2002 Volkswagen Jetta GLS wagon from North America - Comments

The 2003 GLS is supposed to come with map pockets in the backs of the front seats. Mine are missing; apparently manufactured that way. No help from the dealer or from VW, as I no longer have window sticker.

The floor mats are supposed to snap in place. Mine don't fit the snaps in the floor. The dealer offered me another type of mat, but they wouldn't fit either. The quality of the mats isn't that great anyway, I'll probably replace them with something else.

The worst problem is that the floor on the driver's side is always wet. We've had a rainy spring, but I can't believe how much water I keep finding on the floor. I don't think it leaks around the door when the door's closed, but I think it pools around the seals and rushes in when the door is opened. I can't be the only person with this problem.

All in all, I like the car a lot. It handles well, and seems solidly built.

The exterior is sleek and attractive, without the goofy styling excesses of a lot of cars.

The overall quality of the interior is excellent (except the ridiculous cup holders and the floor mats).

The front seats are comfortable, but the back seats have no legroom for an adult. The back seat is so crowded that there's no way three people could sit back there--what's the center headrest for? I took it off and improved visibility out the back tremendously.

My 2003 Jetta wagon has the same water issue except it's the back seats, back seat floor and passenger side. Just 30 minutes of rain will fill these areas with water. The dealership thinks I'm crazy and said I must have left the windows cracked. Why would I leave the windows cracked when it's raining?

The water issue is just the icing on the cake to a plethora of problems I've had with the car since driving it off the lot, most all problems electrical. The headlights and wind shield wipers would go off randomly. The stereo stopped working. The speedometer is possessed. That car has been in the shop at least once a month since I bought it in November of 2002. It doesn't even have 10,000 miles on it. I can't stand the dealership (West Broad Volkswagen in Richmond, VA). All they care about is the sale. Follow-up and explanations of problems stink. Sounds like people are having similar problems ("It's just a software glitch. It's just the way they were built.") I, too, regret ever buying this car. I will NEVER buy another Volkswagen again.

We bought our 2002 VW Jetta Wagon GLS in Dec. 2001. We had to replace the computer module that controls the airbags in March 2003. But we were still very happy with this car until October 2003 after a downpour. The sunroof drains were clogged and the VW dealership would not schedule a repair time for it until after another anticipated downpour. So we searched the internet and found out how to unclog the drains before the next downpour ourselves. It worked! The drains were unclogged.

But this winter, Jan. 2004, we noticed that there was condensation inside the car constantly, and one freezing morning, the car was frosted on the inside on all the windows! There was nothing I could do, but to wait for it to melt! That same day, after work, the car was again frosted on the inside at the parking lot! There is a leak somewhere!

We were able to send the car in for repair the week after, and they kept it for almost a week. As it turns out, the sunroof was not leaking, but the DOORS are! Both driver's side and passenger's side doors were leaking. Driver's side is due to a window seal failure and the passenger's side due to a door seal failure. They had to replace both. They told me that the carpet was soaked.

When I got the car back, they had sprayed the carpet with some air freshener that practically suffocates me! It is a very artificial sweet strawberry scent. It has been freezing outside, but I have to drive with my windows rolled down! When I called the VW service, they said to leave the windows open and there is nothing they could do.

The car detailer in town refused to try to get the smell out because it probably would not go away. I am continuing to pursue the VW dealer on this issue. I believe the value of the car has gone down significantly.

The design of the door seals is obviously flawed!

I'm still learning to enjoy my recently acquired 2002 Jetta GLS wagon. Just turned over 20K miles, bought about 500 miles ago. According to my practice, I immediately obtained a manual (Bennett?) & between study of it & the car, I think I can do some stuff myself. Like clean & lubricate the sun roof runners, etc. The plugs look as tho they are correct for the motor, (2.0 L.) but the book says replace at 40K, I think it would be a good idea to replace them now. I think this is no doubt the best built, the best engineered car I've had experience with. We have a small Japanese 4 door to run around, & we also road tested the Toyota wagon (new) & there's just no comparison.

The Jetta 2.0 appears to have lots of power for its size & on a recent trip we got 31 mpg. which I don't find amazing, but which I think is respectable. I don't know the weight, but I plan to find out, so that little 2.0 is hauling a good load (2 people) at 65-70 mph. & turning in 31 mpg, safest car I've ever owned, curtain airbags, disks all around. Could use a little more room in the passenger region, leg room for the rear passengers, but so far, I'm not complaining. And I'm known as a complainer!

I had a water leak in my 2002 Jetta Wagon, the problem was that the insulation inside the passenger's front door was installed so that it was blocking the drain in the door, so the water would come into the car and pool in the passenger's footwell. That might be the same thing with yours except on the driver's side.

I have had a 2001 GLS for two months. It recently rained heavily and I had a significant amount of water on the driver's side floor (front and back). I called the dealership and they said it was probably clogged sunroof drains. They told me to stick a coat hanger through the rubber tubing that ends in a little black nipple in the door hinge. I was able to get a lot of mud and gunk out. It took a week to dry the car completely with towels and a hairdryer and letting it run for hours with the heat at full blast. Well, it rained today and again I have water on the driver's side floor. Does anyone have another suggestion besides paying big $ for the dealership to blow it out with compressed air?

I have two 2002 Jettas purchased about 3 months ago. Both of my daughters now have a Jetta. Well, 2 nights ago it rained 4 inches in one night. Upon getting into the cars the next day, we found that both cars were wet only on the driver's side front and back floorboards, and the carpeting on the sides was dry. I don't mean just wet, but saturated. Because both cars were hit, we knew this had to be some sort of manufacturing defect.

I have been reading the comments regarding this problem and have concluded that its either clogged sunroof drains or improper door panels. Does anyone know how we could go about getting a recall re: this problem from VW.

