2003 Volkswagen Jetta Powertrain & Transmission Problems

HAVING WORKED IN VW DEALERSHIPS MY TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE IS FAILING AT ONLY 130,000 MILES ON IT WHICH HAS BEEN AN ONGOING ISSUE AND COMPLAINT BY MANY. WHEN IT ACTS UP IT WON'T UPSHIFT OR WILL DROP DOWN INTO LOW GEAR AND ONE HAS TO WORRY ABOUT BEING REAR ENDED WHEN THIS CONDITION OCCURS.

WHEN THE CAR IS STARTED AND THE ENGINE IS COLD, BELOW 190F, IT WILL NOT ENGAGE REVERSE GEAR, ALL OTHER GEARS WILL OPERATE. AFTER THE ENGINE REACHES 190F, THE REVERSE GEAR WILL ENGAGE. THIS CAR HAS A SEALED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SO NO OWNER MAINTENANCE IS POSSIBLE AND FLUID LEVELS CAN NOT BE VERIFIED.

TRANSMISSION SOMETIMES JUST DOESN'T WANT TO SHIFT PROPERLY I WAS DRIVING ALONG RT 50 AT 60 MPH WHEN THE CAR JERKS REALLY HARD AND LOSS OF POWER ALMOST GOT RAN OVER BY SEMI CALLED VW WHO IS AWARE OF VALVE BODY DEFECT AND THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS INDEED MY FAULT FOR DRIVING IT LIKE THAT IT JUST HAPPENED WAITING ON CALL FROM VWOA PROBABLY WILL LEAD NO WHERE I WANT THIS FIXED ASKED FOR HELP TO GET PARTS OR ECT I KNOW THERE WAS OPEN RECALL ON THIS BUT MY CAR EXCEEDS YEAR AND MILEAGE BUT A SAFETY RECALL IS JUST THAT SO PLEASE RESEARCH AND SEE IF IT WAS PREFORMED ON MY VEHICLE I AM SURE IT WAS NOT ADDRESSED BUT THEY SENT LETTERS OUT FOR THIS MYSTERY RECALL ALSO I CAN LEAD TO OTHER INTERNAL FAILURES OF TRANS OR REPLACEMENT MY SPEEDO ALSO JUMPS 10-15 MILES UP AND DOWN OTHER TIMES IT WILL WORK YOU CAN CONTACT STATE HWY PATROL THEY CAN TELL YOU EVEN MORE ABOUT THESE PROBLEMS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE SLOWED DOWN AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING ON FOUR OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 64,000.

ACCORDING TO A VW DEALER, THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER ON MY 2003 VW JETTA FAILED AT 89,000 MILES. THE VW DEALER STATED THAT IT FAILED BECAUSE THE MIL ILLUMINATED AND THE CAR'S COMPUTER SHOWS CODE P0420. THE DEALER ALSO STATED THAT THE VEHICLE IS NO LONGER COVERED BY ANY WARRANTY. *TR

THE REAR O2 SENSOR ON MY 2003 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA FAILED CAUSING THE MIL INDICATOR TO ILLUMINATE. THE SENSOR HAD TO BE REPLACED, AND IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR EMISSIONS. *TR

BOUGHT THIS CAR OCTOBER 2010 FROM BERGE VW AZ. I NOTICED A FEW MONTHS AFTER I BOUGHT IT THAT IT INTERMITTENTLY WOULD KICK INTO GEAR. I CALLED THE DEALER AND ASK ABOUT IT AND THEY SAID IT WAS NORMAL, NEVER BROUGHT IT IN JUST TALKED TO A FRIEND OF MINE FROM THE DEALER. TURNS OUT IN NOV 2010 THEY SENT ALL VW OWNERS EXTENDED WARRANTY PAPERWORK FOR THE VALVE BODY ON THESE JETTAS FOR THE EXACT PROBLEMS I AM HAVING. I REPLACED SPEED SENSORS AND EVERYTHING. NO NOW I AM BEING TOLD ITS THE VALVE BODY AND I NEVER GOT A LETTER AND I JUST HIT 102K LAST MONTH BUT I AM OUTSIDE THE 7 YEARS. VW KNOWS THIS PART GOES BAD. THERE SHOULD NOT BE A YEAR ON IT FOR VEHICLES LIKE MINE THAT HAVE LOW MILES! I CAN PROVE IT WAS HAPPENING BEFORE THE 100K MILES. HELP! *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA WAGON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER FAILED TO PROVIDE AN ACCURATE SPEED TRAVELED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL SWITCH WAS ACTIVATED, IT WOULD CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO SURGE FORWARD ABNORMALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY CONFIRMED THAT THE SENSOR IN THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 170,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 211,000. UPDATED 12/14/11 THE CONSUMER STATED THE TRANSMISSION WAS EXHIBITING AN INTERMITTENT HESITATION. UPDATED 12/20/11. *JB

