Comments: 1-15, 16
About a month ago during a snow/rain storm I went through a large puddle on the highway, the car sputtered and the 'check engine' light started to flash, then remained on for the next day. Then it was gone.
Sometimes when its cold out the passenger door refuses to open, from the inside and out.
Most recently it caught on fire. It was really cold out so I went out to let the car warm up before I went to run some errands. When I came outside about 5 minutes later and got into the car I smelled something like popcorn, but brushed it off as some weird smell from my cigarette. About 5 minutes down the road we stopped at the package store. When we came out and I started the car I noticed some smoke coming out from under the hood on the passenger side near the windshield. I immediately turned the car off and opened the hood. I couldnt see what was causing the smoke, and a passer by questioned me as to wether the temperature gague was reading normal, which it was. He then told me not to go too far, and to probably go home and have it looked at the next day. Not wanting to take any chances I drove straight home. On the way the car began to fill with smoke, so much I had to open the sunroof and windows. I pulled into the drive and my roommate was outside, I yelled to her that something was wrong with my car, and she said she could smell the smoke. I got out of the car and opened the hood and flames started shooting out. We had to call the fire department to put the fire out (thank God we live a few blocks from the station). The fire was apparently behind the 'firewall' behind the front passenger tire. The paint on the fender is all scorched, burnt, and bubbled from the fire. The mechanic says that there was some sort of malfunction with the 'vapor canister' from the fuel line or something to that effect. HELP. Is this normal? Has this happened to anyone else? Is Volkswagen in any way responsible for this?
I really like the appearance of my car.
It has great pickup, steering, and manageability.
The GT seat fabric is a little eccentric, but it is a German car that's made in Mexico. hahaha.
Having a sunroof makes headroom scarce.
My Neighbor owns a 1997 Volkswagen Jetta. Well about midnight last night her car burst into flames that shot 10-15 feet into the air, and burnt the entire car. The front bumper and tires melted into the cement. I found out after researching on the Internet that this is a common problem that occurs with the '97 Jetta, it has something to do with the electrical and the brake light causing something to overheat and burn. The Fire Department told them that they were lucky that their daughter didn't park in the garage because the would have been having a burning house. Which would have been dangerous considering they have children sleeping above the garage. Their Insurance company told them that they have repeatedly had this problem and are considering filing a lawsuit against Volkswagen. I have always wanted to buy a Jetta, but have now been turned off from buying one. They look great, but obviously are not a safe car. A couple of people in our neighborhood who own Jetta's are all thinking of selling their car, because the risk of it burning is too dangerous. I hope that Volkswagen has to pay for everyone's vehicle that has burned. Their daughter is now looking at buying a more trustworthy American built car. Farewell Volkswagen.
Well Built American cars?? Well yeah.. from the 1960's!
New american cars are as bad as it gets... technology is a big problem.. specifically on the "electronics" part..
Can you provide with links to your research regarding the Jettas' Fire Hazard facts? I would like to see that. I have a 97 Jetta, and has not been nothing, but a blessing so far... with 101,000 miles on..
I guess it depends on how YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR VEHICLE, that the vehicle will respond to you.
Please provide those documents for all of us to see.
Thank you.
This may not have anything to do with the fire you experienced, but 1997 Jetta owners should know there is a recall that may increase the risk of fires if you don't take it to the dealer and have them fix it. I think they are supposed to do it for free. There is a really good database of recalls on the Internet, though I can't remember the name of it. However, here is a link to another site that tells about the recall.
By the way, my 1997 Jetta is a great car except for a few things: the cigarette lighter stopped working, the sidestrips peeled off, my rear defrost button won't stay depressed, and now, my cruise control stopped working! Other than that, I've only had to do routine repairs.
I've also had similar problems, side strip pealed off, cig. lighter died, but nothing as fun as it randomly bursting into flames. Although sometimes I wish it would. I have over 150,000 miles on my '97 Jetta, still runs good, but not as good as when I got it (120,000). Any suggestions on how much I should sell my car for? That is after getting a new hood (current one is bent up a little) and attempting to find a way to fix the AC, fixed everything possible, still will not work. Anyone have this problem, or know how to fix it?
My 1997 Jetta GLX VR6 Ran strong from day one when I bought it at 106 thousand miles until 111 thousand miles when it was parked and was wrecked into. when I bought it the Automatic transmission would not shift alone, but only if you went from 1st 2nd and 3rd and wouldn't go into 4th (3rd gear went 110mph :) ) Check engine light was always on, airbag light was on, and the ABS light stayed on. yet it was the best car I ever owned.
I've bought a jetta from a local dealer and I like it. I haven't had anything as cool as flames, but I do have some of the same common problems. passanger door won't open. im guessing its the greasing in the door! MY airbag light won't go off either.
