Problems with 2002 Volkswagen Jetta ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

September 2002 - leased 2002 vw jetta 1.8t. july 2003 - check engine light came on, ignition coils had to be replaced per recall. november 2003 - plumes of black smoke came out of tailpipe - they determined the oxygen sensor needed replacing. november 2003 - (a day later) smoke still coming out of tailpipe, they determined there was oil in the turbo, they had to remove and install new turbo charger and there was an oil leak, they had to remove and install oil line. november 2003- car making whoosing noise, had to rescure loose intake hose. may 2004 - replace breaklight switch per recall. july 2004 - drivers side window fell - had to have both windows and clamps replaced per recall. (if this had happened after hours, my car could have easily been vandilized, fortunately it was during the day and i was near the dealer so they were able to get them wedged shut before they could get the car in to be fixed.) july 2004 (a day later) - battery died, got jumped and was towed to shop, it was determined i needed a new battery. no problems for almost a year, thought i was homefree... may 2005 - clacking noise in engine, sludge on dipstick and in oil fill cap. no oil light or check engine light ever came on. had to also have hazard switch replaced per recall. i am currently waiting to see if they will cover the repairs under my warranty. my car needs to have the oil pan removed to see if there is any further damage. i was never told to you use synethic oil in my car and that apparently is the cause of the sludge problem. from looking online, it seems many more people than just myself have had this problem. vw needs to recall this.

Fire in the fuse box, resulted in cabin damages.*ak

I have a volkswagen jetta 2002 wagon. twice i had to take the car in for service because the factory installed radio had stopped working. twice they repaired the radio by readjusting the wiring. i was told if it happens a third time, they will replace the radio.*ak

Repeated failure of break lights in 2002 volkswagen jetta over 2 and 1/2 year period. incident #1 ? date: 10.29.02 od reading 5226 miles ro# 776322 incident #2 ? date: 07.18.03 od reading 15765 miles ro# 817328 * incident #3 ? date: 12.15.03 od reading 19219 miles ro# 843079 incident #4 ? date: 07.14.04 od reading 24000 miles ro# 877075 incident #5 ? date: 01.13.05 od reading 31291 miles ro# 26004548/1 * this was when the recall break light switch was installed per nhtsa recall no. 04vo96. we have narrowly avoided collisions in the last two of these incidents of failures and have asked that volkswagen take the car back from us as after the fourth attempt to correct the problem they cannot ensure our safety in the vehicle. volkswagen has refused our request and insisted that they repair the car under the terms of the warranty for the fifth time despite the track record of failures. the comment made to me is if it happens again to be sure to contact them with my concerns? *nm

Repeat ignition coil and ingition coil wiring harness failure. the coils fail to spark resulting in reduced engine power and the wiring harness sheathing keeps cracking apart, resulting in ground out on the engine.*ak *nm

Repeat incidents leading to consumer's long term driveability concerns. worrisome panel indicator lights -- flashing: engine warning and glow plug (diesel) lights within current lease period. after first two incidents, the third (then under warranty) was found to be due to a factory defect. and repaired?...dec 7 '04, at about 55k -- blinking lights again. dealer diagnostic indicated no engine problem (this was the same result of the two previous before the third resulted in a major warranty repair). this has been diagnosed as an accelerator sensor failure. (the part will not be available for three (3) days; we are advised to drive "carefully until the part can be replaced.) this sensor failure is then one of several others in this particular vehicle: the fuel guage has been replaced once or twice; the seat heater sensor just, and out-of-warranty, burned a hole in the front seat (three weeks awaiting factory reps 'get-back.'). an air conditioning problem (leak) was also noted and repaired at about 50,000 miles.*ak

Bought new 2002 jetta had no brake light problems until i received recall notice concerning switch recall. took car to dealer w/ recall letter and they replaced switch. no problems for about 4 months, then brake lights began staying on and acceleration occasionally cuts out. dealer had car off and on for a month and a 1/2 problem w/ lights and accel. continues. *jb

