2001 Volkswagen Jetta Driver assistance Problems

I BOUGHT THIS CAR USED IN 2003 AND HAD PROBLEMS WITH IT SINCE. ESC LIGHT COMES ON ALL THE TIME. REPLACED IGNITION COILS, MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR, OXYGEN SENSOR, AND SPARK PLUGS MULTIPLES TIMES TO TRY AND FIX THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT THAT KEEPS COMING BACK ON. IT KEEPS SPITTING OUT RANDOM CYLINDER MISFIRE CODES. PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW BROKE. THE ARM REST HINGE BROKE. THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT HINGE BROKE. BRAKE LIGHTS NEED REPLACING CONSTANTLY. WATER PUMP BROKE WHILE DRIVING IN THE MIDDLE OF FREEWAY AND THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE SHOT THROUGH THE ROOF. A RANDOM TUBE/HOSE IN THE ENGINE BROKE. TRANSMISSION PROBLEM, COULD NOT SHIFT FROM PARK TO DRIVE. INTERIOR CABIN SMELLS LIKE CRAYON. VERY ROUGH IDLE, NEED TO WARM UP THE CAR FOR AT LEAST 5 MINS EVERY MORNING OR ELSE THE CAR WILL STALL. I NOTICED IF YOU DO NOT WARM THE CAR LONG ENOUGH, YOU HAVE TO PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL VERY HARD TO GET IT TO STOP. I CAN COPE WITH ALL THE ABOVE ISSUES BUT I CANNOT TOLERATE THE CAR RANDOMLY STALLING/ENGINE DYING WHILE DRIVING AROUND THE CITY. LATELY THE CAR IS MAKING WEIRD NOISES LIKE IT RAN OVER A POTHOLE. I GAVE AWAY THE CAR AND WILL NEVER AGAIN OWN ANY CARS MADE FROM VOLKSWAGEN. *TR

NHTSA ID

10451304

Incident

Mar 2, 2012

Mileage

36,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING AT A STEADY SPEED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WILL DEPRESS BY ITSELF MAKING THE VEHICLE ACCELERATE. THE PROBLEM GOES AWAY WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED (SO FAR). THIS STARTED HAPPENING ABOUT A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO. IT'S DONE IT MAYBE 4 OR 5 TIMES. *TR

NHTSA ID

10373668

Incident

Dec 20, 2010

Mileage

160,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH MY CAR LOST ALL POWER AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF. I WAS ALMOST KILLED BY HIGHWAY TRAFFIC. I HAD REPEATEDLY TAKEN MY CAR TO THE DEALER FOR A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT THAT KEPT COMING ON MORE THAN 8 TIMES. FINALLY MY WARRANTY EXPIRED AND THE VW DEALER TOLD ME THEY COULD NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. I WAS REPEATEDLY CHARGED FOR THIS SAME PROBLEM AND EVEN HAD THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COME ON AS I DROVE IT AWAY FROM THE DEALER WITHIN 5 MINUTES AFTER HAVING IT "FIXED" AND CHARGED AGAIN WITHOUT THEM HONORING THEIR PREVIOUS WORK. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN THIS CAR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10341723

Incident

Jul 3, 2010

Mileage

61,000 mi

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY BEGAN ACCELERATING ON ITS OWN. THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL, BUT THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE. THE ENGINE FAILED, WHICH PREVENTED A CRASH FROM OCCURRING. THE VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY BEING DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 109,000. UPDATED 11/25/08. *LJ WHEN THE ENGINE ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN, THE FORCE PUSHED THE DRIVER BACK INTO THE SEAT. THE SPEED WAS SO GREAT, THAT THE ENGINE REDLINE AND BLEWOUT THE MOTOR. UPDATED 11/25/08. *JB

