2002 Volkswagen Jetta GLS from North America

Summary:

VW needs to be held accountable!

Faults:

Radio (4 times)

Moon-roof leaked

Front seat broke

Windows fell into door

Battery died @ 1year

Exhaust Plate loose

Wiper Fluid nozzle broke

Interior peeled

Shift knob peeled (twice)

General Comments:

I have been in and out of the dealership for the first two years. I couldn't go two months without something going wrong.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th July, 2004

19th Mar 2009, 11:25

I had a 1970 Volkswagen Beetle that I traded in 2001.

I guess you won't see many of the newer Volkswagens still going strong at 31 years old.

2002 Volkswagen Jetta GLS 1.9 turbo diesel from North America

Summary:

A lemon to avoid with your dear life!

Faults:

Turbo failed at 106,000. Repair estimated at $1700+.

Mileage has dropped from 49 on interstate to only 41 MPG.

Cruise sometimes didn't work.

Glow plugs light flashed on and off.

Radio and CD changer occasionally didn't work properly.

A/C smells musty.

Front ends 'groans' when going over bumps.

Engine loses power when cruising at highway speeds. If you turn the ignition on and off, it will get its power back, but for a few hundred miles if lucky. Dealer has been unable to diagnose this problem after two trips to dealer.

ABS failed at 32,000. Dealer replaced under warranty.

Door panel lights and A/C control lights failed. Replaced under warranty.

General Comments:

My VW was the worst car I have ever bought new. My 1998 Hyundai Accent was a more reliable car!

The power loss lasted for nearly 25,000 miles. The dealership was clueless. Last week the turbo began to squeal. Turns out a bearing failed.

Instead of paying the required $1700 to fix the turbo I bought a new car. The new turbo wasn't a sure fix for the power loss on the interstate (a possible electrical failure) or the blinking, flashing and generally possest nature of the cockpit lights, my CD player and the cruise control.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 15th July, 2004

18th Jun 2005, 08:03

I've had similar "power loss" with my 2002, but it has the Tiptronic. @67K VW says I should buy a new tranny. Wonderful!!!

2002 Volkswagen Jetta GLS 2.0 from North America

Summary:

You get what you pay for

Faults:

When I first bought the car it seemed nice, but as months passed problems had been evolving.

The most recent problem was the windows, at about 30000 miles the passenger window started to scrape against the mechanism in the door and eventually the window just fell into the door frame. I am very fortunate that the warranty covered this.

As of now the transmission is starting to act up and shifts very hard even though I had it serviced recently.

As with every other Jetta I have come across the trunk net has broken because of very poor placement and poor construction.

General Comments:

The Jetta is a good looking affordable car that as you go on run into little problems, but for some people who are very unfortunate have bigger problems, there's always that chance.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd July, 2004

2002 Volkswagen Jetta from North America

Summary:

Dead transmission, half a loan to go

Faults:

Today the transmission died. This car only has 37,700 miles and has had all scheduled maintenance. In fact, I just paid $600 to have a "thorough" 40K checkup a week before it died. Luckily, the auto technician was driving it when it quit, so the dealer was inclined to believe there was a problem.

The car would jolt at around 27RPMs, and I complained about this problem 4 times to the dealer--each time they said they "reset the codes" and it would be fine. Yesterday, the car wouldn't go in reverse, and we noticed it was making grinding sounds.

We also have electrical issues:

-They fixed the brake switch (recall)

-Radio has been replaced 3 times

-The left turn signal turns on the reverse lights

-The trunk release button doesn't work

-Cruise control quits when I signal to change lanes

-Brake light bulbs burn out with great frequency

-Car died after sitting in the summertime for 5 days without having been driven (dealer said the car alarm drained the battery)

And

-The armrest broke

-The knob to adjust the rear view mirrors broke

Both were made of cheap plastic. The dealer fixed the armrest, but said it would be $200 to replace the mirror knob.

General Comments:

I am totally displeased with this car. I give it a frowny face. I was very excited to purchase this vehicle and a true Jetta fanatic, and I'm truly never going to purchase another VW again. I've lost all trust in this company. My little Pontiac Sunfire ran circles around this heap--this expensive, halfway -through-the-loan-with-dead-transmission heap.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th June, 2004

18th Jun 2004, 20:45

My former 2002 automatic Jetta used to jolt going into 3rd gear. After numerous trips to the dealer, they finally replaced the transmission. A few days later it began jolting again. VW again replaced the transmission. A few months later, it did exactly the same jolting. The auto shifter ended up having all its links and cables replaced. Unfortunately, I don't know if that solved the problem. I dumped that lemon, for a loss, 3 days after the last repair. I LOVE my new Volvo!

28th Jun 2004, 12:41

I have also had numerous problems with my 2002 Jetta 1.8T. Too many to list here. I posted a comment about my jetta on the home page. I am now working with VW America to see about a buy back or a trade up.

This car sucks.

29th Jun 2004, 14:34

I agree and feel you pain. I used to own a GLS 2000 and had lots of expensive problems. Got rid of it and now I drive a honda CRV no more problems.

1st Jul 2004, 01:32

Wow. It's almost like I wrote that review...

I LOVED my Jetta, (so comfortable and so many nice features) until my car too would not drive backwards, had yellow goo leaking out of the doors, air conditioning that only cooled when going on the freeway, automatic mirrors that did not work, a burnt out brake light, and sunken windows. Once the battery started to die I ate the loan and bought a new car.

Too bad. : (

19th Jul 2004, 22:58

Your problems sound very similar to mine with my Jetta GLX 2001 VR6. Same transmission problems, dealer telling me he "reset the computer codes" but actually made the problem worse. Piece of expensive junk.

26th Jun 2005, 23:17

I was thinking of purchasing a new car this fall, a new Jetta in particular because of the nice styling of them. But after reading all of the reviews, I have changed my mind about getting a Jetta. I have never seen so many unhappy faces for a car model. The percentage is well over 70% dissatisfied.

I'll opt for a Honda instead.

Thanks for saving me a lot of money/headaches.

I stil love the look of the Jetta, hopefully VW can get their act together.

S. Keeley.