Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-53
I too have an '02 Jetta, although not the turbo. At 35,000 miles, the CEL went on and stayed on. The system check indicated the need to "re-route the wire harness for the ignition coils." Thinking this was bogus, I checked this site. Thank you for all of your valuable information. I still love this car, but it's now "trust, but verify." Keep up the good work. Will probably be checking back often.
I had this same problem THREE times with my 2002 VW Jetta 1.8T, and it is extremely dangerous, and shocking how little regard the dealerships take for the situation. I too will never buy another one again. Jill Ishkanian.
I also have a coil problem I've had my 2001 wolfs-burg since may 05 and as soon as the factory warranty was up my coils started to fail. I've had my car in 4 times and they couldn't even figure out what was wrong at first. now because of all the screwing around my wire-harness has to be replaced also. I love the classic VW, s, but I'm finding anything after 89 sucks.
I have had this problem twice before the recall came about a few years ago. I now have 109,000 miles on my '02 jetta 1.8 turbo. it has had more problems than I can remember. starting way back in '03
my drivers side window fell into the door. they replaced that on warranty then a few months later the front passenger window fell into the door while on the freeway. they replaced that. then the whole ignition coils thing twice.
Then my brake switch failed which locks the transmission into 4th gear, the dealership had the car for a week and said nothing was wrong with it. I took it home and after about 10 minutes on the road it happened again and I took it back to the dealer ship and they saw what happened and said"oh yeah it's the brake switch" so they took it for another few days and fixed that. my engine overheated due to a failed thermostat and busted fan. I fixed that myself. now the brake switch happened again, but just once, and I just got another recall notice about the brake switch. Also my car is shifting poorly and I have a strange noise in the drivers side of the engine compartment. I think my axle might be bad. I found a piece of metal on the driveway. I am looking at options for a new car. the thing is I'm still paying for this thing and it's costing more than it's worth in loan payments and service.
Wow, this is a good one. I bought a 01 jetta about 4 months ago.. 83000 miles. paid 9 grand.. has the wolfsburg package. so after about a month an engine light came on... and went off only same on every other day.. so I called the dealership and they said theres nothing they could do unless the light is on when I bring it in... so now the car has 93 K on it and a engine light that won't go off. EPC light comes on randomly and sometimes when I start it the rpms are just boiuncing around with epc light on.. I do not know what to do. I make my payment every month and along with the full coverage I can't afford to have it checked out.. I'm going crazy.
I also have an 02 jetta gls 1.8 turbo which I purchased less than 3 weeks ago. I love the way the car looks, but have had the same problem since the day after I purchased it. I will be driving and the car just shuts off, and it happens at random times: in stop and go traffic, at a stop light and even on the freeway. I take it to the dealership where I purchased the vehicle and they can't find anything wrong with it. I got really upset and they then sent it to the vw repair shop and they too were unsuccessful in finding something wrong. They said to come pick it up. I'm really upset about this because I have two small children and I am concerned about our safety when driving the vehicle. Anyone experiencing similar problem?
I'm in utter shock to read about these other comments... But it's clear that I'm not the only one having problems with my 02 VW 1.8T Jetta. I just hit 105K miles and could have bought another car with these repairs. Let's see, under warranty I got the window regulators repaired, the coils replaced twice, and the Coolant sensor. Then I passed my warranty and after approaching 100K miles I then did the routinely timing/serpentine/tesioners/pulleys/water pump replacement hoping for longevity; THEN the brake light switch, secondary air injection hoses, the air pump, a vacuum hose that is meant to melt because of it's location, the MAF sensor/meter (thinking this is why I have SO much hesitation), have done a diagnostic at dealer and still have hesitation with no ideas what it could be and $$$ later... I just hope I make it back and forth to work on my 45 minute commute. It's paid off and I'm down-right too broke to fork out another down payment for a piece of crap car that will most likely last longer.
I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that if you repair your belts you most likely will have a problem with your thermostat. Expect to get that done while you get the belts replaced! It may save you!!!
Anyone else want to comment about coil packs popping up?! Dealership didn't say anything about having bad spark plugs nor have they ever heard of such a thing. Since they can't help I'll take comments at bszbecky@yahoo.com.
Thanks guys!
I purchased my 02 jetta 1.8t about two years ago, right now it has 60,000 mile and YES it has giving me problems. First it was water pump, a couple month after that the thermometer. One thing that really got me mad is the freaking brake light, it goes out every two or three month so they had a recall for light and they had to replace the fuse. that's what they say. also the epc light, but I took it to the deale and they fixed it, but the thing is that when the light went off I was going to the beach and the car shut off on 95 which is an interstate. Eventhough all of these problems about the car I love the way it looks.
I got a 2002 Jetta 1.8T brand new, in 2001.
I have had nothing, but problems since the day I got it. electrical problems, windows falling into the doors, radio braking, brake problems, went through so many tires its not funny, and now, the ultimate... While in Manhattan, my car starts making some crazy sounds, looking around for somewhere to pull over, the car just stops and dies!!
I had to be towed out of Manhattan, back to LI and that cost me $300.00. Then I find out MY ENGINE SEIZED!!!
What the HECK!!
So here I am with a 2002 vw jetta, top of the line, leather heated seats, sunroof, beautiful car, BUT NO ENGINE!!!
I am terribly frustrated to say the least. My car has been towed to 3 different shops to see who can do what with it and now I get a call that I have a friggin HOLE in my transmisssion!!!
NEVER< NEVER AGAIN WILL I BUY A VW.
