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2002 Volkswagen Jetta Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 702 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta, most often about the electrical (21% of complaints, typically around 34,000 miles). It is the 3rd most complained-about Jetta model year since 2000 and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2002 Volkswagen Jetta problems
Electrical
148 complaints · 21%Half of these problems showed up before 34,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, wiring, instrument cluster/panel, alternator/generator/regulator.
While driving "check engine" started flashing, and there was a odor coming from the air vents. The dealership indicated after that the number 2 ignition coil had burnt out. A month later the number 1 ignition coil had burnt out. Replaced part on both occasions. Ph
I have taken in my 2002 vw Jetta about 9 times for electrical problems: the engine comes on, the doors have messed up, the odometer is incorrect and the speedometer floats drastically 5-10 miles up and down. This is an extremely dangerous car not only for the electrical problems that might cause a fire, but also…
Engine
110 complaints · 16%Half of these problems showed up before 53,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system, cooling system.
Purchased car on 1-30-06 took it back on 2-3-06 because of check engine light, took it back again on 2-7-06 because of check engine light, and took it back again on 2-14-06 because of check engine light was told it was catalytic converter but is not covered under warranty for me to have it fixed it will be 1100…
The vehicle's timing belt failed without warning at 52,000 miles. As a result, the vehicle has become inoperative. Please provide additional information.
Air bags
108 complaints · 15%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles. Parts named most often: side/window, frontal.
: the contact stated the driver's side air bag deployed unexpectedly while driving at 60 MPH. There was a police report filed. The police determined there was no debris in the road at the time of the incident. A representative from the manufacturer inspected the vehicle and discovered a dent in the metal in the rear…
The '02 Jetta 1.8t 4-door was stopped at a red light. The Jetta proceeded into intersection. Jetta was hit (t-boned) on drivers side door and rear passenger door by 1995 grand marquis, mercury in excess of 45 MPH. Ticket was issued for failing to stop at a red light, no braking on part of the mercury. Extensive damage…
Transmission
103 complaints · 15%Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission, clutch assembly.
Automatic transmission on my vw Jetta tdi (2002) failed at ~71,000 miles with no warning. I drive in non-city, open highway conditions with no stress to the transmission. The transmission is sealed, so there has never been a way to check the transmission fluid. Dealer says since the unit is sealed, no repairs can be…
2002 vw Jetta vr6 2.8 ever since we purchased the car in sept. 07 we have a recurring problem with the car completely dying in intersection or idling with A/C on or just when running. When this occurs the dash resets and car shuts off and locks up. You have to turn to car off and put in park to restart. Very dangerous…
Seats
101 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 45,000 miles. Parts named most often: front assembly.
I have a 2002 Jetta 1.8t. I started driving my car and turned on my seat warmer to 3 and within 30 seconds saw a stream of smoke coming from my seat. I quickly turned off the seat warmer and stopped the car and go out. A hole was burned throught my seat and my jeans that I was wearing were burned as well. I turned it…
Driver's side seat warmer malfunctioned. The driver began to see and smell smoke, pulled over, got out, and noticed a quarter size hole in the driver's side seat that was smoking, and little sparks came out. Vehicle was repaired under warranty.
Brakes
51 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 65,000 miles. Parts named most often: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, foundation components, power assist, conventional.
When gently applying pressure to the brake pedal the brakes would suddenly fully engage for a moment and then return to normal. This occurred every time the brakes were applied. There were no consequences in my case, but it is not hard to imagine this causing a car to be hit from the rear or causing a loss of control…
I purchased the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta in august of 2006. The first set of repairs was on 3/2007 at 64,332 mi check engine light mulitple misfires: p0300, p0301, p0302, p0303, p0304 replaced ignition coils cost: $200.11 second repair took place in april of 2007 took car in for recall - replacement of brake light switch…
Lights
51 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 70,500 miles. Parts named most often: brake lights, turn signal, hazard flashing warning lights, tail lights.
