general problems of the 2003 Volkswagen Jetta

My Jetta stalls without warning when the gas gauge is at a quarter of a tank or less. No engine check light or any other any other device comes on to warn me it is going to stall. My speed does not matter. It happens at freeway speeds or around town. It does not occur if the gas gauge shows more than 1/4 of a tank of fuel. I do not know if it is an electrical problem, a fuel propulsion problem or an engine problem. From reading volkswagon forums, this is a very common problem with volkswagons of different years, including the new tiguans. I'm sure there have been many fatalities as a result of this defect. I am surprised volkswagon has not been forced to repair this dangerous, life threatening problem before now! maybe, a class action law suit involving products liability, merchantability, and fitness for a particular use would benefit not only owners, but the general public at large. I believe it is your duty to protect the general public from manufactures who place dangerous, defective products in the stream of commerce. Your action is required, and demanded. The first time ocurred right after I purchased the car in 2019. It has stalled many times since then, before I realized I needed to keep the fuel tank at least 1/2 full at all times. Keeping it 1/2 full at all times greatly deminishes the range of travel before I have to refill. It is inconvenient and expensive since fuel has to be purchased at places other the most economical place I usually purchase my gasoline. Thank you.

Fortunately my son was a at a red light and went to take off and it would not change gears. . He rolled into the parking lot ahead of him. He told the wrecker driver that it felt like something fell - we opened the hood and saw that the motor was actually sitting crooked. The motor mounts were broken, on one side broken off on the other stripped. This could have been a very bad outcome. Several mechanics have tried to repair it (unrepairable). We have been told that the block and/or engine will have to be replaced. The cost for the part is between $ 3100-3700 - plus labor. Keep in mind that the motor runs great! I have contacted vw - with no luck. . But admitting that there have been others. I feel that this is not only poorly designed. . Maybe not strong enough material, but it is or could be dangerous. As I stated fortunately my son was a t a red light. . Not going down the hwy and come to a sudden stop.

The plastic dipstick handle on my 2003 vw Jetta cracked off the dipstick and required replacement. The part number is 06j115611e.

According to a vw dealer, the catalytic converter on my 2003 vw Jetta failed at 89,000 miles. The vw dealer stated that it failed because the mil illuminated and the car's computer shows code p0420. The dealer also stated that the vehicle is no longer covered by any warranty.

The thermostat on my 2003 Volkswagen Jetta failed for the second time. The first time it failed as at approximately 40,000 miles in 2009.

The temp sender on my 2003 Volkswagen Jetta failed for the second time. The first failure occurred at approximately 38,000 miles in 2007.

The drivers side motor mount broke, engine dropped and fell on the axle and broke it.

2003 vw Jetta: digital display would shut off when key was removed from ignition. Unable to lock vehicle doors with remote. Vehicle had to be restarted for digital panel to appear (re-set) and for door to lock with remote. Engine would also shut off while at a stop light and while driving on freeway. Possibility to cause a crash. All digital panels still illuminated, key would be locked in ingnition, un-able to turn or be removed until car placed back in park and hand brake pulled up. Issues occured bi-weekly, weekly, and now daily. Vehicle brought to dealership. Was told that ignition switch failed and needed to be replaced. Would have been covered under warranty (warrant just expired last month). After trying to diagnose problem prior to bringing to dealership, I've found on several forums that this is not a new issue/repair for vw customers with the same make and model. Many customers have had similar complaints/experiences, all of which were taken in for repair after warranty expired. Vehicle is only 7 years old and is at approximately 85,000 miles. This vehicle has also had service for the following recalls: catalytic converter, failed ignition coils, failed rear window/door locks. This car is a lemon!.

2003 vw Jetta - fuse box inside engine compartment melted!.

My 2003 vw Jetta has been in the shop more in the past 6 months than in the last 5 years. The latest two problems were; 1) the engine coil (was replaced once by recall) and 2) my fuse box on top of my battery melted. I have spent over $1,500 in the last two months on the car. Was told that only one engine coil was allowed under the recall, and was told the fuse box melting was a common occurrence even though they did not ever find the "real" reason for it to melt.

