2000 Volkswagen Jetta from North America - Comments

I'm trying to fix an intermittent starting problem on a 2000 Jetta. The car normally starts OK when it is cold, or used for just short trips around town. But when you say drive it about an hour, it turns over, but just won't ignite, basically won't start when it gets hot, but the car is not over heating. Any ideas? I'm all ears.

I own a 2000 Jetta GLS. I had the same problem where after driving the car for a while, the car either wouldn’t start or would take a while to start. In my case, it seemed to happen only after staring and stopping the car between frequent stops. An example would be like stopping to run into different places that might only be a block or two apart. This pass week, I was on my way to work and my check engine light came on. Two seconds later, the car shut off in the middle of traffic and would not start. I had the car towed to a Volkswagen dealership and the problem was the motor speed regulator. The not starting was the only sign that the regulator was on its way out. The part costs $250.00 so add labor for your total. Hopeful this comment will help someone avoid being stranded in rush hour traffic.

Have owned a 2000 Jetta TDI for 4 years. Immediately noticed the tacky fixtures: right side glove compartment door broken; the cup holder jammed shortly after, haven't been able to use it since; driver and front passenger windows fell and were replaced by dealership (Pittsfield, MA;) the trunk locked erratically; the shield under the car came off - the car is so low slung to start with that there's practically no clearance with the shield if not on a well-paved road; replaced at my cost and was pulled off again.

Two winters ago had one incident with the engine stopping dead in a hazardous spot, turned out to be gas gelling and solved by additive; but this winter had constant non starting even with additive. Battery drained for no apparent reason, but would respond to a strong jump-start (heavy duty cables seem important here!) Local Volkswagen mechanic (not dealership) tested battery - OK, took full charge - but claimed the trunk not locking and not my locking the car doors would be sending wrong signals

to computer and be draining battery. I only lock the doors when necessary, why would this occur now after 4 years? He replaced trunk lock, and 4 glow plugs (36.02 each!) the trunk lock (64.72) plus labor 2 hours $140 (Total $278.00) Starting the car was hit and miss in the following 2 days and battery apparently drained while I was doing errands and left car for about 1 hour. Now the mechanic says 1 fuse of the five that sit on top of the battery is burnt out and is probably causing the battery drain, and the whole 5 fuse unit with separate cables must be replaced. Is that brilliant designing?

Also battery tester shows not charging well.

QUESTIONS: Is it true that all doors must be locked when car is stationary for anything, but short periods? If so, why isn't this writ really large in the manual? Why is this critical 'relationship' only occurring now? Why does one fuse line necessitate replacing all five (same for replacing 1 glow plug with 4.)

One last gripe: turning the awkwardly placed knob to recline the front seats needs a powerful arm and wrist and takes me about 5 minutes to adjust - doesn't VW know about the simple lever mechanism?

Just bought a 2000 jetta GLX VR6. I have the same problems on this board. Right clip is broken on glove box. middle console latch is broken. cup holder above radio is jammed. Emissions workshop light keeps coming on, even after the CAT was replaced. the drivers side door won't lock and unlock with the remote, has to be done with the key. The trunk won't open, repair shop said it was the latch, so they replaced it, and it now just stopped working again.

I am having the same problem with my windshield wipers. They just stopped working one day. It wasn't the fuse. So I had to replace the motor (ouch! $200 for something so simple). They worked fine for about 3 weeks then the same thing again. They don't' stop completely, but go really, really slow, no matter what setting you have them on? Anyone experiencing the same thing? I'm getting sick of pulling off the side of the road every time it rains.

Good luck with everything else. I have a 2000 Jetta GL 110,000 miles and have had the glove box break twice (the second time was just a month after I fixed it), broken glove box, two broken passenger mirrors, the protective plastic on the front bumper fall off, blew my head, head gasket, bent valve, had to replace rear calipers at $170 a pop, O2 sensor etc etc. all the same problems as everyone else. Next time...I'm buying a HONDA.

I have a Jetta and the glove box hinge broke, the cupholder doesn't come out, its stuck, the protective cover to the bumper falls off, both the passenger and driver side windows fell into the door... when I first drove it off the lot the check engine light.Oh yeah I also had pieces of the sunroof come falling on me, it still works but sounds like crap when opens. The list keeps going on and on...its about time to get rid of it...Now to top everything off my windshield wipers won't work. I always wanted a Jetta, now I will never again buy another VW in my life.

I bought my 2000 Jetta used with about 30,000 miles on it with an extended warranty. Had the window clips and hazard light fixed under warranty. I did an oil consumption test before they would fix the piston problem which causes the extreme oil consumption. All the little broken features don't really bother me, though I have all the same breaks everyone else has listed.

My current problems:

*AC cools then doesn't then cools again.

*Car would not start in hot weather 100degrees.

Any suggestions??

I have had the usual problems too with the glove box door breaking, but it was a tire repair place that did it. I also have this strange greasy substance that oozes out of the bottom of the doors also the battery is not holding a charge now so I'll see if changing the battery will fix it. I already had several recalls done, but my thermostat broke ($500 to replace), rear brakes wear prematurely ($300 to replace), faulty ignition coil ($1000+ to fix). The only bad thing is if something goes wrong the car will not run. That's the aggravating part.

From Canada.

I can't believe all that I've read from people about the 2000 VW Jetta GLS issues. I originally leased my vehicle and then bought my lease. BIG Mistake as once I purchased it everything possible went wrong with the car (several things during the lease as well). I've got the same issue with the glove box broken hinge. Cup holder gets stuck, grease oozing out of bottom of doors. I've replaced my catalytic converter, rotors on my wheels went at 25,000 (covered under warranty), windshield wiper motor and transmission went which cost me a fortune, all of my struts replaced, gone through at least 5 batteries and I only have 62,000 miles on my 8 year old car. The list goes on and on, but I have saved every receipt from every repair so I know how much I've put into this car. Now that I have it paid off I'm curious to see what will happen next.

