1997 Volkswagen Jetta GT from North America - Comments

Battery died at around 76,000 kms.

Exhaust needed replacing at 87,000 kms.

Door moldings have fallen off front doors.

My power sunroof motor burnt out and had to have it replaced.

Fog light burnt out, filled up with water, and rusted out. I was told by the dealership that I could not replace the corroded pieces and that the entire assembly had to be replaced. Cost: Approx. $300.

This car has been hard to start ever since I bought it, and dealership has been rather unhelpful.

Driver's side door lock is broken. I have to unlock it from passenger's side and then walk around to driver's side and get in. I'm scared to ask what this will cost to have fixed.

Reverse has worn out in my manual transmission. It used to pop out of reverse occasionally when I first purchased the car and the dealership told me I wasn't putting it all the way in reverse. Now I can hardly back up and I need to come up with roughly $1,200 to fix the problem, so I've been told.

I purchased this car to replace my 93 Celica, and I want my Celica back. I thought this car would be a better year round car for me, but it has caused me much grief. I think I must have a lemon or something because I don't know anyone else with a VW who has had the number of problems I have.

This car has been tough to start for as long as I have had it. I have had it in to my dealership 3 times for this reason and they have done nothing to improve my situation.

My father purchased a brand new Jetta about 3 weeks after I purchased my used unit and he has had better luck with his 2001 Jetta TDI. I purchased my Jetta as a certified used Volkswagen with a 40,000 km bumper to bumper warranty. Despite getting the same warranty as I did, the dealership has been much more generous with my father's service work than they have been with mine (before mine expired, that is).

I have not been satisfied with this car and have only kept it because I'm still in University and can't afford to sell it, because I would still owe on it. As soon as I can afford something else, it's gone.

I may purchase another VW someday, but not a third generation model, and certainly not from the same dealership.

Reverse can be a little tricky, I've missed it twice in the last little while. I imagine that partially engaging it and "grinding" the gear will wear it out really quick. I'll make sure to put it all the way in gear from now on. Thanks for the review, it might have saved me $1,200.

Try when you start it up and instead of opting to just put it in reverse... got to 1st gear, then into reverse. Sometimes things just don't exactly mesh up perfectly. either roll up or down an inch or two or what I said just above. I haven't many VW's or any model not require this the odd time.

Also check to see if the shift linkage (cables) are within spec. As they could be off, if so this may also cause a lil problem. Changing the tranny/differential fluid may help, even changing the oils weight may help also. Redline 75/90 weight synthetic gear oil works great.

To the guy that mentionned checking the linkage wires... It's a rod based transmission, hence, it uses rods instead of wires. Can't be ajusted. Two things can be done:

- Change out all bushings, which will reduce play in the shifter unit greatly and "maybe" fix your problem.

- Inspect shifter rods to see if any are bent and out of spec.

The lock is common happened to me cuz it froze and I tried to turn it still, the cost was $90 back in 2003 almost would recommend getting after market alarm with door locks if you have the p/w locks (think its standard)

Ya man, I feel your pain. I have the exact same car and the exact same transmission problem. My reverse is finished the gear is stripped so the tranny needs to be rebuilt so I am told. I am not sure, but I was also told that this is a common problem with Volkswagen's of this era, too bad I didn't know this before I purchased the car. Oh ya guess what same door locking problem, it originally happened on the driver side, but I just swapped the door handles from the passenger side to driver side and now it works fine. Anyways good luck with the car hope this helped a bit.

I have an automatic 97 vw jetta and the gears kick in a little hard and plus the revolutions go up to about 30. If anybody knows anything about fixing this problem please post your message.

Hey man no need to rebuild the whole transmission... all you have to do is replace the reverse gear... i had the same thing with no reverse... so that's all.

I had the same reverse gear problems. The driver side door lock also died, but I changed it with the passenger side one, so now you just can't open it from that side.

Does anyone know how to fix a transaxel seal...? or could tell me how to pull out the right side cup that holds the axel? I'm clueless on how its done and I don't want to take it to the dealership, everyone knows they just want money from us... so if anyone knows what I'm talking about just let me know.

Got a used 97 VW Jetta, runs ruff--sometimes intermittently. Any legitimate ideas to help? Have tried wires, coil pack and injector cleaner. Sounds something like running one of the older cars with the choke stuck on full. PS: Had to replace a lot of other mechanical stuff also--ball joints, rod ends, etc., etc.

I've had other cars with worse problems than the 97 Jetta.

I bought it at 140K and the reverse gear was making a noise. I had it replaced for $400.00.

I put a new clutch in it myself and had some front end work done to it, but overall I really like the car.

The locks are a problem. This spring I'm having to replace both door locks because they broke. The reason is they use pot metal that stresses when it is really cold outside, and that strains the metal when twisted. I'm surprised that Volkswagen designed it that way, because other things on this car are very well thought out.

I've had cars that were a nightmare, and now I've gotten to the point where I expect things to go wrong. I live in a cold climate that also experiences hot summers. Show me a car model that no one has ever had problems with in that type of climate. When you buy a used car, you have to expect something is going to go wrong. The key to success with a VOLKSWAGEN is to replace the worn out parts with genuine Volkswagen parts, not the cheap China made parts.

The side moldings are also a constant problem but nothing can be done about that. It would have been a better design to have a way of screwing the moldings on from inside the door.

Moral of the story - keep your expectations low when buying a used car. I like the way this car handles and the drive train - minus the reverse gear issue - is outstanding. It is a well designed car and fairly easy to work on.

"The key to success with a VOLKSWAGEN is to replace the worn out parts with genuine Volkswagen parts, not the cheap China made parts."

Bingo.

And to be honest, if reliability is your biggest concern, get a Civic. Old VWs have many little quirks to them and you really have to love the car to put up with them. A lot of the problems are easy and cheap to fix if you can do it yourself.. but if not, stay far away from VW dealerships. Find a good shop in your area that specializes in European cars. I currently own a 1997 Jetta GT. I specifically looked for one with power everything EXCEPT windows, because they are known to be problematic. Everything else will be fine if you keep up with your maintenance: regular oil changes, tune ups, timing belt, etc. Check out www.vwvortex.com. There is lots of good info there on everything VW.