my 2002 VW P.O.S. model
i just bought a 2002 jetta gls back in november, and its only been 8 months and already it is the ABSOLUTE WORST CAR I HAVE EVER OWNED! the friggin’ drivers side window fell out in april, im having electrical problems with the tailights/turnsignals, sometimes i have to practically stand on the brake to get it out of drive, and today the damn EPC light on the dash lights up? what the hell is that all about? what sucks is that i still owe $9600 on it, so im hoping i can get something close to that in trade…its got 43k on it….my very first car when i was a teenager was a 1984 chevy chevette….i beat the hell outta that thing and i had fewer problems with that than i’ve had with this jetta…anyone have similar problems? and has anyone traded in an ‘02 jetta with similar mileage…if so, please let me know what they offered u
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297 Said,
August 4, 2005 @ 11:02 am
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – When you bought it used, was it from a private seller or a dealership lot?
Your windows are warrantied (I hope you didn’t pay for the repair).
As for shifting to drive, your tail lights, turn signals, and the EPC light, that sounds like a faulty brake light switch. This is also a recall item, but if you’d rather not bother with the dealership, it’s a cheap part ($10-15) and you can replace it yourself. Detailed instructions have been posted on VWVortex on purchasing and installing: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1158315.
To be honest, if this is all that’s wrong with the car, then things are actually going well. The brake light switch is an odd duck in that it causes so many symptoms, but replacing this $10 part will get rid of ALL of them.
Post edited 08/04/05 11:03 AM by paultakeda
jasenm Said,
August 5, 2005 @ 3:33 am
depending on mileage and condition – cars worth anywhere from 8k to 10k if a 2.0 and more if its got leather/1.8t.
and stop whining. did you buy it from a vw dealer?
twengl Said,
August 5, 2005 @ 3:54 am
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – mwn- one of the odd things about this site is that a small number of VW toadies berate those of us who hated our VWs. why they would hang out here is beyond me. go ahead and whine. it’s what the site is for.
297 Said,
August 5, 2005 @ 5:36 am
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – At this point, I really have no idea what jasenm’s posts have to do with the threads they are posted in, except to antagonize individuals or provide non sequiturs like the one above.
Beck Said,
August 5, 2005 @ 8:35 am
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – “”VW Toadie”" sounds like a perfect way to describe such persons. He must be Scut Farkus’ best friend!
Post edited 08/05/05 8:35 PM by Beck
297 Said,
August 6, 2005 @ 2:06 am
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – jasenm, your advice is buried in your antagonism. Sadly, your explanation was fine up until the part where you again stated that the owner stop whining, and thought the owner was dumb enough to take the EPC for ESP (and that is indeed a big deal, big enough that there’s a recall on the brake light switch).
The problem is that though you sometimes have something productive to say, you tack it on to an attitude towards the poster that is counter-productive. How about you just leave your post at “”It’s about 10k”" and leave out the “”Stop whining”"? It’s not that hard.
Post edited 08/06/05 2:31 PM by paultakeda
peterd1965 Said,
August 6, 2005 @ 8:58 am
02 Jetta GLS Radio Fuse – Sorry about your 2002.
I have the exact same car, bought it about the same time. I don’t mean to rub it in but I am quite happy that I bought mine from VW as a Certified Pre-Owned. Not a chance in heck that I would have bought it without CPO. Anyway it’s been back a couple of times.
Yesterday I started the car and the radio would not come on. Just the red blinking security light. Over the phone the dealer suggested that I bring it in, that it could be more than a fuse. (yawn..) Well that jsut did not seem right, wait two weeks for them to keep my car all day, when it was just there a few weeks ago. I opened the fuse door only to find that every F!!!ng thing EXCEPT the radio is labled. WHY?
Anyway, I would like to thank carsurvey.org for the solution:
“”Pull fuse #42 (the clear 25 watt fuse 3rd one up from the bottom right), wait10 seconds, and put it back in. “”
Now I am going to watch the latest edition of the VW CPO movie that arrived in my email yesterday.
