Problems with 2002 Volkswagen Jetta ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Twice now, a single ignition coil has failed on my 2002 vw jetta 1.8t this results in immediate failure of the car to have sufficient driving power, preventing the car from being driven any further. the company has not recalled them _yet_ however thousands of us are having the same problem. my biggest comliant is that they will only fix one coil at a time, virtually guaranteeing that we will be stranded 2 more times in the next few weeks.

Coil pack failure (2nd in less than 3000 miles)

2002 jetta 1.8 t, start shaking after driving for 5 minutes. dealer detected as a failed ignition coil problem.

1 ignition coil on my 2002 1.8t vw jetta wagon failed on saturday 12-19. car has been towed to the dealership, still awaiting part to arrive!!

This was the 2nd failure of one or more ignition coils on my 2002 jetta 1.8t causing a dramatic loss of power. the first time was november when 2 coils failed causing car to be almost undrivable, no accelaration and very hard to maintain speed. second failure, luckily, only happened a couple of blocks from the local dealership. same problem with no power, etc. if this would have happened while driving on the freeway it could lead to a rather bad accident. this probem seems very prevelant on the 2001 and 2002 vw and audi models with the 1.8 turbo engine.

Failure of ignition coil. ts

Vehicle stalled numerous times at any speed due to a faulty ignition coil. dealer inspected and replaced just one out the five coil. provide further information. ts *tr

While driving my 2002 vw jetta (1.8t) into traffic a coil pack failed and the car lost all power. it was quite possible that i could have been hit by traffic turning into my lane because the car loses all power when this happens. this is the 3rd coil pack to have failed on me in the last 5 months, and i am a bit afraid to take the car on long trips due to the vehicle undrivable conditions. i am even somewhat afraid to proceed into traffic in certain conditions because if a coil pack fails i will be put at the mercy of other drivers reactions and ability to stop. ts

Coil pack failed on volkswagen jetta 2002, luckily it died on start up and not while traveling. car has 4 coil packs, dealer only repaced one. vw has numerous cars with same failure, numerous times. requested they replace all coil packs, they said no. they agreed with me that there is a good chance car will fail again. what happens if it fails while driving on the highway ? !

>i have a car problem. i have a 2002 jetta and have made only 9 payments. >> it has been in the shop 2 times in a month, both times it was a "coil" >> problem and 2 coils had to be replaced. i have found out that this is a >> major problem and vw has chosen not to issue a recall on the cars affected by this "coil" problem. i see tons of notes on the internet from people all over the us with the same issue. some people are having to wait over a month for the part to come in b/c vw cannot make enough, quickly enough. who should i contact to express my concern and hopefully get a recall issued? i have called vw directly and they just tell me they are sorry >> and offer me 100.00 gift cert for their merchandise. there are 4 coils in >> the engine, so at this point some of us just have to cross our fingers and >> pray we don't break down again, instead of vw just recalling the cars and >> replacing all of the coils at one time, they say they must be broken to be >> fixed.

2002 jetta glx (v6). car has 10,000 miles on it and the second ignition coil pack just failed. car has been in the shop for 3 weeks waiting for parts this time around. dealer indicated that several other jettas have been brought in with the same problem. other vw owners (passat) indicated similar problems. other dealers indicate similar problems and long wait times. i see from other complaints on the nhtsa website that this problem is epidemic in other parts of the country as well. the repeated and unexpected failure of the ignition coils is an incredibly serious safety issue for the drivers of these vehicles as well as anyone else on the highway. these coils fail without warning - the second one failed while i was hundreds of miles from home on a very lonely stretch of the western massachusetts turnpike (no cell phone service of course) early in the morning in a snowstorm!

Coil packs which control spark to the engine failed on cylinders #2 and #4. replaced by dealer under warranty. five days later coil pack on cylinder #3 failed. also replaced by dealer. the coil pack failures resulted in a considerable loss of power and a foul odor from the exhaust. in addition, the coil pack broke apart allowing the electrical parts to be exposed.