I am very interested in hearing back from others in regard to this.

I have a 1992 Jetta which also has the water problem. I adore my care completely otherwise, but I began noticing that in wet weather, or when I run my air conditioner in dry weather, the passenger side floor boards (both front and back) are soaking in about 1/4" of water.

My mechanic said something about a tube being blocked by pine needles, and that he blew it out with compressed air. It seems to fill with water more and more often though, being less consistent with possible seasonal causes. This makes me wonder if there isn't some progressive seal issue somewhere.

Any ideas?

I've been reading everyone's comments and find that I am having the exact same problem with my 2002 Jetta in concern with HUGE amounts of water leaking into the car and completely saturating the drivers' side floormats. I would love to get a factory recall as well and I'm currently looking into this issue. I was told repeatedly that it was my sunroof leaking, which I could justify if the floormats were simply moist, but the major saturation just doesn't seem right. I had the sunroof drains cleared, but still the water continues to leak in. The dealership continues to say that it is the sunroof, however, they say in the same breath that once the drains in the sunroof are unclogged the problem should stop... but mine sure hasn't. It's gotten to be such of an annoyance that I've been seriously considering trading in my car, which I once loved very much.

After reading that a lot of others have this same problem it does seem to be a factory defect with improper sealing of either the windows or doors- both of which I might add are much more costly to repair than having your sunroof drains cleared, maybe that's why the dealership is so very quick to suggest it must be a clogged sunroof...

If anyone has any information about getting a factory recall, please let me know. I can be reached by email at MarylandTerp@hotmail.com.

We purchased our 2002 Jetta wagon new and have had reasonably good luck with it. The turbo diesel is responsive and turns in between 35 and 50 mpg. The Jetta is comfortable if cramped. It is heavily built, and stood up well in a rear end collision by a full-sized SUV, similar to an accident that totaled a friend’s Subaru Forester.

Unfortunately, our car was vandalized with a brick one year ago. The driver’s side rear door window was shattered. Shortly after its repair, the driver’s side floor became soaked behind the driver’s seat. We took the car to the dealer, who performed a warranty replacement of the rubber seal around the rear door. They said the seal is easily compromised if it is crushed. This sounded good to me, but made no difference in the next rain.

Crawling around on my back in the rain with a flashlight, I discovered the door’s drain holes were plugged with shattered glass. We took the car back to the auto body shop that repaired the window. By this time we had one moldy car. The shop told us that they took the entire door assembly apart and treated the moldy carpet. This seemed to be effective, but one year later, heavy rains returned us to square one.

Now the body shop has the car again. They claim they cannot repeat conditions of the leak, although they admit the floor is damp. It looks like we are faced with getting rid of an otherwise perfectly good car.

I thought I was the only one with flooded 2002 Jetta Wagon issues! I had the sunroof drains cleaned out only a few months ago and now I'm finding dampness on the floor in the back. What annoys me is how the dealership looks at me like I'm crazy when I say there's water on the floor. It sounds like a common problem. I'd love to participate in any recall motion.

Ironic how Jettas all have the same problem around the same time. I know 3 people with the same car and we all know what's going to happen next... if one car has a bad water pump, then they all do. Anyway, I just started experiencing a mini flood inside my 2002 Jetta when it rains... water seems to be coming in from an area between the glove box and the side panel on the front passengers side of the car?? The seals on the door are fine... no water leaks through the door. Any suggestions? I checked the tire wall and that seems fine.

The other new problem is that when going through relatively large puddles (but not larger than something you might see after a heavy rain), the car squeals like there is no power steering fluid in the car. Anyone else have a similar problem or know what it is? My power steering fluid levels are OK and the noise has been confirmed in a 2nd Jetta.

I too have experienced the passenger side rear and front floor flood problems. I have a 2000 VW Jetta that recently began flooding. I'm not sure why since whenever it has rained before heavily this was never an issue. If the weather stripping is replaced, will it be stopped? Not only does the flooding occur, but so does the condensation. Winter is right around the corner and I am afraid that frost will make the car undriveable in those conditions.

My 2002 Jetta Wagon GL is also having a bad case of the wet floor problem (so did my girlfriend's former car, 1999 Beetle). Are there any diagrams somewhere of where the drain holes are so we can try to unclog them ourselves?

I consider myself to be a "gentle" driver, but I have yet to obtain anything more than 28 MPG (2.0 l, automatic), even with proper tire pressure and going on flat terrain at a constant 65-70 mph, no a/c, no heavy load... How do you get up to 30?

I have a 2003 Jetta TDI. Last winter we noticed the passenger side front and rear carpets were getting wet and staying wet. The carpets had dried out over a dry, hot summer. Then one day at the end of the summer the car was getting washed and we noticed the carpets were wet again. I think this rules out water coming in from underneath the vehicle. Since then the problem has gotten worse. We have had the vehicle into the dealership 3 times to try to find the leak, with no success.

I have a 2002 VW Jetta that I bought brand new in August of 2001. Over the course of the last four years, in the midst of heavy rainfalls in PA, three times my car became drenched front to back on the passengers side.

Each time I called VW and they did not take responsibility for it because they said I did not clear out the drain in the door well.

My insurance, thus far, has paid for the internal parts to be cleaned and detailed. They told me VW has to fix the root of the problem.

I never heard of this before, and have owned a number of other cars in the past.

The car leaks all around the passenger (front) door, top to bottom, water pours in at the foot well of the door and also water soaks into the seams around the front passenger windshield, around the visor, and the side window.

To me this seems like a defect.

I would like to see a recall on this because I do believe it is a manufacturing flaw.

If anyone knows how to get this problem resolved, how to get VW to take responsibility, please contact me.

T_Fisher@nesbittgraphics.com.