This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
On several different occasions now my 1997 Volkswagen Jetta gl has failed to start.because this has happened at night and almost always away from home this has been a potentially dangerous situation. There is never any warning that this is going to happen. The car may be working fine and then the next time it is time to start it, it simply won't start. We have had to have the car towed several times now. Once out of a parking garage -at 5:00 pm during rush hour. Once I was by myselfon a Sunday in a town I was not familiar with at a not very nice gas station getting gas when the car failed to start. I was there several hours before I could get in contact with family members to come and rescue me. Each time we have taken the car to a Volkswagen dearlership and had it "fixed". my question is how many times do we have to have it fixed"??? I have gone on various sites and the comment is that the 1997 Jetta has starting problems. If this is so then doesn't this mean that the starter or the wiring is defective. Granted the car probably won't blow up because of this but a car should be reliable enough just to start - shouldn't it" we have had the car four years now and have had repeated failures. Sometimes it would start eventually but we have had 3 different occasions when it would not start and it went in for repairs. Twice ( two different dealerships) we were told it was a bad starter and it was supposedly replaced. The combined cost - $1100. The third time we protested and demanded that it be fixed - that time - $150. Now we are up against a fourth trip to a dealership. I am 56 years old and have had many different cars - old & new, but never have I had an experience like this!!! and I know I am not the only one!
I purchased a used 1997 VW Jetta gl in November of 1999. When I purchased the car, the dealership refused to give me a warranty. They said that they didn't offer the warranty with cars over 55,000 miles, mine had 55,500 miles. In late September of 2001 (69342 miles), my automatic transmission went out, during rush hour, in a high traffic area. About 1-2 months prior I had the transmission serviced, including a fluid change. I was forced to replace my transmission, and had several problems with it after. The shop that I had replace it said that they have seen many Jetta's with this problem. I still am having problems, with the car. Problems include: Check engine light clicks on and off for no reason, not starting in warmer weather, irregular idleing, and sticky locks. I am aware that these cars have electrial problems that could cause unsafe conditions. I do not believe that the customer should be forced to pay for these coastly repairs, when so many cases exsits.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Westford, MA, USA