After i was pulled out of a parking spot, the doors clicked as if they were going to lock automatically as they normally do at 10 mph. the click sounded funny, so i looked at the door locks and noticed that they hadn't locked. soon thereafter, the battery on the car stopped, which i noticed because i couldn't accelerate and i couldn't turn the steering wheel. i started the car again, without a problem. the airbag light went on and stayed on and i noticed that the lights in the back seat over the doors stayed on though. i traveled to my next stop and the lights in the back seat went out. i then started toward my next stop and had reached 25 mph when the side airbag in the driver's seat exploded. i called the dealer to see if the car was safe to drive, they said it was. i then started driving to the dealer when the battery cut out again; i could tell because i could not steer and i could not accelerate. i pulled over to a safe spot and called for a tow truck. while i was sitting in the parked car with the a/c on waiting for the tow to arrive, the passenger-side curtain and seat airbags deployed. the car is currently at the dealer so they can investigate if there was a malfunction. no, i'm not kidding, that's what they said. *jb

I had a vw jetta 2002 model with 13880 miles. prior to that incident, i had no accident or trouble. i had service check up done and the last one was done on mar.16, 2004. on apr.5, i parked the car in the elementary school parking lot. i took out the ignition key, but the car was still shaking and vibrating and the sound was getting louder and louder. i called out for help and the janitor came to open up the hood. by the time, the burning smell was all over and the smoke was coming out. the cables attached to the battery was on fire and the battery was melting. the janitor had to cut off the cables in order to stop the fire. it was towed away to vw sunnyvale. after the inspection, vw said that the probable cause was the safety key device which was installed at the bob lewis dealer where we bought the car. then the starter disengaged. vw said it was an aftermarket product that their bumper to bumper warranty won't cover the repair. when we bought this car, it was new and we refused to have an extra safety device, but bob lewis had left it there without our knowledge. they also did not disclose that modification was done nor after any modification. the car will not be covered by the manufacturer's warranty. now the sunnyvale dealer estimated the cost of repair for $14500. my insurance had sent 2 appraisers and i am waiting for their reports. i tried to reach bob lewis, but they have never called me back. *la the point of origin was in the wiring. the starter disengaged and the probable cause was the after market product due to a modification on the original wiring. (the damage appeared to be directly below the battery) *sc *jb

My 2002 vw jetta, vin# [xxx] has approximately 22,334 miles on it and has been at pacific vw since march 18, 2004. the concern with the vehicle, which the dealer/factory reps have been unable to remedy is with a complete loss of acceleration. *ak when depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle will slightly accelerate to about 15-20 mph and then the vehicle will not propel forward at any faster rate, even with the pedal all the way to the floor. acceleration is resumed when the pedal is brought up to the top again and depressed yet again to get any normal type of acceleration. please note that this is not poor acceleration but rather an inability for the vehicle to accelerate. this condition has been attempted to be remedied by my dealership by repairing/replacing the ecm, tcm, fuel pump, wiring harness and a radiator hose - the hose was damaged while attempting to repair the vehicle and is unrelated to the vehicles true concerns. all other items were unsuccsessful. the safety concern is that when merging or turning onto traffic and attempting to accelerate, there is a huge potential for an accident if the vehicle will not accelerate, even with the pedal all the way to the floor. i fear that a rear end accident may ensue if this condition is not fixed by vw. i have yet to hear from a factory representative despite multiple phone calls and an email notification to vw. kind regards, [xxx]. *ak updated 07/30/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

1) transmission slips, and causes a thud. have taken vehicle to dealership 3 times and nothing has been done to correct this problem. 2) led display disappears. have informed dealership of this problem twice and nothing has been done to correct this problem. 3) brakes are mushy. have informed dealership once and nothing has been done to correct this problem. 4) vehicle is sluggish when accelerating. have informed dealership once. 5) engine light has come on, and there is peculiar smell. have informed dealership once. *nm

I have a 2002 1.8t volkswagen jetta - i have experienced numerous failures. 1)radio has failed twice - in each instance fault was traced to a fuse - following radio failure i experienced repeated dead batteries until the radio was repaired. 2) abs failure detected when i was getting my radio fixed the second time 3)vehicle has failed to start on two occasions - i wait a minute and try again - it worked 4)my window fell into the door 5)i experienced an activation of numerous engine fault lights that reset following engine restart 6)the coating on interior door handle surfaces peels off easily 7)the chrome ring around the shift know is peeling. *ak

