Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-75, 76-90, 91-105, 106-119
You name it, it has gone wrong. I thought I would add a few problems that I haven't read about on here.
I bought my car on a Friday, the following Wednesday my passenger side floorboard was flooded with water because the air conditioning valve had backed up and had been depositing water up through the floor. The car had 450 miles on it. Yes four-hundred and fifty!
A lot of my problems were covered by the warranty; I am just upset I have had this much trouble out of a car that is brand new. The closest VW dealership is an hour away from my house so I have to drive an hour each way just to have it serviced. It is extremely inconvenient. Yes, maybe I should have bought a different car from a dealership in my hometown, but I really like the look and ride of the Jetta. You can't blame me for assuming I wouldn't have to drive it back and forth to the dealership every couple of months.
When my windows fell down in the door the dealership paid for a rental car. That meant I had to worry about wrecking the car and having to pay money out of my pocket because I felt I shouldn't have to pay the insurance coverage fee myself instead of VW. I was also responsible for refilling the car with the gas I used.
One problem I have that I have not seen anyone mention is the smell of crayons in my car. This is not just my car, several people I have talked to have the same problem. Where is it coming from? It's not the leather seats because I have heard of this problem in cars with leather and cloth seats. I don't have any kids and I usually don't color pictures so I know I didn't accidentally leave a box of Crayola's under my seat.
I questioned the dealership and they acted like they didn't have any idea what I was talking about. Whatever.
I know cars have smells, but this is embarrassing!! Everyone who has been in my car has noticed the smell. Sometimes when I have been in the car for a while you can actually smell the scent on my clothes. That is how strong it is. I have tried air-fresheners and nothing works, the smell comes back the next day.
People say maybe you are just unlucky and bought a lemon. From what I have heard from other Jetta owners and read about on this site it seems to me if you buy a Jetta you are asking for trouble. If you get one that does not give trouble you have actually lucked up.
The car is very appealing to the eye and I have had a lot of comments on how nice my car looks.
If you want a car with good looks this is the way to go as long as you are not depending on getting from point A to B.
One last thing, I would like to know who came up with the idea of putting the cup holder above the CD player. You have to close the cup holder when you want to change a CD, which is of course very annoying if you have a drink in the cup holder. Also your cup sweats and drips down on your gear shift and ashtray area (where I like to lay my cell phone) getting everything wet. When the heat is on and you have a cold drink the drink gets hot and vice versa. This was a really bad idea and not very well thought out.
The plastics in the car have scents during hot days. Some good scent some bad. If it is the case nothing can be done. try to alleviate the smell with some cockpit spray.
I bought a 2001 Jetta TDI in July 2004 and within a month I noticed a smell in my car. I have it narrowed down to that of a "closed up tent" smell. It is embarrassing. I'm to the point of either wanting to set the car on fire or trading it. Everyone bragged about Volkswagen, but I don't think I'll every buy another one.
Our Jetta also has the Crayon smell and it's ridiculously annoying. We live in the South where it can get pretty steamy and have frequently noticed an orangey pale goo running out from under the doors. It's a very waxy substance and this is my guess for the cause of the odor.
Other issues: the front bumper continually pops, the finish on the interior vinyl peels off, the glove compartment door has broken twice, and the arm rest latch is broken.
Oh my God! I thought I was crazy when I smelled crayons in my car... I bought mine used and thought the previous owner had kids that might have dropped a crayon in the vents! I am NOT crazy! Everyone that gets in it comments on the smell... I too have had problems with my bumper coming off. I have had mine "repaired" 4 times in the last 2 months at $85.00 a pop... the dealership just "re-attaches" the bumper. No "repair" involved... That would cost around $800.00. They would replace the whole bumper assembly..Oh, OK! What a design flaw and VW hasn't had enough complaints to do something about it. I called...Well, atleast I now know I am not crazy... I love my jetta and think it's a great car. I'm just not crazy about being inconvienced with the "little things"!
I bought a 2001 6 cylinder (w/leather) Jetta for my daughter and also experienced the "crayon smell" phenomenon. The dealer never acknowledged that they smelled anything out of the ordinary- but they did offer to clean the air ducts for a few hundred dollars- which of course I declined. Finally, repeated complaints to the dealer when I'd bring the car in for service, I demanded to speak to the factory rep, who saw my car and without even meeting me in person, authorized the replacement of the insulation under the carpeting throughout the entire interior. The dealer stripped the insides out, took out all the seats, dash and carpeting, did the job- they had the car for 4 days- and put new insulation in. The "crayon smell" is gone, but now it smells from something different, and unfortunately- there is still a problem, as I and my daughter continue to suffer from nausea, headache, intestinal cramping, malaise, and other symptoms, after riding in the car, that I believe is caused by the chemicals in the insulation that is outgasing into the air you breathe. This is a serious health issue that Volkswagen is not doing enough about, leaving us consumers to suffer.