MY TRANSMISSION TAKES ALONG TIME TO SHIFT TO 2ND GEAR,WONT P/U SPEED ,IF YOU TURN OFF CAR FOR A FEW MINS SOMETIMES IT WORKS BETTER. SORRY ITS A 2003 JETTA. *TR

Since New we noticed transmission malfunctioning, transmission would jerk on the upshifts and downshifting also, then it would take longer than normal to go into gears Im the original owner, I parked it for 11 years waiting for a recall letter, I heard the beatle had gotten a recall on this failure,, the Jetta had the same motor and transmission the triptronic, I should get one also it only has 89164 miles, I’m waiting for a letter please respond thank you.

ENGINE CASING BROKE WHERE THE MOTOR MOUNT CONNECTS, GOT THAT REPAIRED. 2 DAYS LATER WHILE DRIVING ON FREEWAY, ENGINE MAKES LOUD NOISE AND SEIZES. UNDRIVEABLE, WONT START. *TR

2003 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 1.8T WOLFSBURG EDITION PURCHASED USED AT 23,000 MILES WITH A BURNT OUT CLUTCH. THE CLUTCH WAS REPLACED BY THE DEALERSHIP IN ORDER TO COMPLETE SALE. AT PURCHASE WE WERE ASSURED THE CLUTCH WOULD LAST AND NOT BE AN ISSUE. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THE SALE WAS COMPLETED. WITHIN 30,000 MILES THE CLUTCH HAS GONE OUT ONCE MORE. THE TECHNICIAN IT WAS TAKEN TO REPORTED THAT HE RECEIVES AT LEAST 2 OF THE EXACT SAME CAR WITH THE EXACT SAME ISSUE PER MONTH. VW DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE PRESSURE PLATE IS DEFECTIVE AND BLAMES THE DRIVER. ANY CLUTCH IS EXPECTED TO LAST AT LEAST 90,000 MILES. BOTH VW AND EXTENDED WARRANTIES WILL NOT COVER THE REPAIR WHICH IS BEING QUOTED AT $1900- $2200. THE PART HAS BEEN REPORTED DEFECTIVE IN PREVIOUS MODELS BUT IS STILL NOT BEING CORRECTED OR ACKNOWLEDGED AS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT, WHICH IT IS. THE PRESSURE PLATE, FLYWHEEL, AND CLUTCH DISC ARE UNDER-RATED FOR THE VEHICLES STOCK HORSEPOWER. THE IDENTICAL PARTS ARE FOUND IN OTHER VW VEHICLES WITH UP TO 80 HORSEPOWER LESS. THE VEHICLE SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED SINCE THE PREVIOUS 2 MODELS. THE VEHICLES NEED TO BE RECALLED. WHEN EVEN A VW TECHNICIAN ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE PARTS ARE DEFECTIVE SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE WITH VW AMERICA, REQUIRING THEM TO REPLACE THESE PARTS AT THEIR EXPENSE WITH PARTS QUALIFIED TO SUPPORT THE VEHICLES NEEDS. *TR

SEVERAL PROBLEMS WITH THIS CAR, AND IT'S UNFORTUNATE. STARTED ABOUT A YEAR AGO, AT TIMES MY CAR WILL START AT THE TURN OF THE IGNITION AND SOMETIMES IT WILL NOT. I HAVE ALSO BROUGHT TO VW'S ATTENTION ABOUT MY CLUTCH, IN PARTICULAR IS VERY HEAVY (I HAVE ALWAYS DRIVEN MANUALS) AND AGAIN, AT TIMES I HAVE DIFFICULTY SHIFTING INTO 'R' AND INTO '3RD' GEAR. I WOULD HAVE TO RETURN SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL; STEP ON THE CLUTCH SEVERAL TIMES AND I AM ABLE TO GET INTO 'R'. AS FAR AS '3RD' GEAR, ITS PRETTY TRICKY(SINCE I AM MOVING!!!!) SOMETIMES I CANNOT SHIFT INTO 3RD GEAR, AND LITERALLY HAVE TO DOWN-SHIFT AND ATTEMPT 3RD AGAIN!!!! AND NOW, MY CLUTCH IS COMPLETELY SHOT, WITH ONLY 65,000MI ON IT. *TR