NHTSA ID

10247274

Incident

Oct 30, 2008

Mileage

109,000 mi

I OWN A 2001 VW JETTA GLS VR6. SINCE I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH IT. I AM A YOUNG WOMAN IN THE MILITARY AND AM IN FULL TIME SCHOOL, SO I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO RUN AROUND AND FIX IT AS MUCH AS I HAVE BEEN FORCED TO DO. FIRST MY GAS GAUGE WENT OUT THREE MONTHS AFTER BUYING IT $600(UNDER WARRANTY) THEN A MONTH LATER O2 SENSOR $300(NON WARRANTY). THEN IT WAS THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER$1500(NON WARRANTY) WIRING SYSTEM$1000(OF COURSE NON WARRANTY) WINDOWS WONT ROLL UP WITHOUT ROLLING DOWN AGAIN AND SOMETIMES GET STUCK$700(NON WARRANTY) CRUISE CONTROL WENT OUT$845 (NON WARRANTY), WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR... STATIONED IN ALASKA AND COULDN'T GO WITHOUT THAT $750(NON WARRANTY) NOW MY SECONDARY AIR PUMP IS OUT AND I WAS QUOTED $1294 FROM PRIVATE MECHANIC AND $1400 FROM VW. ALSO THE CRUISE IS STILL OUT AND THE WINDOWS ARE DOING THE SAME AGAIN. I HAVE TALKED TO MANY PEOPLE IN THE SAME BOAT I HAVE BEEN IN WITH SO MANY REPAIRS. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO STOP VW FROM MAKING FAULTY PARTS AND CHARGING AN ARM AND A LEG? I FEEL THOUGH THAT IF IT IS BROUGHT UP TO YOU THAT MY VOICE WILL BE HEARD, BECAUSE WHEN I CALL THE VOLKWAGEN CUSTOMER SERVICE AND COMPLAINTS I GET NOWHERE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10231433

Incident

Jun 10, 2008

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHEN DRIVING 5-25 MPH ON A GRAVEL DRIVEWAY, THE CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED AND THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED. THIS OCCURRED WHEN THE VEHICLE HIT ANY BUMP OR POTHOLE ON 50-70 OCCASIONS. WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED, THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD DISENGAGE ALLOWING THE VEHICLE TO SLOW. THE SERVICE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT ALERTED. UPDATED 02/06/07. *JB

NHTSA ID

10176026

Incident

Dec 9, 2006

Mileage

104,000 mi

I SIGNALED WITH MY RIGHT TURN SIGNAL FOR A RIGHT-HAND TURN, SUDDENLY THE TURN SIGNAL STOPPED FLASHING (NOT THE QUICK FLASHING & CLICKING FOR A BURNT OUT BULB), THE LIGHT STAYED ON. TRIED THE LEFT TURN SIGNAL AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED. KEPT TRYING THEM AND WOULD NOT WORK. SUDDENLY BEGAN OPERATING. THE HAZARD LIGHTS DID NOT WORK EITHER. AFTER REPEATED ATTEMPTS, THE LIGHTS UNEXPECTEDLY BEGAN WORKING. I CONTINUED DRIVING, WHEN I SIGNALED ANOTHER RIGHT-HAND TURN THE AGAIN THE SIGNAL REPEATED THE PREVIOUS FAILURE. I IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED THE AUTO REPAIR SHOP THAT I USE AND SETUP AN APPOINTMENT FOR SERVICE THREE DAYS LATER. THE PROBLEM OCCURRED INTERMITTENLY BETWEEN THE FIRST OCCURRANCE AND THE SERVICE APPOINTMENT. THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY BUT THE HEADLAMPS WOULD NOT GO TO BRIGHT. HE DID EVENTUALLY HAVE THE PROBLEM WITH THE TURN SIGNALS. THE END RESULT WAS TO REPLACE THE SWITCH: HEADLAM DIMMER/TURN SIGNAL/CRUISE SWITCH 8L0953513J01C (PART #). THIS IS AN INTEGRATED SWITCH. I HAVE LISTED THE THREE COMPONENTS SEPARATELY ON THE COMPLAINT LIST. THIS SAME SHOP HAD CHANGED THE SAME SWITCH ON AN AUDI. I DO NOT KNOW IF THE REPLACED PART WOULD STILL BE AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID

