2000 Volkswagen Jetta Electrical System Problems

The contact owns a 2000 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact stated that while driving with the front driver’s side seat heater activated, the seat became extremely hot. The contact started smelling a burning odor coming from the seat. The contact felt a hole in the seat, which burned the contact's middle finger. The contact immediately pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The contact’s back started burning due to the extreme heat of the seat back. Upon inspection, the contact discovered a hole in his jacket and approximately four holes that had formed in the front driver seat due to the seat heater failure. The contact was not treated for the burns to his back. The contact stated that two dealers were notified of the failure but neither provided immediate assistance. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 489,000.

FIRE IN 2000 VW JETTA VR6, POINT OF ORIGIN AT IGNITION COIL PACK ON THE TOP LEFT-FACING SIDE OF THE ENGINE. *TR

I HAVE A 2000 VW JETTA ALREADY HAVE HAD EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE STALLING EVENTS AS A RESULT OF ONE OR MORE IGNITION COIL PLUGS MALFUNCTIONING ON MY 2000 VW JETTA AS A RESULT OF THE ENGINE STALLING I EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND INCREASED BRAKING EFFORTS WHEN I PULLED VEHICLE OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. AFTER A FEW MINUTES PARKED ON THE SHOULDER WAS ABLE TO RESTART VEHICLE ALTHOUGH THE ENGINE OPERATED AT REDUCED POWER............................ALSO MY BRAKE LIGHTS HAVE BEEN STICKING ON AND NOT WORKING ALL THE TIME AS WELL.................NOT SURE HOW TO EXPLAIN THIS ONE BUT HERE GOES RIGHT BY MY AC SWITCH ON MY CAR THERE IS A BUTTON THAT IS SUPPOSED TO CIRCULATE THE AIR THROUGH THE CAR BUT WHEN I PUSH IT IN A LIGHT ON MY DASHBOARD COMES ON AND SAYS BRAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND I HAVE A LOSS OF BRAKE POWER, ALSO MY CRUISE CONTROL HAS STOPPED WORKING AND MY HAZARDS HAVE STOPPED AS WELL WAS HOPING YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP ME AS THE DEALER DOES NOT WANT TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT MY ISSUES. *TR

2000 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 1.8T. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON MY VW JETTA KEEPS MALFUNCTIONING AND LIGHTS UP AGAIN AND AGAIN. I HAVE TAKEN THIS TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES IN THE LAST 3 MONTHS AND THEY SAY THEY FIXED IT, BUT IT KEEPS COMING BACK. OVER THE LIFETIME OF THIS CAR (I HAVE HAD THIS CAR FOR 8 YEARS), I HAVE HAD THIS CHECK-ENGINE LIGHT MALFUNCTION OVER 10-15 TIMES. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE BRAKE LIGHT WOULD ILLUMINATE INTERMITTENTLY. THE DEALER CHANGED THE BULB. AFTERWARDS, SHE WAS PULLED OVER BY A POLICE OFFICER WHO POINTED OUT THE MALFUNCTIONING BRAKE LIGHT. SHE PROVIDED THE OFFICER WITH THE PAPERWORK OF HER RECENT REPAIR. THE OFFICER INSTRUCTED HER TO TAKE THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER. THE CONTACT CHECKED THE BULB AND REALIZED THAT IT WORKED. SHE PURCHASED NEW BULBS, BUT THEY WOULD NOT ILLUMINATE. SHE ASSUMED THAT THE ISSUE WAS DUE TO THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. ON AUGUST 12, 2008, THE CONTACT HAD HER DAUGHTER FOLLOW HER TO A DEALER 30 MILES AWAY. HER DAUGHTER WAS INSTRUCTED TO SOUND THE HORN EVERYTIME HER BRAKE LIGHT MALFUNCTIONED. HER DAUGHTER SOUNDED THE HORN A TOTAL OF 13 TIMES ON THE 30 MILE TRIP TO THE DEALER. WHEN SHE ARRIVED AT THE DEALER, THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY FAILURES WITH THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 125,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 113,000.

