2002 Volkswagen Jetta review from North America

Today the transmission died. This car only has 37,700 miles and has had all scheduled maintenance. In fact, I just paid $600 to have a "thorough" 40K checkup a week before it died. Luckily, the auto technician was driving it when it quit, so the dealer was inclined to believe there was a problem.

The car would jolt at around 27RPMs, and I complained about this problem 4 times to the dealer--each time they said they "reset the codes" and it would be fine. Yesterday, the car wouldn't go in reverse, and we noticed it was making grinding sounds.

We also have electrical issues:

-They fixed the brake switch (recall)

-Radio has been replaced 3 times

-The left turn signal turns on the reverse lights

-The trunk release button doesn't work

-Cruise control quits when I signal to change lanes

-Brake light bulbs burn out with great frequency

-Car died after sitting in the summertime for 5 days without having been driven (dealer said the car alarm drained the battery)

And

-The armrest broke

-The knob to adjust the rear view mirrors broke

Both were made of cheap plastic. The dealer fixed the armrest, but said it would be $200 to replace the mirror knob.

I am totally displeased with this car. I give it a frowny face. I was very excited to purchase this vehicle and a true Jetta fanatic, and I'm truly never going to purchase another VW again. I've lost all trust in this company. My little Pontiac Sunfire ran circles around this heap--this expensive, halfway -through-the-loan-with-dead-transmission heap.