Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-49
Where do I begin: I have a 2000 Jetta TDI with 130,000 miles?
No problems for the first 30,000 miles. I was getting 35/36 MPG town and 41/42 highway.
Problems:
The car started to drive like a diesel. The turbo charger was replaced 3 times. Finally a computer chip that regulated the fuel flow was replaced and the car started to run properly. It took them over a year to determine the real problem.
The coffee cup holder broke. I had to replace
The glove compartment door broke. I had to replace
The arm rest top broke. I had to replace.
At 101,000 miles the transmission had to be rebuilt.
I took the car in for the 120,000 mile check-up. Since that service the mileage had dropped. I'm now getting 27/30 MPG town and 34/36 MPG highway. Took the car back to the dealership. They checked it over and told me that nothing was wrong. Still getting poor mileage.
Passenger side window goes down, but only goes up using the driver side controls.
I have a 2001 Jetta TDI. It is a commuter car doing 60 miles/day. Suddenly lost power, EGR and intake manifold plugged up tight, barely runs. Dealer wants $700 and this does not include cleaning the intercooler. Horrible design, a bunch of compromises strung together to hold off the EPA nazis. This plugging problem is well known to VW and the dealership network. This problem should be a recall. I am beginning to believe that VW means Virtually Worthless.
I have owned a 2000 VW Jetta TDI for about one year, and I suppose the previous owners have already taken care of any problems that may have occurred, because I haven't had any problems other than the cost of diesel going sky high.
The engine has over 212,000 miles on it and runs great (I pray I'm not tempting fate by saying that). I did some preventive maintenance when I first bought it, not knowing what the other owners have done (timing belt, water pump etc).
I drive about 100 miles a day and bought it for the economy. I heard Bobby Likus of Car Clinic Radio (AM dial Sat.10-12AM Eastern) mention this car and carbon build up, and also mentioned a product (BG109) (bgfindashop.com) that is added to the oil, and the engine runs for 20-30 minutes prior to an oil change, which dissolves the binder that holds carbon particles together, allowing the carbon to be flushed out at the oil change.
I fully intend to do this as further preventive maintenance, and perhaps gain a little more MPG; now getting 45-47 MPG.
I'm not being smug, I'm fortunate I haven't had the problems that some of you have had. Hopefully my little input will help someone somewhere.
J.W.
I have read most of these articles and have had my problems start at 90,000 miles.
The MAF sensor went out. Then the carboned up intake. Then because of a EGR engine light, I took it into the dealer for them to throw parts at it. First thermostat and temp sensor. Then vacuum valve for the EGR, and then the computer. All for the tune of $2500. Guess what; on the drive home within two miles the light was on again.
After putting it off for months, I finally went back for another round. They forgot to program my cruise control, and a piece of gasket was stuck in the thermosat. I demanded the cost of the computer and labor back, and they put in my old computer. So at this point I still a dash light for intermittent glow plugs. I have replaced all plugs and the wiring with connector. Man this car has gone downhill at 100k miles.
I'm not looking forward to timing belt, but know friends that have changed it. So it will be on the auction block, and I will not own another TDI. Or new vehicle. Let someone else fix all the bugs and take the depreciation, and then I will take my own risk and offset the new costs.
Good luck with your rattlers.
I also own a TDI and have no major problems.
The way the VW handles and drivability are great, but small nickel and dimes are unfortunate with this vehicle.
I wanted to comment on a couple of posts ago about their VW is beginning to drive like a diesel. A diesel is a motor and not a car or a manufacturer. I own Ford Powerstrokes (2), Dodge Cummins (1), VW TDI (1), A duetz diesel concrete pump (1), and a Kubota Diesel mower, all are excellent motors, so accusing a diesel to be the problem is probably unfair as I've had good luck with all of these motors. Maybe it's VW, Ford, Dodge etc..
I've had manufacturer flaws with all. Gas or diesel, they all drive like the body that surrounds them; the motor just runs the ship.
I have a 2000/2001 Jetta TDI with 160,000 miles. It also experienced a sudden loss of power (and diminished mpg) at around 130,000 miles, but a good repair shop diagnosed the problem and dealt with it, and now, even at 160,000 miles, I get over 50Mpg (driving carefully in the city and hwy to maximize fuel efficiency).
Its the best car I've ever owned. Every car has occasional repair needs. I've experienced the same little issues everyone else has, like the glove-box breaking, the arm-rest breaking (but those are so minor, and if I cared, I'd just fix them). I also run it on BioDiesel frequently and just love that this car enables you to consume from 50% to 100% less petroleum than almost anything else.
