25th Jun 2009, 14:31

My radio went out in my '02 Jetta 1.8T. I tried the fuse 42 trick, and it still doesn't work. Any other suggestions? I'm going on a 5 1/2 hour road trip in 30 minutes and it's going to be kind of lame if I have no music. I left the car on when I did the fuse thing and I tried it when it was off. No luck. The only other time my radio went out was when the battery was going dead. My battery is a full power.

29th Jun 2009, 12:26

I have recently purchased an 02 VW Jetta 1.8T. After reading this site I was petrified and thought OMG what I have I done. After driving this car around for a week, I love it, it has great power and awesome mileage.

Besides when I shut it off and it won't start right away.

My dash clock resets itself and flashes along with a constant clicking noise. 90% of the time I get in and the car will start. The other times I just sit outside of a store like I am waiting for someone and keep trying to turn it over.

The symptoms when I turn the key to ACC (before the engine cranks) no lights will light up on the dash. When I turn the key back and remove it, the clock begins to flash and the clicking noise starts. It will flash all night and click ALL NIGHT UNTIL THE KEY IS INSERTED.

For only owning the car a short time, I have a list of all the warranty repairs made, and since this an electrical question, I'll let you know the wiring has been replaced twice in the past. So I get my oil changed at VW, they realize the car has been there before and bring up its local service history along with the national service warranty. The quoted the last owner 2000.00$ plus to fix it. They THINK it's coolant running down the wiring harness and shorting the wires out and corroding them. They said battery has full load under the hood, but inside the car when the clock is flashing and is clicking it reads 2v in the car.

Not sure if I should fix something that will eventually happen again. I don't know why coolant leaks under the hood? There is nothing wrong with the block or engine. The mechanics tell me it normal for the coolant to release.

There are a ton of other things I could go on about, but they don't effect the performance of the car, I want to be able to start the car and drive it! The best advice I have seen on here except FUSE 42 is that MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE!!!

12th Jul 2009, 06:55

I bought a used 02 Jetta last July, and the only problem I had so far was the seat spring and the brake light switch switch and check engine light. The seat worked fine still, so I just dumped the spring in the garbage, end of that.

To fix the brake switch is simple; right behind the brake pedal is the switch, unplug it twist it to the right and pop it out, done.

The check engine light (LOL), I just ignore it.

I've owned 4 Jettas; 91-95-99-02. On the 99 I replaced the mass air sensor, it went out for 22 miles then came back on, that was at around 40k miles, and I ran it all the way past 100k without any problems. Got over 420 miles on a tank of gas and never replaced the O2 sensors.

On my 02 I'm at 126k and due for a timing belt replacement, on my 99 I ran it up to 115 k and never changed the timing belt, even though I bought the belt and had it in my trunk for a year.

That's all the problems I've had so far, and I would definitely buy another Jetta. I'm looking at an 06-07 in the very near future.

12th Jul 2009, 07:48

If your check engine light is on and you do not want to shell out big bucks, do what I do; disconnect the battery negative for about ten minutes, then reconnect it and head straight to get your emission sticker (LOL).

17th Aug 2009, 15:50

I have had my 02 Jetta for several years now and had a couple minor cosmetic problems (interior peeling), but recently my radio died out of nowhere, just found out my brake lights don't work and the lights for the heating/ac don't work. Has anybody had any of these problems? Could these all be fuse issues?

5th Sep 2009, 16:02

I found this site because I am having trouble with my 2002 Jetta radio, it does not work at all. My mother bought the car new and has since passed away, so after sitting for about six months, I decided to start driving it to save gas over my normal ride.

Everything works fine with the car except the radio. Nothing whatsoever on the display, like it's dead.

Since the factory fuse chart is worthless, I searched around on the net and found the radio is on fuse 42, 25 amp. I was excited when I found others had the same dead radio problem and mention removing fuse 42 for a few moments corrected their issue. It tried it but with no success. Question, do you remove and replace the fuse with the ignition on or off? Also, I have all the original documentation but can't find the radio codes. What section of the manual or what kind of card am I looking for. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

28th Sep 2009, 07:18

Thank y'all soooooooooooooo much for the radio fuse 42 trick!!! You guys are great!!! I've been riding for like a month with no radio!!! Thanks again!!!

29th Sep 2009, 20:34

THE 2002 JETTA IS THE BIGGEST PIECE OF GARBAGE I'VE EVER OWNED.

Bought it from a dealership with 38k miles on it. Looked great, ran great, drove great.

Then after about 70k, in spite of regular maintenance, it started to fall apart.

The biggest problem is the tranny, which does this weird thing where it won't shift out of first sometimes. When it does this, I have to slide the shifter into neutral, turn the key off, let it roll about 40 yards, then crank it again. Then it shifts normally. VW says all they can do is replace the tranny -- $6400! Can't get a diagnosis on this problem, and I've looked and asked all around. but that's just one problem, and I'm tired of typing. DON'T BUY ONE OF THESE CARS.

2nd Oct 2009, 15:12

I've had my '02 Jetta for about 3 years now, and though I love driving it, because of maintenance issues I will never own another Volkswagen again.

Currently I'm dealing with issues with my battery or alternator. My car just died last night out of nowhere, and the battery is only about a year old.

I bought the car used with about 48k on it. Have had the catalytic converter replaced, but my engine light came back on about a month or so later. I've heard there is a recall, but the dealerships aren't close to where I live, so it's hard to get it in & get it taken care of. And I hope that's the only problem.

I have yet to experience the radio problems that others have, but my horn did go out and instead of trying to replace the whole airbag casing ($$$), a mechanic friend wired a separate horn button, but now that has stopped working too.

I recently replaced a bunch of parts in my coolant system (hoses, the water pump casing, etc.) to the tune of $1200. My cigarette lighter port has also stopped working, replaced the fuse, it blew again. To get it fixed I'd need them to take the dash apart, which would give me the opportunity to fix the broken handle on my glove box. Because to fix that small handle they would need to take apart the dash, costing about $300 if I did it by itself.

All in all, I could probably spend more money on fixing all the little things that have gone wrong than I spent on the actual car in the first place. I've found out that as much fun as a Volkswagen is to drive, owning one has proved to be a bad investment for me.