Comments: 1-15, 16-29
The ignition coils have gone out twice, both times the car had to be towed to the dealership.
The passenger side window fell into the door and a new cable assembly and two clamps had to be installed.
The sunroof has leaked twice. Once fill the foot well with about two inches of water (after the first repair).
The anti-slip mechanism failed causing the car to act as if it were trying to downshift. The car had to be towed to the dealership.
The latch on the arm rest broke and the ratchet mechanism does not work and the arm rest does not stay in a locked position.
The windshield washer fluid hose to the driver side came undone and had to be re-attached.
There was a problem with the anti-lock brakes. I never actually had a problem with them, but got a recall notice telling me to take the car to the dealership for service.
The radio has stopped working twice. Apparently there is a short in the fuse box where the fuse to the radio has to be removed and plugged back in for the radio to work again.
Most recently I got a recall notice from VW about the cruise control. According to Volkswagen of America " The affected vehicles may have a brake light switch that may malfunction, causing the brake lights to become inoperative or to come on and stay on, even though the vehicle is parked. Failure to provide the proper signal when braking could lead to a crash without warning."
Too many problems for a vehicle with 38,000 miles.
My wifes '95 Taurus is in the shop less than my '02 Jetta.
I have to admit I'm quite surprised by the high number of negative comments for new model VW cars. Has the quality gone down that much? When the original Beetle was being sold in huge numbers in the 60s and 70s, the company prided itself in the fact that each new car was scrutinized by over 1000 inspectors! I guess this is a classic example of "newer does not necessarily mean better".
My car is a 2001 Jetta and I have had so many problems too. I am dealing the dealer to consider my car a lemon. I will never buy a volkswagen again. The dealer can never figure out what's wrong with my car.
I have a 2004 Jetta GLS 1.8T. When I was looking for a new car, we went back to the VW, compromising roominess found in cars from other manufacturers for the quality of the Jetta. We felt that the Jetta was a more solid-built car than other Japanese models.
I am quite surprised that you have had the number of problems that you did in your 2002 Jetta. I am thoroughly pleased with the quality, performance, and fun-factor that our Jetta provides. I don't believe VW has skimped one bit on quality control- it's apparent in all of their models: from the Golf all the way to their luxury Phaeton.
I leased a 2002 1.8t, and it's been nothing, but headaches. The car was about 5 days old, when slowly all of the electronics died. It had to be towed back to the dealer, where they realized a faulty battery was installed. I got the car back about 5 days later. About 6 mos later, the engine coils blew, and had to be repaired. The horn has since broken 2x, I've gone through about 3 brake lights already, and have had the window fall in on me. To add to the frustration, the engine light has been on intermittently, but the dealer cannot figure out what's wrong. I've had the catalytic converter replaced too. Also, the temperature gage was faulty, and would blink and remain on each time the car was started, if the engine was not warmed up. Last, but not least, there has been this awful creaking noise coming from the front passenger side wheel well, which the dealer cannot diagnose. It's not the struts, or shocks... go figure. I can't wait to give that car back this December!!!
I purchased a 2001 Jetta GL new, and have been very pleased with the car. The only problem was one of the cooling fans broke into pieces. It was replaced under warranty. It seems that your car has really had its share of problems, unusual for VW's.
These cars are like any other cars some have all the problems in the world and some will never have a problem recalls are free don't complain if the car sucks try to do a buyback on a new one always get a extended warranty.
Wow! I thought I was the only one who leased a problematic 2002 Jetta 1.8T. Let me share with you my laundry list of "issues:" As I drove the car off the lot, the airbag malfunction light illuminated (that's right, as I drove it off the lot!!!), my rear brake lights had to be replaced in the first 60 days, the passenger-side window fell into the door (what's with this?---it's an epidemic apparently), the ignition coils failed (thank goodness this part was recalled), the armrest broke TWICE (again, this seems to happen frequently), the manifold had to be replaced, along with a hose that was related to the washer fluid. Now, those are the items that have been replaced. I swear there are transmission problems, but the mechanics cannot reproduce what I describe and now the battery is dying. My lease expires in 5 days; if only the battery will keep going until then.
In all fairness, VW has fixed everything without question. What they don't seem to understand is that with a new car, I don't expect there to be ANY of these kind of problems. 8 warranty repairs in 3 years?!?!?! That's 8 times I have lost time from work, 8 times I have had to burden friends to pick me up from somewhere, 8 times I have been inconvenienced without apology.
I swear if they try and charge me for wear and tear on the tires...
