2003 Volkswagen Jetta from North America - Comments

Radio stopped playing the first day I purchased the car.

The same day I purchased my 2003 Jetta (Friday March 16), the radio stopped working, so I called the dealership and told them about it. They told me to bring the car back the next day.

Later that evening (the same day I purchased the car), I went out to the garage to take a short trip to the gas station to get drinks for dinner, and to my surprise the car would not start up. So, I immediately called the dealership again and told them about it. They asked me if I had anyone to give me a jump start, so I got a jump start and it started right up. Turned it off and it would not start again. Got another jump start and it started right up.

The next morning the dealership sent a tow truck to pick up the car. I googled my problem and came up on this website. I called the dealership and told them what I found out online about the problem and they said they checked the fuses and they were fine. They said that the reason my car wouldn't start was the alternator and they replaced it and the car starts fine now, but the radio still isn't working.

I didn't purchase the car from a Volkswagen dealership, so they said they were going to send my car to a radio shop tomorrow morning (Monday).

My question is can this problem be solved? I'm a young lady and I don't won't to keep going back and forth with a malfunctioning radio. Since it is not the fuse, do you all think it is something really bad that is going to keep on tormenting me? If it is not the fuse what could it be?

I really like the car. Whoever the previous owner was keep it in GREAT condition. It is 4 years old, but it looks like it came off the showroom floor. PLEASE HELP?

Remember the radio stopped playing first and then the car wouldn't start. Do you think it wasn't getting the proper juice to it since the alternator was bad? But now it has a new alternator and it still doesn't work. I DON"T KNOWWWWWWW! SO FRUSTRATED!

Is your radio the Monsoon or VW Sound system? Those newer radios have those awful codes only the dealers can reset, it seems as though the code was somehow reset, possibly in the replacement of the alternator. Or, your previous owner took out that stereo and replaced it with a non-stock one, and then re-installed the factory stereo when he sold it, possibly damaging something.

I have a 2002 Jetta (Automatic) with 103,000 miles on it, and my radio just broke about a week ago too. I had a monsoon system, but it was total crap. Instead of getting another factory radio installed by Volkswagon, I just took it to a local shop and had them put in a JVC for $160. I really like it because it plays MP3 CDs and also because the sound quality is so much better... even with factory speakers. I would just replace your radio with a nice JVC or Pioneer... if you listen to the radio/CD player as much as I do you won't regret it.