2000 Volkswagen Jetta GLS review from North America

The back tail light went out at 18,000 miles. The dealer replaced it for free.

The lights for the A/C controls would only illuminate when the fan control was switched to the on position. The dealer diagnosed it as a defective bulb and replaced it. The bulb cost was $1.84 and the labor was $60.00. After protest, they waived the labor b/c I did not authorized the charge up front.

The brake pads in the rear of the car went out at 20,000 miles. The pad on the passenger side was worn completely, causing the need for the rotor to be replaced. This cost about $250.00 for the service.

The passenger side (front) window got stuck in the down position at 25,000 miles. I took it to the dealer and they wanted to charge me $350.00 to replace it. After some discussion, they agreed to call Volkswagen to try and get it covered. It was indeed covered, but the part was not available at the time. They secured the window into the up position and had me come back 2 weeks later to replace the part.

The glove box latch broke of in my hand. The dealer quoted $250.00 to replaced the entire box. I now open the box with a screw driver.

The emission warning light came on at 35,000 miles. I took it to the dealer and they charged me $85.00 to run the diagnostic test on the car. The results: low pressure in the fuel system. I have taken it in to the dealer and an independent mechanic and both were not able to get the light to go out. I have spent several hundreds of dollars on new parts and labor to get it fixed. Both have told me that it is OK to drive the car with the light on. The problem is that I will not know when true trouble exists, since the light can come on for a multitude of reasons.

The rear locks rattle and the rear ash tray rattles when I drive at freeway speeds.

All in all, I really like this car. It has had several small issues. The car drives and handles well. The list of issues that I have given are bothersome, but the comfort and performance of the car far exceed the inconvenience of the issues that it has.

I found all the reviews to be helpful on this site and wanted to contribute for other Volkswagen Jetta owners. It is nice to see that the issues are almost consistent across the board between different owners. Now we just need the dealers to provide better service for all the well-known issues.