Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2002 Volkswagen GTI submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 42 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 42, in the owner's own words
2002 VW GTI VR6 COIL PACK FAILURE WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY ALMOST GOT REARENDED BECAUSE CAR SLOWED DOWN AND BUCKED. 3RD COIL PACK TO FAIL ON THIS CAR. THE 2ND TIME FAILURE DAMAGED MY O2 SENSORS WHICH HAD TO REPLACED DUE TO CAR RUNNING RICH, I BELIEVE. COIL PACKS ON VR6'S NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. *TR
LEFT WORK AFTER SUNSET. ON MY WAY HOME MY HEADLIGHTS STOPPED WORKING. I THEN NOTICED THAT MY TURN SIGNALS, WIPERS, AND DEFROSTER STOPPED WORKING AS WELL. LUCKILY I AM A MECHANIC SO I WAS ABLE TO FIND THE PROBLEM AS SOON AS I GOT HOME. THAT WAS AFTER DRIVING 5 MILES WITH NO LIGHTS AT ALL ON THE EXTERIOR OF THE CAR. THE PROBLEM WAS THE IGNITION SWITCH. WHEN I TOOK EVERYTHING APART I NOTICED THAT THE WIRE AND CONNECTOR WAS MELTED. I REPLACED THE IGNITION SWITCH, MELTED WIRE, AND CONNECTOR. I HAVE THE OLD PART AND THE RECEIPT. MY ONLY CONCERN IS THAT MY CAR COULD HAVE CAUGHT FIRE. *JB
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, CAR LOST POWER. I FIGURED IT WAS AN ENGINE COIL, BECAUSE THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE, LAST TIME IT WAS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY, #6 COIL. SINCE I WAS 30 MILES AWAY FROM DEALER, I TOOK MY 2002 GTI TO A LOCAL MECHANIC, WHO DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS THE # 5 IGNITION COIL. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP TO FIND OUT IF THERE WAS A RECALL OR EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THIS PART SINCE THIS WAS THE SECOND ONE TO FAIL. DEALER SAID "NO RECALL AND THE CHARGE WOULD BE ABOUT $200.00 SINCE THE VEHICLE IS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. VEHICLE HAS 50,850 MILES AT THIS TIME. SINCE IT WASN'T COVERED, I HAD IT FIXED LOCALLY. GTI HAS THE 24 VALVE VR 6 ENGINE.*JB
ENGINE RUNNING ROUGH, POSSIBLE COIL PACK IN IGNITION FAILURE.*AK
HAD A COIL PACK FAILURE CAUSING CAR TO STALL AND DECREASE IN POWER WHICH ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT WHILE DRIVING THROUGH AN INTERSECTION. VW SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL WITH THIS PROBLEM. *NLM
I HAVE A 2002 VW GTI 1.8T. THE IGNITION COILS HAVE FAILED THREE SEPARATE TIMES. EACH TIME I WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE IN TRAFFIC ON THE INTERSTATE, AND ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. THE CAR WOULD ONLY DRIVE AT 30 MPH. I HESITATE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE BECAUSE ONE OF THE FAULTY PARTS( THE PART NUMBER ENDS IN I)IS STILL IN MY CAR. VOLKSWAGEN WILL ONLY REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE PARTS WHEN THEY BECOME DEFECTIVE. THE PROBLEM CAN LEAD TO A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I FEEL MY SAFETY IS IN JEOPARDY EVERY TIME I DRIVE THE CAR!*JB