10120653

Incident

Mar 21, 2005

Mileage

109,895 mi

I WAS AT A FULL STOP AT A RED LIGHT WAITING TO CROSS A BUSY HIGHWAY WHEN SUDDENLY. AND WITHOUT WARNING, THE CAR STARTED ACCELERATING ON ITS OWN. MY FIRST REACTION WAS TO PUSH ON THE BRAKES HARDER. THIS DID NOTHING. THE CAR KEPT ACCELERATING TO SUCH A RATE THAT THE BACK END STARTED FISHTAILING AROUND TO THE RIGHT. I HAVE A CDL LICENSE AND REACTED BY PUTTING THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL. THIS REACTION DEFINITELY SAVED A MAJOR ACCIDENT. THE CAR WAS DOING ITS BEST TO FORCE ME INTO MOVING TRAFFIC. THE NEXT PERSON THIS HAPPENS TO MIGHT NOT BE SO LUCKY. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE LOCAL VW DEALERSHIP. AFTER KEEPING MY CAR 2 WEEKS, THEY STILL COULDN'T COME UP WITH A PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATION FOR WHY THIS HAPPENED. THEY DID REMOVE THE ON/OFF BUTTON FOR THE CRUISE CONTROL, BUT THEY CAN'T GUARANTEE ME THAT THIS IS WHAT CAUSED THE MALFUNTION. NORMALLY THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD DE-ACTIVATE WHEN THE BRAKES ARE PRESSED. I REMAIN WITHOUT A REASONABLE EXPLANATION OR REPAIR.*AK

NHTSA ID

10111980

Incident

Jan 31, 2005

Mileage

22,200 mi

WHILE ACCELERATING FROM EITHER A STOP OR MOVING, THE TRANSMISSION OCCASIONALLY WILL SLIP WHILE SHIFTING FROM 1ST-2ND GEAR, REGARDLESS OF EITHER LIGHT OR HEAVY THROTTLE. THIS PROBLEM HAS PROVEN ELUSIVE TO DUPLICATE ON DEMAND AND HAS OCCURED UNDER VARIOUS CONDITIONS, TO INCLUDE: LIGHT & HEAVY ACCELERATION; MOVING & FROM DEAD STOP; DRY & WET ROADS; INCLINED (UPHILL) & DECLINED (DOWNHILL) AND VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF LISTED CONDITIONS. THIS STARTED OCCURING AROUND 29,000 MILES AND HAS CONTINUED ON/OFF UP TO ITS' CURRENT 40,073 MILES. WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO DUPLICATE IT FOR THE DEALER IT WILL BE A MOOT POINT TO BRING IT IN FOR DIAGNOSIS/REPAIR, AS THEY WILL "GUESS" THE CAUSE AND CHARGE ME ACCORDINGLY.*AK

NHTSA ID

10072866

Incident

May 19, 2004

Mileage

29,000 mi

WHILE APPLYING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL VEHICLE FAILED TO MOVE. CONSUMER APPLIED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL NUMEROUS TIMES AND THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, AND DROVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED CLEANING DUE TO INTAKE MANIFOLD BEING CLOGGED WITH CARBON. *AK

NHTSA ID

10073677

WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE LOST POWER WHEN ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. A TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *AK

NHTSA ID

10073474

MY SPEEDOMETER STARTED BOUNCING UP AND DOWN. ONE SECOND IT WOULD REGISTER 25MPH THE NEXT IT WOULD REGISTER 100MPH. IT WOULD DO THAT FREQUENTLY. THE FUEL GAUGE ACTED FUNNY AS WELL. IT WOULD MOVE LEFT AND RIGHT. FINALLY THE SPEEDOMETER STOPPED WORKING COMPLETELY. THE FUEL GAUGE WORKS OK NOW. I HAVE READ ABOUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. THE COOLANT MIGRATION SYSTEM IS FAULTY. THE COOLANT BOTTLE LEAKS FLUID ONTO THE ELECTRICAL WIRING HARNESS WHICH IN TURN ACTS AS A VACUUM AND THE COOLANT MAKES ITS WAY ALL THE WAY TO THE ECM. AFTER IT REACHES THE ECM IT MAKES ALL THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS ACT FUNNY. THIS COULD BE DANGEROUS CONSIDERING IT MAY BE THE CAUSE OF AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT WHICH I HAVE HEARD. MY WIRING HARNESS ON MY COOLANT DOES HAVE COOLANT ON IT. WHICH HAS STOPPED MY SPEEDOMETER. THANKFULLY MY AIRBAGS HAVEN'T BLOWN(YET). PLEASE CONSIDER THIS SERIOUS ISSUE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ~CHAD~*AK

