2002 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA Complaints

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH WAS REPLACED TWICE. THERE WAS A NHTSA RECALL #06V183000 REGARDING EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO THE VIN. UPDATED 10/0/406. *JB

I HAVE HAD SEVERAL PROBLEMS WITH MY MIL LIGHT SINCE MY 5 YR/50,000 MILE WARRANTY EXPIRED-IN FACT, I HAVE LOST COUNT AS TO HOW MANY TIMES I'VE HAD TO TAKE MY CAR IN (THE NUMBER OF FAILURES LISTED BELOW IS JUST AN ESTIMATE). THE FIRST TIME THIS LIGHT CAME ON, THE CAR HAD 52 OR 54 MILES ON IT. IT WAS ONLY A FEW DAYS OLD. APPARENTLY SOMETHING HAD CRACKED. IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR, THREE OF THE CABLES BROKE, THEN NOT TWO WEEKS LATER THE OTHER THREE BROKE. THE PROBLEMS JUST KEPT ADDING UP. I HAVE TRIED TO BE PATIENT WITH THIS DEALERSHIP, BUT SIMPLY CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY ON AVERAGE, I END UP BACK AT THE DEALERSHIP, GETTING MY CAR SERVICED ON AVERAGE, TWO WEEKS AFTER THE CAR'S INITIAL APPOINTMENT. THE LAST TIME I WENT IN, I SPOKE WITH THE MANAGER. FIRST, HE DISPARAGINGLY ASKED ME IF I WAS MAKING SURE TO FILL THE GAS TANK WITH PREMIUM GAS, AS IS WRITTEN ON THE GAS FLAP. HE THEN PROCEEDED TO ASK IF I WAS TIGHTENING THE GAS CAP. HE REASSURED ME THAT I SHOULD NOT HAVE FURTHER PROBLEMS WITH THIS SPECIFIC PART, BECAUSE ALL THE PARTS PERTAINING TO THIS SPECIFIC LIGHT HAVE BEEN REPLACED. LO AND BEHOLD, TWO DAYS AGO, MY MIL LIGHT WENT ON. ON AVERAGE, EACH TIME I VISIT THIS PARTICULAR DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT, I END UP PAYING $350-600 DOLLARS. SOMEHOW, THAT DOES NOT SEEM RIGHT. I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT'S INSTRUCTIONS, AND TO MY DISMAY, THIS LONG-STANDING, EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED. *JB

THE EPC LIGHT CAME ON WHILE I WAS DRIVING MY VEHICLE. I TURNED OFF MY CAR WHEN I ARRIVED AT MY DESTINATION. I READ THE MANUAL, AND IT WAS NOT HELPFUL. IT JUST STATED THAT I SHOULD TAKE THE CAR TO A DEALER OR QUALIFIED SPECIALIST AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (NOTE: THIS IS WHAT THE BOOKLET SAYS FOR THE MAJORITY OF ITEMS IN THE OWNERS' MANUAL). UPON RETURNING TO MY VEHICLE, I STARTED MY CAR ONCE MORE. MY ENGINE TURNED OVER, BUT THE CAR WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT FROM PARK INTO ANY OTHER GEAR. THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED TO AN AUTO SHOP. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, THE AUTO SHOP INFORMED ME THAT MY CAR HAD A "FEATURE" THAT DISABLED THE CAR FROM SHIFTING GEARS DUE TO A TAIL-LIGHT FUSE THAT BLEW OUT. IT IS BELIEVED THAT DISABLING THE VEHICLE SERVES THE PURPOSE OF MAINTAINING SAFETY ON THE STREETS- A VEHICLE IN MOTION WITHOUT TAILLIGHTS IS APPARENTLY MORE DANGEROUS THAN A DRIVER STRANDED ON THE ROAD BECAUSE THEIR CAR HAS STRANDED THEM. LUCKILY, I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH NOT TO BE IN A BAD SITUATION. SO FINALLY, THE CAR WAS FIXED, OF COURSE AFTER I PAID YET ANOTHER HEFTY BILL FOR MY CAR. *JB

I OWN A 2002 VW JETTA GLI, AND IT HAS MERELY 54,000 MILES ON IT. IT HAS COME IN STANDARD TRANSMISSION, AND WE BOUGHT IT WHEN IT WAS ISSUED AS NEW. AS I WAS ON MY WAY HOME HEADING TOWARDS NEW JERSEY, FROM NEW YORK. MY CLUTCH PEDAL BEGAN TO LOOSEN UP. I TRIED SWITCHING FROM 3RD GEAR TO 4TH, AND THE CLUTCH LOOSELY WENT TO THE FLOOR, AND IT WOULD NOT POP BACK UP. AS MY CAR ROLLED ON THE BRIDGE, IT STAYED IN NEUTRAL. HENCE, I WAS UNABLE TO MOVE THE VEHICLE. NOW I HAVE BEEN READING OTHER FORUMS AND THEY HAVE GOTTEN THE SAME ISSUE. *NM

