12th Jun 2007, 08:33

Try the relay switch. I had that same fans-not-turning-on issue on a 1998 Jetta. I had to get the relay switch replaced; it was fine thereafter.

25th Jun 2007, 00:52

Car started to over heat last week. Mechanic replaced the thermostat, but now they are going to replace the water pump. Along with the water pump the mechanic suggested that the timing belt be replaced as well (Jetta 1.8T has 150,000kms - 2003).

Anyways, I'm looking at about $600.00 right now. Oil change, thermostat, water pump, and timing belt.

I should know if that water pump fixes the overheating problem this Wednesday or Thursday. If not then it could be the fan as well (which I noticed didn't come on).

26th Jun 2007, 15:01

Well, here's the low down. It was the water pump, however, they replaced the thermostat before they knew for sure that it was the water pump and also since they were doing the water pump the timing belt was replaced too (155,00kms - 2003).

Timing Belt Kit - $332.85

Main Belt - $48.40

Water Pump - $97.25

Thermostat - $37.87

Coolant - $25.00.

Good 'ol labour - $320.00.

For a grand total of $861.37.

28th Jun 2007, 23:11

I own a 1997 jetta diesel. I replaced the timing belt and decided to change the water pump at the same time. Since then I have replaced the water pump two more times in the last 6 months! They start leaking right below the pulley?What is up with these cheap replacement parts?

6th Jul 2007, 13:28

I have a 2001 Jetta 1.8T. The other day I lost power and it would not restart. It looks like I may have broke a timing belt. Howard Cooper VW in Ann Arbor told me it would probably run me $4,800 to fix because I probably bent some valves and may have even destroyed the head.

Has anyone else had this happen and is this accurate?

They also wouldn't be looking at it for at least a week so I towed it somewhere else. I was thinking about putting a new head on it myself (if that's what really is wrong with it).

How hard is that?

17th Jul 2007, 23:14

Never heard of your problem about losing power. Was the car in motion? or at idle?

$4,800.00 sounds steep. Should definitely get a second opinion... sorry I couldn't be of more help. Please, let us know what the outcome of this is.

I love my Jetta 1.8T, but I highly doubt my next purchase will be a VW.

18th Jul 2007, 12:52

My timing belt broke on my 2001 VW Jetta 1.8 Turbo about a year ago bending many valves and cracking the head. I had to have a new head machined all valves replaced and more. All in all this cost me right around $2,500 so $4,000 might be a little much.

6th Aug 2007, 14:09

My 2001 Jetta with ~88,000 miles just overheated and had similar problems to the ones being described by others. My A/C stopped working & now the car overheats. Will take it into the shop and get a rental in the mean time.

I have already had my water pump replaced once before (~70,000 miles) and this was covered under warranty since there was a recall on the water pump. I still had to pay to have my car towed 60+ miles from the mountains into Seattle.

The quality on the Jetta has proved to be disappointing and its terrible to not have a car that I can rely on.

12th Aug 2007, 21:36

Recently purchased a 2000 VW Jetta VR6 with 40,000 miles. After owning it less than a week the air conditioner has quit blowing cold air and the car has overheated three times. The car just recenlty overheated while idleing in traffic for several minutes.

From reading this forum I'm thinking water pump for the overheating issue, but not sure if the AC issue is related.

15th Aug 2007, 07:18

I just recently got my diagnosis on my 2000 Jetta VR6. The car was overheating when idling, seemed fine while moving in traffic, and the air conditioner quit blowing cool air.

The mechanic told me it was the coolant fan for both issues. I get it back tonight and will update you on how everything works and the cost of parts and labor. Fortunately for me since I just bought the car the dealer is covering costs.

Question: Has anyone found a better water pump for their car than the stock one from VW? If so could you give me some product details.

16th Aug 2007, 07:18

To fix overheating and A/C issue on my 2000 Jetta VR6 it cost $200 for the cooling fan and $170 for labor. I found cooling fans online for around $100 so this could be a much cheaper issue if you were a do-it-yourself mechanic.

21st Aug 2007, 02:41

Hi.

My 2000 Jetta A/C started blowing hot at stop lights and I started smelling hot coolant every time I stopped the car. I found that my engine cooling fan (left one) was not working at all. I verified that it was the fan by applying direct current from the batt to the fan. Got a new OEM fan on ebay for $85.00 including shipping to HI.

Fixed the problem!!!

22nd Aug 2007, 11:36

My 2001 VW Jetta started to overheat last night going down the freeway. I turned on the heater and slowed down. The temp. dropped a bit, but never went below 200'. My fluid is full, thermostat is opening, pump is sending fluid through upper hose, and the fans come on if I turn on the A/C. However, If the A/C is off, the radiator cooling fans do not come on even as the temp climbs over 190'. Could it be the temperature sensor. All thoughts would be a big help.

23rd Aug 2007, 15:44

Same problems... overheating immediately, top hose very hot, bottom hose very cold, they diagnosed the problem as the Radiator Cooling Fan Switch 55.00 - 65.00 dollars at VW (not covered by warranty,) which I replaced in 5 minutes... Still overheats and the fans still do not come on unless the A/C is on no matter the temp. Even with the fans running it still overheats at idle and while driving at times it jumps from 190 (normal) to 260 degrees (max on gauge) in less than a second... any ideas? At the moment it is not drivable due to the speed at which it overheats cannot go more than a mile.

24th Aug 2007, 16:12

I did all services of my 2001 Jetta at same dealership that I purchased the car.

I replaced the timing belt at 92000 miles with all the other 9 yards.

I did a major service at 119500 miles.

At 121500 miles, when my wife was driving the car in a parking lot, the engine made a loud noise and stopped running. I towed the car to the nearest dealer; they told me that 2 of the bolts of the 2 engine mounts were missing. The last bolt had snapped and the engine mount damaged the block and the timing belt. The estimate to replace the engine was $5600.

I think the dealer who replaced the timing belt did not install the engine mounts properly, or when they did the 119500 service they did not pay attention if the engine mount bolts were missing at that time.

Overall I spent over $4000 for the servicing of that car in the last 5.5 years