1997 Volkswagen Jetta GLS review from North America

General wear & tear including oil, brake pads, tires, filters, spark plugs. Maintenance performed by myself.

AC condenser was punctured by a rock and needed to be replaced around 35,000mi. Maintenance performed by a local German-oriented mechanic (not dealer). Saved literally hundreds of dollars by avoiding the dealership. AC works great to this day.

Exhaust pipe running from catalytic converter to mid-muffler completely corroded and separated from catalytic converter. This occurred around 50,000mi. I was able to temporarily fix it with some exhaust clamps. The temporary fix held up for months. Eventually I replaced the entire exhaust system from catalytic converter back with a full stainless steel system from Techtonics Tuning.

Front driver's side wheel bearing started to wear at 60,000mi. It caused a very annoying grinding noise that increased in pitch as speed increased. The noise was unnoticeable at low speeds, but very annoying at highway speeds. Bearing was replaced for under $100 by an independent VW mechanic. Most dealers will charge well over $300 for this procedure.

Around the same time as the front wheel bearing started having problems, one of my rear bearings also started acting up. I attribute this to either contamination of axle grease or incorrect reassembly of rear drums / bearings during an annual state inspection. Car was inspected at a local muffler chain instead of a typical VW mechanic. (Rear drums must be removed to inspect rear brake shoes for our state inspection. Bearings must be repacked with grease and can only be reassembled one way when reinstalling drum.) Symptoms were similar to my front bearing problems. Note to self: do not take VWs to generic muffler chain stores.

At 69,000mi I needed a rear wheel cylinder (brake component) and front lower ball joints (suspension component) in order to pass inspection. Maintenance performed by myself. I replaced both rear wheel cylinders at the same time, and while I had the brakes apart I also replaced the shoes. Replaced front tie rods along with the required ball joints because I needed to have the car aligned anyways.

Major expected future maintenance:

Clutch, probably before 100,000mi.

Timing belt / accessory belts, definitely before 100,000mi.

Brake rotors, I do not know if they've ever been replaced and will buy new ones before my next inspection.

Suspension, before 100,000mi.

By keeping up with this maintenance my Jetta will continue to drive like it did at 10,000mi.

The Jetta handles great, is comfortable and has plenty of trunk space. The 2.0L engine is not the most powerful out there, but it has an excellent torque curve and is very drivable, especially at highway speeds.

I get over 30MPG highway and average about 27MPG. I do not drive my car slowly, I push it hard and it always meets the challenge.

You may have noticed a trend regarding mechanics: find a local independent mechanic who knows VWs. Avoid generic chain stores, they are accustomed to working on domestics. The dealership will overcharge you and may not accurately diagnose your problems the first time.

The 2.0 is a well designed engine and as long as you keep up with routine maintenance it will last to 200,000mi easily.