Problems with 2004 Volkswagen Jetta EQUIPMENT

I am the owner of a 2004 volkswagen jetta gli, which i garage at my condominium. in march 2006, the national highway traffic safety administration issued a recall of volkswagen and audi 2003 cars with 1.8l turbo engines due to electrical failure of the fuel pumps. i raise the possibility of my car being involved in the manufacturing malfunction, but not included in the recall. 07/17/2009: car towed to volkswagen autobarn of evanston. costs: $74.15. 07/25/2009: informed that the car required a new battery and fuel pump. parts & labor costs: $905.85. after paying for the repairs and waiting for delivery, the car would not start. 07/27/2009: retrieved the car after vw autobarn service installs a second fuel pump, due to a defect in the previous part. i drove the car home and parked underground. 07/28/2009: i drove to the faa regional office in des plaines, il. at approximately 18:30, i attempted to leave however, the car did not start in the same fashion that led to the initial repair. the car is towed back to volkswagen. 08/17/2009: informed by the vw autobarn service manager that they have gone to extraordinary efforts to repair the car: driven the car on multiple occasions including taking it home overnight; communicated with the german service office to pursue other possible causes for fuel pump failures. costs for towing, fuses, relay switches, leads, connectors and technician labor: $574.11. after paying for the above repairs, again, the car would not start. 08/28/2009: informed the fuel in the car contained 40% alcohol and is the cause of failure of the three previous fuel pumps. moreover, i was responsible for voiding the warranty of the previous fuel pumps and now financially responsible for $1400 in new charges, including the cost of a fourth fuel pump. i last purchased 12.63 gallons premium fuel on june 26 without issue until july 17. *tr

Electronic fuel pump cracks and leaks fuel onto live electrical connections to fuel pump located under rear passenger seat. by time you smell gas inside of vehicle, gas has puddled about 1/4" deep on the electrical connections powering the fuel pump. dealer warns not to drive due to risk of fire or explosion. happened first in may of 2007 at 64,000 miles. vw unconcerned and did not remedy. happened again may of 2009 at 96,000 miles. vw again unconcerned. i assume it must be safe to drive. does somebody have to die first? *tr

Vwoa had a recall campaign for the egr cooler system on 2004 and 2005 vw tdi's. subsequent to the recall campaign, the lower egr flex pipe is known to crack on numerous vehicles in which the recall campaign was performed. when the egr pipe cracks, diesel exhaust is sucked into the cabin when the heater fan is operated causing discomfort and light headed for the driver and occupants. vwoa has refused to address the problem and offers no solution to the vehicle owner or a fix. not only is it an expensive repair, but it can also be causing medical problems for the driver and occupants. my egr pipe was cracked for 2-4 months before i realized what was happening. it may have been cracked longer with out my knowledge. *tr

I have a 2004 vw jetta 1.8 turbo. i just came off from having my car checked by royal volkswagen in winter park, fl on thursday afternoon. they did a malfunction check. two days later my malfunction light went on blinking. i read the manual and it said that i should drive slowly to a dealer. because this dealer has given me problems--meaning after time i leave the dealership a few days later something else happens..i avoided taking my car to them. i took it a local mechanical..long story short i had two ignition coils go out on me. in a two day period i lost a 1/2 tank of fuel. when i drove into the mechanic down the road he said my catalytic converter was a "grill" red and he told me that is caused by raw fuel entering the converter. basically, i was told he was like lighting a match next to a gas tank. the converter was so hot because two of the four coils failed that it could been life threatening and started a fire. this is serious! i am working with vw of america and have complained about other situations about the dealership. *tr