1. Driving during a early winter snow storm in northern in. Driving at constant speed on interstate in 4th gear. All of a sudden the glow plug light came on and started to blink. It then blinked on and off for the next 2 hours till I arrived at my destination 2. After I got to my destination I looked up what the…
: the contact stated the vehicle would not come out of park while the brakes were applied. The dealership determined the brake light switch needed to be replaced. There is a NHTSA recall, # 06v183000, regarding the exterior lighting brake light switch. The VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was…
Visibility and wipers
45 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 52,000 miles. Parts named most often: power window devices and controls, sun/moon roof assembly, windshield, glass, side/rear.
Both front wheel bearings failed with less than 60,000 miles. Front right electric window fell into door at 65,000. Replaced spool and broken retention clips. Radio has failed 3 times and been replaced twice. Third time I had to reset fuse #42. Old parts are available.
Seat heater malfunctioned, burned through the leather seat and burned me while I was driving. I safely pulled the car to the side of the road. The replacement components also malfunctioned, burning the leather seat and once again, burned me. Also, the sunroof has plastic guides that keep breaking, I have had these…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2002 Volkswagen Jetta recalls
Lights: switch
Risk: The brake lights could become inoperative, or remain on. Failure to provide the proper signal when braking could lead to a crash without warning.
Fix: Dealers will install the newly designed brake light switch free of charge. The recall began on april 27, 2007, and will be conducted in several staggered mailings through september 21, 2007. Vehicles within the make, model, and model year of this population may be involved in either this recall or 06v-183, but not both. The remedy is the same for each recall. Volkswagen dealers will apply the remedy based on the VIN number of the vehicle. Owners may contact vw at 1-800-822-8987.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger, wagon, and convertible vehicles equipped with or without cruise control, a brake light switch may malfunction if it was installed incorrectly.
Lights: switch
Risk: The brake lights could become inoperative, or remain on. Failure to provide the proper signal when braking could lead to a crash without warning.
Fix: Dealers will install the newly designed brake light switch free of charge. The recall began on november 27, 2006. Vehicles within the make, model, and model year of this population may be involved in either this recall or 06v-183, but not both. The remedy is the same for each recall. Volkswagen dealers will apply the remedy based on the VIN number of the vehicle. Owners may contact vw at 1-800-822-8987.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with automatic or manual transmissions and cruise controls, a brake light switch on these vehicles may malfunction if it was installed incorrectly during safety recalls 03v-265 or 04v-096.
Lights: switch
Risk: This may result in intermittent or inoperative turn signal and hazard flasher function.
Fix: Dealers will replace the hazard flasher switch/relay kit. The recall began on march 31, 2005. Owners should contact volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles, the hazard switch and flasher system function may degrade over time because of distortion and material transfer of the contacts of certain hazard switch relays which occurs due to substantially increased electrical current load from higher wattage turn signal bulbs.
Lights: switch
Risk: If this happens, the brake lights could become inoperative, or come on and stay on, even though the vehicle is parked.
Fix: This recall has been superceded by 06v-183. Owners who have had a remedy performed under this recall should return to their dealer for the redesigned remedy. Owners should contact volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles, a brake light switch on these vehicles may malfunction.
Brakes: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
Risk: This can result in a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the ABS control unit. Owner notification began march 8, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987.
Full defect summary
On some passenger vehicles, short circuits can occur within the electronic control unit of the anti-lock braking system (ABS).