Post edited 08/06/05 9:03 AM by peterd1965
jasenm Said,
August 6, 2005 @ 10:49 am
WTF PAUL?!? – “”At this point, I really have no idea what jasenm’s posts have to do with the threads they are posted in, except to antagonize individuals or provide non sequiturs like the one above.”"
RE: WOW! paul i take you for a smart guy, so how you dont see my point is beyond dumbfounding to me….the guy who posted this thread had commented that he hoped the car was worth close to the 9600 he owed on it, and he asked “”and has anyone traded in an ‘02 jetta with similar mileage…if so, please let me know what they offered u”"
so i checked the book and let him know a roundball figure. how discourteous of me. then i asked if it was certified….wow, why would i ask that? maybe to determine if he had the 2/24 b>b warranty? you think? looks constructive to me. so i tell him to stop whining, big deal, he has a window problem that is a recall and usually warrantied, so no big deal. he says the “”epc”" light is on, which i figure he means the ESP light, and that means he either turned it off or it engaged the system and he didnt know what it was. it does not seem to be a big deal.
the problem is that this site is getting found in searches very easily now and anyone with enough savvy to do an online search of “”vw jetta problems”" will get refered here and join the army of people who have grave misconceptions of the vw product because of a few bad experiences. i’ve said before and again, there is a site like this for every car make and model, and few of the others have so many brand supporters as registered members.
“”toadies”" lol. if i say something derogatory, i get blasted, but its cool. life is full of double standards. gfyh.
mwn5 Said,
August 7, 2005 @ 8:32 am
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – no, it was definately the EPC light, not the ESP light…i may not be a VW guru, but i can read the “idiot” lights….and i did find out that the windows were warrantied and did not have to pay for that…the thing is, i’m a cop, not a mechanic… so even though i drive a car day in and day out, it doesn’t mean i understand all of the intricacies of them…you won’t catch me knocking your what i’m sure is innacurate understanding and interpretation of the law, so i really don’t appreciate those who condescend people with limited automobile expertise…however, i do appreciate and welcome the helpful, non-condescending comments from other users of this website…
297 Said,
August 7, 2005 @ 10:13 am
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – mwn5, please keep us posted and if you encounter any other problems as well.
formerAuditech Said,
August 10, 2005 @ 11:05 am
that’s funny… – quote: “”join the army of people who have grave misconceptions of the vw product because of a few bad experiences. i’ve said before and again, there is a site like this for every car make and model, and few of the others have so many brand supporters as registered members.”"
few bad experiences? that’s funny right there. oh head on over to http://www.bmwsucks.com oh wait, it DOESN’T EXIST!!!!!
and i have seen time and again on our local enthusist board members that are enthusists state that VW isn’t what it was in terms of quality or reliablity.
and again, go find me rave reviews from consumer’s reports about the MK4 line up, it’s simply not there. what is there however is japanese cars leading the line up in the mid size family sedan in terms of quality and reliability……..and before you go to quote that the new jetta has the best safety (edged out the Camry, yes i know) that doesn’t do you any good when the car is constantly in the shop for recalls and repairs (ie the fuel line campaign).
Post edited 08/10/05 11:07 AM by formerAuditech
297 Said,
August 10, 2005 @ 11:51 am
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – Many *sucks.com domains have already been snagged by the carmakers to leave registered but undeveloped. I’m quite amazed the vwsucks.com domain has yet to be targeted, though I think we manage to keep a lower profile simply because the vwsucks.com domain is used as a forward to the real site (notice that it never says vwsucks.com on the address bar when you are here). I could be very wrong, and they simply aren’t bothering. VW seems to be fairly tolerant of the badmouthing its received on VWVortex.com, an enthusiast forum with very close ties to VW yet the source of many complaints (as I’ve said before, if you think consumers complain, you should see how enthusiasts whine).