Since buying my jetta new in 2002. i have had nothing but problems. twice the ignition coils failed, and i had to have the car towed. they wouldn't replace all the defective coils the first time. so, now that i know my car is unreliable, i won't be using it for long trips, which was my main reason for buying the car. then last night on my way down the road, the heated seat caught on fire and burned a whole in my seat, not to mention what it did to me as i was driving. this car just seems totally unsafe. first there is no power when the ignition coils fail, then the driver seat catches on fire as i am driving down the road. of course the dealer can't get me in until later this week.*ak

Vehicle lost power without warning in freeway traffic. after pulling over, car restarted. no indicator lights were noticed. upon returning home, glow plug light lit twice with engine bucking. dealer replaced glow plug wiring harness with a new part that was released by volkswagen (vw) in october, 2003. vw would not warrant replacement part or labor. dealer stated this is not an unusual failure. *la

I have taken in my 2002 vw jetta about 9 times for electrical problems: the engine comes on, the doors have messed up, the odometer is incorrect and the speedometer floats drastically 5-10 miles up and down. this is an extremely dangerous car not only for the electrical problems that might cause a fire, but also because people don't know how fast they really are going - this is an extreme hazard. my friend's 2001 vw jetta is just starting to do the same things as mine, with the engine light coming on, and a women today said all of her friends got rid of theirs for the same reasons - jettas with electrical problems. *la

Check engine light continuously comes on, completed recall for brake switch, epc light continues to come on, car stalls while waiting for a light to change very dangerous. after a night of rain, leak in passenger side floor mold growing car will have a very hard start or no start at all in the morning, replaced battery 3 times. changed o2 sensor 2x, car burns oil continuously, interior lights go out when they feel like it, brake lights die out fast, changed brake lights and signal lights at least 5x. *tr

ignition coil has failed, causing vehicvle to lose all power. dealer notified. *ak

Ignition coil failure. this is the third failure of the electrical system on this auto. on the previous two failures, vw would not replace all four coils, but only those coils that were the cause of the problem. as a result work time has been lost, and it has been a great inconvenience to take time off of work, have the car towed, and travel to the repair facility. request vw be required to initiate a recall to fix all problems. *nlm

I want to know why nhtsa has done nothing about the vw ignition coil failures. this is a serious safety issue --the car can die at any moment, at any speed, under any conditions-- but apparently the agency does not care. i am afraid to drive my car any distance greater than 20 miles for fear of being stranded for hours (i live in a rural area). vw has been unresponsive, essentially telling consumers that they must wait until a failure occurs before a fix will be offered. this places many at risk needlessly. i would appreciate a follow-up as to why there is no action being taken. *jb

A faulty ignition coil caused the engine to stall while driving. the dealer replaced the faulty coil pack. *nlm *ts

This is the second time in one month that i have taken my 2002 vw jetta wagon in for repair for the ignition coil problem. how can a car manufacturer allow someone to drive around in a unsafe vehicle especially when you or the dealer can not predict when this will happen next? this problem needs to be resolved, but the corporations always win.

My glowplug relay failed and melted connector and killed battery. http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3822124 http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3822125 http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3822126 above pics of failed realy. *jb

Two of my ignition coils failed and i had to have the car towed to the dealership to have them replaced. apparently this is a common problem with the 2002 jetta 1.8t. i would have liked to have all the defective coils replaced but i have read numerous complains that volkswagen will not replace these because not enough parts have been produced. i should not have to have a car that is only one year old towed to the dealership. i don't understand why volkswagen wouldn't do a voluntary recall on these as the problem seems to be widespread. i am happy with the service i received (colonical volkswagen, westoborough ma) but disappointed in the manufactuer for not stepping up to the plate and notifying owners before their car leaves them stranded on the side of the road.

I purchased a 2002 vw jetta 1.8t during the summer, 2002. i have recently been made aware of a safety-related defect with the ignition coils that vw is failing to do a recall to repair. while my understanding is that vw claims that this is not a safety issue, i am aware of publicized auto occurrences that point to a serious safety issue if this is not repaired. a recall is essential in order to repair this and correct this problem asap.

