14th Aug 2009, 22:22

I wonder if you would still feel the same about your Jetta's when you find out that they are in fact manufactured in Puebla Mexico, which till this day has never been known for producing quality/reliable vehicles.

15th Aug 2009, 15:41

I bought my 2009 Jetta in March; no problems and I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed any vehicle I've owned more than this one.

And yes, I was always fully aware that it was assembled in Puebla, Mexico. Arriba!

9th Sep 2009, 20:29

My 1993 diesel Golf was also assembled in Mexico. I had a few issues with the trunk and door latches, but other than that, it was the most reliable car I've ever owned. It had 350 000 miles on the counter, and was working perfectly well when I handed it down to my son. And guess what, he crashed the car, and that was the end of it (luckily, my son was not hurt).

I'm now driving a 2009 TDI Jetta with 20 000 miles, and not a single issue since the very start.

The car is a real pleasure to drive. I've checked performance and comfort ratings at jdpower.com, and the 2009 Jetta scores better than Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Malibu, Nissan Altima, Honda Civic, and even Mazda6 and Ford Fusion. And the last 2 are really great cars. I've driven Mazda3 and Impala rental cars lately, and must say JD Power ratings are quite accurate. I don't think you're taking a big risk anymore when you buy a new VW Jetta.

13th Sep 2009, 01:11

I have owned our 2009 Jetta TDI for 2.5 months now. So far...

I ABSOLUTELY love this car! Probably the thing I like most is the incredible torque. We just came back from a road trip in which we had to climb a very large mountain pass here in British Columbia called the Rogers Pass. It is without a doubt one of the steepest passes in BC. Our car is fully loaded and has the Tiptronic tranny. Using the manual mode in 5th gear I was passing everything in sight, cruising up a mountain pass at 125km/h, and wasn't even aware I was going that fast until I looked at my speed. Believe it or not, the little beast actually had more to give me as I accelerated to 130! Trust me, after owning a Kia the Jetta is like owning a Rolls Royce.

All I can say is that I don't care where the car is made, VW can't do a worst job of customer satisfaction than Kia! If you are looking at buying a Jetta, please do yourself a favor and seriously look at this car.

13th Sep 2009, 09:53

I am the original poster and am proving an update. Our 09 Jetta TDI now has just over 10K miles and I've had it in for the first FREE routine maintenance service, which included oil change and tire rotation.

The only issue we've had with the car is some creaking in the front suspension, which I addressed at the service interval. They replaced the bushings and problem solved - no cost.

Our Jetta continues to be a pleasant surprise. Solid and fast and really economical. We're averaging 32 in hilly city driving and well over 40 in highway driving. I'm regularly running B5 biodiesel in it.

My father and brother-in-law fought over driving it during a recent vacation here. They both drive large trucks and my dad also owns an Audi A8 - speaks well for this little car.

I was aware before buying the car that it was manufactured in Mexico, however the diesel engines are assembled in Germany and shipped to the Mexico plant. Also - the Mexico plant was renovated just before this model went into production and is scoring higher than the German plants for production quality. Just a little research tidbit - I did my homework.

25th Sep 2009, 14:59

I envy you, my 2009 Jetta has been nothing but crap. At 1000km it has been back to the dealer 4 times for problems.

6th Oct 2009, 20:20

I have had my Jetta TDI for a little over one year. It now has roughly 17000 miles on it.

I am having a problem with automatic tranny and shifting rough, and it feels like it is surging at slow speeds. In manual mode it doesn't seem to happen.. I'm guessing that it's a tranny problem, but sometimes it stalls and seems like it's going to stall. I have to make appointment with the dealer, will let you know how I make out.

Other that this problem, we LOVE this car..

2nd Jun 2010, 20:38

I've owned a 2003 VW Jetta for for two years, got it from my nephew, a crazy driver, and he owned it for 3 years. I can only say it's the most powerful car you can drive, reliable, quiet and very good with gas, I love it! The style is aerodynamic... a pleasure to drive, but careful it's too fast. I was a Toyota lover, now my cars are VW.

24th Jul 2010, 20:43

My german car repair mechanic told me that the new diesels are great, but that the diesel fuel in the United States, although they are working to improve it, is not as clean as that in Europe or as is needed by the new engines. He said cars come in with clogged fuel intakes, gunk build up, diesels he means. I am not sure how many miles it takes for this to show up. Do any of the United States VW diesel owners have info on this phenomena? Don't know if Canadian diesel fuel has same problem. If this is true, why is it such a secret?

29th Aug 2010, 22:56

The diesel fuel in Canada is ultra-low sulfur.

15th Oct 2010, 06:18

We have a 2004 TDI Jetta Wagon that we bought new. Automatic transmission and gets 38-44 mpg. It just turned 95,000 miles and still has the original brake pads! Dealer checked them yesterday and said they still show about 25% left. Only problems have been one CV joint and tie rod ends, jacket showing cracks, so we changed as a preventive measure. This car was built in Wolfsburg, Germany. I am concerned about the new Sportwagon Jetta being built in Mexico. The large corporation that I retired from is moving back to USA, since Mexico quality was so bad.

28th Mar 2016, 20:52

Our 2009 VW Jetta 1.9 TDI has 187.500 km and throughout the years it had the following problems:

Clutch had to be replaced at approx. 20.000 km.

Right rear door didn't open at 50.000 km (had to be repaired).

Front suspension system replaced and air conditioning system repaired at 125.000 km.

Camshaft and clutch replaced at 185.000 km.

Because it is a company car we didn't have to pay for its problems, but the total repair cost (without scratches and so on) was about 5000 €. It's not really the most reliable car ever.

Right now, the plastics inside started moving. The plastics around the climate control knobs started moving, air con vents are starting to move, passenger door handle (in the interior) started moving.

Design-wise, the Mk5 Jetta (we don't really use model years in Europe) looks much better than the new one. Our Jetta will be changed with a Mondeo (Fusion in America) 2.0 TDCi Powershift, which is quite a lot bigger, but less reliable. I have to say that the Jetta's dimensions are perfect for most of the people (at least in Europe).