NHTSA ID

10065855

Incident

Mar 1, 2003

MY WIFE WAS PULLING INTO AN UPHILL PARKING SPOT AND PRESSED THE BRAKE TO STOP. INSTEAD, THE CAR ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL AND HIT A CONCRETE BLOCK WALL, WHICH CAUSED THE AIRBAGS TO DEPLOY AND DAMAGED THE FRONT OF THE CAR. THE CAR THEN REVERSED ITSELF AND MY WIFE HAD TO PULL THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO BRING THE CAR TO A STOP. *LA

NHTSA ID

10065654

Incident

Apr 2, 2004

Mileage

74,000 mi

WHEN TRYING TO ACCLERATE VEHICLE WOULD HESITATE, CAUSING A DISTRACION TO THE CONSUMER. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK *TS

NHTSA ID

10034033

Incident

Jul 14, 2003

Mileage

100 mi

WHEN PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC THE CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE, THEN SUDDENLY STARTS TO ACCELERATE. THE CAR STUTTERS BEFORE TAKING OFF THIS HAS CAUSED MY WIFE TO ALMOST GET INTO NUMEROUS ACCIDENTS. WE HAVE TAKEN IT DOWN TO THE DEALERSHIP NUMEROUS TIMES, THE FIRST TIME THEY SAID IT WAS A CLOGGED VALVE AND THEY WOULD ORDER IT AND CALL ME BACK WHEN IT WAS IN STOCK. WHEN I CALLED THEM 2 MONTHS LATER THEY SAID WE CAN SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT THE PART SHOULD BE IN STOCK, BUT THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT PART IT WAS EXACTLY SINCE IT WAS NOT LISTED ON THE WORK ORDER. WHEN I TOOK IT BACK THEY SAID THERE WAS A SERVICE BULLETIN THAT STATED WHEN THE BRAKE IS DEPRESSED AND RELEASED THE CAR WILL HESITATE BEFORE GOING BECAUSE THE CAR STILL THINKS THE BRAKE IS ON, BUT THEY COULD NOT REPRODUCE THIS OR ANY OTHER PROBLEM ON OUR CAR. WE HAVE ALSO HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS, AFTER TAKING THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP 5 TIMES THEY FINALLY "CHECKED" THE CONTROLS AND FOUND SOMETHING WRONG. *NLM

NHTSA ID

10019102

Incident

May 28, 2002

Mileage

8,000 mi

OFTEN WHEN ACCELERATING, MY AUTOMATIC JETTA WILL SEEM TO GO INTO NEUTRAL, THE ENGINE WILL BE ROARING AND THE RPM WILL FLY UP INTO THE RED ZONE ON THE DAIL. THIS HAPPENS AT SPEEDS FROM 5 MPH- 75 MPH. IT ALWAYS OCCURS AS I GO TO ACCELERATE, OTHERWISE I CAN FIND NO OTHER SIMILARITIES OF OCCURRENCES.

NHTSA ID

765292

Incident

Jan 1, 2001

ON OCT. 7,2001 ( FOUR DAYS AFTER TAKING DELIVERY), I WAS SLOWLY MERGING INTO TRAFFIC . WHEN I PUT MY FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL, THERE WAS NO ACCERLATION FOR A FEW SECONDS (CAR JUST IDLED) AND THEN SUDDENLY, THE CAR LURCHED FORWARD INTO TRAFFIC AT A HIGH SPEED WITH THE TIRES SCREECHING. THE SAME THING HAPPENED TWICE MORE ON OCTOBER 17, 2001 WHEN TURNING LEFT AT INTERSECTIONS; THEN ABOUT 10 TIMES ON OCTOBER 17 WHILE EITHER MAKING TURNS OR DRIVING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC; TWICE ON NOV.7; AND, TWICE MORE ON NOV. 13. WE WERE AFRAID TO DRIVE CAR ON OCT. 25 AND HAD TOWED TO CLOSEST DEALER. CAR HAS BEEN TO SERVICE DEPT. TWICE, ON 10/22 AND 10/25. DEFECT NOT FOUND OR REPAIRED. WE ARE TOO AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS CAR AS WE WERE ALMOST IN 5 ACCIDENTS.*AK

NHTSA ID

754491

Incident

Oct 7, 2001