297 Said,
August 11, 2005 @ 2:31 am
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – Enthusiasts are willing to put up with much aggravation, particularly if the aggravation is the dealer, since many enthusiasts are also shadetree mechanics, or know of professional mechanics, and therefore are willing to shell out some more cash to do the work themselves. The “”pay-to-play”" motto runs quite far for enthusiasts, so long as the car itself is considered good (engine, handling, potential). But you’re right, with enough little, niggling problems even an enthusiasts will give up on a platform. Many VW enthusiasts refuse to touch anything beyond a MkII, while the air-cooled Type I folks (Beetles) think the MkI Golf is blasphemy. But many also respect the advancements VW has made, particularly through Audi, that later get “”sent down”" to VW.
The VW community, due to VW’s longevity as a popular car for enthusiasts, is very fractured. What is a problem is that the members of the community that love the MkIV are waiting to see what happens with the MkV. The specs look good on paper, particularly the 2.0T FSI and the new suspension. But many don’t like the Matrix-like look and even more are waiting to see if it will have as many silly, little problems as the MkIV encountered in the first two/three years of its launch (some of which were simply band-aided with warranties, the solution supposedly relegated to the MkV by building more parts in-house).
I guess we’ll see just what happens with the rather large changes VAG is encountering this year. Whatever happens, the status quo is over. Up or down, we’re not gonna find out for another several years.
formerAuditech Said,
August 11, 2005 @ 11:19 am
Paul…… – “”(as I’ve said before, if you think consumers complain, you should see how enthusiasts whine).”"
Paul, this is an excellent quote. but couldn’t you also argue the fact that enthusiasts know more about their cars then perhaps the average consumer? and also are willing to put up with more aggrevation from their cars? these seem to be the very few that are ponying up and keep on buying VW’s latest offerings……but from the ramblings i am hearing this may not last forever….
297 Said,
August 15, 2005 @ 1:21 am
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – The biggest problem the MkIV platform suffered was a bad batch of coilpacks that got past QC for some turbo models. This was not an inherent design flaw, but rather a problem in quality control from a third-party manufacturer.
Crappy and bizarre problems aplenty, and I am not minimizing a thing as having many little issues is a BIG deal.
Frankly, the biggest problem VW has encountered in recent years has nothing to do with the car, but with dealer customer service.
VWVictim Said,
August 15, 2005 @ 9:30 am
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – The dealers are the ones that had to deal with the never ending string of problems with the cars. As you say, the VW dealer network sucks. But they are the ones that have to sell and service the problematical cars. They are in a no win situation.
VWVictim Said,
August 15, 2005 @ 12:40 pm
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – “Silly little problems”. They had MAJOR problems. I think it is unconsionable that you are trying to minimize the problems that VW has had with their cars. Read the posts on this site ! VW has had Major problems with their cars!
jasenm Said,
August 16, 2005 @ 3:57 am
re: antagonism – paul – “”How about you just leave your post at “”It’s about 10k”" and leave out the “”Stop whining”"? It’s not that hard.”"
re: my answer, paul, is because that would be out of character for me, online or offline. same as it would be out of character for vwvictim to not reference every single negative report ever published or comment on vw’s loss of u.s. profits, or for beck not to use “”farfeg-crap”" or “”volksyugo”" or whatever those catch-phrases are. so antagonism is ok for some, but not universal, after all, i’m a “”scum salesman”" remember. lol. anyway, i told him to stop whining, not to fu** off or something rude, regardless, i offer a hearty appologgy to mr. mwn5.
Post edited 08/16/05 4:04 PM by jasenm
Post edited 08/16/05 4:06 PM by jasenm
vwmass Said,
September 3, 2005 @ 2:43 am
brake light switch – MWN5:
I completely concur with Paultakeda. The brake light switch is your problem. I replaced it myself with the instructions he provided. You will need to have someone reset the computer for you though so that the EPC light will go off. I bought a $99 cable and some software and ran it from my laptop computer to reset it myself.
Probably best if you have the dealer do it under recall though. Then it won’t cost a dime.
297 Said,
September 4, 2005 @ 9:31 am
my 2002 VW P.O.S. model – “”This is also a recall item, but if you’d rather not bother with the dealership, it’s a cheap part ($10-15) and you can replace it yourself.”"
How this statement can be taken as me saying it’s the consumer’s problem requires some creative thinking.