1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS from North America - Comments

Oxygen sensors went out on a monthly basis. After replacing five within a six month time period, I asked the dealer about a recall. None had been issued.

Window regulator went out causing the drivers side window to fall into the door. This happened while my wife was driving at highway speeds. She nearly wrecked and killed herself.

The sunroof had to be repaired after it would not close due to an issue with the track.

Fuel Pump Relay had to be replaced. Springs fell out of the seats. CD changer worked on an off and on basis. Stereo and Climate Control back lights quit working.

The computer had a glitch at 50,000 miles causing the A/C compressor to kick off if the engine was running under 2000 rpm. The only fix was to replace the computer at a cost of $1100. Windshield wipers fell off randomly while driving even after replacing entire arm mechanism.

I will NEVER own another VW product. The customer service was the worst I've ever dealt with. The service managers, mechanics, even down to the lady who took payment were all very rude. I've worked on every vehicle I've owned. I'm a decent mechanic and I know what makes a car work. These peope treated me like a moron. They just wouldn't come to terms with the fact that they were dealing with a bad product.

VW never issued recalls on the issues I mentioned above. They never took responsibility for selling an overpriced piece of junk. My wife now drives a Nissan Maxima (a MUCH nicer car with more room, more HP, more options, much greater reliability in the same price range). We love it. We've learned to stick with Nissan and Honda. Better price, better service, and much better reliability.

I hope someone from Volkswagen reads this. I tell everyone I possibly can about my experience. If I could, I'd put VW out of business. They're a terrible company and deserve what they get.

I bought my daughter a 1999.5 Jetta 18 months ago and it is definately the worst car I have ever dealt with. The check engine light has been on since shortly after purchasing it. I read that there was a recall on the O2 sensors so I took it in to get it diagnosed and they said it was the mass air flow sensor which I would have to pay for. But it was running OK at the time. After a few months the A/C clutch plate just fell off, then the spoiler came loose, then the passenger window fell into the door while she was driving and nearly caused her to have an accident, then we had problems with the moon roof. After I joined the class action lawsuit against them for the window, they agreed to fix that. But when she went to pick it up it wouldn't start. I called the mechanic and he said it needed plugs and wires replaced for $220! Since I had just replaced the plugs a few months prior to that I told him to not touch the car. When we went there it started, but did have a cracked plug wire. So I replaced the wires, but in the process broke the very fragile dip stick tube and the tower on the coil. So I replaced the coil also. Now more recently it has been hesitating so I finally replaced the mass air flow sensor and that corrected the problem except for the check engine light. So I am going to replace the O2 sensors this afternoon. Fortunately I have done all of these repairs myself with aftermarket parts and haven't given a VW dealer a single penny. Auto-Zone has universal O2 sensors for around $75 each, but you have to splice them to your old connectors. Last VW I will ever buy!!!