Faults:

Ignition Coils -- all 4 - after 3 months.

Dead battery due to leaving rear lid open.

Dead battery after radio failed, fuse #42 worked to restart radio.

Overheating due to piece of wood stuck in fan.

Heater failed after one year -

Door handles peeling.

General Comments:

This car was fine while under warranty.

Handles well for 4 cylinder, although engine stresses when car idles.

Faults:

Faulty Break light switch.

Bumper came off when I parked in a parking lot, due to the low body.

Cup holders not placed in a smart place, right on the radio. Difficult to control it at times.

General Comments:

I love this car, I just wish that nothing else will go wrong!

Faults:

Igntion coils blown.

Front windows falling into door.

Arm rest broken.

Peeling door handles and under ignition key.

Engine light.

Whining noise in engine compartment at low rpm's.

Radio won't work.

OEM tires had to be replaced at 24,000K.

General Comments:

Nice to drive, but dealer is located far away and is a problem to get it there everytime to fix.

Hate interior-collects lint.

Faults:

4 hours after I bought the car (used), my transmission blew. It was so badly damaged that it needed to be replaced and not just rebuilt (this reflects the competency and willingness to lie of the dealership where I bought the car in North Providence, RI).

Interior door handles are peeling.

Mass Air Flow Sensor needed to be replaced.

Windshield leaked onto driver's side floor and caused mold buildup.

Radio died last week - will not power on and pulling out the fuse has not worked to fix the problem.

Cup holder is in a supremely stupid place.

General Comments:

Handles well and hugs the road nicely.

Fun car to drive, but the little things that have gone wrong have made this is incredibly frustrating purchase. I wouldn't buy another new-model used VW.

Faults:

My engine was stalling within the first 3 month since I purchase the car, and I purchase the car brand new.

A wire in the A/C unit was not working, and I took the car back to the dealer about 2-3 times and they insist that the A/C was working, I had to take it to a local repair shop, and they fixed the problem within 3 hours.

The door handle starts to peel off.

Needed to replace the transmission at 40,000 miles.

Alternator got burned.

And now the alarm is going off constantly.

Water pump was totally broken into pieces.

Total I have spend more than $8,000 just on repairing the car.

General Comments:

This car is very unreliable.

The front bumper of this model was a totally bad design.

Faults:

The dealership I bought the car and used to service the car knew me by my first name. This tells you something.

Ignition coils replaced twice.

I got this car brand new and the driver side heated side mirror was broken from the beginning.

Check Engine Light (CEL) would light up sporadically. Had this checked out a few times, but there was never really an explanation for it. It would go away by itself.

Front passenger side window fell down into the window one day. This is another common problem with other MK4 generation owners. A clip on the window regulators need to be replaced. Although this is covered under warranty, it is quite a nuisance if it's in the evening and your dealership is already closed for the day. Luckily, I don't park my car outdoors!

Driver side inside door handle material was peeling for no apparent reason. Had this replaced free of charge at the dealer.

General Comments:

Owning this car was a love and hate relationship. I really like this car. German styling, beautiful interior, adequate power, lots of features (I did get it fully-loaded however).

One of the major negative aspects I had with the car was the soft suspension. Even though I had the "sports package" with the 17" Long Beach rims, the ride height was quite high, not to mention very floaty. The leather seats also provided next to none lateral support and were kind of hard, making long road trips feel somewhat like you're sitting on a picnic bench.