I HAVE A 2003 VW JETTA TDI. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD IT SERVICED ON TIME AND HAVE KEPT IT WELL MAINTAINED, I HAVE 78,000 MILES ON IT. THE SPEED SENSOR IN THE TRANSMISSION HAS FAILED AND VOLKSWAGEN REFUSES TO FIX IT. I WORRY BECAUSE THE DOORS NOT LOCK CORRECTLY BECAUSE OF THIS AND I AM NOT AWARE AT THE SPEED I TRAVEL BECAUSE THE GAUGES HAVE FAILED. MY BIGGEST WORRY IS THAT IF I WERE TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT THE AIRBAGS WOULD NOT WORK BECAUSE THE CAR DOES NOT KNOW HOW FAST IT IS GOING. IF THIS WERE A NORMAL ITEM LIKE BREAKS, TIRES OR SOMETHING THAT HAS NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR I WOULD UNDERSTAND BUT ITS NOT. IT IS A MECHANICAL PROBLEM WHAT I VITAL FUNCTION OF THE CAR. I REALLY FEEL THAT VW SHOULD COVER THE COST OR AT LEAST SPLIT IT WITH ME. WHAT DO I NEED TO DO? *TR

I AM A RESIDENT OF SOUTH FLORIDA AND IN THE SUMMER OF 2007 , DUE TO THE FACT MY CAR HAS BEEN RELIABLE I DECIDED TO DRIVE CROSS COUNTRY TO LOS ANGELES , I TOOK ALL PRECAUTIONS PRIOR TO LIVING, FROM OIL CHANGES , BRAKES , TIRE ROTATION AND SO FORTH. IN OCT. OF 2007 , I WAS IN A FENDER BENDER IN LOS ANGELES , WHICH DELAYED MY RETURN TO SOUTH FLORIDA IN THE ACCIDENT THEY HAD TO REPLACE FRONT END LIGHTS AS WELL AS MY RADIATOR. I ONCE AGAIN TOOK ALL PRECAUTIONS ON THE VEHICLE PRIOR TO MY JOURNEY. AS OF MID NOVEMBER I WAS BACK IN MIAMI , NO PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR , ALL IS GOOD AT THAT POINT THE VEHICLE HAD APPROXIMATELY 72,000 OR SO . IN MID MARCH I NOTICED THAT WHEN I STARTED MY CAR AND TRY TO ACCELERATE THE CAR , IT WOULD NOT SURPASS 15/20MPH AND IT MADE A VERY STRANGE SOUND. IT WOULD ONLY FUNCTION APPROPRIATELY WHEN THE ENGINE WAS @ 190. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO A DEALERSHIP AS WELL AS ANOTHER MECHANIC AND THEY BOTH HAVE INFORMED ME THAT MY CLUTCH IS WORN OUT. I'M NOT SURE WHY THAT IS? I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO KEEP THIS CAR UP TO PAR , AS FAR AS MAINTENANCE . THE DEALER QUOTED ME $5600 AND THE OTHER MECHANIC $2500. THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD BEEN AMAZING TO ME TILL NOW, I HAVE A LITTLE LESS THEN 80,000 AND WOULD LOVE TO DRIVE IT TOO AT LEAST 160,000 , BUT THE WAY THIS IS GOING I'M AFRAID THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN . I HAVE NOTICED SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ON THE ISSUE. VW JETTA STATION WAGON - 2003 , TURBO GLS TIPTRONIC - 80,000. *TR

