2001 Volkswagen Jetta GLX review from North America

All the door trim has fallen off and been re-attached twice.

The right channel on the radio is intermittent, but if you hit the dash when it goes off it usually comes back on... usually...

Those cutesy electric door locks fell out (yes completely) at 18,000 miles...

The power windows broke around the same time... oddly enough, the first one to break was the rear passenger window- which probably gets the least use, then the front passenger window, the rear passenger and finally the driver's window.

The Check Engine light comes on intermittently as well, but usually goes off after a few hours at highway speed... Once again - it usually goes off... who knows...

The exhaust had to be completely replaced at 25,000 miles.

Intermittent radiator problems that are "normal" require me to constantly monitor my coolant level, particularly in the winter.

When the transmission gets heavy use, such as heavy city driving for extended periods, the shifts made by the transmission feel very soft and it drops in and out of gear.

The engine's timing belt apparently has slipped and the car won't start...

The Air Bag light now indicates a problem with that system - perhaps the car knows the level of despair I have reached and will someday put me out of my misery.

First of all, if you are thinking of buying a Volkswagen, they are great cars to drive, but you will be cursing the vehicle quite frequently... then Forget any notions about German reliability.

The car is made in Mexico and a Hyundai is probably more reliable to begin with and MOST DEFINITELY has a better warranty.

This car has left me stranded more than once and If it would start now I would drive it to Mexico, find the factory and set fire to it on their front lawn... (do they have lawns in Mexico?)

I too have a 1986 Toyota Camry, which I use it as a daily driver, since the Jetta is a bit of a gas guzzler because of its powerful 2.8 V6 engine. Anyway, the Toyota has like 230,000 miles on it and still manages to be more reliable than my dark blue 2001 Jetta sedan.