On 1/25/2007 our vehicle was taken in to dealer service department for repair of an engine vibration. initial diagnosis was the timing belt and it was adjusted approximately 4 degrees and promised to be ready on 1/27/07. belt adjustment did not fix the problem and car was not picked up. additional diagnosis was performed, including compression test of engine, and technician contacted volkswagen for assistance. after weeks of diagnosis and testing we were told that the in tank fuel pump that was replaced at a different vw dealership on 9/11/06 had failed. researching nhtsa i also found out that it was a recalled pump. because the mileage was almost 3k over the warranty of the part and vw already satisfied the recall vw would not cover a replacement. the new fuel pump also did not fix the vibration problem. dealers diagnosis with volkswagen's assistance continued until 2/8/07 when we were told that a valve lifter in the cam assembly had failed causing the vibration. dealership recommended a complete "cylinder head replacement" at a cost of about $4,500. my husband asked to speak with the mechanic and determined that the damage was only to one valve lifter. my husband and i decided to fix what was broken and only fixed the damaged lifter which was estimated at about $500. the dealer agreed to perform this repair, but would not warranty the work because they were concerned that cylinder head might be faulty. our vehicle was finally repaired and able to be picked up on 2/19/07. cost of repairs was negotiated within our satisfaction, however, the service was not timely and feel that the parts in the vehicle are below standard. now we have an additional problem we did not have before taking it in for repair. two days after we received the vehicle from the dealership we figured out the fuel gauge is no longer working properly and has a false reading of approximately 1/4 tank when the tank is empty. *jb

Intermittently abs light comes on and stays on - at times for minutes, other times hours, even days; then goes off. at times it goes off with intervention as described below; other times by itself. at times the abs light turns on just prior to braking at low speeds/coasting; other times immediately after braking, sometimes along with a noise and brake pedal sinks slightly under my foot prior to brake being applied. other times the light comes on while driving on the expressway or city streets. since 12/2006 have taken to dealer numerous occasions and 2 other repair facilities with abs light on, diagnostics always show code 00283, left front speed sensor malfunction, and sensor replaced numerous times. abs control module replaced 6/2009 at suggestion of dealer (requested old part and in my possession) to remedy problem, but abs light has come on again twice in 7/2009. *tr

There were problems with the radio starting one year ago. on three occasions the cd would not eject and the radio would not play even though it could be tuned and adjusted. the cd ejected two of the three times when driving fast over a large bump. the third time i had to hit the side of the radio three times before it ejected. on a different occasion the radio turned on without sound and the cd player would not take the cd. after driving the vehicle for 10 minutes, the stereo accepted the cd and it played. today the cd i put in was being read but no sound was present. when switching to radio, with the cd in, no sound was present for the radio. only after the cd was removed and the stereo was turned off then on did it have sound. the dealership says in order to replace the stereo they need to see the problem. however, i can't just stop in when it is occurring because other people have appointments. by the time i have the appointment, the stereo is working and in their eyes it is not a problem. *jb

About a month and a half ago i started to notice that my 2004 jetta gl was starting to run a little rough. i brought it to the deal and had a test done on it to find out the my ignition coil was bad. after about 2 weeks the check engine like came on it the car and i called the dealer to have it looked at. again my ignition coil had gone bad. then yet another time a week and a half later the same issue. the ignition coil had gone bad. three days later after that incident i was driving and the check engine light came on. this was the forth time that i had the same problem. this time the dealer changed the wiring harness and said that that was the problem should be cured. all of the times that i picked up the car from the dealer i noticed that the idle it the car was still a little rough and needle for the tacometer was moving slightly. i am still weary to say that the car is fixed and fear something more exstensice is wrong with the car. the car is still under warranty and the parts were replaced but consumer satisfaction is low.

Dt: the caller had the vehicle's electrical system replaced 5 times. the windows/the alarm system/the lights/the gauges, and the dashboard lights failed. as the caller indicated everything electrical malfunctioned. the caller was able to drive vehicle to the dealer, and a few times he had to have it towed. dealer could never give him an answer why the vehicle was having these problems. the manufacturer said they could not help him for free, and since the problem included different components it did not fall under the lemon law. manufacturer said that if the caller got a loan on the vehicle it would be a different situation. *ak