In the last six months my 2002 jetta 1.8t has been in the shop 3 times for faulty coil packs and now i need all new fuel injectors. this is a serious safety issue that should be investigated. i have had 2 new sets of redesigned coil packs and i still get an engine light causing the car to lose power and run rough, not something you want happening to you while driving 65 miles a hour on a busy highway. i wish volkswagen would issue a recall before someone really gets hurt. *nlm

While driving "check engine" started flashing, and there was a odor coming from the air vents. the dealership indicated after that the number 2 ignition coil had burnt out. a month later the number 1 ignition coil had burnt out. replaced part on both occasions. ph

While driving 2 ignition coils failed on two separate occasions which caused the vehicle to stall. the first failure was on 11/30/02 at 9500 miles and the second failure was on 01/18/03 at 11000 miles. the manufacturer advised that they will only replace defective coils when they fail. *nlm

Failure results in disabling of vehicle. vw is only replacing failed coils even though they admit that the others will probably fail eventually. dt

Coil has broken twice in two weeks. known issue with vw and they refuse to replace all potentialy defective parts, only will replace currently broken parts. dt

Epc warning light came on while driving. when this occurred, tail lights and brake lights were not functioning. when i arrived at my destination i parked my car as usual. when i returned to my car, it started, but i could not shift out of park. i called the roadside assistance number. they instructed me to hit the brake with my foot as hard as possible. this allowed me to shift out of park. they also suggested that i take my car to the dealer as soon as possible for service. *la

This is a known problem with vw/audi 1.8t engines. affects audi a4, vw passat/beetle/jetta. parts back ordered through dealer, they said. needs to be a recall. car loses power when moving, will not go faster than 20mph. potentially dangerous, could result in accident happend many, many times. also, more than one failiure has happend to a lot of people that i know. dt

I feel that the high failure rate of vw ignition coil packs is a danger to the general public safety. it is not uncommon to have multiple coil packs fail. i have to cross a busy highway to go to work and fear being killed should i accidentally pull out into oncoming traffic and have this problem again. the car has virtually no power to accelerate to avoid an accident when this happens. dt

Ignition coil failure on 2002 vw jetta. car must be towed if it is any distance from dealership. has no power when failure occurs...safety issue on a highway, with a sudden loss of power. safety issue for a woman waiting alone on the road side for a tow. can not drive a car with 9000 miles with any confidence that it will not put me in danger that i will not be able to control. ts

I have a 2002 jetta 1.8t and have been to the dealership 3 times now in the past month and 1/2 for coil pack failure. had car in shop 1 day for first coil, one week for 2nd coil, and 1 1/2 week for third coil. just have 10,000 miles on car.

I started vehicle, proceeded to drive, but vehicle shuddered and lost power. also there was a slight foul smell. malfunction indicator light came on. was told car unsafe to drive by dealership, as ignition coils failed. they said only two damaged at this time and will not replace other two unless problem occurs again. there are other reported incidents on similar vehicles. i am afraid to drive vehicle if this causes the vehicle to be unsafe why are they not replacing all 4. this could also cause me to be stranded somewhere as i drive long distances on occasion. dt

Ignition coils failed 3 times. car has been in repair shop for a month, no replacement parts are being delivered. dt

Bad coils! in october of 2002, my 2002 jetta 1.8t broke down. i was told that coil #3 had burnt out. when i asked the dealer why this occurred, i was told it was a fluke. i had not realized that i had been lied to. on december 24, 2002 my car broke down again. now coil #4 had burnt out. this time i was told that it is a reoccurring problem in 2002 jettas with 1.8t engines. i asked if all coils could be replaced but was told no. i was told that i just have to wait for my car to break down again and it probably would. why is there no recall? according o vw, they do not have enough parts to have a recall. this is absurd!

One coil pack failure in miami, repaired by esserman vw. another failed in nw georgia mountains, repaired by obtaining part thru local techician. dt

This is a complaint about my 2002 volkswagon jetta 1.8t that has been towed twice to repair faulty engine coils. volkswagon refused to replace all for coils and says the only way they will replace them is if they fail.

I've taken my 2002 jetta 1.8t in on 3 occasions to have an ignition coil replaced, and i'm still running the car with the fourth original ignition coil. the service manager even stated, "it's probably only a matter of time before the fourth goes bad, but we aren't authorized to replace it if it's not having any problems."