I purchased a 2002 vw jetta 1.8t during the summer, 2002. i have recently been made aware of a safety-related defect with the ignition coils that vw is failing to do a recall to repair. while my understanding is that vw claims that this is not a safety issue, i am aware of publicized auto occurrences that point to a serious safety issue if this is not repaired. a recall is essential in order to repair this and correct this problem asap.

The defect is a faulty engine coil pack. dealer change the faulty coil pack. please provide further information. ph

I own a 2002 jetta 1.8t and two of my four ignition coils have failed. vw has told me that they can only replace ones that are broken and refuse to replace the remaining two coils. this is extremely dangerous. i am afraid to drive because i have no idea when the other two will fail and the most likely will (as i am told by my vw service advisor)!!!

The coils on my 2002 volkswagen jetta gls 1.8t are burning out. volkswagen of america has informed me that rather than replace all 4 coils, i must wait until each coil burns out before they will replace it. i have a letter from them as well stating they are aware of the problem but can not do anything more about it due to a lack of coils in stock. i guess the letter is a way to shut the customers up. apparently this is happening to over 500,000 people last i heard. i want this complaint logged and a personal note added and directed to volkswagen of america (if possible), "i will not renew my lease on this lemon and i will never purchase another volkswagen again." the coil issue is just one of the issues i'm having with this vehicle. the date below is the last time i went in for coil replacement and got to work late.

Coil pack failure, 2coil packs have malfunctioned on my 02 jetta 1.8t. dealer says 4-6 weeks for parts. recall??????????????????????????????

I own a vw jetta 1.8t. it has just over 14,000 miles on it. when i was driving on the freeway to work, the car started shuddering violently and then the malfunction indicator lamp came on. i was amost run down by a truck behind me, as the car began to lose power quickly. vw refused to reveal any information and the dealer took three days to attend to the car and refused to provide a loaner car. this would have been ok in other circumstances, except that the problem was due to a faulty ignition coil and i felt extremely cheated to find out that vw and their dealers were aware of these problems in 1.8t models all along, but have refused to recall these cars or provide any assistance to their consumers. vw will not replace all the ignition coils, just the ones that failed. now i am very worried that i will be run over the next time another ignition coil happens to fail while i am driving down the highway. shouldnt vw be made responsible for their faults and more importantly for trying to decieve their customers?

Ignition coil pack failed upon initial start up of engine today. this is my third failure to date on a less than 1 year old car. this failure can lead to an accident as you immediately lose the ability to accelerate at anything other than a crawl. we will see fatalities and injuries eventually. please make vwoa recall all applicable 1.8 liter turbocharged vehicles when the parts aren't on back order

Ignition-coil problem

Vw jetta egnition coils - one failed, dealership will not replace them all even though another will likely malfunction. why is this not a recall, the situation can be dangerous. does there have to be a fatality for a recall?

Loss of power....rough idle....check engine light on.....coil pack failure

Vw jetta 1.8t abrupt engine failure stopping car dead in heavy freeway traffic. was told it was known ignition defect fixed one of four defective "coils". vwoa would not replace other three and said thay would probably fail also but it is not their problem until it fails. extremely dangerous! this seems to be widespread throughout audi andvw.

Ignition coil failure in 2002 vw jetta 1.8t

The anti-slip resistance light comes on, indicating it's not activated, while driving. car jolts, which means it does deceleration and sudden acceleration. the battery light comes on while in reverse. car totally dies when this happens, driver can do nothing except brake, it means not steering at all.

2002 vw jetta with 1.8 turbo. faulty ignition coil requires dealer replacement. 1) part on back-order, so car remains undriveable and in shop for up to 2 weeks. 2) vw policy is to not replace other 3 ignition coils despite known failure rate. car is under warranty and dealer & vw america admit that part is defective, but car is no longer dependable in light of risk of future coil failure.

