of car starting. And I was concerned with my CEL coming on again for the 35th time. I've had luck with adding 2 bottles of injector cleaner to the tank when it's at 1/4 full. That seems to clean the O2 sensors and get the light to go off. I'm not falling for the dealership butt monkeys replacing the sensors again only to have the light come on again 6 weeks later.

Don't park your VW under or near pine trees if you have the moon roof. The pine needles work their way into the rain gutter at the front of the moon roof assembly and stop up the drain holes (Hey VW, how about a screen over the hole). This situation will lead to a very wet interior and nasty water in the headliner. The dealer techs told me to use compressed air to cleat the drain tube. Do not do this unless you want to hear a thumping sound in your door jam/front kick panel. That will be the sound of the drain tube (Finger sized) coming out of the grommet the exits the car's body in the lower front door jam (both sides). Now you have cleared the sludge and rerouted the drain into the cars interior. The hose and grommet can't be reconnected without removing the hose from the other end.

April 26,2008 I purchased 1999 Jetta Wolfsburg new and have had nothing but troubles. After 35,000 miles I needed a brake job which cost me $1700. I was told that even the calipers were broke on it. I wrote Volkswagen, and was told that it was normal to have to replace the brakes. Well its not going on the third brake job. 3 of windows do not work. Same thing with engine light coming on and off. It is a piece of crap. I will never buy Volkswagen again.

Hello, there's a 1999 Wolfsburg Edition in the family now. Black, automatic w/102K and an inoperative sunroof.

After reading your comments the following tasks will be added to the fluids/filters/plugs and wires ritual.

#1 - Clean the throttle body.

#2 - Listen to, tighten and or lube the door and window hardware.

#3 - Clean the window switches.

#4 - Inspect/refresh vacuum hoses.

#5 - Clear any body drain passages.

#6 - Maybe 5-56 each light socket.

A QUESTION: Is there a tech website where you all go? I'm much better off for reading these posts. I feel we could benefit greatly from a more hands-on forum.

FEEDBACK WELCOME: Thank you, George Dignam, gmdignam@ix.netcom.com

I have just purchased a 1999 W.E. Jetta. The lady I bought it from had bought it new, & she cried when I handed her the money for the car. She says it is the best car she has ever owned. It has never left her stuck, stranded, or failed to start & go for 9 years. It has 117k miles on it & I plan on running another 50-60k on it.

I have a 2000 beetle TDI, & it's a great car. 160k miles & she still gets 50MPG & runs strong. One thing I did long ago is find a good INDEPENDENT mechanic that specializes in German cars. The dealerships are a JOKE... never use them for repairs... they are parts changers & guess at what they do.

The best mechanics have always been at the INDEPENDENT shops... They make lots more money as NON dealer mechanics. WHo makes the money at the dealerships is the owners... not the mechanics... Bye the way... for those of you who do not work on your own cars... GET OUT of the house, buy a manual & fix something... turn off the cable, computer, X-BOX, playstation..ect...and get dirty. Its good for you...HAHA.

I too have a VW Jetta Wolfsburg addition. What a nightmare of a car. I loved it when I first bought it until I drove down the road, shut it off and wouldn't start again. It got progressively worse.

The windshield leaks badly, so much so that the whole inside is soaked. Needless to say it wouldn't start again and had been sitting all winter.

The other day my SO decided to "try" starting it and it ran... this is at least 4 months later. I have brought it to a dealership and they are at a loss as what the issue is.

Unfortunately I'm in a major family crisis with my daughter dealing with bone cancer, and this car is so unpredictable and unreliable to make her treatments 3 hours away. Any thoughts or suggestions on what the issue is with this car? I doubt I'll get my money back out of it "if" I can ship it through the auction.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Never again would I purchase such a piece of junk.

paintedhorses@550access.com

After reading all the comments above, I just pushed my 99 Wolfsburg down my steep driveway into the woods... bye bye you P.O.S!!!

OH BOY!

What I wouldn't do to go back in time and NOT buy this car. My 1999 VW Jetta Wolfsberg is Satan.

I have only owned the car for approx. 1.5 years. In this time.. I have had thousands of dollars of work done to it. I want to mention there was only 1 owner before me and he took immaculate care.

1. Ignition coil. I noticed other people were mentioning this problem, but maybe did not know what it was. The ignition coil cracked. Any time water touches the coil... the car stalls and dies. I had this replaced.. mechanic said he'd never seen an ignition coil do that.

