I am thinking about buying a 03 or 04 GTI
I read forums like this one and think what am I nutsI have to say that with as many horror stories as there are on the WEB that
If all were true I would not have a Volkswagen dealership to purchase a new VW because they would be run out of town. You would see breaking news on CNN about distraught and pissed off VW customers going postal in VW dealerships and service departments everywhere.
When I test drive all the cars in various driving conditions and courses I push the cars obit and they seem to respond fine with no mechanical malfunction or weird noises. When I bring up forums like this one to the dealer he tells me that Volkswagen has had its trouble with transmissions and windows and electronics in the past 00-02 models butt insists that they are all cleared up and I will not have any issues with my new VW. Can anyone tell if they have had a problem with the 03 or 04 GTI?

Thanks for all help

my jetta is a lemon. purchased new in 99. tried to get a lawsuite together under lemon law. lawyer says too old of a car. car failed at 2kmiles and it is still a piece of shit. tired of taking car back for everything that’s falling off of it. can’t get rid of the car cause no one will buy in current condition. any suggestions?

This is my first and last VW. Since purchasing the car less than a year ago, I have replaced two brake light switches (n/c). However, the glove box broke, the center console latch broke, just replaced the air mass meter(n/c), and the ignition coil ($670). Dealer told me I need to replace front brakes & serpentine belt, and that a faulty code is coming up for the secondary cooling system which they need to investigate further. Since the VR6 is packed & the mechanics cannot see most of the wires & vaccuum hoses, this would require timely labor to diagnose.
VWOA cannot help me because my warranty (which I did not know I even had) expired at 50K.
I drove a Toyota with 100k for over a year-needed nothing…this Jetta is a big headache. I thought I was buying something reliable, now I have nightmares about what will happen next!

I own a 1992 VW Cabrio (automatic) and I can’t get it out of park? Anybody else have this problem or know of any solutions?
Thanks

Well add one more VW customer that has been screwed. I bought a 2002 Passat in Aug. 2002. Before I had 5,000 miles on the car the one of the fuel injectors went. Then at around 7,000 miles I got hit with the igniton coil problem that everyone VW owner seems to have. Now with just over 22,000 on the car the oil pump is shot, and to no one on this sites suprise VW is not working with me to get this covered under the warranty. I have tried just about everything in my power to get them to realize that with only 22,000 miles on the car and records for oil changes this should be covered under warranty. Right now they are telling it will cost around $4,000 to make the repairs that they know about, but in the end the price could go up. I have never dealt with a company with such a poor customer realtions record, and I wish I would have saw this sight before I purchase the car. Right now I ma seeking legal advice, and letting as many people as I know how VW operates. I can say for a fact that I have turned at least 5 people away from buying a VW. Every little bit counts.

i have a 2000 jetta 1.8t with 72000 miles on it. the owners manual says to replace the timing belt at 105,000. well needless to say mine blew out on the highway bending 12 of the 20 valves. luckily i have a friend who owns a garage and he has been helping me with it since i do not have the 3 or 4 thousand dollars to bring it to the dealer. after almost 2000 dollars for machine work, gaskets and everything else that you need to replace, and two months of weekend work i drove it for two days,then it acted up again. this weekend i took the engine apart again and found out one of the valve springs broke. so now the head is back at the machine shop and i am still without a car wich i am still paying on. this doesn’t include all the other promblems: broken window tracks, broken armrest, broken glove box, o2 sensors, radiator fan,etc. etc. “NEVER AGAIN”

I OWN 1996 VW PASSAT. THIS CAR IS NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS. SINCE I OWN THE CAR MULTIPLE PROBLEMS ARRIVED: BREAKS (2 TIMES IN FIRST 2 YEARS), EXHAUST SYSTEM, O2 SENSORS (4 TIMES), MAIN WATER FLOW SENSOR, FROZEN DOOR LACKS, DOOR LACKED REPLACED. INSTRUMENT CLUSTER BOARD WAS REPLACED AT 10,000 MILES. I USED A DEALER IN THE BEGINING TO “”KEEP VW AS ORIGINAL AS PASSIBLE”". BUT AFTER I REPLACED THREE TIMES O2 SENSORS AND ENGINE LIGHT KEEP COMING ON I DECIDED TO GO TO REGULAR SHOP. THEY TOLD ME THAT MY O2 SENSORS AR OK (DEALER SAID THEY ARE NOT); THEY SAID MY WATER FLOW SENSOR IS BAD. THAY REPLACED AND THE LIGHT NEVER CAME ON. TILL NOW. NOW MY CAR IS IN A SHOP SINCE 5-14-04. THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. DIAGNOSTIC SHOWED MISFIRE ENGINE. THE COMPLETE TUNE UP WAS DONE. AFTER MECHANIC TEST-DROVE THE CAR ENGINE LIGHT CAME BACK ON. IGNITION WIRE WAS BURNED OUT. COILS WERE REPLACED AND PROBLEM IS NOT SLOLVED. THE CAR IS STILL IN A SHOP. EVERY TIME MECHANIC PUTS NEW WIRES THEY ARE BEING BURNED OUT. 4 SETS OF WIRES WERE BURNED OUT. THEY CAN NOT RESOLEVE IT. IT COST A FORTUNE TO REPAIR THAT CAR. CAR IS NOT DEPENDABLE, DEALER MECHANICS ARE NOT HONEST, AND VW DEALER HEADQUARTERS SAYS “”WE STAND BEHIND OUR PRODUCT”"
I WOULD LIKE TO JOIN A CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT

WHAT HAVE I DONE!?! Well Im screwed! I have a 2001 1.8T Wolfsburg. Today I decided to jack it up and put it on blocks (I was going to remove the wheels to paint the calibers.) The damn jack penetrated through the bottom and out came all the oil. I dont know if the jack went through the oil pan or through the block. Now I have to have a truck come out and hall my Jett to the dealership on Monday to see what kind of damage Ive caused. I just spent every dime I had on new wheels and tires, $2,800.00. I should have used the floor jack.

WHAT HAVE I DONE!?! Well Im screwed! I have a 2001 1.8T Wolfsburg. Today I decided to jack it up and put it on blocks (I was going to remove the wheels to paint the calibers.) The damn jack penetrated through the bottom and out came all the oil. I dont know if the jack went through the oil pan or through the block. Now I have to have a truck come out and hall my Jett to the dealership on Monday to see what kind of damage Ive caused. I just spent every dime I had on new wheels and tires, $2,800.00. I should have used the floor jack.

I’m curious as to whether anyone has had a similar problem to the one I’m having.

Not long after I bought my 2000 Jetta, I noticed there was sometimes a “”delay”" of a few seconds from when I turned the ignition to when the car actually started. I didn’t think much of it, as the car always started eventually. A couple of months ago, the car started periodically “”not starting”" at all for extended periods. I would turn the ignition, have power (i.e. there wasn’t a battery problem), but nothing would happen, no noise whatsoever. There isn’t any rhyme or reason as to when the car will do this, although for some reason it seems more likely to do it when the car is parked on an incline going up hill.

After getting stuck miles from home earlier this week because the car would not restart, I decided to bring it in to the dealer. Naturally, the car started everytime they tried it at the dealer and they couldn’t figure out what I was talking about/what was wrong by doing diagnostics. Basically, they told me they can replace the starter for $550, but they can’t guarantee it will fix the problem I’m having.

I know there was a recall on the 01-03 Jettas due to an the ignition coil getting fried prematurely. Has anyone had a problem like this? And could this be a coil problem, albeit on a 2000? The car only has 36K miles on it.