This is in regard to tiptronic transmission failure at 77,000 miles. After the vehicle was fully paid off and 17k miles after warranty had expired. While I was driving vehicle would stay in 1st and 2nd gear and give a big jolt when going into 3rd and 4th while still cold, only after engine would heat up without any stops would it perform sub par. Previous to this I had have no complaints. Dealer quoted $5600 to rebuild transmission and independent shop $2500. I was informed I had a worn clutch and in 2008 I rebuild the transmission and continued having the same issue. After thousands of dollars spent on this vehicle on April 12 of 2012 I sent it the junkyard. I will follow up and send more hard copies documents to NHTSA as I have my entire service records from 2003 - 2012 to submitt. There are 100's of other american car owners with tiptronic transmission experiencing same issues and its apparent that it is faulty manufacturing. I'm attaching several pdf documents with articles and other similar costumer complaints. I have all my service records and will submit hard copies separately however wanted to get the complaint started here. The year of my vehicle was never included but its obvious this issue has been happening longer then previous recalls.

The contact owns a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta. On two separate occasions, while driving approximately 30 mph with the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. The contact drove home and had the vehicle towed to the dealer. The dealer stated that the coil inside the cylinder failed and had to be replaced for the second time in one month. The current mileage was 39,890 and failure mileage was 39,046. Updated 03/14/08. The coil pack was replaced.

A) 1) drove vehicle for about 2 miles on the morning of 05/21/07 when the failure happened. 2) vehicle lost engine power and vehicle started to vibrate a lot. 3) failed ignition coil #3 was replaced under warranty. B) 1) drove vehicle for about 1 miles on the morning of 11/07/07 when the failure happened. 2) vehicle lost engine power and vehicle started to vibrate a lot. 3) failed ignition coil #4 was replaced.

On March 1, 2004, I purchased and financed a 2003 Jetta tdi from the vw dealership in chico, CA. I began to experience problems with my new vehicle in late November 2005, with mileage at 47399. I suffered intermittent loss of power when accelerating onto the freeway and in traveling up hills. During the loss of power, I also noticed that I could not hear the whine of the turbo and assumed that the problem must be related to my turbo. The chico dealer test drove the car for approximately 25 miles with a scan tool but was unable to verify my complaint. Unfortunately, the problem with the turbo persisted. I brought my car back to the chico dealership on January 7, 2006, with mileage at 50856. Once again, the chico dealer was unable to verify my complaint because their scan tool did not pull a code. The chico dealer stated that they would replace the mass air flow sensor in an attempt to resolve my complaint regarding the loss of power. The mass air flow sensor was replaced by the chico dealer on January 7, 2006. Feeling defeated and frustrated, I suffered through the turbo problem for another year. During this time, I was forced to take extra special precaution when entering the freeway in case my turbo failed to respond upon acceleration. In addition, when I experienced a loss power traveling up-hill, I was forced to utilize my hazard signal and move to either the slow lane or the shoulder of the road to allow other vehicles to pass me. When my turbo failed to respond properly, my vehicle would only travel at a maximum of 45-55 mph when accelerating onto the freeway and 35-45 mph when traveling up-hill. Needless to say, even large semi-trucks passed me traveling up-hill. The problem with my turbo jeopardized my safety and that of my passengers as well as those traveling around us. This has gone on too long without the proper attention to my concerns and I feel unsafe while traveling in my vw.

I have owned a Volkswagen Jetta (turbo - 2003) and have had one horrible problem after another. Without fail, I have taken my vehicle in for random mechanical repairs every few months since purchasing the vehicle. I found out the car was manufactured in mexico and that vw was aware of how bad their car's manufactured in mexico were. If that is the case, how can so many car owners with so many mechanical issues continue to sell in this country? I would like to report vw for lackluster performance and for continuing manufacture in an area well known for its below average standards and for continuing to bleed the consumer when it is fully aware of the issue.