1997 Volkswagen Jetta GLX review from North America

The door latches stick, so frequently the doors will not open (especially the front passenger door). We're tired of pretending my boyfriend's being chivalrous when he has to come around to let me out!

Four window regulators have gone out, one for every year we've owned the car! These cost between $300-450 EACH.

One winter we were trapped in a car with four doors that wouldn't open and had to crawl through one of the three working windows to get out. We are NOT the Dukes of Hazzard, and this piece of crap Jetta is NOT the General Lee.

As a kid, I remember playing "Slug Bug"- now we get a kick out of seeing how many Jettas on the road are missing their door trim. Ours is, of course.

We find plastic parts all the time, things that just randomly fall off: seat back adjustment knobs, parts of seat track, you name it.

The electrical/ alarm system is whacked.

Dash lights have a mind of their own.

I like the way this car handles for the most part, but that is paled by the absolutely inferior body of the car. I still think Jettas are some of the nicer looking cars on the road, but I'm shocked at VW's lack of response to what are obviously COMMON problems with their vehicles.