2001 Volkswagen Jetta Wolfsburg from North America - Comments

I feel the pain from you guys. I just recently traded in my 04 Jetta, which I bought brand new, a little over a month ago. This was my third one, prior to that I had a 1996 and a 2003. I hate to say it, but the 96 and 04 had problems with the check engine light. (my 03 thankfully saved my life in a horrible head-on collision) In the 96 they said it was a "faulty" sensor that would run me 395.00 and in the 04 it was the air intake. I gave up, I got tired of taking it into the shop only to have the problem haunt me again or wondering if the thing was going to start or leave me stranded. Even some guys I became friends with at the VW dealer said they wouldn't even buy a VW because they have too many problems with the sensors. Don't get me wrong, I love Jettas, but I can't deal with being in the shop once a month for the same problem.

So I also have an 01 Jetta 1.8T that at approx 35k (yea 35k!) started giving me problems. Engine light of course. I took it to the mechanic to which I've been going to for more than 10 yrs and they told me it was the secondary air injection system. Well, I already knew that from reading the code off the computer myself, but didn't know what to do. The light kept coming on and going off every now and then so they decided to leave it alone. It came back on and stayed on so I took it back in, they decided to replace the mass air flow sensor. I picked it up, that worked for about a day and I called back and took it back in, this time they replaced some valve. Since, $600 dollars later, I haven't had the light come back on other than for a day about a week into getting it back (giving me a good scare). When I bought it, it had 26k, ran awesome, I test drove it and fell in love with the performance, now I seem to still be having idle, fuel related issues.

I do understand that the turbo takes time to spool and kick in, but this is different because it didn't use to be like this. At times, it still runs great, other times it hesitates to get going out of first gear. I'm like dang, that's why I wanted Turbo!

In the morning I start it up and let it warm up a min or two and I get a really strong smell of gasoline and this rough sound coming from the engine which sounds like if I had this strong vacuum leak. All this will go away after a couple of minutes of warming up, but to me it isn't normal.

Sometimes, i'll start the car and after 1 or 2 seconds it will just turn right off, like not having gas.. I'll turn the engine one more time and it starts up no problem. (By the way, it now has 48k on it and I've always except one or two times used 91 octane)

Worst of all, and this may be related to the above, I get jerking motions... no matter what speed, like I'll be going a steady 65mph, 70mph down the highway on a smooth section and I notice that for a split second it jerks as if it lost gas pressure or something all of a sudden. This will also happen at idle, it will sit at the normal 900 rpm approx and then I feel the engine jerk for a split second and the gauge will drop to about 500-700 and come back up. What's up with this??

I've already put in "Fuel System Cleaners" and I am thinking of replacing my fuel filter, but I hate for this car to give me more problems and doubt this would even make anything better. That is why I sold my Isuzu which was junk and thought I'd get something reliable by going VW. I wish I would have gone Toyota. This probably ain't the right site, but any suggestions?

My Jetta 18T 2001 has rough idle problem. They replaced Air flow sensor, however porblem came back in couple of days. It is like engine is dying and then comes back to normal idle repetedly. Can anyone give good suggestion? Could it be I idle valve issue? Where is idle valve located on the engine? Thanks,Alex

To your rough idle problem... there are a number of things that could be causing it.

First, I would check the coolant temperature sensor, they are almost always faulty on these cars and can cause similar problems. You want the green one... not the older black version. Shouldn't cost more than $25. Replace this yourself... it takes maybe ten minutes tops. Just look up a DIY on-line. Make sure your engine is cool beforehand however.

If that doesn't fix things, then double check your MAF. you don't need a new one usually, just clean your old one... another ten minute job.

If none of this fixes things, then work your way into things such as spark plugs... and eventually vacuum leaks if necessary. Make sure you always run 93 octane too. Also, when you experience the rough idle at start-up... turn the car off, then restart it. This is a quick temporary fix for this annoying problem. Hope this helps someone.

By the way, don't use gas from BP with Volkswagen's. It clogs the fuel filter. This is a fact. Use 91 or above as well.

I had to replace a couple coil packs, but it was due to the shoddy handy-work of a dealer. They didn't seat the spark plugs properly, causing the check engine light to turn on, and therefore I had misfires. In the end, this made the coil packs wear out pretty fast.

When your check engine light comes on, many car part stores will check the codes for free and clear them. It only takes a couple minutes to do and helps in deciding if you can DIY or take it into a shop.

My son has a 2001 Jetta 1.8T with 125,000 and the check engine light has been on for one week. Local shops tell to replace the converter. He uses 87 octane gas and it seems to run fine. Where is the O2 sensor located? Is it in the converter? any suggestions on the check engine light?

I am considering buying an 01 Wolfsburg 1.8T. I went and look at one priced at 10,995. It has 57,000 miles and appears to be in great condition. Is this a good price? I think it is too high. Also is there anything I should look into on the car?

Ryan.

I have had the same problem with my Wolfsburg 2001 Jetta. The jerking on the highway, starting up and shutting off for no reason and then getting a weird idle, then shutting it off and turning it on and its fine... this happened to me when the car was brand new as well as when it was almost 8 years old. Both times it was costly diagnosis and the same outcome. (the second time, my new mechanic didn't want to take my word for it!!) Problem: this car eats up the throttle body for some reason! It's a costly repair, but the "Cheaper" ones they do beforehand to rule them out end up costing more than the throttle body itself! I'm not on #3!!!

My Jetta is finally running well, but after many hundreds of dollars and aggravation! I want to sell it now, but my check engine light is ON, can you imagine that!!! LOL How in the world do I get it off to sell it!!! It runs fine and has MANY MANY new parts, I just want to sell it and move on. Any ideas, please write in!

I also have had my 1.8T Jetta in several times with the check engine light. I would suggest trading it in, and not selling it yourself, so you don't have anyone knocking down your door when the check engine light keeps coming on, that's what I'm going to do.