I HAVE A 2002 VOLKSWAGEN GTI 1.8T WITH 4700 MILES AT THE TIME OF THIS COMMON COIL PACK FAILURE. I WAS ON MY WAY TO WORK WHEN I WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN AT A BUSY INTERSECTION. ONE OF MY COIL PACKS WENT WHILE TURNING ONTO MAIN ROAD AND CAUSING MY CAR TO SPUTTER AND LOSE POWER. ON COMING TRAFFIC HAD SLAM ON THEIR BRAKES TO AVOID HITTING ME. THANKFULLY AN ACCIDENT WAS AVERTED. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. THESE COIL PACKS ARE FAILING AT EPIDEMIC LEVELS. MAJOR NEWSPAPERS ARE DOING ARTICLES ON THIS PROBLEM. MY CAR HAD TO BE TOWED WHILE I WAITED IN FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND I MISSED WORK. VW WILL ONLY REPLACE BAD COIL PACKS AS THEY FAIL AND MY DEALER ADMITS THAT IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. THEY REPLACED THE BAD COIL PACK BUT I STILL HAVE 3 THAT ARE GOING TO FAIL AT SOME POINT. CAN YOU IMAGINE LIVING WITH THIS IN YOUR MIND? PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS BECAUSE IT IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION. *JB
HAD TWO COILS GO OUT ON MY 2002 GTI 1.8T AS I WAS LEAVING MY HOUSE. CAR LOST ALL POWER AND WAS UN DRIVEABLE. HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALER. ONLY THE TWO FAILED COILS WERE REPLACED LEAVING ME TO WORRY ABOUT WHEN AND WHERE THE OTHERS WILL FAIL CAUSING MY CAR TO BECOME ONCE AGAIN UN DRIVABLE.
IGNITION COIL PACK FAILURE
I BOUGHT A NEW 2002 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI 1.8T ON JUNE 22, 2002. ON JANUARY 29, 2003 I HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I HAD PURCHASED IT FOR THE #2 IGNITION COIL FAILURE. AT THAT TIME, THE CAR ONLY HAD 10,600 MILES ON IT. NOW, AS I DRIVE DOWN ROUTE 93 FROM NH TO MASS EACH DAY FOR WORK, I BRACE MYSELF FOR THE TIME THAT THE NEXT COIL FAILS. EACH TIME THIS HAPPENS, THERE IS A CONSIDERABLE LOSS IN POWER, TO THE POINT THAT THE CAR CAN STALL. THE CAR BEGINS TO "BUCK" AND STAGGER, AND AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THIS BECOMES VERY DANGEROUS. AS VOLKSWAGEN IS WELL AWARE, THIS IS AN EPIDEMIC PROBLEM WITH THE 1.8T ENGINES IN ALL OF THEIR CARS. THEY REFUSE TO REPLACE ALL 4 COILS AT ONCE. THEREFORE, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME THAT THIS HAPPENS AGAIN TO MY CAR, AS WELL AS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF BUYERS THAT HAVE EITHER EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM ALREADY OR WILL BE. THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL ON THESE PARTS, OR AT THE VERY LEAST, AN INVESTIGATION ON THE IGNITION COILS AND THE LOSS OF SAFETY ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPARABLE LOSS OF POWER. HOPEFULLY, THIS CAN BE DONE BEFORE SOMEONE GETS INJURED OR KILLED.
WHILE TRAVELING THE HIGHWAY THE VEHICLE WILL SHUT DOWN WITH OUT PRIOR WARNING. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DEALER IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. TS
I HAVE A 2002.5 VOLKSWAGEN GTI 1.8T WITH A 4-CYLINDER TURBOCHARGED ENGINE. ALL VW ENGINE IGNITION SYSTEMS ARE AFFECTED. THE COIL OR COILPACK FAILS DUE TO POOR MANUFACTURE OR DESIGN. IN SOME CASES MULTIPLE CYLINDERS WILL LOOSE POWER. I LOST CYLINDER #1 WHEN ACCELERATING AWAY FROM AN INTERSECTION. I LOST CYLINDER #2 WHILE ATTEMPTING TO MERGE WITH TRAFFIC ON SURFACE STREETS. IN BOTH CASES THE SIGNIFICANT LOSE OF HORSEPOWER COULD HAVE CAUSED ME TO REMAIN IN AN INTERSECTION LONGER THAN EXPECTED AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. VW IS CURRENTLY REPLACING FAILED COILS FREE OF CHARGE AND PROVIDING RENTAL CARS WHEN A REPLACEMENT CANNOT BE PERFORMED IMMEDIATELY. HOWEVER, VW WILL NOT REPLACE ALL COILS, JUST THOSE THAT FAIL. THIS LEAVES THE OTHERS TO FAIL AND POTENTIALLY CAUSE ACCIDENTS. I MUST DRIVE WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT I COULD LOSE POWER FROM ONE OR MORE CYLINDERS AT ANY TIME. THIS IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND HEAVY TRAFFIC OR WHEN CROSSING ANY INTERSECTION WHERE CROSS-TRAFFIC HAS THE RIGHT-OF-WAY.