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Brake light switch failure
Summary
By letters dated may 24, 2006 and august 4, 2006, volkswagen (vw) notified the agency that it is conducting a safety recall (NHTSA recall no 06v-183) involving model year (my) 1998-2002 volkswagen new beetle and 1999-2002 volkswagen jetta vehicles equipped with cruise control.volkswagen?s recall covers 646,246 vehicles.previously, vw recalled these vehicles to replace a defective brake light switch (recalls 03v-265 and 04v-096) that was unique to vehicles with cruise control.volkswagen reports that the brake light switch may malfunction if it was installed incorrectly during recalls 03v-265 and 04v-096.volkswagen will install a new design brake light switch.based on volkswagen's safety recal
Engine stalling
Summary
By letter received on june 24, 2005, mr. Ronald m. Strickland of raleigh, nc, submitted a petition requesting that the agency investigate the performance of the ignition coil plugs on model year (my) 2000-2003 volkswagen jetta, golf and passat sedans.the petitioner alleges that he had experienced multiple stalling events as a result of one or more ignition coil plugs malfunctioning on his 2002 vw jetta sedan.as a result of the engine stalling, the petitioner experienced a loss of power steering and increased braking efforts when he pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road to control the vehicle.after a few minutes parked on the shoulder he was able to restart the vehicle although the
Inadvertent side-airbag deployment
Summary
The subject vehicles are equipped with side-thorax and side-head curtain airbags to protect the front and rear outboard occupants in a side-impact crash.this investigation identified a total of 499 reports (482 owners reports and 17 warranty claims).the crash sensing system?s algorithm may recognize certain non-crash impacts (wheel, tire and undercarriage impacts) as deployable events.the 97 alleged injuries were minor in nature and consist of abrasions, bruises, ear ringing and headaches.there was no alleged loss of control crash as a result of side-airbag deployment.odi also obtained counts of alleged inadvertent side-airbag deployments from peer manufacturers.the data shows that the subje
Turn signal/hazard flasher failure
Summary
This investigation was opened on october 19, 2004, based on nine reports on 2000 through 2001 jetta and gti vehicles alleging that the turn signals and or hazard flashers fail to blink, or flash.some of the complainants reported that the lights would blink only a few times and then stop.several of the complainants reported that having the hazard flasher switch replaced repaired their vehicles.by letter of december 13, 2004, volkswagen notified the agency that it will conduct a safety recall of 350,000 model year 2000 through 2002 jetta, golf and gti vehicles to repair the turn signal and hazard flasher system.vw reports 216 owner reports, 4 field reports and 4960 warranty claims on this popu
Driver side front seat overheats
Summary
This investigation concerns the electric seat heater installed in some my 2002-2003 volkswagen (vw) jetta vehicles.consumers allege that the seat heater may overheat, resulting in burn damage to the seat cover and to the driver's clothing and/or skin.this ea addresses whether such failures may pose a risk to motor vehicle safety.odi concludes that the driver-side seat heater may fail or malfunction due to normal vehicle use, (I.e., driver ingress and egress from the vehicle).the investigation disclosed that such failures do not pose a significant risk of injury or fire.odi believes that further investigation would not likely identify a safety-related defect trend.therefore, this ea has been
Brake light switch
Summary
The number of duplicates between odi and manufacturer failure reports cannot be determined due to missing and or inaccurate information.the injury noted above was minor.on february 26, 2004, volkswagen of america, inc. (vw) submitted a defect notification (per 49cfr573) to the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) advising that certain model year (my) 1999 - 2002 volkswagen jetta vehicles manufacutured with the same brake light switch as recalled under 03v-265 (my 1998-2002 new beetle) are affected by a safety defect.specifically, if the brake light switch malfunctions, the brake lights could fail to illuminate when the brakes are applied, or could stay illuminated continual
Driver seat overheats/burns
Summary
The subject vehicles are equipped with optional electrically heated driver and front passenger seats.information received during pe03-052 disclosed a significant number of incidents of malfunctioning/overheating of the driver seat heater in the subject vehicles.additional incidents may occur during the final months of the winter season.this matter is also currently being investigated by transport canada.this pe has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea04-010)in order to fully investigate these occurrences and their safety implications.
Questions about the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta
- What are the most common problems with the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: electrical (148 complaints, typically around 34,000 miles); engine (110 complaints, typically around 53,500 miles); air bags (108 complaints, typically around 50,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from February 20, 2007 (lights). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2002 a bad year for the Volkswagen Jetta?
- It is the 3rd most complained-about Jetta model year since 2000, with 702 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.