MY 2000 VW PASSAT CAUGHT ON FIRE DEC 28, 2007. I HAD IT TOWED TO A NEARBY DEALER FOR SERVICE AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE FIRE WAS CAUSED BY A FAULTY IGNITION COIL. THE FINAL COST TO REPAIR (IF IT CAN BE REPAIRED) IS STILL BEING INVESTIGATED. I FIND IT VERY PERTURBING TO FIND OUT THAT VW KNEW OF THESE (COIL) DEFECTS YET DID NOTHING TO INFORM OWNERS. I HAD TWO SMALL CHILDREN AGES 2 AND 4 IN THE VEHICLE AT THE TIME OF THE FIRE. FORTUNATELY, MY QUICK INSTINCTS PUT THE FIRE OUT WITH LIMITED ENGINE DAMAGE AND WITHOUT CASUALTIES. *TR

MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR & WIRING HARNESS FAILURE ON 2000 JETTA TDI WITH 55,000 MILES. CAR LOST ACCELERATION AND AUTOMATIC SHIFTING ABILITY ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY CREATING VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THIS IS APPARENTLY A KNOWN FAILURE PROBLEM WITH VW SINCE I WAS TOLD IT IS COVERED BY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY & "IT'S HAPPENED TO A LOT OF OTHERS". WE HAD TO LEAVE CAR WITH A DEALER IN NJ & RENT A CAR TO GET HOME TO MASSACHUSETTS. *JB

BOUGHT USED VW FROM A DEALER. DEALER WAS DOING BRAKES/INSPECTION, AND ON PICKING UP THE VEHICLE STUNK OF BURNT ELECTRIC SMELL. VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. THIS WAS AROUND 50,000 MILES. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT REMAINS ON ALTHOUGH NUMEROUS CODES CONTINUE TO COME UP NOTHING IS FOUND. DEALER SENT CAR TO AUTHORIZED VW DEALER TO FIX - LIGHT STILL REMAINS ON. AROUND 87,000 MILES CAR BEGAN TO DRAIN BATTERY AND WOULD NOT START EVEN AFTER NEW BATTERY. TOOK TO AUTHORIZED VW CAR SHOP. SEEMS SOMETHING WITH FUSES/ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. AGAIN MANY CODES BUT NOTHING SEEMS WRONG, ACCEPT FOR THE WHOLE NOT STARTING. IGNITION SWITCH WAS REPLACED - LIGHT STILL ON. LIGHTER SOCKET NO LONGER WORKS. NOW AROUND 89,000 MILES AND IT IS NOW EARLY 2008. *TR

MY 2000 JETTA VR6 HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING COIL ISSUES FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS WHENEVER THE WEATHER IS WET/RAINY AND HIGH HUMIDITY. IF THE CAR SITS IDLE FOR 6-8 HOURS WITH A COLD ENGINE IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO START THE ENGINE WITHOUT CONSTANT SPUTTERING. THERE IS NO POWER IN ACCELERATION UNTIL THE ENGINE WARMS UP COMPLETELY. DURING THIS TIME THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FLASHES AND REMAINS ON UNTIL THE NEXT TIME I START UP THE ENGINE OR UNTIL THE WEATHER BECOMES LESS HUMID. THIS ALSO OCCURS WHEN DRIVING THRU A PUDDLE OF WATER CAUSING IT TO SPLASH THE COIL AREA. I REPLACED THE IGNITION WIRES TO THE TUNE OF $145 BUT THAT DID NOT ALLEVIATE THE PROBLEM. *TR

COIL PACK FAILURE ON 2000 VW JETTA GLX V-6; THIS JETTA MANUFACTURED LATE IN 2000 AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN RECALL FOR 2001-2003 YEARS.

DT: THE CONSUMER STATES THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON. THE CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A SERVICE DEALER AND THEY TOLD HIM THE IGNITION COIL WAS BAD. THEY WANTED TO REPLACE THE IGNITION COIL AT A COST OF OVER $700.00; PARTS ONLY. THE CONSUMER HAS VISITED A WEBSITE AND FOUND A RECALL ON A LATER MODEL; 2001 VW JETTA. HIS CAR IS DOING THE SAME THING AS LISTED ON THIS RECALL. HE HAS TALKED TO VW AND THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT HELP HIM. HE NOTICED PROBLEMS ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO. THE DEALER TOLD HIM IT HAD A 100,000 10 YEAR WARRANTY, BUT THEY WILL NOT FIX IT UNDER THE WARRANTY. 8JB

