Faults:

I had some recalled parts replaced at the dealership's cost.

I had the self-adapting transmission serviced. When it shifted into third gear it would chsnge into "Sport Mode" and my fuel economy would drop.

I have had to replace a handfull of small trim items, buttons, switches, etc...

General Comments:

This is the second Jetta I have owned. The one I owned prior to this one was totalled in a head-on collision. The safety and airbag systems worked well and I was able to walk away from a head-on crash at 40 MPH.

The transmission is very responsive. It can get up and go really fast when you need it to.

The interior of the car has a pretty luxurious feeling, with the leather seats and wood trim interior.

The safety systems work very well. I unfortunately know from experience. I do feel very safe driving in this car.

The fuel economy is pretty good. According to the trip computer on board the average fuel consumption is about 23MPG.

Volkswagen Service is very good. Although they no longer "loaner" vehicles and you have to pay for a rental out of pocket. Most of their warranty programs will re-imburse you though.

The warranty is the best of any used car I have ever owned.

Faults:

* Directional signal ticking noise happened on high speed randomly all of the time for no reason at all (yes it sounds crazy, but it happened!)

* Lights burned out at an alarming rate.

* Fuel pump failed at 80K miles.

* Water pump failed at about the same time.

* Check engine light came on repeatedly after about 70K miles. Each of the SEVEN times I brought it in to the shop, VW said that the oxygen sensors needed to be replaced. Eventually they found an even more serious issue.

General Comments:

The car was a joy to drive and caused minimal problems (except for the weird turn signal ticking and the fact that the lights constantly needed to be replaced) until around 70K miles. Then all hell broke loose. I ended up being extremely frustrated not only with the car, but also with VW of America, which was a horror show to deal with. It's sad really; the car was a lot of fun, but it seemed to almost self destruct after that 70K mile mark.

Faults:

Check Engine light came on at about 20,000 miles.

Dealer Service changed ignition coil. Light still on.

Dealer Service changed Mass Airflow Sensor three times. Light still on.

Dealer Service changed Breather Tube. Light still on.

Dealer Service changed Catalytic Converter. Light was on and off intermittently for a few months, then finally went off. Still comes on every now and then, but doesn't effect engine's performance.

On cold starts, regardless of season (in MA), the engine would idle loudly and sputter on initial acceleration. This started at about 25,000 miles. You could not pull into traffic without fearing for your life. The engine sputter would cause the car to buck violently as I accelerated. The loud idling would stop after the engine kicked down. Not until the car was driven for a mile did it stop bucking like that. It was only during acceleration from a dead stop. Brought the car to Dealer Service and they attributed the problem to the Breather Tube. Once they changed the Breather Tube the sputtering ceased, but the loud idling still exists.

The loud idling sounds like there's a leak in the exhaust, but after the engine kicks down after idling for about one minute it stops and sounds normal again. When it finally does kick down there is a loud hiss that sounds like air escaping from a valve. Just a little louder than the turbo kicking in. It still happens and I need to find a solution to fix this problem Other than that the car runs great.

General Comments:

The car is fun to drive.

It has quick acceleration and the handling is superb.

The 1.8T Wolfsburg blows away my previous standard 2L, 4Cyl Jetta.

The car is built solid.