1998 Volkswagen Jetta GT from North America - Comments

* Replaced an airbag.

* Replaced the front brakes (normal wear and tear at 46,000 miles).

* Replaced the right rear brake and rotor (brake bad, "broke" into 2 pieces while driving).

* Steering wheel clock spring.

* Distributor.

* Ignition.

* Air conditioning control panel in the dashboard (because the light burned out).

* Strut mounts (twice).

* Serpentine belt at 26,000 miles.

* Normal maintenance.

I love the way that this car handles and looks. Also, the configuration of the cabin and the huge truck are nice. It makes this car very practical as well very fun to drive.

However, the cost of ownership has been relatively high for this car. While fuel and insurance are reasonable, the maintenance is unbelievable.

While the powertrain warranty is 10 years/100,000 miles, the normal bumper-to-bumper is only 2 years/24,000 miles. I drove out of that period very quickly, which is when my problems began.

Some things, like brakes and belts, are parts that are going to wear out on any vehicle with time and that is normal. But I have never had to replace the strut mounts on any of my cars, and on the Jetta, I have replaced them twice as normal maintenance. I was told by 2 different VW repair experts that the strut mounts go every 25,000-30,000 miles. That is unacceptable in my opinion.

Also, lot's of little things have gone wrong since the car's normal warranty has expired. Most (but not all) are listed in the "What things have gone wrong with the car" section.

The scheduled maintenance is scheduled frequently, at least for someone who drives a lot like me and really depends on the availability of the car. Also, the scheduled maintenance is not cheap.

For example, the most recent two I have had are the 30,000 and 40,000 mile services. The 30,000 was approximately $350 and the 40,000 was approximately $750. That's a lot of change to spend in addition to everything that has gone wrong.

The dealer service, though, has been phenomenal. I have nothing but good comments about the dealer. But, since they are getting a lot of my money, I don't expect anything less.

Overall, I love this car, despite all that has gone wrong with it. But, it definitely has strained my budget planning, and for that reason, I can not emphatically recommend this car to someone. Perhaps VW has fixed many of these issues with the recent redesign.

Sometimes, people get crappy cars. My '98 Jetta GT has 57k miles, and has never had anything as major as a strut mount. My service was done by my uncle, the VW mechanic and Transmission Expert, and has never cost more than $200. However, I did look at one when buying mine, that had the entire exhaust system replaced at just over 30k miles. I have also heard of many Automatic Transmission problems with some of the cars, and I understand that some of the Manuals were made in Germany and assembled in Mexico, but the ones that were made and assembled in Mexico have many problems. It seems to me that it is hit and miss with these cars. I however would not trade mine for very many cars anytime soon.

Steering wheel clock spring???

Can anyone explain what this is exactly? I'm asking because I've noticed problems with my steering wheel lately and I'd just as soon trust anyone else's answer than the dealers.

I really love my GT. I do agree that it depends on what day your Jetta was made. QC really varies with these models. So be careful when buying a used Jetta, run a carfax check, and hope that the car was off lease. At least that way you will have service records. If you get a good Jetta, it will be the best car you ever owned. If not, get rid of the car or it will nickle and dime you to death, and you will swear of VW forever.

Anyone have trouble with there 98 Jetta where when they drive in reverse, there is a clicking sound under the hood. Its starting to happen to me, and an fearfull what the dealer is going to say.

I also have problems with the molding, lost one, another one almost off, and at $150 to replace, I think VW should decide on a recall.

Thanks for the warning. I'm new to these German rides. You are absolutly dead with the cost of maintenence. My next ride will definately be domestic.

Hi, somebody wrote this recently:

""

Anyone have trouble with there 98 Jetta where when they drive in reverse, there is a clicking sound under the hood. Its starting to happen to me, and an fearfull what the dealer is going to say.

I also have problems with the molding, lost one, another one almost off, and at $150 to replace, I think VW should decide on a recall.

""

I was hoping that person could let me know what the dealer reported. I have the same problem and the dealer says it's the transmission, but won't diagnose it fully until I give them $700 to pay for the labor to get the transmission out. Then if the warranty will cover it I'll get my money back (highly unlikely). And independent shop told me the same problem (reverse clicking) was most likely due to a component in the brakes, but told me to hold off on replacing because it wasn't dangerous and the brakes had lots of life left.

I'd appreciate a follow-up on that one and will try to do the same when I get to the bottom of this.

I'm dying to get rid of this VW, but stand to lose way too much money as I still owe half of the loan. Will never buy a VW again, despite the other positives I've heard.