Everybody that has posted problems with your jetta can feel comforted that VW is #2 in the "most unreliable car" category by a recent JD Power and associates survey; Landrover was #1. I've had all the above problems with my VW and I kick myself all the time that I didn't do a carfax report when I bought it used at the dealership, however I was smart enough to buy an extended warranty to 100k. with all that said I have been preparing to trade in my VW for something less lofty (Saturn) and just today leaving the DMV, my electronic readouts went out. Now I have to take it back to the dealership and get something fixed for the second time in 30 days. The 2001 in particular seems to suffer from Gremlins and you can't just write it off as a fluke when so many VW owners continue to have the same set of problems.
I have a 2002 Jetta 1.8T. Same issues as everyone else, coils went and had to be replaced. Driver and Passenger windows fell into the doors. Latch on armrest broke off. Brake lights, twice. Odd rattle coming from passenger front wheel well as of yet undiagnosed... and as of this morning the radio doesn't work. This car has 69,000 miles on it, I was sure it was my last VW before it had 20,000.
I too have had some of the same problems as everyone else above. Let me begin...
Common VW problem: bumper ripping off like a piece of toilet paper on a roll... apparently cheap plastic doesn't bind well to the front end of $22,500 car.
3 of my 4 auto windows dropped into their doors within the first 6 months of owning the car. The drivers window dropped when I was on the freeway, causing me to have to drive 150 miles BACK HOME to the dealership.
Moonroof has a short in it, keeps popping up when the switch is in closed position.
Arm rest latch broken... 3 times.
Ash tray broken.
Driver visor mirror slide broken.
Water pump replaced. Brake lamp replaced. Coils replaced. 4 keys replaced. Engine fans replaced. Coolant system hose replaced. Coolant flange clamp replaced. Oil pump replaced. Coolant reservoir replaced.
The latest issue was when I was on one of the busiest highways in central CA when my oil light came on, then shortly thereafter my engine completely shut down in the middle of weekend traffic. Car was towed to local dealership (where I have never taken my car before) and they proceed to tell me I may have to pay for a new engine for a piece of crap car that should be covered under warranty.
Total amount of service and warranty repairs: 22 in 44 months. I have had 3 rental cars and been without my car approximately 25 plus days.
Now please... someone tell me that the 2002 1.8T Jetta is not a lemon.
The 2002 1.8T VW does indeed have a fair amount of problems. However, it is an excellent vehicle with respect to aesthetics. Furthermore, it’s great to drive and feels more like a V6 engine.
I too have had similar problems with TDI 2002 VW Jetta- falling window, transmission "stuck" in park for several days on end, the brakes have gone out in traffic twice & have been replaced twice (within the first year of ownership), power steering has gone out, & currently it is in the shop for the alternator & gauges which are out. I too have the rattling noise & a broken armrest. And, I have under 50,000 miles on the car! I had worked with an attorney to have VW declare the car a lemon & replace it - they refuse since I have not had the same problem 6+ times! They have sometimes refused to pay rental car fees and towing fees. They have been extremely difficult & obstinate - at one point saying in a document I have that "her (referring to me) safety in the road is not their concern or responsibility." I have never encountered such complete disrespect for the consumer as I have dealt with for the last three years with VW. I will be trading in the car as soon as it is out of the shop (again & will never go back to VW. A huge disappointment!
I have had two Jetta's a 1999 and now a 2003 and have had no major problems like everyone describes. I take my car in for all the routine services and it runs like a dream. My family has owned Volkswagen all my life. I personally have owned seven new cars in only 17 years of driving. Four of them have been Volkswagens. The only car I ever regretted owning was a Mitsubishi Mirage. The only reason I have owned so many new cars is I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted. When I got my 1999 Jetta I found my car. But it lacked power windows, so in 2003 I traded it in for my 1.8T I have now. Driving this car is a dream especially on the highway. I know someone where I work who had nothing, but problems with her Beetle. My question is to everyone how well do you take care of your car?
I have a 2002 Jetta. Recently, the 4 way flasher keeps ticking, even though the signal lights are NOT on, and the 4 way flashers are not on. The dealership has said that it may be the signal light arm that needs replacing, as they have seen a few of these. They did replace the relay switch, but the problem persists... quit annoying on a 6 hour road trip! Has anyone else had this problem?
Is this something on recall on any Jetta model?
I own a 2002 1.8T Jetta and I have also had all the same issues and they were repaired through my local VW deal 35 miles from my house. But the big issue was when I had to take my car in 13 different times to find out that all of my 3 computers were malfunctioning and the car would down shift all of a sudden into 2nd gear no matter what speed you were going. They said it was a safety feature to downshift. The car was finally considered unsafe and they gave me a loaner until the mechanics could figure out the problem. Thank God for warranty because it would have cost $12,000.00 just for the parts according to the dealer. Now, I still love my Jetta, but what is the deal with this model?