Hi, I also own a '97 Jetta and have experienced many of the same problems. When it is cold out, every door freezes shut except driver side front door. The check engine light is always on. Worst of all though, it will not run in the rain most of the time. I was very fortunate once. I brought my car to my college campus during a weekend long downpour. It made it 70 miles in the nonstop rain, including sitting overnight. When I finally brought it back to my dad's house I went inside for a few while it was raining and left the car running. I made it about 50 feet and then it sputtered and died on me, for the 3rd time. I would not recommend a '97 Jetta to anyone judging by the many problems they have. Only 107k miles on mine.
I have jetta gt and it doesn't have any problems I have on it 64 k miles. Another thing is that is my 4th jetta I have many before. I never have any problems. According to rain problem that is because water hits your computer and it is under windshield, probably your seal is not good. About fire that's easy everything is about oxigen sensor and air flow intake disconect that and you will not have problems, but you can't pass emmission test.
I have a 97 Jetta - bought it new and have treated it well, all the early maintenance and reg oil changes all the way through now 108000 miles. But - ABS light was always on, told me it was the controller and would cost $6k to fix!
Cruise hasn't worked for awhile, now the ABS passenger light comes on intermittently - clearly some electrical something - did the rest of yours start with the ABS light?? But it still runs like a dream - I still sometimes miss my 87 Golf with no electrical weirdness though.
I just recently bought a '97 Jetta GT and it runs great. Aside from a "check engine" scare that it gave me the day after I bought it I've had no problems with it... knock on wood.
The check engine turned out to be a "idle over-rev" that was cleared when I did my emissions check.
The couple of "incidents" that are mentioned do raise some interests, but over all I love my Jetta.
Some follow up on the "research" mentioned above would be appreciated. I haven't found anything so far... Highly suspect...
I have a 1997 VW Jetta. Like others, my car doors freeze shut every winter. I can usually open a rear door and climb over the seat. It is pretty annoying. to fix it, I have to let car run to warm up or park in heated garage. The heat makes the doors work.
In regards to the engine light and problems with driving in the rain. Your Jetta probably needs a tune up. New Distributor cap, new wires, new spark plugs, new hoses, etc. My engine used to sputter out in the rain, and be real jerky when it was wet outside. The tune-up changed everything. car runs great, heater works, but the doors freeze.
I had a good one today, my car door opened, but then the door would not close. When I shut the door, it bounced back at me. I drove to work holding the door shut, and paid to park in the heated garage.
My '97 Jetta GL 2.0L gas now has 375,000km on it. It has had slightly more problems than my '89 diesel did, but I attributed it to the fact that I bought the '97 used and did not have the maintenance history on it. The tuneup certainly fixed the wet weather problems -- it runs great, passes e-test with flying colours, has lots of power, and has good fuel economy. The door locks are less susceptible to freeze up now that I give 'em a squirt of WD40 every couple weeks... make sure to get a squirt well into the lock cylinders.
I just bought a 97 Jetta GT for my daughter. It has 173,000 miles on it and runs like a dream. I am wondering just how cold it must get for the doors to freeze! My only experience with VWs is my 1974 convertable bug that I sold about a year ago.
I just got into a car accident on the freeway with my 97 Jetta GT; all the cars stopped suddenly. To my delight-no one was hurt. To my chagrin-my airbags deployed. I had no idea replacing airbags on this car was so expensive! I'm afraid of the insurance company seeing how high my mileage is (almost 158,700) and totaling the car just because of the airbags.
My Jetta looks amazing though! The front bumper is cracked, but still holding on tight, my headlights, blinkers, AND high-beams still work.
My little car has taken such good care of me. My cruise control hasn't worked for years (not an issue for me,) my driver and passenger door locks freeze in the winter (Seattle winter) but I just dip my key in some alcohol and try it a few times. I'm almost at the point where I'll need an new clutch (NOW in 2009), but all else is fine. I have also gone in for the recall thing about the fire issue in the passenger wheel well/firewall. No problem!
I love my Jetta. If the insurance company says she's not totaled I'll keep her past 200,000 miles! :)
I have had my 1997 Jetta GT since 1999, and am at 88,000 miles. My cruise stopped working years ago, as did my emergency brake and recently my driver-side door lock mechanism.
Aside from those issues the car is fun to drive, gets 30mpg, and has plenty of room inside and in the trunk. And it's long ago been paid for. And insurance is ridiculously inexpensive.
As a reasonably fun, inexpensive, point A to point B car, you can't beat a VW.
Those tales of spontaneously-combusting Jettas makes me want to paint some Greased Lightning style flames on my ride.