Alternator/generator/regulator problems of the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta

While reaching home, I saw smoke coming out of engine, smell of heated plastic, and the alternator warning lite on. Switched off the car and opened the hood. Noted that the smoke and smell was coming from the plastic fuse box that is on the top of the battery and that the fuse box cover had burnt hole. The wire from the alternator to one of the fuses in the fuse box had melted the plastic. I replaced the fuse box, cleaned the wire and attached it back. On 6/23/15, I was unable to start the car. The battery was weak and noted that one of the fuses in the box had melted the plastic.

2002 Volkswagen Jetta. Consumer writes to express discontent regarding repairs at local dealer the consumer stated three days after retrieving the vehicle from the dealer, for maintenance work, the vehicle broke down on the highway. The problem was determined to be the alternator. The consumer stated he was involved in a hit-and run accident in which the rear end impact caused damage to the transmission. The consumer stated even though the vehicle was repaired, he continued to experience problems with the transmission. Updated 12/08/11.

Vehicle shut down while driving twice, could result in car being disabled while driving at any speed any where becoming a very dangerous situation for the driver and an obstacle on the road for other drivers to try to avoid. Volkswagen dealership isolated this to a faulty harness connecting the alternator tothe fuse located on top of the battery. The harness and the fuse box had to be replaced. The dealership said this problem is only common to vw beatles and vw Jetta, because they said the car was 2002 it was out of warranty not covered. I was more concerned of the safety of life and property this problem would cause. I filed a complaint with the attorney general john krogers office in oregon, they sent me a letter stating they had forwarded this complaint to the national highway traffic safety admin in washington DC . I tried to contact them by phone, they asked if I had a confirmation # . I haven't as of yet received a letter or phone call.

1. 2002 vw Jetta wagon electrical system failure on expressway caused vehicle to stop & unable to start 9/6/09. Vehicle towed to dealer. 2. Vw dealer failure description, wire harness corrosion caused restriction in power flow in line which caused alternator to overwork and overheat wire harness and fuse panel. This extensive enough to cause melting of both wire harness and fuse panel over top of battery. 3. Vw dealer repair and replace wire harness and fuse body. 4. Vw customer care took information on my complaint about defect and potential safety issue but would do nothing referring me back to the dealer. My question was why did vw have such a defect where there was no fusible link that would fail first preventing the extensive damage that occurred.

I purchased a certified used vehicle in 2006 from a Volkswagen dealer in virginia (vokswagen of dulles). Two months after the vehicle purchase, we noticed the car electrical system shut down while approaching a stop sign in reston, va. The local dealer attributed it to a fuel system problem and charged us for a ¿throttle body cleaning. ¿� over the course of two years, we had multiple electrical shutdowns, some at high speed on the highway at night when the vehicle's headlights would go out and the engine would die. At one point the dealer reported a ¿loose ignition switch� and replaced that switch. After several more scary events, I emailed vw America with a description of the problem and our fears about the vehicle being unsafe to drive. In March 2009 I called vw customer service and talked to a regional case manager. On that day, the car had shut down in the middle of an intersection narrowly avoiding a collision. Vw replaced the alternator and battery. Three months later, driving on memorial parkway (rt. 66) at night when the vehicles lights failed, the electrical system shut down and the engine died. I once again called vw customer service and was returned a call from a representative who said they would not address the problem further, that the warranty on the vehicle was over and that I had no recourse with Volkswagen for further investigation of the problem. I recently asked vw America customer service for copies of their records relating the case. They refused to give them to me, saying they were ¿proprietary. ¿�.

This is a known problem with vw/Audi 1. 8t engines. Affects Audi a4, vw passat/beetle/jetta. Parts back ordered through dealer, they said. Needs to be a recall. Car loses power when moving, will not go faster than 20mph. Potentially dangerous, could result in accident happend many, many times. Also, more than one failiure has happend to a lot of people that I know. Dt.