2. Right Rear Window - Motor went out. Im not even going to spend the money to fix that one.

3. Speakers. Same as all of the other complaints.

4. I am having serious problems with my rear suspension. They keep putting brand new struts on the back right side... and they break, every single time. Its fine about a week, then it breaks again. It has to go into the shop every other week!!! for one week, then I get it back.. do it again.

5. My cars key sensor is broken. It constantly thinks the key is still in the car! And will never completely shut off.

6. Reverse lights and left side MPH lights work intermittently.. usually not at all. Sometimes if I hit a good bump it will come back.. until I turn the car off.. and we start all over.

7. Valve cover cracked on engine.. I hope I get that part name right. It was leaking oil all over the engine.

There is more, but just listing this has made my head hurt.

I know everyone that has posted here has had extremely similar problems. I won't buy a VW ever again.

I myself own a 1999 VW Jetta Wolfsburg edition. Whew is all I can say... it has been a good car, I love it, but recently the love is fading fast.

Just had the transmission replaced, the check engine light stays on, none of the windows work, they just keep sliding down, I did take superglue and glue them shut..

New batteries, starters, the A/C has always worked well, until this summer. When you turn it on, you have to wait until it decides to start working, thank goodness I didn't superglue the driver window.

Now the airbag light is on, and the odometer, rpm, or gas gauge on works when the car is sitting still, when I take off, they no longer work.

I have sunk so much money in this car, I have just about had it... when it runs I love driving it or I wouldn't have had it so long, but I think it's time to send this thing to the crusher...

I bought my Jetta Wolfsburg in August of 07, and it has been great, just with some of the common problems. At first it was problematic, things like the trunk release breaking, right rear window regulator breaking, and problems with the parking brake. After those problems were fixed, I had no issues until the parking brake froze again a week ago, and then this week again, and now I'll have to bring it into the shop for the third time in two weeks. However, this isn't VW's fault, just my mechanic messing up on me.

Outside of the standard problems I've seen everyone else has had (window regulators, throttle body was fixed before I owned car), the car is great. The radio volume works fine, I just turn it down slowly so it doesn't go up before going down.

The engine and transmission are great, actually better than my old 96 Accord.

I keep my car in immaculate condition, changing the oil and keeping the interior clean, etc, and the car has been great.

Basically, these old VW's have solid powertrains, but some iffy electronics and random other interior things.

We also have a 2004 Jetta, which has been great, so I am under the impression that these problems were in the MKIII generation only, plus it is an old car, and old cars with high mileage aren't perfect. If you are good to your Jetta, it will be good to you.

I also own a 1999 VW Jetta Wolf edition, old body style. Have sunk thousands into this car.

Repaired electric windows multiple times.

Issues with alarm.

Power door locks no longer work.

Now a new problem... lights, wipers, no longer work, and brake light comes on after the car is started. These work just before starting car. Suspect a faulty ignition switch. Have you ever replaced an ignition switch on a Jetta? I have and they are a real pain. Not looking forward to doing this again. If I take it in to have the work done, it's $370 to replace a $25 part.

WOW, I was looking to buy a Jetta and now I can't run faster in the opposite direction. I have read these comments and talked to others, and I have found getting a "lemon" Jetta is much more likely than getting a hassle free Jetta. Thanks for saving my wallet.

After reading these comments, I'm so happy I DID NOT buy the 99 WB Jetta. The car was super clean, but it was missing that umph when I floored it. I've seen older Civics rev up better. Damn shame the car looked so sweet too. Oh yeah, one of the windows was not working. Hahahhahahaah thx u.

I have a Jetta 98, and had similar problems; throttle body, check engine, and radio volume.. but I just had these problems past year.. so I took it to my local mechanic and he cleaned the throttle body and was the end of check engine.. the radio is old... but it cost me 5000 dollars.. 8 years ago with 45k miles, and I have not do anything else besides oil changes, and brakes, and tune up and has 176,000 miles...

I guess there is no perfect car; I had a Nissan Sentra, and the clutch and engine collapsed within 5 years old, a Honda, where the transmission broke within 7 years old, a Buick with tons of electrical problems, a brand new Jeep with battery problems... and newer cars are getting harder to fix because they do not last as long as the old good cars..