I bought a 96' Jetta GLS about 3 months ago and all it has been is trouble. When I test drove it, everything was fine, but after two weeks of owning it, all I could smell were exhaust fumes. My muffler fell off, and I had to have that replaced, but even after that it still smelled. It turned out I had three different leaks in the exhaust system. Then I drove it to Colorado, when the resonator fell off, and I had to have someone fix that- it wasn't until then that someone finally told me my whole exhaust system looked shot. My back windows don't go down, my side view mirror adjuster buttons are stuck, I had a fuse and a headlight blow already, and the heating doesn't stay hot, despite filling the fluids. Now I'm not the sharpest when it comes to cars, but I still don't believe I should have had this many problems already with a car I've only had for 3 months, I will never buy one again..
Hello there!
Well fellows, I got a '96 Jetta GLS last Summer with a lot of miles on it, and for the most part is been pretty good. One thing I have to say it had saved me a lot of money on gas. Previously I was driving a Silverado, but I got rid of it just in time.
So far I've had only minor repairs and oil change. What I'm having trouble with at the moment is the ignition system. It seems like I have to change the coil. When it gets too humid or rains heavily, it won't start.
Good luck to all of you out there.
Hello.
I have had my 96 jetta for 4 years. It has power door locks. I tried to lock the car from the passenger door lock and the alarm went off. I could not find any way to turn the alarm off until I disconnected the battery.
Now I cannot lock the car without the alarm going off.
Can anyone offer any help for me?
Thanks.
Brandon.
---I have also had all of the problems mentioned above with my car. It will take something special for me to buy a VW again!
Yes I just bought a 1996 VW Jetta GLS. I've had it for 4 months... had to replace the ignition coil so now it STARTS in the rain!
Timing belt just got replaced.
My windshield wiper go on and off when they like too.
I had smoke come out of the back of my steering wheel.
Keep popping fuses... and Yesterday my power steering pump went.
Once that is fixed I'm selling the stupid car!!! Never again a VW!!!
I have a 97 GL Jetta and love it. 202,000 miles on it. Bought it almost 5 years ago. It had 90,000 on it when I bought. Have put rear axle stubs on because people can't keep a wheel bearing packed and tight. Put on coil pack on it and various wear and tear items. Still makes a 80 mile round trip to work, 5 days a week, and burns about 10 gallons of gas (exxon mid grade rules) for the week. Running on 17 inch tires and wheels! It is a 5 speed still on the factory clutch. Sound like you all just got had by shyster selling a damaged car.
I have even hit 2 deer in the car and it still keeps on going. Had to replace that with a golf front for cosmetic reasons.
I will never own another brand of car. VW for life.
My friends new beetle TDI gets 60 mpg and runs like a top at nearly 200,000 We were racing to get to 200,000, I won.
They have a customer for life.
Remember if you by a used car you have to fix what the fool in front of you broke, or neglected to fix. People would rather buy that new pair of khaki's that look like the 10 other bland pair they own than actually take time and money to fix and maintain a car. Metal fatigues and wiring breaks down, nothing lasts forever people, just keep that in mind.
My daughter begged us to buy her a Jetta in 2001. We bought a used 1996 GLS in spite of our misgivings. What a major mistake!! The electrical system on this car has been a nightmare. The power door locks, ignition, sun roof, power window motors or regulators, and alarm have all been replaced multiple times. Since my husband and I have no car repair skills, we pay for all this stuff! My daughter is now married and bought a good car, with parts that all work, so we have the Jetta back again. The only good part of the car is that it still looks really nice.
1997 Jetta GL 155,00 miles. Works great, except the morning start, wet weather start. Been throwing parts at it, and not helping. Engine temp sensors, O2 sensors, fuel pressure regulator, ignition coil, spark is good, battery good, fuel pump is working. Can't chase this demon out, would appreciate any help.
Other than the unreliability of the car, it's a great little vehicle. Oh yes currently exhaust trouble. Was getting 40 mpg this summer!!