3 IGNITION COILS FAILED WHILE DRIVING ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS. THIS RESULTED IN VEHICLE STALLING ON HIGHWAY. CONSUMER HAD TO WAIT 4 WEEKS FOR REPLACEMENT COILS IN BOTH INCIDENTS. DEALER ADVISER CONSUMER WILL NOT REPLACE REMAINING COILS UNTIL FAILURE. FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRED MID-OCTOBER 2002. 2ND INCIDENT IN DECEMBER 2002. *AK
COILPACKS ARE PRONE TO FAILURE, CAUSING THE CAR TO VIOLENTLY LOSE POWER. ALSO HAVING AN ISSUE WHERE THE CAR IS TRYING TO START ITSELF AGAIN WITH THE CLUTCH DEPRESSED.
VW POLICY ON THERE DEFECTIVE COIL PACKS IS TO REPLACE THE BROKEN COIL WITH A NEW ONE AND SEND THE DRIVER BACK ON THE ROAD WITH 3 DEFECTIVE COILS JUST WAITING TO LEAVE THEM STRANDED. I AM PUSHING FOR A RECALL DO TO THE SAFETY CONCERNS OF THE NEAR ABSOLUTE FAILURE OF THE DEFECTIVE "H" COILS AND POSSIBLE COLLISIONS WITH OTHER VECHICLES.
CAR WAS RUNNING ROUGH, SMELLED BAD, AND WAS CONSIDERED UN-DRIVABLE BY MY DEALER. VW TOWED THE CAR IN. IN ABOUT 30 MINUTES, MY DEALER INFORMED ME THAT ONE COIL PACK HAD FAILED AND THEY WOULD HAVE TO ORDER THE PART. I ASKED IF THEY COULD JUST REPLACE ALL 6 OF THE COIL PACKS AS THERE SEEMS TO BE A HISTORY OF THEM FAILING. DEALER SAID VW WOULD NOT APPROVE SUCH A PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE ACTION. THEY ALSO TOLD ME THE PART WAS ON A NATIONAL BACKORDER AND THEY DID NOT KNOW WHEN THEY WOULD RECEIVE IT. I WAS PROVIDED $25/DAY FOR A RENTAL CAR. I'M NOT TOO UPSET WITH THE HANDLING OF THIS ONE INCIDENT, BUT I'M VERY CONCERNED THAT THERE ARE ARGUABLY 5 OTHER 'TIME BOMBS' IN MY CAR WAITING TO FAIL AND LEAVE ME STRANDED IN A MUCH LESS CONVIENENT MANNER THAN THIS FIRST FAILURE. WITH SUCH A HIGH NUMBER OF COIL PACK FAILURES IN VW'S LINE [BOTH THE 1.8TURBO AND THE VR6], I WISH VW WOULD ISSUE A RECALL ONCE THE PART SUPPLY IS AVAILABLE. THIS PROBLEM ALONG WITH A CHRONIC WARM-START STALLING ISSUES HAS RESULTED IN ME NOT BEING ABLE TO RECOMMEND VW TO MY PALS.
