1995 Volkswagen Jetta GLX from North America - Comments

At about 80,000 miles the ignition coil went bad, this cost nearly $600 to be replaced by the dealer.

At the same time the battery needed replacement.

At about 85,000 miles the entire gauge cluster stopped working, the dealer wants almost $400.00 solely for the part.

The door panels have a little side strip in them that constantly falls off and has to be re-glued.

At about 100,000 miles all hell broke loose. The water pump, serpentine belt, air hose, wheel bearings, brake pads, rotors, stub axles, and seals had to be replaced. This was also due to an improper brake repair and lubrication at another facility, but the dealer bill totaled $1,800 dollars by the time I was done.

The resonater also blew a large hole in itself. $247.00 just for the part, which I installed myself.

For some reason this car rips through tires...

At 123,000 miles the left side half shaft had to be replaced due to a hole in the boot. The part was $89.00 which I replaced myself.

Also at the same time the boot on the left side tie rod end ripped and had to be replaced which I am currently working on. The part was $72.00.

An oil leak has occured recently, and the drivers side door lock fell out. Also the rear defroster went.

I would highly recommend purchasing Hayne's or Chilton's repair manual for this car and making your best effort to get under there and get dirty when something goes wrong. It will save you a lot of money and head-aches in the long run. This car is beautiful, fast, and fairly reliable, but when something breaks it can be outrageous to have the dealer repair it. They charged me $28.00 for an air filter, which retails for $6.00 at VIP or Walmart.

I have found keeping the ignition system well tuned, and participating in regular maintenence and check ups of all the crucial systems is well worth my time. The repair manual goes into elaborate detail on how to repair almost anything besides overhauling your transmission which should be left to a specialist.

Because of all my problems with boots being torn I would reccomend raising the vehicle and checking the 4 CV joint boots thoroughly at each oil change, and the tie rod end boots as well. I didn't even know the joint/s were being exposed and ruined until I looked underneath. VW's will typically run for a while until the part breaks right off and leaves you stranded or in a dangerous situation.

I would reccomend using a high viscosity, thick, synthetic oil in the engine. My engine is amazingly strong and runs like a charm due to this cheap insurance. This car runs hot.

I am reposting, as I am the one who wrote this comment originally! I had even more problems to add to this list after I posted. An ABS speed sensor failed at 87,000 miles which triggered the ABS light to come on and the system to malfunction (not operate). Dealer wanted $198 dollars to repair this.

The other tie rod end failed and needed to be replaced around the same time.

The transmission began grinding noisily when put into reverse.

The clutch and throw out bearing went to hell at the same time, dealer wanted close to $1,000 dollars to repair.

Check engine light began flickering at speeds over 60 mph.

A mechanic pointed out that the entire passenger side floorboard had rotted out into a spot the size of a basketball.

The head gasket cracked.

The power windows failed.

I gave this car exactly what it deserved about 3 months ago. THE BIG BOOT!! This car is an absolute lemon, and I am not a hard driver either. I drive like a nanny. This car had a little over 100,000 miles on it, and all these problems had occured already. Do yourself a big favor, and do not buy this car. It is an awful, awful car. I now drive a Toyota, and I'm loving it.

This Jetta of yours must have been a real lemon, those are some insane problems I had a Jetta glx to 187564 miles and only had to replace the right axle on it.

If your car is a lemon I would think that VW produced a bushel of them. I also have a 1995 VW Jetta GLX that I purchased new from the dealer. I currently have approximately 126,000 miles on it and can attest to the fact that you are not unique in your situation. I have experienced all of the same problems and then some. My biggest headache at the moment is the dead gauge cluster and I am desperately trying to find somebody who can repair it rather than buy a new one from VW. I had almost forgotten about the lock cylinder falling out of the door and I have replaced every window regulator at least once.

One thing that you didn’t mention is something that has been a problem since the car had about 30,000 miles on it. The car stalls often and has a tendency to stutter. I have replaced the coil pack, plugs, wires, and a whole host of sensors in an attempt to resolve this issue, but to no avail. You can see the smoke from the tail pipe and smell the gas in the mixture.

