Jack please read the first two posts in Black Smoke & AC I submitted these and am wondering if you have any answers for me. I appreciate you input, thanks.

I have a 2001 1.8T Wolfsburg with 20,020 miles on it. Today while running the Air conditioner I noticed my Jetta would hesitate whenever I had to get on it but as soon as I turned off the air my Jetta would run as normal. I also noticed the air wasnt blowing as hard as normal. Later on I had to get on it to merge on the highway but it was acting up like it didnt have enough power, so I turned off the air system and all a sudden my Jetta takes off then starts pinging and belches black smoke from the exhaust. I immediately turned around to park it. Several hours later I decided to start my Jetta without running the AC or using any air at all, it started and idled as normal, I revved it up, nothing, I drove it for about 20 miles; slow, fast, punching it, gearing up and down and still nothing. I pulled over listening and feeling the idle and it was fine, then I decided to turn just the air on, NO Air conditioner just air, and next thing you know the idle drops like it wants to stall. At first I though the problem was fuel related until I turned on the air. No engine lights ever came on; does anyone have any idea what could be happening? Is it safe to drive until I can get it in she shop next week?

Ok, so I bought a brand new 2003 beetle *first new car*. Started having minor problems, car making ticking noises, stereo was broke, skid plate falling off, rocker pannels cracked. The major problems right now…is :

1. Both front heated seats are balling up, and looking like crap. (brought it in this week, they said it wasnt covered under bumper to bumper. Interior is 12mo/12kmi)
2. The rocker pannels on the side are cracked and peeling. I keep getting told it wont be fixed until a VW specialist looks at it.

Anyone else had these problems? Any advice?

Wooohoooo!! it was the MAF Thank you! It was covered under the new warrenty yall told me about. Im glad i went in, they found that my turdo regulator was bad, engine was miss firing as well, also air bag was reading bad. so glad i caught them when i did. I have this site to thank for letting me know about the MAF warrenty!!

THANKS!!!!

I am amazed at the number of “stories” that mirror the experiences I have had with my VW jetta GLS 2002. I too have had NUMEROUS trips to the service center due to “malfunctions and glitches” all the while being told that they have never seen these problems with other VW vehicles. I’ve had all the problems (oil consumption, rear brake replaced, faulty clutch, faulty widshield wipers etc…) and my car currently has less than 27,000 miles. Luckily my lease is over in November 2004 -but what about the added stress of buying a new (non-VW)car when I had planned to buy this one out? I am completely frustrated with the situation and wish I had based my purchasing decision on more than the “cute package” and “zippy handling”. I still think VW has some merit, but certainly need to improve reliability as well as customer relations!

I have an ‘02 TDI. Currently it is in the shop for the 2nd MAF in 2 months. It has about 35K miles. The service department said that the 2-2 1/2 in. area in the intake system has 1/2 to 1 in. that is not clogged with carbon buildup. They say this is maintenance and is not covered under the warranty. It seems this problem is common. If the problem is so common and it is considered “”maintenance”", why would VW leave this out of the recommended maintenance every 10,000 or 20,000 miles? It seems like recommending it be inspected and/or cleaned periodically would make it easier for owners to swallow, not to mention less expensive, since it wouldn’t be completely clogged and causing additional problems.

It seems some folks have successfully gotten VW to cover the cost of this, while others have not. I am currently trying to present my case to get VW to pay for it. If you have any similar stories, please share them.

If I am completely out of line and should just pay up… let me know.

Thanks!

I had heard about poor customer service at VW dealers, but I thought “”how bad could it be?”" Still, I needed two minor problems fixed.

* technician got into a parking lot accident 5 minutes after touching my immaculate 2003 Golf (5000 miles.)

* no diligent driver would have had an accident in this situation, in my opinion. There were two people in the car and the driver was not being attentive.

* dealer agreed to apply their insurance and provide loaner, yet told me bluntly “”we’re not responsible for damage to your car. You are lucky we are even doing anything.”"

* Insurance wanted to use refurbished parts, I wanted new VW parts. Insurance readily agreed but service manager told me that it was not a reasonable request. “”It’s a Golf, not a Corvette.”" (Well, you redneck, this *is* my “”Corvette”")

* Same manager accused me of being “”uncooporative”" as I did not sign an authorization to start repairs. Well, they hadn’t actually *asked* me to sign it. Poor internal communication – take it out on the customer.

* Repairs were just about $3000 and took four weeks. Almost all work was done by a local independent body shop, not the dealer.

* Car was returned filthy, with only one original problem fixed and no compensation for the loss in value. Plus all my sunshades had been stolen.

* How do I feel about this? I now have to fix the other problem myself, I will never go to this dealer again, and I will probably never buy another VW.

I lost my keys and i have bought new one from the dealer the car stars but goes off after five second am told that it has to be programed its expensive here and it has to be towed 350km to the city .can my obdtool do these or can any one in the house assit me

Here we go again. This car has been back to Park Cities VW in Dallas for the 8th time within 11 months. The first several times the issues were the mass airflow sensor issue. Whey finally replaced the ignition coils along with the cat converter that was damaged due to them simply not correcting this problem in the first place. A couple of weeks ago my a/c started blowing warm air every time I’d stop in rush hour traffic. Again, they provided me witn a loaner and assured me the car would be fixed. They had the car a week and yet I only got to drive it a week before it started doing the same thing again. I had already told them this car was a lemmon and I wanted it replaced. I was told by the service manager that VW had no buy-back provision for used cars. My argument is that what does certified mean? From what I’ve read about the lemmon laws here in Texas, they apply to used cars as well and especially to certified cars. I have now started a daily campaign calling VW daily and will refuse to give them back this loaner until they replace my Jetta with a comparable car. I took the precaution of taking all my personal belongings from the car before they brought me this one. Today a tech called me to tell me the a/c was working just fine. I immediatly told him he needs to sit in traffic for a while since the loaner I’m driving cools consistently even when idling in park and not to call me until the car was repaired. I’ve had enough with this car and will never buy another VW again. I think even if they replace this piece of junk, I’ll trade it immmediately for a real German car. I actually thought about placing a sign under their “courtesy car sign” that read this is my 4th loaner in 11 months. Thought they could sue me, so gave up on that. If anyone knows of a decent honest lawyer in the Dallas, TX area I would greatly appreciate a response.

All VWs Suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!