2002 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA Complaints

AT ABOUT 65,000 MILES MY CAR WOULD SOMETIMES GET STUCK IN PARK. IT FELT LIKE I WAS TRYING TO DRIVE WITH THE PARKING BRAKE ON. THEN IT STOPPED GOING IN REVERSE. THE SHOPS IN MY AREA DON'T WORK ON VW'S DUE TO THEIR COMPLICATED TRANS. THE DEALER TOLD ME THEY DON'T REPAIR ANY TRANSMISSIONS, THAT THEY CAN ONLY REPLACE IT AT A COST OF $4500. I TOOK A LOAN FROM MY 401K, PAID IT THINKING IT WOULD LAST, AND SURE ENOUGH THIS ONE IS GOING TOO! IT ONLY HAD A WARRANTY OF 12000 MILES... SEEMS FISHY SINCE IT'S NEW. NEVER WILL I BUY A VW AGAIN. *TR

I OWN VW JETTA 1.8 TURBO 2002, AT 2005 HAD A COOLANT BOTTLE LEAKING INTO CONNECTION,CLUSTER, COOLANT FOUND AT CONNECTOR. SINCE MY CAR WAS UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY BY MASTERGUARD THEY JUST DID A PATCH WORK OVERLAYING HORNS TO CLUSTER AND REPLACING THE COOLANT BOTTLE AND CAP LEAVING ALL MAJOR WORK WHICH NEED TO BE DONE AT THIS CASE TO PREVENT FOLLOWING DAMAGE OF ENTIRE WIRING SYSTEM CAUSING COMPLETE FAILURE OF THE CAR. SO I WOULD PAY FROM MY WALLET $ 6000 OR MORE WHEN WARRANTY EXPIRES. MY CAR NOW STARTED HAVING ALL THIS PROBLEM DUE TO THAT COOLANT MIGRATION LEFT THERE. IT'S A MANUFACTURER DEFECT AND NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED BY MANUFACTURE. SO,WHO IS GOING TO PAY NOW FOR THAT? CLASS ACTION NEED TO BE TAKING AGAINST VW!!! *TR

VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 2002 COOLING FAN FAILURE/ INOPERATIVE I'VE BEEN TRYING TO LOCATE THE PROBLEM FOR ABOUT 2 MONTHS WITH NO LUCK AND I ALSO DID RESEARCH ON THE WEB AND THERE ARE QUITE A FEW PEOPLE THAT HAVE THIS SAME EXACT ISSUE SOMEONE PLEASE HELP. *TR

MY DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING. I TOOK IT TO A REPAIR SHOP AND THE MECHANIC SAID THAT PIECE THAT HOLDS THE WINDOW IN PLACE WAS STRETCHED AND ABOUT TO BREAK. WHEN I SPOKE WITH A FRIEND WHO USED TO OWN A JETTA OF THE SAME YEAR, MAKE, AND MODEL AS MINE, HE SAID THAT THE SAME THING HAD HAPPENED TO HIS VEHICLE. HE SAID THAT THERE HAD BEEN A RECALL ON THIS PART. WHEN I CHECKED THE NHTSA'S WEB SITE, HOWEVER, I COULD NOT FIND THIS RECALL. *TR THE CONSUMER HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINE AND THE STERRING COLUMN WAS DEFECTIVE. THE ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED RIGHT AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED. UPDATED 06/01/09.*JB

THE BOTTOM SEAT HEATER ON MY 2002 VW JETTA EITHER DOESN'T WORK AT ALL OR IF IT TURNS ON, IT OVERHEATS THE EXTREME RIGHT SIDE OF THE SEAT. A SMALL HOLE IS BURNED IN THE UPHOLSTERY, AND THE FOAM UNDERNEATH IS MELTED, DEFORMING THE APPEARANCE OF FABRIC ABOVE. THIS COULD RESULT IN A BURN TO THE SKIN ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE LEG IF IT GOES UNDETECTED. I SEE THIS AS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

2002 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 1.8TURBO AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. TRANSMISSION SHIFTS HARD FROM 3RD TO 4TH GEAR. NEEDS NEW TRANSMISSION. $4500. *TR

I HAVE TWO PROBLEMS, ONE WITH TEMPERATURE COOLANT SIGN. MANY JETTA'S HAVE THIS PROBLEM, IT OCCURS EVERY TIME I TURN ON THE CAR, SIGN ALWAYS COMES ON. THIS CAUSES SIGNALS AND COMPUTER PROGRAMS IN THE CAR TO BE CONFUSED, AND IS ALWAYS A DANGEROUS LIGHT BECAUSE I NEVER KNOW IF THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY CAR'S COOLANT OR RADIATOR. I HAVE REPLACED THIS PART ABOUT TWO TIMES THROUGH A MECHANIC SHOP WITH A VW PART TWICE. STILL IS A FAILURE, AND I READ MOST JETTAS HAVE THIS PROBLEM AND IT IS RIDICULOUS THAT VW CAN NOT FIX THIS EXPENSIVE PART FOR ITS CUSTOMERS. ALSO I HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY ALTERNATOR ONE DAY AGO. MY VEHICLE WAS FORCED TO STALL ON THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY CAUSING ME ALMOST TO GET INTO AN ACCIDENT. FOR SOME REASON MY CAR LOST ALL ITS POWER, BATTERY WAS ONLY ONE OR TWO WEEKS OLD, AND NOW MY ALTERNATOR DIED. MY CAR HAS ONLY 71,400 MILES ON IT, IT IS NOT VERY OLD, IT IS A MAJOR CONCERN TO SEE AN ALTERNATOR DIE THAT EARLY IN THE CAR, MAKES ME WONDER WHAT OTHER MAJOR PROBLEMS I HAVE IN THE FUTURE, LET ALONE WHAT I HAD IN THE PAST. NOW I HAVE TO FIX THIS CAR, AND WILL TAKE ONE WEEK TO FIX AND GET THE PART READY, COSTING ME ALMOST $600 IN REPAIR. NOT ONLY DID MY CAR BREAK DOWN ON THE HIGHWAY BUT THE CAR SMELT LIKE IT WAS BURNING, VERY DANGEROUS!!THIS A VW DEFECT, AND SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO ALL VW OWNERS ABOUT THEIR ALTERNATORS, IT DOESN'T FEEL SAFE IF THIS CAR KEEPS BREAKING DOWN, TIRED OF THIS CAR.OTHER RECALLS ABOUT THIS VEHICLE MAKE ME WANT TO QUESTION WHETHER TO DRIVE IT NOT, IF IT HAS A COUNTRY WIDE BRAKE PROBLEM IN THIS CAR. *TR