Based on the constant problems that this car has caused me I would never buy another Volkswagen.

I have owned Volkswagens throughout my entire life, and I can honestly say that they are good cars. I'm sorry you bought a lemon, it happens with all brands and all people, but in my experience a volkswagen is usually a lemon for a reason. Volkswagens are fun, fast, and extremely enjoyable cars to drive, however this very fact makes them susceptible to severe wear and tear at relatively low mileage as they are driven harder and faster than most other brands.

I just want to suggest to you that the next time you find yourself with a lemon of a car (it will happen again, even if you never by a VW again), find the source of a problem, find out why something broke, not just what broke. Solving the source will, in most cases, prevent any further damage to the same part or other related parts. For instance, you said the car was burning through tires a lot, there has to be a reason for that, tires don't just wear out fast on their own. So look for the cause, fix it, then replace the broken part, it will save you time, money and could possible turn a lemon into an orange.

VW owners have a love hate relationship with their cars!

I own a 1995 Jetta GLX VR6 with 196,374 miles on it (Hecho en Mexico). I have had a lot of the typical problems with it. I have replaced all the window regulators once and one twice. I have replaced two of the power window motors. These are a serious pain in the butt. Obviously the power window system was designed by some VWAG exec's incompetent nephew... and these window issues continued into the 1999-2004 models.

I also have a leaky oil cooler, but I have replaced all associated gaskets, so I am just living with it since it is so minor. We have had to deal with other oil leaks as well.

My cruise control stopped working ages ago and I don't really know why.

The car eats rear wheel bearings like cupcakes... about every 20k miles (but they do NOT cost $300 each to repair). We also bypassed the heater core because I am NOT shelling out $600-800 to have it replaced (we live in Florida).

Along the way I have also done the typical water pump (two, the first was a faulty rebuild), alternator, hoses, belts, calipers, etc.

Despite all of this we love the car. We paid $8300 for it at 58,000 miles and it came with heated Recaro buckets (still work great), 174 HP, premium sound, a great 5sp manual (has the original clutch with NO slippage evident) and a huge trunk. After driving the car I put $2000 into upgraded suspension (Neuspeed sport) and brakes (Brembo x-drilled w/mintex pads and SS lines) and it handles like a much more expensive sports sedan. It still runs great.

I recently drove newer Camrys and Accords and this car has three times the personality and road feel as they do.

The bottom line is that VWs are not for everyone. You have to be willing to source parts and labor from non-traditional places like EBay and your brother's roommate. If you are stupid enough to still be taking your car to the dealer for service when it is ten years old, then you you deserve a good fleecing (The $80/hr labor rate is printed right on the wall!). You have effectively relegated yourself to driving a Honda or Toyota; they are economical and reliable - perfect for a non-car person who also can't find a decent mechanic. These cars are forgiving of neglect where VWs are not, but please don't write to complain about getting this or that fixed for an exorbitant price at the dealer. You won't find compassion from the hard core dubheads; we know the dealer stinks and we accept it because we love our cars.

The Jetta was made(slapped together) in Mexico, Mexican Style, need I say more? The Germans tried to save money and at the same time try a Social Experiment, which failed, but they will not admit their mistake. Mexico is an agrarian society, good at growing crops, not at producing cars. Every mechanic knows that the Jetta is a Money pit, a junk heap, with one thing after another going wrong, possibly the worst car in history, as far as quality goes. If the car was made in Germany, I would bet that it would be one of the best?

I have a 95 VW Jetta VR-6 and I completely agree with the majority of comments made. There is absolutely no other car I have ever driven that is nearly as fun to drive, has more personality, or handles like THE DUB! Also, I experienced the rash of parts to fail within 18 months. The list is quite extensive, but the car gives me so much joy to drive, that I shelled out the lute (not at the dealer, except for parts) to get my baby back on the road. She currently sits in my garage awaiting repair from a broken timing chain/belt. Point blank, the VR6 has plenty power and I miss driving it. Anyone seen my girlfriend?