I love my 1996 VW Jetta Trek that I have had since 1998 (after my ex-wife totaled my 1988 VW Fox) I have had almost nothing but great service with this car other than what I would call regular maintenance. The car still looks great (no rust), runs great and still gets under 7l/km highway and under 10l/km city.
It is my daily driver with almost 200,000 kms on it, and I drive this car HARD! The harder I drive it the more it seems to like it. I even pull a tent trailer in the summers with it.
I will not mention regular maintenance items like oil changes (every 3000km's) and/or filter or belt changes etc.
I have changed the clutch once (a normal wear item)
Had a coil fail (can happen to any car) this caused cold/humid weather start issues.
Intermittent cruise control (bad connection, easy fix)
Replaced shocks/struts (a normal wear item)
Replaced exhaust system (they do rust out eventually)
Had transmission rebuilt - Note: reverse had been grinding since I jammed it in reverse while still moving forward, but amazingly it lasted 5 years that way.
I just replaced a couple leaking oil gaskets, but the car is 13 years old, and I don't consider this to be unacceptable.
The only "gremlin" I have had was after a tuneup (including changing the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap & rotor), the car would crank, but not start below -30 Celsius (really cold even for Winnipeg). I normally never plug it in, and when I did, it made no difference, but when I put a car warmer under the hood for 5 minutes it would fire up no problem.
Neither the dealer or my other shops could not find the problem, I even left them the car overnight during really cold nights.
I turns out that during the tuneup they put in Bosch Platinum spark plugs (at my request) and they have "Lower ignition voltage requirements" and as it turns out that gets even lower below -30 (something akin to becoming a super conductor). Well during start-up the computer on the car looks for a "spark" before turning on the gas (to prevent flooding), and because of the lower voltage drop on the Bosch Platinum spark plugs, it did not "see" the spark and would not turn on the gas. I changed the plugs to NKG's and have not had the problem since.
I tell this story to help anyone else who may have this "gremlin", as it was a hard one to track down.
Oh, and I don't have power windows. :)
Paul - VW Forever!
Hi, I am looking to buy a 1996 VW Jetta GLS. The price is set at 1500, and yes it does need the window motors replaced. This would technically be my "first car" I was just wondering if I should get it or not? And if not, what type of affordable car should I try to get?
Thanks,
Jess
Please e-mail me at superjess11@hotmail.com.
Please Help! We purchased a 96 Trek for our 16 year old son last year with 150,000 miles on it. Great car except for it constantly stalling in the rain or when it's wet out. He drives 30 miles every day, each way to prep school and has had to pull over numerous times during horrible snow storms and rainy weather because the car keeps stalling. This is very dangerous and everywhere we bring it nobody knows what the heck is wrong with it. Can anyone out there tell me what it might be?
Thanks
Stranded in New Hampshire.
My daughter was given a 1996 Jetta as a present. In the last three months we have spent more than $2,000 in repairs. Since she's still in school and therefore has no job, buying a new car is not an option. In other words, we have spent more on it than we could ever get back.
It still has no air conditioning -- and she lives in an area that often has temperatures of more than 110 degrees. Just today, after having spent $400 on it last week, the back window came down and won't come up. As we fear for her safety, I guess we'll just have to borrow from our pension fund to pay for another repair. We are going broke putting money into this money pit. DO NOT EVERY BUY A VW. I say, only buy a Honda or a Toyota -- you can't go wrong.
To anyone having trouble with 90's Jetta's stalling/not starting in the rain!
I have had the same problem for two years until one rainy day it refused to start. You can fix the problem with some research and a little bit of handiwork. The most common problem with these cars (as with mine) is a short in the electrical system. One way to spot the short is when the car is stalled (or not starting because of the wet weather), have someone start your car while watching the main electrical parts. If you see a blue or yellow spark and the engine turns over without starting, then there is a crack in the system. I had problems with the coil pack and the distributor cap, both of which were replaced easily. If you can see a blue spark but cannot make fixes on the spot, I would definitely recommend buying a tube of dielectric grease and applying to the spot where the engine is sparking. Dielectric grease will just prevent electricity from leaving the circuit and should provide a quick fix if you can find the crack.
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