I have had all the same problems. My driver's side window has fallen thru three times the passenger side once. They have changed the "Brake light switch" four times lets see what else, my glove box has broken once the ashtray cover fell off the tracks causing the hole thing to fall inside the dash, the vinyl cover on the sunroof fell off the tracks and got lodged in the roof, the wonderful powder coded job they did on the dash and other interior piece's peels off, the center counsel (arm rest) door has broken several times, the interior smells like melted crayons, Let me tell you what I did to eliminate that odor you sometime get from the A/C or air flow from the vents and it's not like there is a hole lot of room anywhere in the front or on the dash to really hide those big air freshener cans. So this is how I solved that problem?.. Under the hood on the passenger side directly below the window wipers there is the compartment where they change the cabin filter well if you take the filter out get some heavy duty Velcro just a small piece will do get yourself a air freshener preferably one that is not jelly or liquid that way it doesn't spill inside there. Velcro it on the metal sidewall, but leave room to put your filter back in. Now when you turn your air on you can enjoy the smell. Thanks for all the info and enjoy the tip. Keep your head up and remember word of mouth is and will always be the most powerful way to help or hurt any business all we can do is learn from our mistakes never to buy from them again. Thanks, Amy Zapata (Sylmar, CA)
I am so relieved that other people are experiencing the "melted crayon" smell in their Jettas. I recently bought a 2001, used VW Jetta and am going crazy with this smell! I am positive that it is the plastic that the dashboard is made of. I have been cleaning it everyday and the only thing that seems to work is cleaner that has an orange or citrus based scent... I wish I would have known this about Jettas sooner! I'll never buy a VW again!
I am also very relieved to find out the "crayon smell" is not just a problem in my Jetta. Everytime I give my friends a ride, they always comment on the smell. Some of my buddies even refer to it as the crayonmobile. Obviously, this is not a label that I like my car to have! If this is such a widespread thing, why hasn't VW addressed it? I agree that the dealership is very overpriced and the service is a major pain. I have had a lot of minor things go wrong with the car: the trunk latch broke, the center armrest broke, the oxygen sensor failed, I could keep going...
However, I still love my Jetta- the VR6 engine really gets up and goes, especially with the 5-speed manual. I enjoy rowing my own gears, but find the shifter to be a bit rubbery and disconnected. Also, the gear ratios could be improved in my opinion. I absolutely love the monsoon sound system as well as the interior (well, most of it) The material on the door handles has been peeling off for a while. In this price range, I feel that no other car comes close to offering this much luxury and sophistication. If you can stand the maintenace headaches, this is a very desirable automobile.
I wanted to comment on all the other references to "crayon-smell" in the cars. It is the quality and sealant in the high grade leather, Volvo's often have the same smell. I like it!
Wow...I also have the crayon smell. I put Downy dryer sheets under my seats which seems to help. Other problems I've had (where do I begin)
I have a 2001 Jetta (bought new)
* Plastic side things fell out of my sunroof
* Windows will go up automatically and then come right down
* Drivers and passenger windows fell out of runner
* I go through more brake lights and head lights then I can count
* Car makes an awful grinding noise when making turns (VW dealer can never hear the noise when they take it for a test drive)
* I've had to replace both rear rotors
* now my car has suddenly started to burn oil
* my arm rest latch broke
* my engine temp gauge works sometimes, sometimes not
* interior lights sometimes work, sometimes not.
I hate my car, but love the look of it. Will never buy another Jetta!!!
Quote: "I wanted to comment on all the other references to 'crayon-smell' in the cars. It is the quality and sealant in the high grade leather, Volvo's often have the same smell. I like it!"
No. This is completely false. Mine is material not leather. I've heard everything from "it's mildew in the A/C vents" to "it's the padding under the carpeting" to "it's the wax in the doors". When this smell is bad (which is almost always), my clothes smell so strongly of it that it makes me nauseous.
THIS CAN'T BE HEALTHY.
I agree that it is not the leather. We own a 2001 Jetta with non-leather seats and the smell is sickening. We also have had to replace the fuel injectors and a/c module. Together they cost us over $2,500. Now I am on this site because the passenger window fell down today! I guess I'm not the only dissatisfied Jetta owner.
Like so many others, I'm glad to hear that the "crayon smell" doesn't only exist in my 2001 Jetta. Fortunately, it's not so strong that its offensive to me... although others have commented on it.
Since buying my car used nearly 2 months ago:
There is a perpetual grinding noise that seems to come from under the front-end that I can't explain (sometimes you hear it, sometimes you don't).
My passenger side bumper vent has popped out who knows where (anybody know where I can find a new one at a discount price?).
I just noticed yesterday at the car wash that my bumper is loose and looks like it will try to liberate itself in the next few days.
And, of course, my car smells like crayons.
That being said, so far I'm enjoying my car. I love the way it looks inside and out. However, I don't think I'll buy another Jetta (but will stick with German cars).
I am truly amazed to find out that so many people have the same problem with "crayon" odor in their 2001 Jetta's. My family and I first noticed the odor even before we purhcased the car. We did mention it to the Sales person. The odor was mostly covered-up on our purchase date, although my daughter and I could still smell it. Over a few months the odor got stronger and stronger. I too, believe that the nauseating smell comes from within the dashboard. We had taken the Jetta in to have the odor of the car analyzed at the place we purchased it. Every person there denied that there was any bad odor, but did spend some time inspecting it for us. This nauseating "crayon" odor has obviously been brought to the attention of Volks Wagon many times. I truly believe this is a defect in the manufacturing of the car and am extremely dissappointed that Volks Wagon has not ever done anything about it. We also own a Passat which we love. But due to the experience of the jetta, we will probably not purchase another Volks Wagon car.
I also just bought a 2001 Jetta with the crayon smell. I have detailed the interior, but this has not helped. I have owned the car for 8 days now and 7 of those have been spent in the shop. My next step will be to replace the cabin filter, I hope the car gets good gas mileage or this will be a big bust of a purchase for me. I will let you guys know if I can calm this smell down with the filter.