2002 Volkswagen Jetta from North America - Comments

My ownership of this vehicle has been a litany of problems. Through research I have found that the issues I have experienced over the past two years are sadly common.

The LIST:

1) May 2002 -While driving to the Kentucky Derby the radio died - fuse fault that required a new radio.

2) September 2002 -After the radio was replaced it died again at the beach. During the same week the passenger window fell inside the door. Luckily the battery died due to something involving the radio problem, after which the radio miraculously worked again.

3) July 2003 - a strange thumping is emanating from the right front tire during deceleration, but the dealer can't replicate the problem. The coating on the interior door handles is peeling, and the dealer advises this is common. Handles are replaced.

4) November 2003 - Radio dies again and now the chrome ring around the gear shift knob is peeling. Dealer fixes the radio and states a fuse was not seated properly, but I am not sure that I believe them. During this trip the ignition coil was replace as per the national recall, and service personnel detected an ABS fault. ABS parts and shifter knob are on order.

5) Still November 2003 - Large spring came loose from beneath the driver's seat.

I cannot track all of the problems I have had, but on each occasion that the radio fails I suffer a dead battery if the car is not driven every 10-12 hours. The vehicle has failed to start on numerous occasions for no apparent reason. I wait a few minutes and try again and miraculously it works.

I think this list covers it. I have filed a complaint with the NHTSA vehicle defect office and contacted VW customer care. I am currently investigating the NC lemon laws. I have a friend in GA who suffered repeated activation of an engine fault light (9 times in 3 days) who was able to have his vehicle declared a lemon.

I love the car because it drives like a dream. I am a police officer and drive fast all the time and this little car is simply fun to drive. The problem is just that - the problems.

This radio problem with the Volkswagen is familiar. How can such a small “luxury” cause so many problems! I own a 1998 VW Passat. Like you, I love driving it. It is a beautiful piece of engineering…except for these eccentric mysteries.

The battery died over a year ago. Unbeknownst to me, when the battery dies, the stereo will need to be reset. You will need to know the individual code that will reset your stereo. Since I bought the car used from a dealer, I was not given the reset code. My mechanic called VW in hopes of getting the code from them. They gave them a code and it did not work. I called the dealer from whom we bought the car, they did not have the code on file. I called VW of America and they stated that since we bought the car used, the warranty on the stereo was not valid. I loved the stereo, it was great, it’s lighting matched the trippy blue lighting of the dash, the sound was great, the programming was easy (except for this mysterious unknown code) – the only thing I did not like was that the CD storage was in the trunk. The local VW dealer only offered same set up of trunk CD storage and the price was 2 times what I could get for another brand product. So, I opted to put “after-market” stereo in my VW. VW dealer would not offer me a “deal” to replace stereo that was not broken, but could not reprogram. I thought, “no big deal”, I will get a nice system and get set-up I want and save over $200.00!

After that small problem, my trunk light did not work, my heater dashlights did not work…according to VW dealer…all this is due to “after market” installation of stereo. We got the trunk light fixed. No connection to stereo hook up. Heater dashlights still do not work.

Then mysterious sound from front wheel starts happening. Similar to your problem…taken to mechanic, sound does not happen. Sound occurs at slowing speed. Finally get it to mechanic when he can hear it. Says may or may not be front axle. Sound gets worse, we have front axle replaced. Big bucks. Sound disappears…but reappears at lower volume. Cannot figure it out –only occurs occasionally now. Drive is smooth, I give up worrying.

Now, today, I go to smog inspection station for certification. Inspector states that VW computer not conversing with smog computer because of “after-market” stereo system installation. I ask if we can just disconnect stereo. Inspector states that official VW directive is that we must take to VW dealer to remedy problem. I call VW dealer’s service department. Service representative is very unfriendly and tells me that I need to go to stereo installer and have them fix their problem.

So that is where I am today. Thought I would look up VW stereo problems on the net and see if there are similar problems before I contact VW customer care with complaint. By the way on www.volkswagen.com email contact for customer care is not connected. Go figure…The Fahrvergnügen is still there, but am getting disillusioned with response to problem solving.

I posted the first part of this discussion, and since then-

The VW folks replaced another coil, and I requested that they check the peeling coatings on the interior door handles. They checked, said one needed to be replaced, but not the other. I then had the service manager join me and showed him the peeling section on the handle that "didn't need to be replaced." Then, I am told to drop the car off tomorrow. I do drop it off, and then I am told it will be done in an hour. I return after an hour and they tell me it will be done tomorrow. I get a call "tomorrow" that it isn't done. I have now been driving a standard Jetta for three weeks. Still not parts to replace my door handle.AMAZING.

UPDATE!!!

VW customer service is being responsive for the first time, probably because I mentioned the word lemon lawsuit. After repeated calls VW contacted me and offered to compensate me: one month's car payment and a $50 credit towards any future servicing.

