Faults:

The problems with this vehicle have been quite extensive and expensive. Where shall I begin?

Burnt out Headlight (4 times)

Burnt out day-time driving light.

Burnt out license plate light- every other time it goes in.

Burnt out brake light 2x (same one out of 4)

Burnt out rear turn signal.

Air Flow Mass Sensor ($500)

Some other sensor ($600)

Vacuum Hose.

Oil Sludge Issue- this is a ridiculous issue. VW has to take apart the entire bottom of the car to change the oil. Then they realized that the more this plate on the bottom of the car is taken off, over time it gets looser. So then they decided to syphon out the oil because that is easier, but do they realize its not as very effective in terms of getting rid of oil slug.

Fuel Injector Clogging.

Starter Motor.

Battery ($200) -don't forget this car uses a special battery. The battery is located all the way in the back of the engine bay incased under this giant piece of plastic- I don't even know how you would put in a new one, but it doesn't matter because if you take out the battery and put it back in, the car will not start unless the dealer resets the computer.

Right CV Joint.

Left CV Joint.

Left Rear Door Seal.

Trunk Lock 2x.

Hardware holding on plate covering the bottom of the car that is removed for oil changing fell off -$61 to replace.

There is more I am sure that I am just forgetting.

General Comments:

Its fun to drive and the interior quality is excellent, but repairs and just general maintenance are too much. For example- $67 oil changes.

I have put MUCH more money into this yr 2001.5 vehicle than our 1996 Suburban with 216,000 miles on it and our 1996 Grand Cherokee with 196,000 miles on it. Lets just say that Suburban and the Jeep each had the entire A/C systems replaced and the Jeep had its transmission rebuilt.

Faults:

Have had serious issues with the car not starting over the course of the last two years, and am currently dealing with a low oil pressure/STOP engine light due to sludge, along with a leaking water pump, vacuum hose issues and two unknown computer codes.

General Comments:

I love the look of this car and how it drives, the space it affords. My husband has a 99 Beetle with over 100,000 miles and we thought this would be a wonderful car for me when we had our child.

I should have known something was wrong when the car needed a new battery when we left the used dealer lot, but really liking the car otherwise, we did not consider this to be a big issue. We replaced the battery immediately at their cost, but have since had two more batteries as well a new alternator. Typically, the car would not start after sitting for a few days during the winter. Most recently, it would not start on a summer day. Took it in to have it looked at, but could not find anything wrong.

Just two days ago, I was making a 300 mile trip, and the oil pressure/STOP engine light came on. Fortunately I was near an exit with a large commercial area and was able to get the oil changed immediately. I thought this would fix the problem, but the light came on again. The engine sounded great - no ticking or knocking - so under advisement, I drove it very slowly back to my personal mechanic. They have diagnosed the problem as "sludge" which will cost about $500. In addition, the water pump is leaking, which will run another $1000-$1200, AND there is general maintenance and vacuum hoses that need to be done for an additional $500. Last, but definitely not least, there are two computer codes showing up that they do not know what they mean - this is a mechanic who only deals with VWs (but not a dealer)... SO - I am now looking to trade this in. I should not have these kinds of problems on a car with only 50,000 miles!!