Cheapola
I fixed my Brake switch and started feeling comfy with my 2002 golf. Until today when the handle on my glove box desintigrated in my hand. THe parts looked melted but realy they were just busted that way, like a bad peice of metal, or wood only this was plastic. Very sad. I dont know if my warranty will cover it yet. Maybe I dont know my own strength. Although Im sure this type of thing was tested by strong young lads at the VW institution where the car making majic happens.
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YupOldBull Said,
August 25, 2005 @ 8:17 am
Informal survey information on VW glove box hinges – The information below was copied from another forum.
It is from a pro-VW owner and I believe the survey was conducted on vwvortex.
(begin quote) “”I’ve been running a little informal poll on a couple of other boards concerning the glovebox door problem and thought you would like to see the results.
One one board, I simply asked A4 Golf and Jetta owners (both gas and TDIs) if their glovebox door has broken, and the results surprised me.
Out of 162 votes:
54% said “”yes”"
42% said “”no”"
3% said “”more than once”"
On the other board with only TDI owners, I posed the same question, only I split up the Golf and Jetta owners.
Out of 51 Jetta TDI owners:
57% said “”yes”"
43% said “”no”"
Out of 19 Golf TDI owners (my car):
16% said “”yes”"
84% said “”no”"
Golf TDI’s are made in Brazil, where as the gassers and all Jettas (I think) are made in Mexico. Maybe those Brazilians are using better materials or something.
I will concede (only) the glovebox issue to you and admit that it probably isn’t rough handling. It was also noted on the poll that cold weather probably played a part as well.”" (end quote)
For what it is worth, our 2000 Jetta glove box hinge has broken 3 times and remains broken. No help from the dealer or VW. Terrible.
297 Said,
August 26, 2005 @ 4:45 am
Cheapola – That’s prety interesting info.
This begs another question, Yup, and that is, how are the hinges breaking?
Does it look like a construction/parts problem or an assembly problem?
Do the Wolfsburg, Brazilian, and Mexican plants all receive parts from the same place? If so, this means an assembly problem rather than a manufacturing one.
But if they do get made locally, then the question is: is it both shoddy material AND bad assembly? or just shoddy material, which means you can’t blame the plant or its workers but rather the parts manufacturer from another plant.
formerAuditech Said,
August 26, 2005 @ 12:20 pm
another poll – ask jetta wagon owners the same poll question…….they are the only ones made in Germany, i would be curious to their response.
YupOldBull Said,
August 27, 2005 @ 9:28 am
Poorly designed glove box hinges……and a little history. – I will make this short.
In 1994, when the Jetta’s first appeared, they had no glove boxes! Neither did the first few years of Passat’s. They said that they couldn’t fit “”both”" the air bag and the glove box in front of the passsenger. (?)
Reference a few quick searches.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=1994+vw+jetta+no+glove+box&btnG=Google+Search
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=1997+vw+passat+no+glove+box&btnG=Search
Consumer pressure mounted for glove boxes and like just about everything else the first batches (design attempts) were dismal failures. So around 1999 glove boxes started to appear and they were poorly designed. (and failed)
As I understand it, the box has a small gas loaded pushrod. The two plastic hinges just snap right off……right in half! No chance! No abuse! The pushrod hangs up and it sheers off one of the plastic hinges. Left side more often than the right side.
Two of mine broke in winter and one broke in summer. It is still broken and I won’t fix it until the “”clowns”" either pay for it or redesign it.
Isn’t this consumer fraud? Say 10,000 glove box repairs x $80.00 each?
Terrible
Post edited 08/27/05 11:31 AM by YupOldBull
297 Said,
August 27, 2005 @ 10:53 am
Cheapola – Then it sounds like both: bad design + shoddy parts.
If Brazilian manufactured (what about Wolfsburg) Golfs used better parts, than the bad design can’t break as much, while in a plant where material is of less quality, the bad design significantly impacts the construction.
The New Beetle does not suffer this problem, since the design always included a glove compartment and the interior completely different from its MkIV brethren (there seem to be a few posts, but from comments, etc. it does not look to be a common issue, just the normal number of possible lemons and hard use, with one commenting theirs broke when someone opened it roughly and dislodged it).
I wonder if ordering replacement parts from elsewhere would help. Without a better design, getting better quality material might do the trick for some.
vwmass Said,
September 3, 2005 @ 2:14 am
glove box on Jetta – Yes, mine has broken twice. First time I paid $100 to fix it. It now remains broken. This is a 1999.5 Jetta. Talk about cheap, the plastic interior parts have also bubbled and pealed. VW says not to park the car in the sun. Really—I kid you not.
Regarding the brake light switch, I fixed it myself prior to the recall coming out and VW refused to reimburse me.