Wiring problems of the 2003 Volkswagen Jetta

I have a 2003 Jetta GLS. I had about 65k miles on it and the speedometer first fluctuated wildly then died, or appeared to be dead. It would randomly start working for a few days and often would die again while I was driving. Non functioning speedometer affects function of auto locking doors, odometer, trip computer, and related functions (they do not work when speedometer not working). My mechanic tested the vehicle speed sensor located on the transaxle. It is fine. I had the entire instrument panel replaced (to the tune of almost $700, $500 of which is for the part!). Now I am being told it may be a coolant migration issue similar to that of the my 99-01 cars. However there has been no TSB for 2003 Jettas and now my car is out of warranty. Replacing the wiring harness is a very expensive ($6k has been mentioned) repair. Internet research shows that my issue is not unique, many failed speedometers in this model year Jetta, although vw to date is silent w/customers.

I turned on the driver's seat heater to 5 (highest setting) on my 2003 vw Jetta tdi when leaving my house at 7 am. I used this regularly to warm the seat for a few minutes on cold mornings, then would turn it off (lower settings never produced noticeable heat). Within one minute I felt a burning/electrical sensation in my upper left thigh. I was driving on a mountain road and the pain made me jump in my seat and nearly lose control of the car. I pulled over and turned off the seat heater (having heard of problems with the heater). The leather seat had a blister about the size of a cigarette burn but had not burned completely through. While I stopped the heater before it burned through the seat (and my pants), the real danger was in a possible accident from the burn/shock that caused me to momentarily lose control of the car. The seat heater is no longer safe to operate. My understanding from reading similar posts here and elsewhere is that the wiring is now broken in the seat (and many have had it break in the same spot). If I had not guessed the source of the problem quickly, or if someone were to unknowingly use the heat setter in the future, it could lead to a serious accident, personal injury, and car fire. Similarly, this poses a serious risk for other drivers of these vehicles who may not be aware of the problem and react too late. I request that the NHTSA urge vw of America to issue a recall on this dangerous and pervasive problem (many reports here and elsewhere, such as tdiclub. Com and vwvortex. Com). Vw has issued a recall on this problem in canada but not in the u. S. They also have a voluntary repair for passats of similar years, but not Jettas or golfs. Thank you.

A week before this incident speedometer quit. Non vw repair shop replaced speed sensor, this did not fix speedometer problem so they sent me to NY vw dealer who replaced crank sensor. Could not even drive car out of their lot after the repair as car was stalling and hesitating. They then said I needed to replace needle lift sensor. I begged them at that point to look for a wiring problem or electrical system problem because I couldn't believe that 3 sensors could all go at once without a system cause. I was told to "trust them" and that they had checked with vw and vw said that was all they could do. "the diagnostic computer said that is all that is wrong" . After week in repair shop vw dealer told me car was "all fixed". 3 days and 300 miles later on I-83 south of harrisburg car began jerking and lurching out of control, then stalled. I was near exit 32 and was able to get off safely, fortunately. Had to be towed to vw dealer. Now vw dealer in PA tells me car had "coolant migration" which was source of all problems, they think dealer in NY should have caught it. Vw is backing NY dealer that they fixed car correctly despite other dealers comment and my near miss with being crashed into by other drivers on I-83. I fail to see how coolant migration happened in 3 days and 300 miles. Pa vw dealer says NY dealer should not have missed the coolant migration, and should not have replaced the expensive sensors before repairing the coolant migration problem. I certainly agree since I traveled less than 300 miles and I was just lucky that I was so close to an exit and was able to keep restarting the car and coast off I-83. Had I been further away from an exit or in heavier traffic I could easily have been run into by another driver as the car lurched and jerked and stalled. I also fail to understand why vw is not responsible. Obviously this problem started while the car was still in warranty -PA dealer said engine was "very corroded" and the wiring was "full of coolant".

I have a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta tdi GLS. I should note that this vehicle has been faithfully serviced by the dealer following the maintenance schedule listed in the user manual. The vehicle currently has 109,000 miles. While driving the vehicle a few days before the incident date listed on this complaint, the a/c ceased to function properly. There was no cool air coming out of the vents. Also, when the vehicle was shutdown, the radiator fans would continue to run upwards of 15 minutes. Neither event has occurred before. I brought my vehicle in to a vw dealership on the incident date to have its normal 110,000 mile service and to have the issues (noted above) diagnosed. I received a call from the dealership later in the day on the incident date stating that a failure in the coolant level sensor caused coolant fluid to be wicked into the vehicle's wiring harness leading to contamination / corrosion of the engine and body harness. The quote to repair was approximately $6,000. This problem is a latent defect in the design. The service department told me that the vehicle was un-drivable until the repairs are made. The service advisor also confirmed that because the problem was with the harness itself, any electrical component could be affected such as the airbags, abs, srs, etc. Also, from my own research I found some people who experienced this problem have also had smoke or fires inside the vehicle. Vw issued a technical service bulletin (id# c 97-01-01) for a similar issue on 1999. 5 - 2001 model year Jettas, but never for the 2003 and never a recall campaign on the defective design. Vw has refused to assist in the cost of repair to the vehicle as well.