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Sedans Volkswagen Jetta Volkswagen Jetta 2005 and earlier
12742 messages, Last post on Oct 06, 2009 at 1:33 PM
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Replying to: bpeebles (Jan 23, 2006 4:30 pm) i guess VW put in an defective switch even after the recall.. just like what they do with coils.. |
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Apologies for this cross post with the wagons board but I'm on a tight timeline with this one. Quandry. We need a wagon for the kids. I'm looking at an 02 TDi Wagon with 52K on it and regular maintenance v. an 04 2.0L gasser with 6K on it. Both GLS. The 02 is under a 2 year extended warranty. 02 is only about $1000 cheaper at this point. From a cost of ownership standpoint/reliability standpoint, which one of these is the keeper? The TDi may not loom as large as for some of you since we're only driving 7-10K a year. thanks for whatever insights y'all can provide. |
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Well folks, it is time to leave the VW family and I just wanted to write the epitaph. Maybe this will be of use to new poster Cait above who is looking into used Jettas. I just traded in a 2001 GLS 2.0L manual 4 dr sedan, black with no options, after 59,300 mi. The car was what my college daughter HAD to have at the time of purchase. She used it at school for 3 years and then it was the wife's daily driver for the last 1.5 years. Looking over the records I spent $1760 in maintenance over tht time for about 3 cents/mi. Most of that came between 42,000 and 59,000 mi with new brake pads & rotors front and rear and new tires. As with other Jettas I have heard about, the rear brakes went first (surprising for me) and their rotors had to be replaced -- no depth left to grind them. We were free of the dreaded 2.0L engine "above average oil consumption" until 42,000 mi, but after that it started to need an extra quart every 6-8 weeks depending on driving conditions. DO NOT BUY a 2.0L Jetta if you are not willing to check the oil once/month and keep a spare quart of 5W-30 in the trunk for the times when you will need it -- you will. Oil consumption was at its highest when there was a lot of higher speed Interstate driving and lowest when we were just jogging around town. Having said that, however, while bothersome the need to keep up with oil is not that expensive or time consuming once you are in the habit of doing it -- it just leaves you wondering what else might go wrong that won't have such an easy fix. Two biggest drawbacks to this car were the standard interior cloth seats ("Format" cloth that year, i.e the "mouse fur" interior - and in black no less - which picked up every piece of lint in the county and held on to it for dear life), and the VW dealer system. All the VW dealers in our city (three) were uniformly below average in attitude, knowledge and service orientation. Makes you want to stay away from them the minute your free services are up -- although as you can read in the above posts there can be some dangers from abandoning them entirely for independent garages. I could understand that the dealers were bad in the 90's when they had poorer product to sell, but after the introduction of the New Beetle/Jetta/Passat lines over the past 8-10 years there is no longer any excuse at all. VW is a fascinating case study of a company who has been greatly successful in turning around the attractiveness of its products but a woeful failure in turning around the dealer system that provides the critical link between the end consumer and those same products. Still, the black Jetta was sharp looking (after the multiple treatments of Zaino & 3M Swirlmark remover I gave her), pretty reliable, generally comfortable, and certainly economical. Just stay up on the oil consumption in a 2.0L, avoid a 2001 "Format" cloth interior like the plague, find a good independent garage so you can stay away from the awful dealers, and hit the best VW web forums so you can learn from others what might be coming at you. This is not a car for "passive" owners but can be OK for an informed owner who is willing to put in the time. |
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Hey Folks, just wondering if anyone has come across a problem with their tail lights not working. That is, my Jetta's brake light burned out and I replaced it with an after market bulb. After that, the tail lights wouldn't work when the headlights were on and the car was in drive. The brake lights, turn signals and reverse lights all work. This isn't so bad during the day, but at night I fear that someone won't see me (not to mention the potential tickets I may get). If it helps, one of the license plate bulbs is also burned out, but I don't think that would be the cause, would it? Thanks in advance. |
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Replying to: redline21 (Dec 01, 2000 8:34 pm) Any information is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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my '01 jetta coolant light comes on and when i refilled the tank about 3-5 minutes later it comes back on. i have been told to ride with the heat on to keep it from overheating. but how does this help the coolant from leaking out. i would appreciate any suggestions. i have been told it could be the thermostat, i truly don't know. 
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Replying to: mzjetta (Mar 16, 2006 7:49 pm) The result is that the coolant-level will slowly go down with no visable leakage being seen. I am not sure if the 2001s had this issue. A bad thermostat is unlikely to cause loss of coolant. BTW: Make absolutely sure you are using the correct G12 antifreeze. (Pink color) If you use the generic "green" stuff, you risk ruining your engine. |
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Hi, I have a 2002 Jetta 1.8T with 50,000 Miles and I need to get new tires. I currently have the original Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus tires. What tires would you all receommend? The Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus got ok ratings on tirerack.com http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Energy+MXV4+- Plus&partnum=965HR5MXV4EPL&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&place=2#Survey I was considering getting the Michelin PIlot Exalto A/S they got good ratings http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Exalto- +A%2FS&partnum=965HR5EXAS&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&place=0#Survey I'd be interested in feedback/opinions from anyone on good tires to get for a Jetta. Thanks! I found
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Replying to: bluejetta02 (Mar 27, 2006 8:43 pm) I have them installed on my 2004 VR6 to replace the Goodyear RSA at 13,400 miles (which is a junk tire, not good at any surface) I happens to drive SP9000 once in the light snow this winter, which is OK. |
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Replying to: bpeebles (Jan 23, 2006 4:30 pm)
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