MY CAR HAD RECALL #04V096000 PERFORMED APPROX 1.5 YEARS AGO (A SWITCH WAS REPLACED). THAT SAME SWITCH HAD BEEN REPLACED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE. IT IS THE SWITCH THAT DETECTS WHETHER OR NOT I HAVE PRESSED THE BRAKE, ALLOWING ME TO SHIFT OUT OF PARK. SOMETIMES IT ALSO AFFECTS MY BRAKE LIGHTS, CAUSING THEM TO NOT TURN ON WHEN THE BRAKE IS DEPRESSED. HOWEVER, ON MAY 14, 2005 I BROUGHT THE CAR IN AGAIN FOR THE SAME PROBLEM, EVEN AFTER THE RECALL. THIS IS THE 4TH TIME IT HAS HAPPENED. THIS TIME IT DID AFFECT THE BRAKE LIGHTS - THEY WOULD NOT COME ON WHEN I DEPRESSED THE BRAKE. THE DEALERSHIP STATED THAT THE CAUSE OF THE BRAKE LIGHT FAILURE WAS NOT DUE TO A FUSE, BUT DUE TO THAT SWITCH, AND THAT THE TWO ARE CONNECTED. WHEN THE SWITCH MALFUNCTIONS THE BRAKE LIGHTS COULD MALFUNCTION AS WELL. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE SWITCH (AGAIN). THIS IS THE 4TH TIME THAT PART HAS BEEN REPLACED. THE CONSUMER HAS EXPERIENCED SEVERAL ELECTRICAL FAILURES SUCH AS A SHORT TO THE GROUND WHICH REQUIRED A NEW FUEL PUMP RELAY, ESP LIGHT WHICH INDICATED A BAD BRAKE LIGHT, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED INDICATING A BAD ABS PUMP AND RELAY. UPDATED 01/27/06. *JB

1) NO EVENTS OR PRIOR WARNING OF FAILURE. 2) FAILURE -- KEY LOSES PROGRAMMING AND CANNOT COMMUNICATE WITH ELECTRONIC IMMOBILIZER. CAR CANNOT BE STARTED AND MUST BE TOWED TO DEALER FOR REPROGRAMMING OF KEYS. *AK 3) LOST PROGRAMMING OF KEY IN JUNE 2004 WHILE CAR PARKED AT HOME. CAR TOWED TO DEALER WHO REPROGRAMMED KEYS. OCCURRED AGAIN ON 3/9/05 WHILE 70 MILES FROM HOME. CAR TOWED TO NEAREST DEALER WHO REPROGRAMMED THE ONLY KEY -- THE SPARE & VALET KEYS NOW INOPERATIVE, REQUIRING CAR TO BE DELIVERED TO DEALER TO GET ALL 3 KEYS REPROGRAMMED TO MATCH.

2000 VW JETTA, VR6 ENGINE, 49,3331 MILE. WHENEVER MY CAR WAS IDLE FOR MORE THAN 6-8 HOURS AND WAS EXPOSED TO RAINY\WET WEATHER, THE ENGINE WOULD EXPERIENCE PERFORMANCE ISSUES. IMMEDIATELY AFTER STARTING THE CAR UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, THE ENGINE WOULD SPUTTER AND SOUND LIKE IT WAS ON THE VERGE OF STALLING. IF I ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE THE CAR WITHOUT LETTING IT FULLY WARM-UP, THE ENGINE WOULD EXPERIENCE A SEVERE PERFORMANCE DEGRADATION, CHARACTERIZED BY POOR, ROUGH ACCELERATION. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD ALSO ILLUMINATE, AND I WOULD RECEIVE THE EMISSIONS WORKSHOP WARNING MESSAGE. THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURED SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST 1-2 YEARS. AT FIRST THE PROBLEM WAS MILD, BUT OVER TIME IT WORSENED. I TOOK THE CAR INTO THE DEALER FOR SERVICE AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE IGNITION COIL AND IGNITION LEADS NEEDED REPLACEMENT TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. THESE PARTS HAVE BEEN REPLACED, AND THUS FAR THE ISSUE WITH MY ENGINE HAS NOT REAPPEARED. VW ISSUED AN IGNITION COIL RECALL FOR VARIOUS OTHER 2001, 2002 AND 2003 MODELS. IT APPEARS THE IGNITION COIL RECALL SHOULD BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE OTHER MODEL YEARS AS THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF PART THAT SHOULD NEED REGULAR REPLACEMENT. IT'S QUITE OBVIOUS THERE'S A DEFECT WITH THIS PART.