Ignition coils of a 2002 vw jetta 1.8t "burned out" according to the dealer. he informed me this is a known and widespread issue. this causes the car to behave irratically, causing my vehicle to lunge forward while idling at a red light, and vibrate violently while driving at 20 mph on my residential street. after doing research on the internet talkign to the tow truck driver who towed the car to the dealership, and information from the dealership's mechanic, i have found that a large number of other owners have had this same problem with this part. vw north america will not issue a recall voluntarilly, and this could cause a serious or fatal driving condition if this happens when travelling at highway speeds and the car begins to violently shake and vibrate as it did when i was driving, and i feel that it warrants further investigation by the nhtsa to see if an across the board recall is necessary to protect both owners of these vehilcles, as well as those who share the road with us. i have been told that due to the large number of people who have had the same problem that voldwagen cannot get enough of these coils to replace in those of us who need them, let alone a recall due to the sheer numbers of people who are breaking down due to this... this really should be looked into before it kills someone .

While traveling on the highway without prior warning the vehicle started shaking and vibrating and shut off. please fill in additional information dealer is aware of the problem. ts

Coil pack for 2002 volkswagen jetta gli (engine: 24v vr6) went bad. car no longer able to be driven and is at service dealership for indefinate amount of time because replacement parts on national backorder.

While driving one of vehicle's ignition coils failed causing car to stall. the dealer advised consumer 1 more coil out of the four is badly damaged and will soon fail. dealer will not replace until coil fails. ts

Coil pack failure while accelerating to get onto highway. seems to be a widespread occurence.

Coil failure in 1.8t engine. i have a '02 jetta 1.8t. one of the four ignition coils died while driving. result was complete loss of power and sudden stop without benefit of brake lights. the car is then undrivable and needs to be towed to a dealer. this is a huge safety issue as had i been merging into traffic or had someone been behind me, this would have caused an accident. vw acknowledges that there was a faulty design and has since redesigned the part. they also acknowledge that at some point every coil will fail in a simmilar manner. they, however, refuse to replace the other three pre-revision coils with the new part until each of them fails on its own. they further refuse to even sell the part (as it is easily fixed and would keep someone from becoming stranded if they had a spare.) this is absolutely terrible. i will never buy another vw because of they way they have handled this issue. i am afraid to take my car anywhere outside of a few miles because i know that i will end up stranded at least three more times. i did not pay over $20,000 for an unsafe and unreliable car.

My 2002 vw jetta 1.8t engine started to run rough, check engine light began to blink, and car smelled foul like burning rubber and sulfur. engine power was significantly reduced. i was in busy traffic, but fortunately, was able to pull over safely. had car...... towed to vw dealer. no surprise- faulty ignition coil. although this is known to be a bad part, dealer stated that vw would not replace all 4 coils, just the bad one, because the computer code only indicated one bad coil. dealer said that vw doesn't have enough replacement parts to repair all 4. just waiting for the others to fail...hopefully in a safe location.

The coils in the 2002 vw jetta 1.8t engine are failing. when they fail, this creates a saftey issuse with the car stalling. this happens unexpectly without warning, and could happen while traveling in a high speed lane. over a half million cars are affected by this poorly designed part. an indepth report appeared in the boston sunday globe automotive section (1-26-03) describing the problem we have been experiencing. vw choses only to fix failed components, not the ones that have not failed. there are four coils on this engine, and the consumer has four chances of being in a accident when the part fails. vw should replace all four parts of this known problem, and not wait for the accidents to happen.

Coil pack has been replaced 3 times but vehicle continues to lose power and drive rough. there have been several occasions when an accident was narrowly avoided. i do not feel safe driving this car. this is a lease. i offered vw the option of letting me make one cash payment to pay out the lease but vw refused to do this. vw said i have to keep this car until 90 days before due date. car has been towed in 3 times for this problem and driven in three other times. i never know when i will have to walk. *jb

While traveling on the highway the vehicle will shake and vibrate due to the ignition coil spring. dealer is aware of the problem. please provide additional information. ph

My 2002 jetta has had three ignition coils replaced in three seperate incidents. each time the car completely stopped leaving me stranded. vw has acknowledged that they have a coil problem but has refused to replace the remaining coil stating that they will not replace it until it fails. with the high likelihood that this coil will fail just like the others which were installed at the same time, vw's attitude shows a complete lack of regard for their customer's safety. fortunately, up to now the failures have only cost me time and frustration. until vw can do the right thing, i feel like i'm driving a ticking time bomb.

I was 1300 miles from home and 3 hours from the nearest dealership when my coil went out and i had to spend extra time away from home. car only has 12000 miles and now the dealer tells me the others will go soon.