I OWN A 2002 JETTA 1.8T MANUAL SPEED WAGON PURCHASED ON 3/31/06. LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS OUT OF WARRANTY, MY BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH HAS FAILED. THERE HAS BEEN NUMEROUS RECALLS ON 2002 JETTA'S WITH THE SAME DEFECTIVE PART, HOWEVER MY CAR'S VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED ON THE RECALL. AS THERE ARE FEW MANUAL WAGONS PRODUCED AND MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS SEEM TO DECREASE THE FAILURE SLIGHTLY, THE DEFECTIVE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH ON THIS CAR WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE DEFECTIVE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH IS THE SAME PART AS THE RECALLED 2002 JETTAS AND SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE RECALL OR AT LEAST BE REQUIRED TO BE REPLACED BY VW AS IT IS A KNOWN FAULTY PART. I WOULD LIKE TO INCLUDE MY VIN ON THE RECALL AS IT IS USING THE SAME DEFECTIVE PART (AS THE RECALLED VEHICLES). *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE SHIFTING GEARS, THE SHIFTER BECAME STUCK IN PARK. THE DEALER REPLACED THE LOCK SHIFT TWICE IN THE LAST TWO YEARS AND THE PROBLEM REOCCURRED.

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE BRAKE LIGHTS WERE CONSTANTLY ILLUMINATED, WHETHER THE VEHICLE WAS ON OR OFF. THERE WAS A NHTSA RECALL, # 04V096000, REGARDING THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO THE VIN.

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE BRAKE LIGHTS DID NOT WORK. THERE WAS A NHTSA RECALL, # 06V183000, REGARDING THE EXTERIOR LIGHTING: BRAKE LIGHTS: SWITCH. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO THE VIN .

I OWN A 2002 VW JETTA. RECENTLY, THE BRAKE LIGHT HAS BECOME INOPERATIVE AT TIMES AND REMAINS ON EVEN WHILE THE VEHICLE IS NOT RUNNING. I HAVE COMPLETED SEVERAL SEARCHES ONLINE AND HAVE LEARNED THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE SAFETY RECALLS FOR 2002 JETTA'S EXHIBITING THE SAME PROBLEM, WITH THE POTENTIAL NUMBER OF UNITS AFFECTED TO BE 377,130 IN 2004 AND 362,000 EARLIER THIS YEAR. WHEN I CONTACTED THE VW DEALERSHIP IN MY AREA TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THIS LOOKED AT I WAS TOLD THAT THE REPAIR WOULD BE COMPLETED FREE OF CHARGE AS A RESULT OF THE RECENT RECALL. WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE DEALERSHIP ON THE DAY OF THE SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT I WAS TOLD OTHERWISE. THE GENTLEMAN AT THE DEALERSHIP MENTIONED THAT MY VEHICLE DID NOT FALL IN THE VIN RANGE OF THE RECALL. I THEN CALLED VW OF AMERICA AND WAS TOLD ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS THAT INDEED THE REPAIR WOULD BE COVERED FREE OF CHARGE. I THEN CALLED THE DEALERSHIP TO RESCHEDULE THE APPOINTMENT AND WAS AGAIN TOLD THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR DIAGNOSTICS TO BE COMPLETED ON MY VEHICLE AS WELL AS COVERING THE CHARGES FOR PARTS AND LABOR. THE ISSUE REMAINS THAT MY BRAKE LIGHT IS MALFUNCTIONING, THERE HAS BEEN A RECALL WHICH IMPACTS 2002 JETTA'S BUT I SEEM TO GET CONFLICTING INFORMATION FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES. CAN SOMEONE HELP? *JB

WHILE DRIVING IN THE AFTERNOON, MY VEHICLE SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND ACCELERATION CAPABILITY WITH THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT COMING ON AND BLINKING. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER IMMEDIATELY. I AM INFORMED MY 2002 VW JETTA 1.8T HAS "3 FAULTY COILS." THE FAILURE WAS SUDDEN AND WITHOUT WARNING. I MAINTAIN MY CAR ACCORDING TO VW SPECS. IN 02/2003 VW ACKNOWLEDGED A PROBLEM WITH THIS IN OVER 530,000 2001 TO EARLY 2003 VEHICLES. I FEEL THE FAILURE WAS PREMATURE (AS TO WHAT COULD BE TYPICALLY EXPECTED OF AN ENGINE/VEHICLE FOR RELIABILITY), AND A DANGER. OBVIOUSLY THE FACT THAT IT HAS REMANIFESTED IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME SHOWS THAT IT WAS NOT PROPERLY ADDRESSED WITH THE ORIGINAL FIX ONLY 2 YEARS AGO. MY VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO ADEQUATELY MAINTAIN ITSELF WITHIN THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC. I WAS LUCKY TO GET TO THE 'SLOW LANE' WITHOUT INCIDENT. VW DISCLAIMS ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEFECT OR OTHERWISE AND SAYS THAT BECAUSE THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF ITS WARRANTY PERIOD I AM RESPONSIBLE ($454.00). I WILL PAY THIS, BUT HOW CAN I DRIVE KNOWING THAT THESE COILS COULD STOP ALL OR ANY ONE CYLINDER FROM CORRECTLY FIRING? THIS COULD KILL ME AND THE MANUFACTURER DOES NOT CARE.. AS THEY QUITE BLUNTLY STATED. *NM