1991 Volkswagen Jetta GL from North America - Comments

The fuel injectors needed replacement only a few weeks after I bought the car.

The clutch was replaced about a year ago.

The computer module fried because of a loose electrical ground to the transmission. That was $1200 worth of work to even get the car running again, even though it only ran on 3 cylinders. I later noticed that the spark plug wires were arcing so I replaced the plugs, rotor, distributor cap, and wires. The car ran good until it warmed up. A vacuum tube to the valve cover was missing and the car began to buck and surge. That was fixed and the car ran good for a while.

Then the heater core blew which spilled antifreeze all over the carpet and rendered the car useless for another 3 weeks. Luckily the heater core was under recall so it only cost about $75 to replace. The car reeked of antifreeze for a a couple of weeks and the carpet was damp for 3 months despite all attempts to dry it.

A few months later, the car developed another annoying problem. It would drive fine and then all of a sudden it would start to bog down and surge. Then it would die. This happened probably five times in a few days. The worst was in the middle of Main Street in rush hour. I took it to the Volkswagen dealer and they said the knock sensor was bad. I bought the part from them and installed it myself. The old part on the car was so mutilated that I thought the dealer gave me the wrong part. Some moron had insulated the wire with Scotch tape. I replaced it and the car was fine.

The gas pedal developed a problem where the cable disconnects from the pedal under acceleration. The first time it happened was getting onto I-35 at 10:30 at night. I gradually learned how to drive it to where it would not break.

The radiator hose blew leaving me stranded along the I-35 service road.

It now has a problem where the after-run

cooling fan runs until the battery is dead which has left me stranded in parking lots twice now.

The engine makes a loud rattling sound under acceleration. I was informed that this is the way that the Digifant system runs. It has run for at least 16,000 miles like this, so it must not be hurting it even though it sounds like it is falling apart.

These are just the main problems. I make a trip to the local Auto Zone every single weekend for small items that fail weekly. I have to keep this lousy piece of crap running so I can get to work the next day.

I hate this car. It has broken down on me so many times. I have only owned it for a year and a half, but it seems like a lifetime. I don't blame Volkswagen for how totally worthless this crummy car is. It was just not maintained at all by its previous owners. I have become very skeptical of all used cars since this was the first car I ever used.

No one in the household wants to drive it in fear of it breaking down on them. Unfortunantly I am always the one who is stuck driving it.

What a totally worthless piece of junk.

Sounds like some moron owned it before you and tried to be a mechanic. I haven t heard of too many Jettas acting that poorly. Sorry for your troubles though : (

I bought my Volkswagen new in '90. Presently 82K miles and has cost me a small fortune in repairs. I'm junking the car because I won't sell and wouldn't wish this aggravation on anyone. The Dealership takes my money, but can't/won't fix the problems. Please!!! if anyone out there is thinking of buying a Volkswagen...DON'T DO IT!!! I've been checking with owners of newer Volkswagens They state they're having problems with repairs and are concerned when it's out of warranty. (They should be!!!)

Same old story... Take your money... never fix the problems.

I love how the car handles and it's looks which explains why I've had it all these years, but shame on me, I've put good money after bad for too long. I've done all of the required servicing on time and never been abusive. It looks like the day I bought it.

I am a victim of Volkswagen. Don't be one as well.

WEll I have a 91' burgs ed. and so far the only problem I have is that when I reach 2000 rpm and stay there for about 10 sec the oil light buzzes on me until I downshift or accel. But I am sure for many people that own one, the people who owned it before me did not take care of it at all. Very good starter car and can reach 100 mph.

My cars, I never had that much trouble..

Only thing I can say is that the idle sticking sounds like idle control.. super cheap o replacement.. auto wreckers..!

This car I own 3 all about the same year the reason I kept buying them is they are so reliable..

Although its not a car for someone who wants a car to get around and know nothing or care not to know anything about the car.. if you just want a car and don't care about what wears down.. go lease a GM or buy a Toyota.. cause vw are for people who appreciate cars, and want something that was built to last.. (not designed around a 5 year world like the domestics!)

There are plenty of parts at the moment available for these models.. (since everyone seems to want to have German engineering on there cars to make them sell as a feature!) the parts are cheap that's why you see a lot of jetta still on the road because they are easy to maintain and a lot of the different years and heck cars from the same family (Audi, porche...) use the same parts and are interchange able.

If you work on your own car and are paying more than $200 a year to keep the car mechanically on the road you are doing something wrong..

All my cars are gas and gl models.. they are used for support calls.. all are stick..

I have had the basic wear and tear.. but the design is well done..

Avoid the automatic versions they cost a lot for upkeep hard to work on.. and the Mexican built models have a lot of super cheepy parts in them and not worth the problems..

Oh and lastly don't take your vw to just any auto place.. take it to one that clearly has a lot of vw and European cars in the lot.. otherwise beware.. I work with a few European auto shops and see some mickey mouse stuff cause boy wounder thinks the vwdub is just like any other domestic.. that could also be why it cost you so much.. It has a similar running concept as a domestic, but vw is in a class of its own..

Pretty much anything that wears out from a whole heck of a lot of use gets replaced on these things.. and they perform very well. NOw all these cars are maintained, hard to tell what your issues are.

A good car in my mind is one that does not have any design flaws.. one that (you know like the tie rods bend because of bad design.. or something stupid like that) its defiantly not a throw away car (meaning use for 10 years and toss due to all the issues and costs to keep it going!)

Clutch.. once replaced is a replacement that will last depending on how you drive.

I can't believe people have the nerve to post bad reviews about cars they obviously didn't know much about. If you are a intelligent auto driver you should be able to tell when you test drive a car whether its beat or not. Volkswagens are good cars... but only if they maintenance is kept up on.

VW's are phenomenal cars. Especially the MKII Jetta and Golf/GTi. If you've had THAT many problems, the previous owner wasn't a good one. And like the other comment mentioned, you've gotta go to a VW/European mechanic. No doubt. Treat your VW like the X-Files, trust no one.

I had a '86 Jetta that was the victim of a hit skip, then I had a '87 Jetta that lasted 264k and almost 4 years, but I got laid off and couldn't afford to fix it. Then I got my first automatic, a '91 Jetta Carat GL. A "good deal" from a old co-worker. I know a good deal about working on MKII Jettas, and never will I trust anyone I don't know with cars. The head gasket blew because the catalytic convertor's ceramic filter was broken and clogged the exhaust. Only 200 miles after I fixed that, the auto tranny decided it didn't like 3rd gear anymore. There were many many problems, beyond that, so many that I refused to finish paying for the car, and I spent about $200 to get to drive it for a total of 5 months. I kept that car because the engine was rebuilt at 115k and in excellent condition. It's 3 years later, and I'm having that engine put in a 91' stickshift Wolfsburg edition Jetta. Aaaahhhh, I can't wait. I can hear the door buzzer already :)

And remember...

Old VW's don't drip oil, they mark their spot.

Sincerely...

JettaChick

Your fan keeps running because your coolant temp. sensor isn't working. had the same problem on mine, about 10 to 15 bucks and do it yourself. easy fix.