19th May 2006, 18:50

I wish I had found this website several years ago! I too have a 2002 Jetta. Today my passenger window fell into the door frame. Recall on the ignition coils? I had not heard about that one.

Soon after I bought my car, the radio mysteriously stopped working. If I did not drive the car for a day, the battery would be dead and I would need to jump it. After a jump, voila! The radio would work! Until it died again. Repeat the process several times. Actually, I haven't had a problem with my radio for a while now (knock on wood).

The reason I bought the car was because I loved my 1996 Jetta GLS! Great mileage, comfortable, quick. And it went for six years and 186,000 miles. The only major repair I had done on it was to replace the front wheel bearings.

Compared to that, the 2002 model was such a disappointment. And I could never figure out how the overall size of the car could get bigger, yet the trunk was smaller, the back seats had less leg room, the passenger and driver seats had less leg room, the seats were narrower, etc.

For what it's worth, it's four years old with 86,000 miles on it. And except for the radio and the window today, I have not had many of the problems I see posted here. But I am thinking I should not use my seat warmers anymore!

29th May 2006, 22:38

I purchased a used 2002 Jetta in 2005 and I am having similar problems. My radio went out on me and I thought I would have to purchase another one until the battery died and I had to jump-start the car. Luckily, the radio came back on, but now the car won't start without a jump-start. I also have a check engine light on caused by the temperature thingamajig going bad, so I guess that must be fixed. I can drive about a quarter of a mile and restart the car and the temp light will go out until I let the car rest overnight. I'm glad to see everyone's comments so I don't feel like I bought a lemon.

6th Jun 2006, 16:20

I've also had issues with the radio dying for no apparent reason. After a bit of searching on the internet I have found this comment:

"I was told by a serviceman at my dealership that if you leave a CD in the radio too long, then the computer in the radio messes up. Removing and replacing the fuse will reset the computer. If you remove your CDs from the radio on a regular basis, you should not have this problem."

This does tie in with the other radio problems people have reported and the fix of removing fuse 42 for a few seconds. Sounds like VW have/had a software bug in their radio, removing power for a while resets the software and fixes the problem until the next time you leave a CD in for too long.

27th Jun 2006, 21:30

We just purchased a 2002 Jetta about 7 months ago. I love this car! To my dismay last week the passenger side window made a loud “thunk” when I tried to roll it up (power windows). What was I to do? Try to roll it down of course! At that time the window fell into the door…the very next day the radio mysteriously quit working. The alarm light was still blinking on it, but no other power was present. Today we removed fuse 42 and then replaced it after about 10 seconds as advised in this forum, it worked…THANK YOU to the fella who posted that advice!

We took the car in to get the window fixed…$648.00, whew, that is a lot of green. After rooting around online we have decided to replace the window regulator ourselves, which is what caused the window to fall. Apparently it has plastic tabs that drive the window up and down; these plastic tabs are known for breaking. I have seen metal replacements; however after talking to the parts guys at our local import parts store, he informed us that the plastic tabs are a feature used to save the motor in the event that the window was binding. Not sure how true this is, but it seems reasonable. Here is a link we found that gives step by step instructions with very good illustrations on the replacement of the window regulator, which incidentally is costing us $87.90 vs. $648.00.

28th Jun 2006, 08:44

I posted the advice to remove and re-insert the fuse to get the radio working again. I'm glad I could help.

As far as the window tabs go. VW should replace the plastic tabs with metal ones when they fail.

I can't believe you were charged for the repair.

Contact VW customer service!

30th Jun 2006, 17:06

I submitted an earlier post with comments of a link to a DIY for the window regulator on a 2002 Jetta, I forgot to put the link in... sorry. FYI, I replaced the window regulator today, fairly simple, just time consuming. http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1015107

8th Jul 2006, 08:24

I have a 2002 Cabrio that sat for about a month. When I tried to start the car the battery was dead. I replaced the battery, but the car still will not start. It turns over and and has plenty of juice and gas. It still will not start. I replaced the spark plug wires and cap. I tried pumping the gas pedal and you smell the gas, but it still will not start. If anyone has had a similar problem and found a solution please give me a call. Al Demsky 717-838-8200. Thank you for any help or suggestions.

8th Jul 2006, 19:51

Today, I went to roll down my passenger window and there it went! Right into the door. I see other people have had this problem. One poster mentioned a recall? I went online and looked at the recalls (I've been there done that with the radio, brake lights and seat spring popping out). Does anyone know of a recall about the window? How did you get it fixed? I'm so fed up with these little problems, I am really thinking the dealer should take care of this one.

Thanks for the info!

10th Jul 2006, 09:43

The window regulators can be replaced free of charge by VW. They have a recall notice/service bulletin for them.

Also the sunroof has a drain plug insed each of the front side doors that can sometimes be clogged with detritus. Pinching the black valve will cause the blockage to free itself or using an airhose to blow it clear will work. I learned that the hard way after finding 3 inches of water on the drivers side floor. :(