25th Mar 2010, 07:54

I guess misery loves company. I feel vindicated that many others are having the same kinds of problems with their 2001 Jetta, and it's not just me and bad "karma". I bought my 2001 Jetta new, and what's gone wrong since then? Ah, let me count the ways:

1) Fuel pump went bad at 18,000 miles. Towed out of my garage.

2) Throttle body bad at 22,000 miles. Towed out of my garage.

3) Spent three hours looking for a melted crayon the first time I smelled that infernal odor

4) Two windows went down and wouldn't go back up -- all window clips replaced

5) Cracked "coil pack" resulting in car not starting or shaking and smoking in bad weather

6) Car is now on its third catalytic converter (major $)

7) Automatic transmission decides if it feels like going into reverse

8) Front wheel bearings went at 80,000 miles

9) Center armrest broken

10) Rear cupholder broken

11) Constantly burning out tail light bulbs

12) Rough upshifting of transmission since the day I bought it. "Normal!" proclaimed VW dealer.

The car looks great. But it will suck out your soul. Stay away from the 2001 Jetta, for the love of God I beg you!

21st Apr 2010, 10:12

I also have a 2001 Jetta. I am laughing so hard, because for the life of me I didn't know what that smell was.

I also suffer from the check engine light syndrome. I was told that when air gets into the gas tank when I need to fill up, it will come on and eventually go off. Well that was true for a while, but now it's on every day and the car won't accelerate, then it will accelerate, then it will down shift shimmy and shake like it wants to stop then runs normally. It idles weird and I just thought I needed a tune up.

I am in the process of trying to get rid of it. I have about 95K on it. It ran pretty good for the most part, but I am over on how funky it's been riding lately...

28th Jun 2010, 11:07

For anyone with leak problems in their VW, there has been a class action lawsuit filed against VW for the bad drainage systems in the roof of most Jettas, Beetles and Passats. It is a common problem, and they have fined VW a crap load of money for people with this problem to get it fixed for free, as well as reimbursed for any money that was put into fixing these problems. If you haven't gotten the letter in the mail yet, I would definitely recommend finding the information on it and getting it fixed, and also getting your money back. As long as you have your receipts, you should be fine.

Also, I have experienced the same problems with the tranny getting stuck in 3rd gear. My RPMs shoot up without any gear change, and I've just been driving it around like that only because it would happen when I was stuck in stop and go traffic. Every time I would shut the car off to cool down and turn it back on it would be fine. But now the check engine light has come on, and it has been stuck in gear for the last 8 days. Big problem. I'm not sure what to do, especially that I don't have the money to fix it.

Any suggestions?

25th Jul 2010, 09:01

I bought a 2001 Jetta TDI new, and now have 212000 miles on it, and it still runs fine. It has been through 10 Canadian winters and still runs fine.

Original transmission, shocks muffler etc.

Biggest item I had to replace was the air conditioner a few years ago. The car has no rust and looks great!

Over 10 years I have put $10,000 of maintenance on this car (including tires, brakes, wipers, bulbs etc), but my cost per mile has been great.

The diesel version is the way to go. Stay away from the gas versions. The money I saved compared to a regular gas version pays for 75% of all the maintenance I have paid.

I have had 2 Honda CRVs, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Ford Taurus, Sable Aerostar, Camaro etc, and the Jetta TDI has been the cheapest to drive by far. Do the math. The diesel Jettas are so reliable and cheap to drive, my friends won't consider buying one until they have at least 62000 miles on it. I also have leather interior which still looks new. A sun roof which still works fine, and never leaked. My first brake job was at 90000 miles.

I do a lot of highway driving. I haul a 1200 lb trailer with a boat with 4-5 persons in the car, and the car drives 70 mph on cruise up hills without slowing down. Try that with a Prius or Civic. Come pry my Jetta from my dying hands if you can. I refuse offers on it all the time. Moral of this story, go DIESEL guys!!!

9th Aug 2010, 14:13

I got a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta GLX VR6 as a gift from my parents. They bought it from our family friend. He gave us the car rather cheap because he knew us. Like many, I too have had numerous problems with my car. Since getting it about 5 years ago, I have had to replace brakes, water pump, ignition sets (2x) at the price of $600 each time. Serpentine belt, tires, transmission, O2 sensors, wiper motor, and the wiper linkage just to name a few.

I would not suggest this car to anyone else. My car also smells like crayons every time I get into it.

17th Aug 2010, 16:09

Well well, as I am not shocked that I am not the only one.. I have every problem listed on this page except the good experiences... That's fantastic.. about the only thing that still works in my car and has always worked.. is my air! Well I guess that's a blessing, since I live in Florida... But how about this VW is the worst car I have ever owned, and will never buy one again.. and further more, mine is a year younger than most; it's an 2002. Imagine that!

30th Sep 2010, 02:28

I also feel better (not so much) now that I have read all the 2001 Jetta posts.

I bought the car with 35k on it, and at 92k the transmission started slipping in 3rd gear, and won't shift consistently to 4th. It jerks when it does shift into any gear. It is so expensive to fix! $3500-4,000? And to just put another VW transmission into it! How long will that last, based on the fact that almost all of our transmissions have failed at about 90k?

I only paid 12,000 for it, just got done paying off the note on it, and the transmission goes within a few months. What to do, what to do? Is it worth having it replaced? Does the whole tranny have to be replaced or just parts of it?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.