2002 Volkswagen Jetta GL review from North America
"Run from it like it was the plague"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Transmission locked up at 24,000 miles. Car wouldn't roll, period. Had to have a flat bed tow truck drag it on board and tow it in for service.
Burns oil like it's going out of style. It's not uncommon to put more than a quart in per 1,000 miles. Supposedly this is within VWs spec.
Driver and passenger's windows fell into the door. This was a recall item. The dealer replaced one side, the following week the other side broke and we had to go back.
We had the driver's side floor pan fill up with water after a rain storm. This was around 19k miles. We're told it was a result of clogged sunroof drains. Turns out it was really a leaky windshield seal.
Had the passenger side floor pan become sopping wet after a rain storm. Again, "clogged sunroof drains". This was at 38k miles.
Due to the above, mildew has collected on the passenger side carpet and floor mat. The interior smells musty due to the water that's collected in the carpet insulation.
Springs fell out from under the driver's and passenger's seats.
Headlight replaced at 24,000 due to condensation.
Burned out brake light bulbs are a common occurrence.
Parking break handle broke.
Several interior trim pieces have the rubberized coating peeling off.
General comments?
Things seemed great for about a year after we bought the Jetta. Then the windows fell in. That was a recall item. Next, the check oil light came on and I discovered this car uses oil like nobody's business. Then my wife went out to leave one morning for work and found 2" of water in the driver's side floor pan. It's not one particular thing that made this car such a lemon, it's a culmination of all the little things combined with the lack of service from VW and VW dealers.
For instance, the water that collected on the floor was supposedly due to clogged sunroof drains. However, it doesn't say that cleaning the sunroof drains are part of regular maintenance anywhere in the manual. It doesn't even say where they can be found. The dealer charged us $120 (bargained down from $240) to clean the drains and didn't even vacuum up the water that had collected on the floor. As a result of all the leaks our car now smells like mildew - and VW won't replace the carpet because the damage was caused by "outside factors".
I'm done with VW. I'll be darned if I ever buy another VW/Audi product again.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model year | 2002 |
| Year of manufacture | 2001 |
| First year of ownership | 2002 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2006 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 3 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 3 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 6 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 3 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 4 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 0 miles |
| Most recent distance | 38000 miles |
| Date of Entry | 18th April, 2006 |