2006 Jetta TDI, 47,000, 1.9, 5 speed. I am the original owner.
My primary gripe is that the flywheel broke at about 30,000. this was covered under the warranty, and, I was told by the Dealer's Service Dept. that this is a Known Problem, (WHY NO RECALL?)
VW Service Dept. suggested that I replace the clutch to avoid a $600 labor charge in the future. I wanted to avoid the labor charge, but I argued with the service Dept. and later with VW that 30,000 miles of normal driving should not have put that much wear on the clutch, and that if the clutch was worn or damaged enough to warranty replacement that it was the fault of the broken flywheel. I proceeded to have the clutch replaced. I requested an aftermarket heavy duty clutch & flywheel but VW Service would not use anything except VW parts due to the warranty. The VW Clutch used cost me about $500.
The Service Dept. attempted to charge me labor for replacing the clutch. I pointed it out that it was quite impossible to replace the flywheel without removing and replacing the clutch, no matter if the old clutch was used or a new clutch and they dropped the charge. I carried my argument to VW concerning the clutch replacement & I am still disappointed that VW would not cover the clutch replacement I had several long arguments with them & they refused to have a Mechanical Engineer/Master Mechanic discuss the problem with me.
Gas Mileage is 37 Town, 40 to 46 on the road depending on amount of stops, speed & driving conditions.
Other gripes are Scored rear rotors early on, but I needed to complain earlier so I'm told. Seat seam ripped out on driver's side, Rear Lower Body skirt was removed & Repainted to repair a minor accident and some the fasteners snapped off & I have to replace them with small bolts & nuts.
I have owned 4 Beatles, 1 Micro Bus, 1 Dasher Diesel and 3 Diesel Rabbits and I think they were all better vehicles than the Diesel Jetta with the exception that none of them had A/C and the heating systems in the air cooled ones needed improvement.
The 9 VW's that I previously owned were all used, but, all 9 including all of the repairs that I did on them, still cost much less than the Diesel Jetta did new.
The Rabbit Diesels all averaged 45 MPG, and got as much as 55 MPG over the road without any modifications, would run on almost anything flammable and I was able to repair them all myself. Progress? What Progress.
I drive a 2003 VW Jetta TDI wagon, using it for 30 minute each way freeway commuting during the week, then driving it extensively on the weekends to either the local beaches for surfing, or to the central and southern CA mountain areas for hiking and backpacking. So my use is mostly higher speeds.
If I drive reasonably on long trips I can get up to 54 mpg. Around town and commuting is never worse than 45 mpg.
I have the car maintained at the local dealership, every 5-10k miles. I also believe in preventative maintenance, and am currently having the timing belt, water pump and tensioners replaced at 100k miles, even though I have had no problem. I also replaced the glow plugs and harness awhile back; this was recommended by VW but I had to pay for it. Other than that, no problems, breakages, or unexpected events.
Any car is a complex piece of machinery, and I like to think that a person's experience with it is based on a positive attitude, regular and preventative maintenance, and treating the car with regular care and respect.
Anyway, its all worked in this case; I think the Jetta TDI wagon is about the best car ever. Now if I could just get a new one with TDI, 4Motion, and a modest off-road package (a la Tiguan Track and Field)...
I drive a 2000 Jetta tdi and I love it except one problem. I got the car used from my sister with about 130,000 miles on it and she took good care of it. She told me that it had a "red line" sensor on it and if the engine revved to high it would "trip" and the power would be cut back. I've been experiencing this a lot lately, but not from the engine revving high. Sometimes the rpm's are as low as 2000. It seems to happen only when going up hill and only in 4th or 5th gear. When it happens the rpm's drop and won't come back up. It feels like driving with only 3 cylinders instead of 4. If I pull over, shut the car off, and remove the key, the engine apparently resets. I can start the car up and drive normally again. I've talked to my sister about this and her mechanic (my father), no one seems to be able to figure out what the problem is, or what could be causing it. I don't have $$$$ to take it in and have someone throw parts in it trying to figure out what the problem is, if they don't know. Is this a common problem with this car? If so what is the solution? Thanks to anyone who can offer advice.
