Faults:

Wife bought the car new and has always had it repaired at the dealership. Curiously I have suffered many of the same problems listed by others.

First week of owning the car the gas cap door would not open. Made it back to the dealership on fumes. Latching motor burned out. Replaced under warranty.

Glove box hinges broke twice.

Center console latch broke once.

Mirror control knob broke off.

Trunk hinges rusted solid. Dealer wanted $1700 to replace them. I managed to pry the trunk open and lubricated hinges with penetrating oil. No problems since.

Pollution control warning light came on a couple of times. Dealer used diagnostic computer to reset the switch. Next time light came on I read in the manual that this due to leaking hydro-carbons. Tightened gas cap. Light went out.

Handbrake lever extended right to the top and didn't lock the brakes. Rear brake pads worn out. Required new rear brake calipers.

Water collects in the rocker panels. Have had to drain water out several times. Drains don't actually seem clogged. Must be loose debris inside the panels.

Presently the left rear door does not open. Will need to get this fixed soon.

General Comments:

The car still looks great and drives great. Certainly form does follow function. Latest model looks fat and with lots of superfluous trim.

The seats collect lint and look messy. It takes a lot of effort to clean them, but once they are clean they look super.

Basic maintenance is more costly than most cars and parts like latches, hinges and knobs seem to be rather flimsy. I haven't had a lot of major problems, but a lot of minor, irritating and totally unnecessary problems.

Reliability is OK, but not anywhere near the level of a Japanese car. Perhaps I have simply been acclimatized to unreliable cars. I used to own a 1979 Dodge Omni! An oxcart would be more reliable than that.

Faults:

This car has been alright for the most part. I had to replace a mass air flow sensor at 75,000 and in injector went bad a few thousand miles ago. I replace the timing belt recently and the trunk remote latch went out once. The car has been fairly reliable and has never left me stranded. Always starts right up. It does use oil, but uses a lot less if you use 10w40 by castrol. When I run this it is under a quart per 3,000 miles. 5w30 or synthetic about 1and1/2 quarts. Overall nice car to drive with occasional problems would be my review.

General Comments:

This car is sturdier than japanese cars, but with a few more problems. If you want a little more for your money and a few problems here and their don't bother you this is the car for you. I think all cars have their things that go wrong. I had a 92 nissan that snapped a timing chain with 150 on it fortunately it just went a few teeth and the engine was fine. I would buy this car again and hope to keep it for a while.

Faults:

Glove box hinge broke.

Glow plug regulator went out at 90000 miles.

General Comments:

I am very startled at the bad reviews for this car on this site. I love my Jetta TDI.

I have been very impressed with the performance and reliability. I have had essentially one repair on a used car which now has over 100,000 miles on it. I certainly can't complain about that.

The car still looks new inside and out.

Faults:

The vehicle was taken back to the port at 500 miles from A Pillar noise and vibrations. After one year of complaints, the dash was disassembled and it was discovered that spot weld points in the frame and A Pillars were not complete at the time of assembly.

At 1,500 miles the sunroof stopped working and the entire assembly replaced.

5,000 miles and the ignition coils burned out and were replaced.

10,000 miles the brake light switch malfunctioned and cased a fire which melted the switch and wiring, replaced.

20,000 miles the clutch assembly failed and was replaced.

22,000 Mass Air Flow sensor failed and altitude sensor failed and replaced.

25,000 miles the rear engine seal failed and was replaced.

No major incidents since. VW took care of all repairs after constant complaints.

General Comments:

The car looks great and is taken care of, but is just not reliable.