I have had the following problems with my Jetta GLX 1998. All four windows had problems with the power switch motor (excuse me for not referring to the car parts properly). Volkswagon of America realized the odd problem and reimbursed me for my expenses (including labor charge). I have had my brakes replaced about three times. Ignition switch was replaced. They replaced it because my engine light kept turning on and none of my electrical worked. No air, no lights etc. My molding was replaced on front driver and passenger side as well as the rear. Now, I have a recall notice for tires going flat. I have noticed that they deflate quickly. I replaced the tires twice. Is this all normal??? Does anyone have similar problems?

This is a common thing with VW and Mercedes cars and it is not harmful. Some Mercedes squeak in reverse. What it is is the brakes do not fully disengage when in reverse. It is not harmful. I think the purpose was that rotors sometimes collect rust if they sit for a while and if the brakes are slightly engaged, this will remove the rust so as to not let it cause any performance issues when you are using your brakes while going forward. Generally, nothing to worry about.

I own a 1998 Volkswagen Jetta GLX and it has just started to make a creaking when I open and close the doors and even when it is left idle for a few minutes. I recently had the back brakes replaces and the tires rotated. Has anyone had a similar problem? Could this be the wheel bearings?

1997 jett gt love it just got it had a 92 jetta wolfsburg that was a night mare to find parts for well just like to say jetta gt has great pick up for such a smaal 4 banger and good tork too paid 3000$ nice love it.

I came across this website while looking for parts for my 1998 jetta gt. I realized this model wasn't listed as an option for 1998, so I decided to just look up information on my car instead of searching for parts. I wanted to know why it was almost impossible to find them. That's when I started reading these comments on the "clicking sound while in reverse," the "molding being replaced," and quite a few comments regarding the brakes having to be replaced. I also noticed that yet another problem is the tires going flat. I can identify with these, among many other, problems with my jetta. I bought my car about 8 months ago, and 10 miles out of the dealership, my speedometer stopped working, therefore affecting my odometer. Most of the time it will stay at 0mph, making me question exactly how many miles were REALLY on my car when I bought it. That was only the start of my problems, then came the others. I also figured out that my car was one of the manual jetta's made in Germany and assembled in Mexico, and from what I've read, those are the ones with MANY problems. Great! I'm only 23 and I saved up my money and paid for my car with cash in full, so I've had to wait until the last possible minute to work on these problems due to limited extra money to do so. Now, I either have to spend a few thousand on fixing these problems, or sell my car for less than half the price I payed for it. It seems like a lose-lose situation now. I'm just grateful I found these comments before I dumped more money into it. I've now decided to get rid of my jetta asap, and I just have to deal with my losses.

You must research, and know what the hell you are doing when buying used cars, otherwise you get screwed over. VW Jetta's are not the best used cars to get unless you have some mechanical sense, like me lol.

I actually don't feel like telling my story again so...

http://www.carsurvey.org/review_88017.html

That's better.

Replace your brakes with oem parts, cheapo rotors and pads are crap. Restick the molding on with 3M auto double sided tape for a real adhesive, heat with hairdryer too and add glue where needed after. They stick for good after.

I've never had flat tires.

The clicking in reverse is common to certain types of transmissions. You put it in reverse and it whines a bit as you back up, my car does it, my friends kia sephia does it,...

The only weak points of this car in my opinion are the power windows (one of mine was out when I got it, but it's a rear one so...) and the starter. Buy a premium remanufactured starter with a warranty if you do replace it.

Great cars overall though to drive.

My Brother just got a 1998 Volkswagen Jetta and he loves it! I can't wait until my dad buys me a car in the next 9-10 years!

My Girlfriend bought her 1998 Jetta GT last summer. It's been quite reliable, other than the starter dropping dead a couple months after the purchase. We've replaced wear & tear parts, including: muffler (prone to rust-out apparently), rear shocks (the trunk is so big, the back end sags when you fill it!), and now one of the rear wheel-bearings needs replacing. But, at over 600km/tank on the highway, this car is a pleasure to drive and she loves it!

I bought a 1995 Jetta GL last April. It too had the Odometer issue mentioned a few posts above. I fixed this by simply re-seating the wire harness at the back of the instrument cluster.

Several of the items mentioned in above posts are well known 'issues', at least amongst certain MK3 Golf and Jetta owners. There are fixes available if you go to bentleypublishers. com and additional help (but mostly community or cheap parts) at vwvortex.com. There are a lot of mechanics (both by trade and Do-it-yourself-ers) on Bentley Publishers, so they are quite helpful. Even if you don't want to fix the stuff yourself, at least you will have an idea of what is broken in the first place!

I love my Jetta most of the time, but have found I cannot take her just anywhere to get fixed. "Just anywhere" inevitably breaks something that wasn't broken before.