2005 Volkswagen Jetta TDI: Soft and Flabby

If that's what it feels like then someone blew the shocks on that car. VW's have long suspension travel to deal with bumps, they can lean in corners to a point but then set themselves up. My 2000 Golf with 77k miles was still pretty stiff an di bought it off Ebay.

You guys should really looking into getting a Shine Real Street suspension on this car. http://www.srsvw.com/parts/suspensions/ It makes for awesome handling.

+1 for buying some new dampers.

i drove a 2002 jetta on a test drive and thought the suspension too soft and floaty as well. great for the highway...

also drove a friend's base model 2002 golf years back. thought it great on the highway but the suspension was too soft.

67,000 miles? Volkswagens are over-engineered....... as in they are over-engineered to fall apart after the warranty period.

At least the paint still looks good....

"as in they are over-engineered to fall apart after the warranty period."

What has fallen apart? Struts are a wear item and this car has 67,000 miles on it. They should be changed around now anyhow.

67,000 miles strut change...

I've not had a car that needed struts/springs replaced under 100,000 miles...
Especially since this is such a light car...
I suppose that's the mean and occasionally you get a car below the mean.

My 2001 (I think..) Golf 1.8T's suspension felt great new. By 10,000 miles it was all flabby and soft. On the bright side, this was the least of my issues with the car by then...

The OEM struts should still be ok at 67K...unless it's been off roading. However, the OEM Front Strut Mounts are known to give out in as little as a 30K. They are cheap to buy, by a PITA to change.

http://www.vw-auto-parts-wholesale.com/catalog/?N=11853+4294965312+1732+9249

@Firstwagon: Maybe on a junk VW or Suzuki but not on a quality car unless it's been off roading its entire life.

The OEM struts and rear shocks were completely done by 27k miles on my '03 Golf. Once I pulled everything apart I could fully compress all of them pretty quickly.

Replaced them with Bilstein TC which were far better than OEM.

billt9, shocks are A) of very very variable quality and B) usually used for far longer than their manufacturers would reccomend.

VW enthusiasts reccomend swapping out the shocks at 50,000 miles (as well as a couple pertinent shock-related suspension bushings). I think that's too soon for all but the most performance minded drivers, but at 46,000 miles on my GTI I can start to notice that its dampers aren't at 100% anymore (still a long way off from "shot").

As for the suspension, yes VW suspensions are soft, but they use their softness to maximize the effectiveness of the suspension's camber curve to produce large amounts of grip. This is how a basic VW hatch or sedan on skinny all-seasons can produce skidpad grip in the realm of 0.84-0.87g which is, notably, out of reach of a surprising number of sport sedans costing twice as much. Of course there's much more to driving dynamics than just skidpad grip, but I can definitely say that after having taken my GTI to Laguna Seca and Buttonwillow for a total of 5 track days now, the stock VW suspension is "soft but effective", allowing excellent grip, surprisingly good transitional capabilities, and exceptional stability. The VW engineers did what they did with these cars VERY purposefully, and while the approach is somewhat unconventional, it does work.

I think the driver must have just gotten out of the Evo or R8 or GTR. 100% serious. Jetta's aren't "soft" - they are refined and elegant yet fun and inexpensive. They go down the road better than any other car under $40k. Then when the curves come, they take a set and get it done. Might not be "flat," but its a perfect compromise for most people.

"@Firstwagon: Maybe on a junk VW or Suzuki but not on a quality car unless it's been off roading its entire life."

LOL.... VW's and Suzukis aren't junk but that's off topic.

The life of shocks and struts can vary a lot and it has little or nothing to do with the brand of car they are on. Few (if any) car manufactors make their own struts. How the car is used (even without "off roading") and when the driver "decides" they are worn out is the major factor.

I know people who change them every 40k or 50K miles because they can feel the difference and I know people who never change them unless they fail altogether because they are too clueless to notice.

I'll bet they drive your "quality cars".

I don't know if you guys know, but the timing belt and water pump should be changed really soon on this car... Most Jettas/Beetles/Golf's Go between 65k miles and 90k miles... Have yours checked out asap so it doesn't leave you guys stranded. Consider this a warning.

Also, have the thermostat checked out too.

Time for some Bilstein HDs! Greatest thing I did to my golf. I used to be envious of my wife's e39's handling, not anymore.

Jeez. My '99 Civic still has its original shocks at 140k. Doesn't sound like VWs are the overengineered ones.