Nar 03-24-2003 mr. the vehicle has been to the repair shop on 6 different occasions for the same stalling problem. the first time the incident happened the vehicle lost all power after coming to a stop. after the fifth visit the consumer was told there was a problem with the ignition coil and the consumer would have no other problems, however that proved not to be true. each time the consumer went to the dealer another part was replaced with the same results. *jb

Consumer states while she was driving smoke begun to come from the hood area near driver's side. consumer states she stopped the auto and asked a person for something to put the fire out. she states she had auto towed to her home, the mechanic checked it and she was told that the master brake abs control unit and part of the wiring harness. mr

Cylinder coil packs are the problem. dims 11 ivoq entry posted after 12/12/2002 cut-over-to artemis......770758. *ak *jb

While driving and for no reason, the passenger side air bags deployed, the passenger sustained some aches and burns, the dealer stated that the computer indicated that the vehicle was in a collision, however after inspection it was obvious that the vehicle had no signs of damage anywhere, it is uncertain as to if the air bags were front or side. *slc

Hello. my complaint is about the 2002 jetta 1.8t. i purchased mine in may 2002 from curran vw in stratford, ct. with just 400 miles on the car, an ignition coil malfunctioned, and the shifting performance was very poor. in november, the second ignition coil malfunctioned. i was placed in a rental for about 10 days. made the trip back to ma to pick up the car, got back to ct just to have the third ignition coil malfunction, less than one week later. then, two weeks ago the car began, once again, to shake violently and lose power on i-95 at 6:30am on my way to work. i was forced to take the car down to 20mph. i dropped the car off at vw for inspection and was told it was fine and that it was not the ignition coil, but that they reset the computer for my peace of mind. i was also told that despite what i've read about the recent recall re: the ignition coils that i had to wait until they failed before having any replaced. (the one replaced last may was replaced with the same poor quality coil.) it's about a week later and the car has been towed for the 4th ignition coil failure. i can't take it. i feel totally unsafe in this car. i drive in the slow lane so as to be close to the break down lane. how anyone can say that this is not a safety issue is beyond me, when the car significantly loses power with no warning - and on a highway where cars are traveling at 60-80 mph! this is a very serious issue that must be addressed. this car was a total waste of $25k+. what a terrible first new car buying experience.*jb

Ignition coils on the vw jetta have failed twice. the computer module on the car has also been reprogrammed in an attempt to correct the problem. when the ignition coils fail, the car is unsafe and nearly impossible to drive. ignition coil failure at highway speeds could be incredibly dangerous. please make vw address this problem immediately. *nlm

Coil pack failure on 2002 vw jetta, car failed to make it through an intersection when the problem happened. almost got into an accident because of this, car has been towed to the dealer and they are only going to replace one and said that the others will fail also

I purchased the 2002 1.8t volkswagen jetta on 1/09/02. my service record begins on 1/23/02. from day one, i have pointed out that this car leaks/has wind noise from doors/windows. seals were replaced on drivers side doors on 6/27/02. leakage/moisture to date, is an issue. now there is visible water damage and mold growing along drivers side. issue- poor quality product. dangerous mold growing-health factor! ignition coil failure twice! radio has blown twice- faulty wiring! car lunges when started or hard to stop once running. my situation is not "special". there are many others that have purchased this product and have their safety compromised. ignition coil is a suppose to be a recall, but only when they fail. volkswagen of america will not replace until you are stranded! this is a severe safety issue. mold growing in my car is a severe safety issue.*ak

I had my first ignition coil pack fail a few days ago. the dealer was great and very prepared to handle this problem the best they could, however vw cannot make the parts fast enough to satisfy the demand and i will have a loaner car for at least 3 weeks. i know that vw will only replace the coil that failed so i guess i can look forward to this happening several times in the future. great. i am disappointed and mad that vw knows about the problem and is unwilling to replace all 4 leaving me to break down again.

Coil pack failure - this is a widespread problem with newer vw and audi models with the 1.8t engines. while vw says it's not a safety issue - what happens if you're on a highway at 70mph with a truck right behind you and you suddenly stall or lose power? what about turning in front of traffic and losing power or stalling?

Car lost power and started shaking. it would only go 10 mph. took it to the dealer and found two of the ignition coils were broken. dealer would only fix the broken ones because vw won't fix all four, even though he admitted the others would probably break.

Ignition coil pack failed, resulting in greatly reduced power. would have been dangerous had i been in traffic. i understand that frequently they fail in multiples on this particular engine, disabling the car completely. *jb

Electrical problem, coolant leaked in mechanical system, causing loss of power. requiring rewiring of entire electrical system. *bf the coil spring failed which caused the vehicle to have no power, the drivers side window failed, the consumer did however receive a recall notice regarding the matter, but the problem had already occurred. the rear passenger tail light was out. *jb