Engine Failure problems of the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta

The contact owns a 2002 Volkswagen Jetta. While driving between 15-20 mph, the engine completely stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle as it resumed normal operation. The failure occurred twenty times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic on ten times for the same failure. The crank position sensor was replaced with no additional repairs performed on the vehicle. The failure continued after the repair. The contact stated that there was a voluntary manufacturer recall associated with the catalytic converter. The dealer was notified and they informed the contact that the recall defect could possibly be related to the engine failure. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The contact stated the vehicle was unsafe to drive and planned to sell the vehicle. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 16,000.

On April 22, 2007 my son was returning to college in the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta 1. 8t when the engine siezed without warning as he accelerated to enter a busy interstat 80. Fortunately, he was able to coast off to the side of the road. Interstate 80was heavily used by trucks, and had my son not been in a position to get off to the side the engine failure could have caused a very serious safety hazard not only to my son but to many other vehicles using this highway. I understand that this is not an isolated instance of failure of the vw 1. 8 t engine. From what I have seen on the internet it appears that is fairly common for these engines to fail and vw tends to blame the owners for improper maintenance. My Jetta was purchased in April 2006 with 31,000 miles, in the year that we had the car we put approx. 10,000 miles on it and we had the oil changed at least two times. We purchased this car based on vw advertising about the quality and safety of these cars and I feel that vw should take responsibility for their poorly engineered engine and issue a recall to correct deficiencies with this engine. I order for me to correct this problem I have to replace the engine, I also have just been informed that when the engine suddenly froze the transmission was also damaged. The cost of to make this car usable again will be in excess of $7,000. While I don't feel that it is right that I am stuck with the cost of repairs that are the result of a serious design problem with this engine, I am much more concerned with putting lives in jeopardy when an engine stops without warning at high way speeds.

Engine failure, radio failure, window wouldn't roll back up, vibrating speakers. W service shop failed to correct conditions on several occasions.

Engine failure due to complete failure of 2 ignition coils. Car does not get power, operates at dangerously low speeds, especially when you're on the highway. Acknowledged by dealer as a major problem with 2002 1. 8turbo vw/Audi engines. Manufacturer defect but will only permit replacement of coils that are "bad" even though they know the others may go too.

Coilpack failure on the engine. The partial engine failure caused the car to shake violently while driving. It was difficult to bring the car over 25 miles per hour, even on the highway. After a few minutes, the car was smoking and smelled bad. The Volkswagen dealer told us that lots of cars, particularly the ones with 1. 8t engines, are having this failure. He said that Volkswagen is aware of the problem but that the part is on a national backorder. Our car was in the shop for almost three weeks.