2002 Volkswagen Jetta from North America - Comments

I have had my 02 Jetta for several years now and had a couple minor cosmetic problems (interior peeling), but recently my radio died out of nowhere, just found out my brake lights don't work and the lights for the heating/ac don't work. Has anybody had any of these problems? Could these all be fuse issues?

I found this site because I am having trouble with my 2002 Jetta radio, it does not work at all. My mother bought the car new and has since passed away, so after sitting for about six months, I decided to start driving it to save gas over my normal ride.

Everything works fine with the car except the radio. Nothing whatsoever on the display, like it's dead.

Since the factory fuse chart is worthless, I searched around on the net and found the radio is on fuse 42, 25 amp. I was excited when I found others had the same dead radio problem and mention removing fuse 42 for a few moments corrected their issue. It tried it but with no success. Question, do you remove and replace the fuse with the ignition on or off? Also, I have all the original documentation but can't find the radio codes. What section of the manual or what kind of card am I looking for. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank y'all soooooooooooooo much for the radio fuse 42 trick!!! You guys are great!!! I've been riding for like a month with no radio!!! Thanks again!!!

THE 2002 JETTA IS THE BIGGEST PIECE OF GARBAGE I'VE EVER OWNED.

Bought it from a dealership with 38k miles on it. Looked great, ran great, drove great.

Then after about 70k, in spite of regular maintenance, it started to fall apart.

The biggest problem is the tranny, which does this weird thing where it won't shift out of first sometimes. When it does this, I have to slide the shifter into neutral, turn the key off, let it roll about 40 yards, then crank it again. Then it shifts normally. VW says all they can do is replace the tranny -- $6400! Can't get a diagnosis on this problem, and I've looked and asked all around. but that's just one problem, and I'm tired of typing. DON'T BUY ONE OF THESE CARS.

I've had my '02 Jetta for about 3 years now, and though I love driving it, because of maintenance issues I will never own another Volkswagen again.

Currently I'm dealing with issues with my battery or alternator. My car just died last night out of nowhere, and the battery is only about a year old.

I bought the car used with about 48k on it. Have had the catalytic converter replaced, but my engine light came back on about a month or so later. I've heard there is a recall, but the dealerships aren't close to where I live, so it's hard to get it in & get it taken care of. And I hope that's the only problem.

I have yet to experience the radio problems that others have, but my horn did go out and instead of trying to replace the whole airbag casing ($$$), a mechanic friend wired a separate horn button, but now that has stopped working too.

I recently replaced a bunch of parts in my coolant system (hoses, the water pump casing, etc.) to the tune of $1200. My cigarette lighter port has also stopped working, replaced the fuse, it blew again. To get it fixed I'd need them to take the dash apart, which would give me the opportunity to fix the broken handle on my glove box. Because to fix that small handle they would need to take apart the dash, costing about $300 if I did it by itself.

All in all, I could probably spend more money on fixing all the little things that have gone wrong than I spent on the actual car in the first place. I've found out that as much fun as a Volkswagen is to drive, owning one has proved to be a bad investment for me.

Delivered pizza with an 82 Jetta. Had to sell my Jeep two years ago and find a vehicle with better gas mileage due to a 150 mile a day commute. Bought a 2004 Jetta based on the positive experience with the 82. The driver side window fell, but that was on a cold winter day when it froze shut and I was beating on it repeatedly to try and jar it loose.

Other than that, I have put over 70000 miles on this car commuting and have had no issues whatsoever. A coworker who has the same commute bought a new Honda at the same time. I've been happy (except for the fact it's not a Jeep) and he has not.

Had most problems that everyone else has. Windows, catalytic converter, rear door locks don't lock automatically, you have to push them with your finger to lock them. This is fine with me since dealer said it would cost 250 per door to fix.

I have 190,000 miles on my 02 Jetta. Recently had the issue with the battery dying. Checked all fuses and alternator, nothing. Something is still drawing a ton of energy off that battery. My radio died and I bought an aftermarket three years ago. I do have the original monsoon amp. From reading this I think the battery drain has something to do with the radio. Any suggestions on a fix other than disconnecting radio and amp?

Thanks! Heather.