I BOUGHT MY 2002 JETTA 1.8T WITH AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN AUGUST OF 2006. THE DAY I PICKED IT UP, THE TRANSMISSION BLEW WHILE I WAS DRIVING. AFTER ABOUT 2 MONTHS, I FINALLY GOT IT BACK BUT THE CAR WAS STILL SHIFTING HARD AND HAD TO BRING IT BACK. THE CAR DIES RANDOMLY, I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE A/C UNIT AS WELL AS NUMEROUS OTHER REPAIRS. THIS MORNING THE CAR STARTED SHAKING VIOLENTLY WHEN STOPPED AND WHEN ACCELERATING UP TO 60 MPH. I HAVE NOTICED THERE ARE OVER 35 OTHER COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE TRANSMISSIONS ON JETTA AND FROM WHAT I HAVE LEARNED INFORMALLY ONLINE, I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE EXPERIENCING THESE PROBLEMS. APPARENTLY THE 2002'S WERE BUILT IN MEXICO AND HAVE HAD A LARGE AMOUNT OF PROBLEMS. I AM ONLY A COLLEGE STUDENT AND WOULD APPRECIATE HELP RESOLVING THE ISSUE OF OWNING A FAULTY CAR. I CANNOT AFFORD TO KEEP UP A CAR THAT WAS NOT MADE PROPERLY IN THE FIRST PLACE. THANK YOU! *TR

I WAS RIDING DOWN THE ROAD COMING FROM WORK WHEN I NOTICED A BURNING SMELL. I DIDN'T SEE ANY SMOKE,SO I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE COMING FROM OUTSIDE. AFTER A WHILE, THE SMELL GOT STRONGER. THAT'S WHEN I LOOKED OVER AND NOTICED FLAMES COMING FROM THE PASSENGER SEAT. I PULLED OVER IMMEDIATELY AND SMOTHERED IT. IT TURNED OUT THAT THE HEATED SEAT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE HAD BEEN ON FROM WHERE MY MOTHER WAS RIDING THE NIGHT BEFORE. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST ISSUE THAT I'VE HAD WITH MY 2002 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA,BUT IT'S THE FIRST THAT MADE ME FEEL THAT IT WAS UNSAFE TO DRIVE. I HAVE A FOUR YEAR OLD SON AND I AM NOW IN FEAR THAT SOMETHING COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN AGAIN. I'VE DONE SOME RESEARCH AND APPARENTLY THIS IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE IN THIS MODEL. I'VE REPORTED THE INCIDENT TO VWOA, BUT HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM THEM. FORTUNATELY NO ONE WAS INJURED. BUT SOMEONE ELSE MIGHT NOT BE SO LUCKY. I HOPE THIS ISSUE CAN BE RESOLVED. THANK YOU. *TR

I PURCHASED A 2002 VW IN 2005. I HAD A CAR ACCIDENT IN DEC '08. SHORTLY AFTER THE COLLISION PLACE REPAIRED MY CAR. THE VEHICHLE STARTED MISFIRING AND ESSENTIALLY WASN'T DRIVABLE. THE CONTROL ARM BUSHING WERE REPLACED $800 (AT THE VW PLACE) AND THE SERVICE DEPT SAID THAT THEY WOULD CHECK FLUIDS IN PARTICULAR THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. I WAS TOLD THAT THE TRANSMISSION DIDN'T HAVE THE UPDATED TRANMISSION CONTROL MODULE (TCM) AND HAD TO REPLACED ( $700 PART AND 300 LABOR) THE SERVICE TECHNICAN DID STATE THAT THIS WAS THE FIRST STEP IN DIAGNOSING AND CORRECTING THE PROBLEM AND THAT THAT THIS WAS A KNOWN ISSUE BUT NOT A RECALL. WELL $1000 SPENT ON THIS STILL DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM AND NOW THEY SAY THE NEXT STEP IS TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION ON A CAR THAT HAS 87K MILES ANOTHER 4K. WELL, I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT VW IS UNRELIABLE AND DOES NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR NAME, PRODUCT OR REPUTATION. THIS IS SHAMEFUL. I AM VERY DISSAFIED AND LEARNED THAT THERE ARE NUMEROUS CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS ON THE WEB RELATED TO TRANSMISSIION, TCM ON THE VW 2002 - 2006 MODEL. VW SHOULD BE HELD LIABLE AND COMPENSATE FOR THIS A DEFECTIVE/INFERIOR PRODUCT. *TR