There needs to be some kind of lawsuit against these people!!!
Own a 2004 1.8t Jetta, which has been sitting in the service department at VW for almost two weeks now. This is my second Jetta, as a loyal customer. Engine oil sludge problem caused its failure, and the VW's powertrain warranty won't cover it unless I produce oil change receipts for the entire time I've owned it - 2 years. Once I produce receipts, VW still has to approve payment of repairs (not guaranteed!). Even though VW admitted to the problem with the 1.8t engine, customers have to prove the engine problem is not our fault. Repairs are estimated at $7000. If/when I get it fixed, I'm trading it in for something non-VW!
Wow, I am now a bit iffy about purchasing a 2002 1.8T Jetta from my well known friend. I don't think a window has ever fallen in his car, but the coil packs have been replaced. In the future I hope that this car doesn't crap on me, but it has been trusty to him... so as a VW fanatic I have high hopes she will do me no harm...We'll see tho, and if I have issues I will be sure to talk about them. Plus it helps that I have a friend that is very knowledgeable with Volkswagens, so it should be alright.
Hi I own a 2002 Jetta 1.8 turbo with an automatic transmission. As I have been recently trying to fight Volkswagen for failure of transmission at 64,000 miles, I also have had a string of problems with the car since I bought it brand new in 2002.
My radio died 4 times and had to be replaced twice, as well as all ignition coils were replaced after my car broke down on the road from ignition coil failure in 2003.
My bumper has been ripped off many times due to it improperly latching on to parking curbs when driving away. Also the spring beneath drivers seat has broken off, there is peeling of interior door handles and dash console, and a broken latch in the middle console. Not to mention my turn signals were faulty and bulbs kept burning out, including brake light.
More importantly I have had engine, transmission, and electrical problems with this car. After ignition coil failure, I have had to take it in twice for engine problems - engine light turning on, broken air pump and engine oil leakage, and recently I have had to replace more ignition coils and all spark plugs after my warranty was over at 50,000 miles.
While under warranty, the coolant temperature light turned on 4 separate times and to 2 different Volkswagen dealerships. After finally fixed the 4th time, and the warranty was already over 50,000, the recently car broke down while on the road 2 more times because of coolant hose leaks and other cheaply made parts that needed to be replaced in the coolant/engine system.
After all these repairs, I still held on in believing this is a good car.
Now I am at 64,000 miles, and I have a transmission failure, as I was told it is intermittent by the dealership. The reverse stopped working one day, and there was no engine or warning light on. So I took it in to another dealership, and they performed a diagnostic, which I paid for. The on board diagnostic showed that I needed to replace some shorts in the shifter, but did not show any other faults that are related to the failure of the transmission. I agreed to pay out of pocket expenses of $1000 for these parts because the dealer told me that they needed to replace these in order to further diagnose the transmission. Now they said it has failed and I need a whole new transmission that will cost $6000, which is less than half of the worth of the car. Now what should I do?
I called Volkswagen customer service and made several complaints, but they were completely unwilling to help. I even called the BBC Autoline and they also told me that I am out of warranty. As I have been doing lots of research about the VW Jetta, and I find that most VW Jetta complaints were during the year 2000, 2001, and 2002. It seems that most of really just got a bad bunch of lemons from the factory, and all of us have similar complaints. If you check http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems, you can look through hundreds of government documented complaints of the VW Jetta.
As I am stuck with an unsafe and inoperable car, I am trying to figure out what I can do in order to pursue this further. I am completely unsatisfied with the Volkswagen Customer Service and Volkswagen's claims to be reliable, safe, and of outstanding performance.
If anyone has similar issues as mine I would like to hear them! Email me. LOzeri81@aol.com
I purchased a 2002 VW (VOW, WV) Jetta (Jetty, Jet) 1.8 Turbo in September 01', yeah just before 9/11 I should have known this wasn't going to be good. This is my second Jetta (Jetty, Jet), I have been a Jetta (Jetty, Jet) driver for over 17 years. My first had no problems just me treating it like a timex (Timex, times) watch, it took a beating and kept on ticking.
Now as all of you have mentioned, my battery keeps dying every other day, when this happens the remote only opens the drivers door, the other doors don't respond. The dealer changed something in the door to stop it, but it didn't. I had to buy a charger to keep in my car. I've had the battery replaced 4 times in 9 months. The dealer has disconnected the radio, it still dies, they disconnected the side mirrors, and all other things I can live without. But it still dies. We have tried everything, something is staying on in the car and they can't figure it out. Now all of the dealers in my area have gone out of business and turned into Honda or Mazda dealerships.
I wanted to give this car to my son, but I am really scared, it might die somewhere scary. I don't trust this car anymore. I plan on getting a Nissan. Anything is better than a VW (VOW, WV). But in the meantime could someone please tell me where I should look to stop the battery from dying.
I have a 2003 jetta 1.8 turbo. I replaced the transmission at 55,000 miles and had to replace 1 engine coil. Other than that, it has been a great car. Let's hope it stays that way after reading these postings.
I purchased a 2003 Jetta 1.8T, with 55,000 miles, from a reputable dealership in MN 2months ago. My engine light went on so, I took the car into have it checked out. The thermostat, struts, bearings and transmission all needed to be replaced. Thankfully, I bought the 3year extended warranty on the car so, the repairs are covered... I was warned about these problems by friends/family/coworkers, but refused to listen because I fell in love with the Jetta. Be warned if you are looking at buying a jetta. Be prepared to pay for numerous repairs!