THIS IS IN REGARD TO TIPTRONIC TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT 77,000 MILES. AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS FULLY PAID OFF AND 17K MILES AFTER WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED. WHILE I WAS DRIVING VEHICLE WOULD STAY IN 1ST AND 2ND GEAR AND GIVE A BIG JOLT WHEN GOING INTO 3RD AND 4TH WHILE STILL COLD, ONLY AFTER ENGINE WOULD HEAT UP WITHOUT ANY STOPS WOULD IT PERFORM SUB PAR. PREVIOUS TO THIS I HAD HAVE NO COMPLAINTS. DEALER QUOTED $5600 TO REBUILD TRANSMISSION AND INDEPENDENT SHOP $2500. I WAS INFORMED I HAD A WORN CLUTCH AND IN 2008 I REBUILD THE TRANSMISSION AND CONTINUED HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. AFTER THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS SPENT ON THIS VEHICLE ON APRIL 12 OF 2012 I SENT IT THE JUNKYARD. I WILL FOLLOW UP AND SEND MORE HARD COPIES DOCUMENTS TO NHTSA AS I HAVE MY ENTIRE SERVICE RECORDS FROM 2003 - 2012 TO SUBMIT. THERE ARE 100'S OF OTHER AMERICAN CAR OWNERS WITH TIPTRONIC TRANSMISSION EXPERIENCING SAME ISSUES AND ITS APPARENT THAT IT IS FAULTY MANUFACTURING.I'M ATTACHING SEVERAL PDF DOCUMENTS WITH ARTICLES AND OTHER SIMILAR COSTUMER COMPLAINTS. I HAVE ALL MY SERVICE RECORDS AND WILL SUBMIT HARD COPIES SEPARATELY HOWEVER WANTED TO GET THE COMPLAINT STARTED HERE. THE YEAR OF MY VEHICLE WAS NEVER INCLUDED BUT ITS OBVIOUS THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN HAPPENING LONGER THEN PREVIOUS RECALLS. *TR

THE CLUTCH ON MY VW JETTA BURNED OUT ON A MAJOR INTERSTATE AND WAS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THE CAR HAD 46,604 MILES ON IT AND SHOULD HAVE LASTED MANY MILES ABOVE THAT BUT I HAVE LEARNED OF 100'S WHO OWN THE SAME CAR WITH THIS SAME SITUATION. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SHE EXPERIENCED PREMATURE CLUTCH FAILURE. THE CLUTCH WAS REPLACED AT 34,000 MILES. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 34,489 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 34,000. UPDATED 09/17/07 *TR

AT APPROXIMATELY 61,000 MILES ON MY 2003 VW JETTA GLX (V6), I BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS THAT SEEMED TO BE TRANSMISSION RELATED. THIS INITIALLY OCCURRED IN JUNE OF 2007. ALL EXCEPT ONE OF THE ISSUES WERE RESOLVED BY THE WRAY VW IN COLUMBIA SC. THE ONGOING AND CURRENT PROBLEM I HAVE IS THE CAR CHANGES GEARS HARD BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD. THE HARD GEAR SHIFTS HAPPENS 95% OF THE TIME THE CAR CHANGES BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD GEAR. I HAD THE TRANSMISSION REPLACED A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO DUE TO THE FACT THE 2 VW DEALERSHIPS DEEMED THE TRANSMISSION TO BE THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, CHANGING THE TRANSMISSION DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. MY PROBLEM IS STILL ONGOING. *TR

2003 VW JETTA AT 40K MILES TRANS HAD TO BE REPLACED IN FEB 06, JUNE 06 SAME SYMPTOMS, TOLD BY DEALER NOT TO BE CONCERNED THAT THE SENSORS TAKE TIME TO ADJUST TO NEW TRANS, EMISSIONS LIGHT ON DEALER SAYS NOT TO WORRY IF IT DOES NOT STAY ON, CONTINUE TO CALL,WITH SAME RESPONSE. DEC 06 CAR LOSES POWER ON INTERSTATE TAKES TWO WKS TO MAKE AN APPT TO GET INTO DEALER, TOLD IT IS NOW THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE, VW WILL NOT WARRANTY ALTHOUGH THIS PART WAS NOT CHKD WHEN TRANS REPLACED, TOLD THIS PART IS THE BRAIN TO TRANS IT TELLS TRANS WHEN TO SHIFT. DEALER AND VW OF NO HELP. LOOKED AT CONSUMER AFFAIRS ON THE INTERNET NOTICED HUGE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE HAVING SAME PROBLEMS AS I SAME YEAR SAME MODEL. THE ECM LIGHT STAYS ON AND IS NOT EMITTING SMOKE. *NM