I don't know if it was because this was the first year for this particular style jetta, but as much as I love this car when it is running well I could never recommend getting a VW to anyone and I can't possibly ever purchase another one myself.

Have owned the 2000 Jetta since November 1999, with most of the problems stated on this board...

My latest problem (seems like a new one each month) is the rearview mirror fell off tonight. Trying to find how to reglue brought me to this board... so sad to see so many with the same problems we've had for years.

ANYWAY...for those of you who have broken front cupholders, they are easy to replace and you can buy them on eBay. I paid around $70 for mine and it took only minutes to install.

My 2000 Jetta VR6 has all broken cup holders and arm rest cover latch, door armrest material and center console material peeling and sticky to the touch (that rubbery crap material), fading paint on the side mirrors and front grill, head liner material is coming loose and sagging, the trim piece between the front window frame and windshield pillar came off (apparently only glued on, service rep said to glue it back with fabric glue!), strange popping when I lean into the driver's seat back rest, crappy AM reception, driver's door keyhole "door" fell into keyhole preventing use of the key to unlock the door manually. Started leaking coolant in 05 due to cracked coolant inlet pipe (radiator hose attaches to), started leaking coolant again last week. Window retainer clips broke and replaced under recall.

MAFS went bad and I had to pay for that, but, fortunately, a couple weeks after I got a recall notice in the mail and got reimbursed for that one.

The transmission was replaced twice in the first 4 months I had the car, brand new.

This thing is supposed to have a 10 year power train warranty, but not a whole lot of the actual power train is included in the warranty. Gonna get rid of this one and never buying another VW again.

I own a Jetta TDI 2000 and got the same problems as everyone elses. But I wanted to add the following : about the problem with wipers, its the aluminum casting that hold the pivot that inflates after a while. You don't have to change the wiper motor, you just have to grind the wiper pivot hole and, but everything back in place. I will work great without having to replace the motor.

About the windows falling in the doors : that is a recall, they replaced a faulty plastic bracket by a stronger aluminum one. If you are the first owner or still under warranty (!) you can claim the new improved part from you dealer. I was the second owner, I shouted a bit, and I only had to pay for the labor to change the faulty window mechanism.

Another thing is the body paint over the front wheels that comes off. That is also a recall, you can have it fixed by your dealer at no cost even if you are no longer under warranty.

About the cup holder. There is a small piece of linen fixed to the cupholder frame by a double sided tape. After a while the pice of linen fall and the clue on the double sided tape causes the cupholder opening mechanism to jam. You just have to remove the cup holder module (very easy) and remove the clue with any paint thiner.

About the console clip: you can buy a new one for 2$ on ebay.

There are many small problems on this car, as one can see in these post, but many of them are easy to solve, and most of them are covered by recalls or warranty, and well documented by your dealer. Just insist, and they will change it for you for nothing.

Howdy, all!

After reading this forum, I would like to add my 2000 Jetta VR6 experiences (I bought it new) :

-Moonroof--doesn't work, took it to OKC dealer--still don't work.

-My starter howls "BEEEYOOOOO" randomly upon ignition. Normally when lots of people are around.

-Glove box has been broken for years...

-Front twin drink holder is broken... and jammed open.

-Driver's side sunvisor busted.

-Passenger window fell in the door (dealer fixed).

-Driver's side window fell in the door...twice! (plastic clips; see Moonroof--dealer fixed).

-Serpentine belt tension pulley bearing disintegrated (normal wear & tear, actually... repack your bearings!!).

-O2 sensors went bad (dealer fixed).

-Power mirror control panel broken.

-The infamous movable center armrest broken.

The thing that makes me feel bittersweet in my Jetta experience is that it actually runs awesome. Jettas, Sciroccos, and Golfs have always been fun to tear around in. I mean, I love driving my Jetta and it handles great. Unfortunately they did a horrible job on the interior stuff. It's falling apart in there!

I own a 2000 jetta and my proble is a little different I am having a hard time startnig the car after I pump gas into the car. For example the car will always be filled a quearte tank or more and after I close the lid on the gad cap it won't start. Any suggestions. I've had the car get a tuen up and sepnd over 200 in tune up. Please help?

2000 Jetta GLS 5-spd... I bought it used in '03 as it was a lease return. Loved this car for about 6 months and then the SAME problems as other posters happened...

1. The center console latch broke

2. Power mirrors switch snapped off, with no hope of fixing cheaply

3. Drink holder completely fell apart

4. Sunroof liner fell down (shouldn't do that after only 4 years)

5. Brakes & rotors were bad and I had to pay for that at the dealership

6. Brakelight switch & latch restraints were replaced under recall at the same time.

7. After 1 year, the glovebox switch on the right snapped off.

And of course that sticky, gunky stuff is everywhere on anything plastic...

And in the past year I've had my driver's door panel snap completely off, meaning every time I open my door it falls down toward the pavement hanging only by the cords that work the light, and the gas flap/trunk switches. All clips are broken, and there is no amount of adhesive that will hold it together - I have to reassemble it all to close my door when I get in now.

I bought this thinking it would be a great car, safe enough for my son to ride in. While the frame IS safe structurally, everything attached to the frame somehow can be questioned.

It's worth now what I owe on the loan, which isn't that much. And I'm thinking the next car is gonna be a Subaru instead.