2002 VW Jetta

[traktrbeam]

Hi guys. Just bought a 2002 Jetta for my daughter who just got her license. This car was bought new by a little old lady that lives in the same condo as my Mom in florida. She recently passed, so the car became available. The Jetta has 21,xxx original miles on it.

Does anyone have or owned one? Are there any issues I should look out for?

Thanks

 

[oldmodman]

Window motors are known to be a problem.

But other than that I haven't heard anything really bad about them.

Check on a VW forum:shrug:

 

[Double"O"]

i had a 2002 Jetta 1.8T w/tiptronic trans

i loved that little car

during the 80K miles i had it it went through 4 sets of Coilpacks...that was the only issue i ever had with it

 

[N2DAMYSTIC]

Just keep an eye on the hoses, wires and electrical connectors. Had a few VW's in my time and those were the only issues I had and they were consistent between the Golf, Jetta, and Corrado I owned.

 

[VirtualSVT]

My sister had a 2001 Jetta 1.8. Only it ever needed was a clutch and I put some plugs in it.

Interior always smelled like Crayons though.

 

[FL-Orange]

My sister's 1.8T A4 became a home to electrical gremlins around 70-80K miles, along with a few other issues. I know it's not necesssarily what you wanted to hear but I wouldn't own an early 00's VW/Audi over 50K. I do realize it's my own experience but it is what it is.

 

[assasyn]

Hi guys. Just bought a 2002 Jetta for my daughter who just got her license. This car was bought new by a little old lady that lives in the same condo as my Mom in florida. She recently passed, so the car became available. The Jetta has 21,xxx original miles on it.

Does anyone have or owned one? Are there any issues I should look out for?

Thanks

I have a 2005 Passat and it's the biggest piece of junk. Widely know as junk. If it weren't a company car, I'd complain.

I hope you have better luck.

 

[TaraFirma]

Never owned one, but knew people who did. They were not happy with them. I will never own a VW product nor would I let a child of mine roll in one. Just saying.
Hope you have better luck then the folks I've known

 

[traktrbeam]

Thanks for the replies...now at least I have an idea what to look for if it develops issues.

 

[WantedCobra]

My sister had a 2001 Jetta 1.8. Only it ever needed was a clutch and I put some plugs in it.

Interior always smelled like Crayons though.

dude... no shit about the crayons.. my mom has had 4 different ones. and every single one smelt that way..

 

[vettez062002]

coil packs, window motors, glove box and arm rest will break eventually, struts, O2 sensors, and do not mess with the coolant. they are very prone to overheating

and +100 on the crayons. ive ben through a few both turbo and VR6 and every single one smells like crayons lol

 

[rotor_powerd]

2.0? Automatic?

The 2.0 is bulletproof. Earlier autos are junk but the MKIV auto transmissions seem to do fine. The car itself has a few electrical gremlins, window regulators being the biggest culprit.

If it's a 1.8T, you'll be replacing the coilpacks at some point. Either the 2.0 or the 1.8T are proven motors though, you won't have many problems with either.

Every MKIV smells like crayons inside.... enjoy.

 

[thomas91169]

The in-cabin filter is what gives them the crayon smell.

My girls 1.8t auto is a freaking beast. Shes been driving that thing into the ground and until we got together it wasnt maintained worth a shit. Starts it up after a cold night and Doesnt even let it idle down before she throws it in reverse and tears out of the parking spot, then drops it in drive and scoots away easily seeing half boost. Some mornings i can hear the piston rings crying.

Just recently it started to hesitate during downshifts. Ill be in a stopped lane and go to pull out into the one thats moving and it just will laugh at you and take 2-3 seconds before it responds and then takes off as normal.


Sent from my iPhail using Tapatalk while doing 90 on the freeway and streetracing through traffic. What now?

 

[cstyles]

This car was bought new by a little old lady

Oh man, you're screwed if you bought a VW from a 'little old lady'...

[youtube_browser]cuFm_Ti4Vn0[/youtube_browser]

 

[evil04svtcobra]

window motors, glove box and arm rest will break eventually, struts, O2 sensors, and do not mess with the coolant. they are very prone to overheating

i agree with the above. also the automatics are thought of in the vw community as junk.

however i have a 2000 tdi with 254,000 miles, my car has an auto. no problems ever. its my daily driver and i've had over 50mpg as well as over 700 miles on one tank of fuel.

 

[trevkm7]

dude... no shit about the crayons.. my mom has had 4 different ones. and every single one smelt that way..

+1 hahahaha I had two jetta's and the first one smelt like that..my friends asked me if I did arts and crafts in it :shrug:

 

[SBVERT03]

Wow, always thought it was just our 99 jetta that smelt that way! Our 99 has around 80,xxx miles on it now and has been pretty reliable other than the normal stuff. The AC did go out this summer though. It's been fixed but still doesnt seem to kick out as cold of air as it should. We had an 06 TDI also, and I loved that car. But it was an auto and the trans went out around 130,xxx miles. We drove the piss out of it though and it consistently got ~40-45 mpg.

 

[trevkm7]

these cars are pretty reliable until you mod them. I had a '02 1.8t for two years and it needed nothing except for oil changes. Then I had a '01 wolfsburg jetta 1.8t with a big turbo and I blew a fuel line under boost (was pushing way too much boost though) and it burned my car to the ground haha.

 

[hurststang]

I have a 2000 Golf German Spec with the 1.4L 16V it has been a great car but the water pump are known for going out about every 60,000km. I had to out another engine in it last month because my wife let a friend use it and they drove it about 40km with the coolate light on. Beside that we love that little car and we get about 650kms per tank.

 

[thomas91169]

It seems like VW's are either hit or miss. Either they are reliable as hell for you, or turn out to be a german cluster**** nightmare.

these cars are pretty reliable until you mod them. I had a '02 1.8t for two years and it needed nothing except for oil changes. Then I had a '01 wolfsburg jetta 1.8t with a big turbo and I blew a fuel line under boost (was pushing way too much boost though) and it burned my car to the ground haha.

any car can become unreliable when shit like that happens.

Id love to get a 1.8t golf with the slappy-paddles for a DD (or are those the 2.0t's), I think that would be a super fun DD and still be quicker than my current while a newer car and having better drivability and economy. Id probably leave it pretty mild as far as mods, just handling and boltons/tune.