I bought a 2000 Diesel Jetta TDI with 175,000 miles on it and I love it! I get 41 mpg, which keeps me happy tho your 50+ mpg would be nice. Other than a hole in the oil pan and two rediculous bolts I can't get off to replace it, I am very happy with my purchase. The mechanic I had check it out said it should last another 100,000 miles!
I believe I may have everyone beat on an unusual 2000 VW Jetta TDI issue... Our engine basically dropped out of the car! Well, it held on by the two other engine mounts. We were at a stop light and changed lanes, at that point we heard a clunk. Nothing in the road. The engine block fractured at the left front mount location and caused the engine to drop 5-6 inches. Note: not the engine mount bracket, but the actual cast aluminum, solid engine block failed!!! The serpentine belt pulley was sticking out of the bottom plastic cover and almost touching the ground!!!
They are fixing most of it for free under the 10 year 100k mile power train warranty, however are saying they will not pay for engine mounts... Will be working on that one tomorrow. :) The engine dropping that far I'm sure put extreme stress on the other two mounts, they should definitely be paying for brand new mounts. Also trying to get them to pay for 2-3 plane rides plus other expenses (rental car for a week or so, borrowed one the rest of the time). We were out of town at the time, so our car is now ~600 miles away from us. Car has had all recommended service over the years. As usual, dealer expenses or upkeep is very expensive, but useful in this case as they can easily see all the upkeep over the years.
Overall we have been happy with this car and will probably keep it for a while longer. So far service has been good, especially at the "home" dealer.
Anyone else out there had this kind of failure during normal operation (i.e. not during a wreck)? Please post ASAP as I want to know if anyone else has had this problem.
I own a 2000 Jetta TDI. Wow, it's amazing to see that I'm not alone in the common things happening to my car.
Around 2 years ago, I've had a recurrent problem of my check engine light coming on as well. I must have taken my car to the repair shop around 4 times this year.
My car had been chugging along at times and knocking. I got my timing belt replaced. Which was fine, since it was needed.
Then finally got a compression test done to reveal that my cylinder 4 has low compression. I'm in the process of finding out from the mechanic more about what's causing my low compression.
It's frustrating as it's getting very expensive as my car gets older. I'm at around 179000kms.
I loved my Jetta for the fuel economy as I'm a frequent highway driver. It's interesting to see how many common issues there are with this car.
I love Volkswagen and most likely will purchase a different kind the next time around. However, the repairs for my TDI are very frustrating.
2001 TDI with 90K (I am the original owner), other than a couple of recall replacements (MAF, window parts, and some other electrical items), the only work done has been normal scheduled/routine maintenance. The only real broken parts that I have paid for is the little plastic latch on the arm rest. I have gone through two and I just didn't bother replacing it the last time it broke (lid stays shut just fine without it)
I do the 10K synth oil change and occasionally run the diesel treatment in the fuel. I average a very consistant mid to upper 40's for MPG with mixed highway/city driving.
Can't predict the future as far as problems and how I might feel, but at this point, I can't imagine getting rid of this car unless it just falls apart around me.
Hi.
I have "loved" my 2003 Jetta TDI wagon since I bought it. It's fun, not my first VW, and the fuel economy is great. Unfortunately, at 44,000 miles it died on the road and refused to re-start. I had it towed to my favorite garage, as was told there is a carbon build-up from the intake. It will cost about $4000 to take care of fixing the problem, but not a new engine.
I came on-line to see if others have had this problem, and am reading that VW makes a terrible diesel. I wanted to pass on the suggestion that VW's diesel is fine, but that the requirements of our EPA make them modify the cars in a way that makes them no longer fine. My repair man says that the TDIs made and operated in Europe and in China run much more cleanly than they do in the US. Clearly, I have no technical knowledge of the problem, but wanted to share this with you all.
I have two VW Jetta TDI's. One is a 1999.5 and the other a 2003. We bought the 99.5 used for my son, who put lots of miles on it, and didn't baby it at all. He bought a truck for his job, and we started driving the 99.5 We just about went crazy trying to figure out why it would suddenly lose power----had it to the shop repeatedly, but they couldn't find the problem. They finally diagnosed it as an accelerator sensor, so they replaced the whole accelerator and sensor. After that, it still continued to stall out and lose power. Finally discovered that it was a brake light sensor which was causing the accelerator sensor to short out. Don't understand why, but since that's fixed, it's been great. It seems to be haunted electrically, because sometimes the automatic door locks work, and sometimes they don't...etc. Right now, the left tail light, front parking light, and front signal (marker) light don't work. We don't have a clue.