THE ABS MODULE HAS AN INTERNAL ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT FAILURE. THE WARNING LIGHT AND BEEPER CANNOT BE DISCONNECTED. THE BRAKES ARE OK BUT THE WARNING LIGHTS CONTINUE TO ACTIVATE SPORADICALLY. *JB

2000 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA GLS VR6 HAS RECALL FOR FAULTY CRUISE CONTROL BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH.*MR THE ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND AFTER A DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED IT WAS DETERMINED A NEW CATALYTIC CONVERTER WAS NEEDED. IT WAS FINALLY DETERMINED THAT THE CONVERTER FAILED DUE TO A FAULTY COIL PACK. *JB

PROBLEMS WITH VEHICLE'S BRAKE LIGHTS. *MR ON THREE OCCASIONS, THE WINDOW REGULATOR CLIPS WERE REPLACED. CURRENTLY THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED FOR A THIRD TIME. *SC

WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH A FIRE STARTED UNDER THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE CAUSE OF FIRE WAS UNDETERMINED. ALSO, DEALERSHIP FLOOR MANAGER INDICATED THERE WERE MANY VOLKSWAGEN JETTAS WITH THIS KIND OF PROBLEM. *AK

MY JETTA HAS BEEN BACK AT THE DEALER 5 TIMES IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS TO REPAIR THE SAME PROBLEM. THE CAR HESITATES UPON ACCELERATION AS IF IT WILL STALL. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON. SOMETIMES IT STAYS ON UNTIL THEY RESET IT AND SOMETIMES IT GOES OFF. THE DEALER HAS REPLACED THE MASS AIR SENSOR AND CLEANED PARTS OF THE ENGINE. THEN THE INTAKE MANIFOLD HAD TO BE REPLACED. NOW THEY TOLD ME THE PROBLEM IS THE IGNITION COIL AND WIRES FOR AN ADDITIONAL $700.00. THIS CAR IS JUST THREE YEARS OLD AND I HAVE SPENT CLOSE TO $2000 IN REPAIRS IN TWO MONTHS. I DIDN'T EVEN MADE IT OUT OF THE DEALER'S PARKING LOT BEFORE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. VW NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE BUT THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES WON'T HELP. *LA

STARTING ON MAY 23,2003 I STARTED TAKING MY JETTA VR6 INTO THE DEALERSHIP DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE CHECK ENGINE (MIL) LIGHT WAS ON AND OCCASIONALLY WHILE DRIVING THE CAR WOULD DIE. I WOULD DRIVE AT 40 MPH OR BE AT A STOP SIGN AND EITHER WAY THE CAR WOULD JUST DROP ALL POWER. I LOST CONTROL OF STEERING AND EVERYTHING ELSE AND WOULD HAVE TO RESTART THE CAR WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. THE 1ST TIME I WAS TOLD THAT A 40,000-MILE TUNE UP WOULD FIX THE SITUATION. IT OCCURRED AGAIN AFTER THE TUNE ABOUT TWO WEEKS LATER, AND I WAS INFORMED THAT IT WAS AN O2 SENSOR AND THE MASS FLOW SENSOR THAT HAS PROBLEMS. THEY PAID FOR THE MASS FLOW SENSOR AND IT'S LABOR AND I PAID FOR THE O2 SENSOR AND IT'S LABOR. AFTER THE REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT IT OCCURRED (WITH IN THE SAME WEEK); THEY SAID IT WAS ANOTHER O2 SENSOR AND THEY PAID FOR THE LABOR WHERE I PAID FOR THE PART. ON THE FOURTH VISIT, THEY SAID THAT IT WAS THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND ONE OF THE 2 O2 SENSORS THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN REPLACED HAD GONE BAD AGAIN. THEY PAID FOR BOTH OF THESE ISSUES AND ASSURED ME THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED. IT WASN'T THE NEXT TIME THEY TOLD ME IT WAS THE ALTERNATOR. AFTER MUCH DISCUSSION I ASKED THEM TO DRIVE IT AND MAKE SURE AS THE ALTERNATOR THEY WANTED ME TO BUY WAS $700. THEY CALLED BACK A WEEK LATER AND SAID THEY WERE WRONG IT WAS THE BATTERY INSTEAD AND THAT I OWED THEM $125. I PAID BECAUSE I WAS TOO TIRED TO ARGUE ANYMORE. THAT WAS ON 8/9/03. ON 10/6/03 THE CAR DIED AGAIN. THEY ARE NOW SAYING IT IS THE IGNITION SWITCH AND THAT IT WAS CAUSING THE BATTERY TO DRAIN (MEANING TO ME, I MAY NOT HAVE NEEDED TO PURCHASE A NEW BATTERY 2 MONTHS AGO). THEY WANTED ME TO PAY FOR THE PART AND HALF THE LABOR BECAUSE THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY (ONLY CAME WITH 2/24K). STARTING TO WONDER WHAT WILL THEY BLAME IT ON (AND CHARGE ME FOR) NEXT MONTH. CAR IS CURRENTLY AT 48500. *LA