I will be making a counter offer.

Has anyone else faced this issue, and what should I expect in negotiations?

I have incurred all of the problems listed under the first posting in my 2002 Jetta 1.8T. I am in Canada and I am very disappointed in my VW.

Today I suffered the window falling in problem. I am also dealing with an issue of overheating now as well. Finally I received the recall on my rear light which has gone out countless times.

I just purchased my first "new" used car. it is a 2002 Jetta 1.8T, and I have already encountered problems since day one. I have only had this car for 5 days, and have already encountered some of these "eccentric" problems.

First off, my trunk will not lock. I spent 45 minutes trying to shut it just before a rainstorm, but the problem will not duplicate at the dealership.

As I was registering my car today, I left for literally 10 minutes, only to return and find that my radio had quit working. When I left the car, the radio was on and working. When I returned and turned the car on, the radio did not work. The security light still blinks, so I don't think it is a loose wire. Luckily I am visiting the dealership to fix a "few" things tomorrow.

Other things I have noticed are the high RPM's before the car shifts into third gear (or is it fourth?), like it is programmed to change at a higher rpm, so the car jerks when it finally changes gears. (this is an auto with tiptronic). Also, the brakes seem to be a little rough, and jerk the car back and forth upon hard braking.

Any ideas of the causes of the radio and gear problems? Otherwise, I agree, the car is a beauty, and fun to drive. I just wish they could figure out these "quirky" things finally.

This is the first I have had any issues with my 2002 Jetta 1.8 T. The radio stopped working. I can't find the fuse for it. Do I need to take this into the dealer to correct the problem? After reading your comments, I did realize that some of my interior is peeling also. Is that covered under the warranty? Thanks.

Just had the radio go out on my Jetta also. I was hoping to be able to replace the fuse myself, but I can't seem to find the correct one. Can somebody help?

My radio went out about a week ago also. I left it powered on when I shut the car off, and when I got back in the next day it did not work and has not worked since. I could not figure out which fuse corresponded to the radio on the fuse panel, so I proceeded to check every individual fuse. This did not fix the problem. I have been researching this issue on-line and luckily I have not had any of the "common" problems that other Jetta owners have had, only this one with the radio. I hope this is covered under warranty and that there are no future issues.

Your fuse panel is just by your driver's side door hinge on the vehicle itself (Not on the door) where your left knee goes, but the panel faces outside.

The fuse for the radio is fuse 42 on a 2002 Jetta. Seems all you need to do is remove it, then slide it back in & the radio should work again. Seems to be a known bug, the fuse won't be blown.

This forum rocks :)

My 2002 Jetta's radio died, and I took the advice from the previous post and slid out fuse #42 and slid it back in and the radio came back to life... THANKS!!!

Radio also died on my 2002 Jetta, and was lost, as the picture diagram of fuses stinks. Your advise to remove and replace fuse #42 was perfect, the radio is fixed! Thank you... thank you!

Removing and re-installing fuse #42 indeed fixes the “dead radio” problem, but you need to leave the fuse out for a short period (> 10 sec). If you pull the fuse and re-insert immediately, the problem may not be fixed.

Same deal here - radio died. My wife called the dealer and over the phone they said "you'll have to replace your radio." I found this diagnosis questionable and after five minutes of web searching I found your forum. I pulled the fuse, reinserted, and yep, now the radio works just fine. The thing that bothers me is that shouldn't the dealer know this problem? It's obviously a common one.

I'm so glad that I have found this site! We love our 2002 VW TDI, however, we have also experienced all of these problems. My radio mysteriously stopped working last week (we are going to try fuse 42 that was listed in a prior comment).

We have also had the springs fall out from underneath the seats (the seats still seem to work though), the windows fall out (which were recalled), and the handles are indeed peeling. Our first major problem is what we call the "air shut valve.". We are not diesel mechanics, so we don't know the proper name of the part, but when it is shut the engine will not turn over. We took it to the dealer, they put it on a computer and found that "oil housing unit" was building pressure for some unknown reason. They replaced the entire unit (luckily it was still under warranty at the time). We got the car home that day and it did not start. We discovered that when the weather is cold or very wet the valve will not "click" back open once the engine is turned off. If this happens, we pop the hood and manually click the valve, turn the key, and it starts right up. This is a pain to do when it's cold and rainy, but it saves dealer servicing fees.

Recently, the driver seat heater stopped. Luckily we found the fuse and it now works. However, more problems have arisen. Now, usually when turning a corner, the dash will light up and the car will "ding" as if we're driving with a door open. If you open any door and slam it shut, the light and the dinging will stop. Has any one had this happen with their Jetta? The dome light also now has a mind of it's own. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. We just replaced the right rear tail light bulb. Now the radio is dead. Like I said, we're going to try fuse 42 for that.

Has any one had any other electrical problems that we should look for? Thanks!