ENGINE COIL FAILURE. CAR LOST POWER AND WAS ONLY RUNNING ON 3 OF 4 CYLINDERS.
COILPACK FAILURES ARE A SAFETY ISSUE. IS VOLKSWAGON WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO DIE UNTIL THEY RECALL THIS? WHILE YOUR AT IT, FIX MY WINDOWS THAT ARE GOING TO BREAK SOON TOO.
VW OF AMERICAN NEEDS TO ISSUE A RECALL AND REPLACE FREE OF CHARGE ALL COILPACKS ON THEIR 1.8T AND 24V VR6 ENGINES. IF YOU VISIT WWW.VWVORTEX.COM, YOU WILL SEE MANY COMPLAINTS AND CONCERNS THAT THESE CRITICAL PARTS ARE FAILING IN LARGE NUMBERS, THUS POSING A MAJOR INCONVENIENCE AND POTENTIAL PHYSICAL ENDANGERMENT OR DEATH IF THIS CRITICAL ENGINE COMPONENT SHOULD FAIL SUDDENLY WHILE IN MOTION! VW IS IN DENIAL, AND MANY OF US ARE COUNTING ON YOUR ORGANIZATION TO INVESTIGATE. A RECALL OF COILPACKS SHOULD BE ISSUED IN MY OPINION.
IGNITION COIL PACK FAILURE, COIL PACK #1 AND #2. FIRST OF TWO DIFFERNENT OCCASIONS.
I PURCHASED A NEW, 2002 VW GTI 1.8T IN AUGUST 1 OF 2002 FROM HOWARD COOPER VOLKSWAGEN IN ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN. ON DECEMBER 16, 2002, MY GTI WITH ONLY 5200 MILES STARTED RUMBLING AND SHAKING VIOLENTLY WHILE BEING DRIVEN IN A COLD MORNING. THE ''CHECK ENGINE'' LIGHT BEGAN FLASHING, AND THE CAR LOST POWER AND WAS UNABLE TO ACCELERATE. I RESEARCHED AND I FOUND COUNTLESS VW AND AUDI OWNERS WHO HAD EXPERIENCED THE SAME FAILURES ON THEIR VEHICLES WITH THE 1.8T ENGINE ON MORE THAN ONE IGNITION COIL. THE CAR SAT IN THE DEALERS' LOT FOR MORE THAN TWO WEEKS WAITING FOR AN IGNITION COIL THAT WAS ON NATIONAL BACKORDER.
IGNITION COIL FAILED AFTER 1900 MILES. THIS SEEMS TO HAPPEN TO ALL VW'S NOWADAYS THERE REALLY SHOULD BE A RECALL AS I STILL HAVE 5 FAULTY PARTS SINCE ONLY ONE COIL WAS REPLACED
IGNITION COIL FAILURE ON MY 2002 VW GTI 337. COIL ON CYLINDER #3 FAILED, CAUSE ROUGH IDLE AND SIGNIFIGENT LOSS OF ENGINE POWER.
WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH VEHICLE WOULDN'T ACCELERATE. THE DEALERSHIP INDICATED THAT THIS WAS CAUSED BY TWO OF THE IGNITION COILS BURNING OUT. *TS
COIL PACKS ON THE VW 1.8T MOTOR.... I HAD IGNITION COIL #1 FAIL THIS WEEK.... THEY ARE FAILING IN A NUMBER OF 2002 1.8T'S. THE DEALER REPLACED THE FAILED ONE WITH A THE NEW "J" TYPE COIL BUT I HAVE 3 OTHER COILS THAT CAN FAIL AT ANY TIME STRANGLING ME ON THE HIGHWAY OR IN THE NEW ENGLAND COLD WEATHER (AS THE CASE EARLIER THIS WEEK). I WOULD LIKE VW TO REPLACE ALL ME DEFECTIVE COIL PACKS WITH THE NEW "J" TYPE BEFORE I GET STRANDED AGAIN. TS
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
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