Faults:

Most sensors are low reliability and go bad frequently.

Also associated software is defective in cam shaft speed sensing and control, catalytic converter, transmission control, and comfort control areas.

General Comments:

Most frustrating of all is to find rude VW dealers very busy repairing than selling. Not a good sign. Overall you pay a lot of money for the UNreliable VW car.

Faults:

Nothing at all has gone wrong; the seats have gotten a little faded, but that is about all.

General Comments:

The car is amazing. I put a bigger turbo, 150 shot Nitrous Oxide, bigger pistons, and a few other things. In general, the car handles awsomely, and it drives strong. When it was stock, it was still very fast and still drove very strong.

Faults:

Nothing at all!

General Comments:

People must understand that this is a finely tuned machine; It is not something you can just forget about and drive without giving it the respect it deserves. I love this car and HIGHLY recommend it. By maintaining this car on a regular basis, this car continues to perform at its HALF LIFE extremely well. I will say, avoid the dealership at all costs. The best type of person to own this car is someone whom LOVES their car. Doing the work and maintenance on this car has saved me THOUSANDS by avoiding the dealers' OUTRAGEOUS prices. If you have common sense and a mechanical aptitude, buy this car. If you are a zombie air head who goes to the dealer every time you hit a pothole, avoid this car. The car has amazing power, as well.

P.S. The 1st owner (from new to 95k) also had ZERO problems because of exceptional care of the vehicle.

Faults:

The timing belt blew at about 100,000 miles. That ended up costing about $4K from a dealership (they claimed that it damaged the head, though I never saw it).

The bumper came off until we got used to the fact that the bumper clearance is lower than that of all parking lot "stops". I repaired the bumper with brute strength.

All of the shielding for the undercarriage and the wheel wells are either damaged or missing. Again, due to very low clearance. Dealership says...$450 to replace just the undercarriage.

Now, the temperature control dial doesn't work. Dealership says that it'll cost $1,500 to replace a $60 part because they have to remove the dash. I'm going to spend thirty dollars on a manual and use the money I save to buy $5 per gallon diesel.

General Comments:

The car is comfortable up front, and comfortable enough in the back.

It accelerates very well for a diesel.

It handles pretty good, even on wet pavement.

It is terrible in snow that is deeper than 1".

I think my Jetta was built in a Third World country.

Faults:

The piece on my remote lock that connects it to the key chain recently broke. Since the lock is made up of several pieces, the whole remote does not need to be replaced (just that piece.) But of course, Volkswagen won't let me pay for just one piece. They want me pay $125 for a whole new one and to program it. Ridiculous!

So now my remote lock is pretty much useless. THANKS A LOT, VOLKSWAGEN.

Faults:

The BBS rims are corroding. I purchased winter tires and steel rims the first year I owned it which has slowed the corrosion, but it still isn't pretty.

Wiper's stopped working because wiper transmission seized up.

Turn signal kept "clicking" even though the signal lever was in the off position. Had the turn signal switch replaced and just over a year later, same problem.

Vehicle started running very rough on early morning start and I had to have all 4 coil's replaced.

Paint on various interior trim is peeling off and the centre console latch is broken.

Window clips were replaced (under warranty) to prevent glass from falling into the door.

General Comments:

This is a really fun car to drive. The engine is powerful and pulls hard. The transmission shifts nicely with no grinding between gears. Besides the engine and transmission, pretty much everything else about the car is below par quality. The maintenance costs are exhorbitant - it cost me $1000 for a timing belt and water pump replacement at the dealer whereas I only paid $650 for my 1995 Pathfinder for the same job. The car gets pretty good gas mileage on the highway, but uses premium fuel which eats into the savings.