2000 Volkswagen Jetta GLX from North America - Comments

Wow, I feel like part of a big community!!!

Today, I'm waiting for AAA to show up and see if they can get the car (beautiful 2000 Black Jetta VR6) started after not being run for less than 2 weeks. This will likely be my 3rd battery... I now refuse to go back to the dealer who have not fixed the problem the past two times.

Plus, I have seen all of the same issues; grease constantly dripping from the doors, broken glove box hinge, broken cup holder, broken console latch, vanity light has been lit for 7 years, the window mechanism broke twice, countless indicator light malfunctions...

My understanding is that 2000 was the first year the Jetta was manufactured in Mexico. Not a good start.

The thing is, though, that I love my car and would buy it again in a minute. The VR6 and my 5-speed are sweet on the curvy California roads. The looks are great and I find the leather seats super comfortable.

Does anyone know about the new models? Maybe this forum is the wrong place to ask that question!

Wow, I always thought to myself "Maybe I am hard on my car!" But I have had 2 Acuras and 1 Honda before my 2000 Volkswagen Jetta and they never fell apart like mine has...

My Problems...

Both Drivers Side and Passenger Side Windows have broken... They fixed it the first time under the warranty, but my warranty expired in October and In November the second one fell and they refuse to help even after admitting they were faulty. Poor Customer Service.

Cup Holders Broken.

Break light still on since 50k miles and I now have 138k miles and have had Volkswagen pads put on and it still will not go off.

My check engine light comes on and off now for about 60k miles and there has been nothing wrong.

My mirror switch on the door has broken.

The rubber on the inside of the doors has worn out.

The leather in my back seat has completely exploded at the seams and pretty much has melted. Very interesting.

Grease leaks all over the bottom of the car from the doors.

What I do like...

Mechanically it is great. never broke down once.

Handles wonderfully.

Love the looks.

Just disappointed in VW Customer care!

My 1997 was manufactured in mexico, I'm buying a 2000 vr6 and as a vw lover you must know that when your check engine light turns off, then you worry! replace the parts yourself with better aftermarket parts and kiss your worries good bye. of course a dealer is going to give you the same peice of crap over and over because its easy money. I love vw and would not own a different daily driver most vw owners understand this. DRIVERS WANTED not some woose who doesn't know how to change the oil.

I have had my 2000 VR6 for two and a half years, and love it. I was only worried I had made a mistake buying it, when the EPC light came on and lost all it's power the first day I brought it home. The problem source was the throttle relay harness. Would have been $800 to replace, buy my VW dealer bypassed the problem for $104. I have not had a major problem with the car since. I bought it with 170,000km, and now has 235,00km and still going strong.

My job requires me to rent vehicles for travel quite frequently. I have driven nearly every comparable car on the market. I wouldn't trade my 8 year old Jetta for brand new Honda in a million years. I too have a broken cup holder, and glove box hinge. I get over it pretty quickley on a country road, or in a big snow storm. The traction control system my Jetta has is second to none.

I'll be keeping my Jetta, until I buy my next one. My last car: '94 Jetta CL.

Funny Stuff!!!

I'm on the net here, trying to learn about the instrument panel cluster for my 2000 Jetta. I was told, by the shop, this could be replaced to the tune of $750. This, after I had it in for a laundry list of repairs that cost me 1k. My car has a little over 60,000 miles on it.

Other problems:

The right hinge of my glovebox has been broken for some time now.

Control for side mirrors; ditto.

Check engine light always on. Just got that cleared in above-mentioned 1k repair trip. Also cleared (as a bonus)...the ABS light!

Ice always freezes in my door hinges too!

I guess I should consider myself lucky that I haven't had moonroof problems (knock on wood!).

Here is my Volkswagen Jetta story. My family has three of them. 1997, 2002 and 2005. The 1997 had the window problems and some minor electrical and cosmetic issues, nothing other than normal wear items (brakes and tires) on the others. Here is my comparison- I have owned three minivans (1 Chrysler and two ford) and between them had five bad transmissions (yes 5!) and one with bad ABS module. I had a firebird with two bad catalytic converters, and a whole series of ignition module and wire issues leading up to that. All cars will eventually have issues but I will take the cosmetic or small electrical problems any day. I will probably buy another Jetta someday.

I'm a little disappointed that most people complaining don't give any history such when they bought their car, whether used or not, etc.

As a 55 y.o, I've had 4 VW's and 2 Audi's between myself, wife and son. A 1985 Jetta bought new, 2003 and 2005 also new. 2 years ago I bought a 2000 used for my son.

Many of problems posted appear to common to all cars, a few are unique to the 2000-2005 VW's. Yes the plastic used on the door handles is covered with a thin coating that will wear, especially if not treated carefully when cleaning or with frequent use while wearing jewelry. I've always use a very mild soapy water to clean and after 90,000 miles wear is still minimal, a few light nicks.

Unexpected disappointing problems:

1985 - Heater core leaked at 60k, dealer fixed out of warranty.

2003 - Water pump that failed because of a plastic impeller after 55k miles, again out of warranty VW replaced at no cost. This also happened to me on a 1996 Ford Contour. Why do most manufacturers (including Japanese) use such cheap parts especially on harder to replace parts?

2000 - In dash cup holders and glove box door broken when purchased. I replaced the center console with 2003+ center console with cup holders at $150 and glove box hinge with later version for less than $50. Not bad as far as fixing a 8 y.o. car's interior to almost new (car was purchased used 2 years ago)