2003 Volkswagen Jetta: A Reader's Long-Term Car

How has the reliability been?

In the Vehicles list on the right side of this page, at the bottom are a few additional categories. Reader's Long-Term Cars is one of them. Here is the link:

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/Vehicles/readers-long-term-cars/

Donna

That is one clean machine! Enjoy and keep up the good work.

Thanks for the compliments. The car has been pretty reliable, knock on wood. We had to replace the stability control module, but the dealer replaced that under warranty (even though it already expired) because the previous owner was having trouble with it since day 1. The oxygen sensor had to be replaced, as well as a door lock. Also, the infamous coil packs quit on me, which required me to have it towed to the dealer. But, considering that they had a recall on it, and we got the rebate check, I don't consider it a major issue. There's been a minor electrical glitch here and there, but nothing that couldn't be solved by turning the car off and turning it back on.

The car is 7 years old and has almost 70,000 miles on it, so most of the stuff we replaced is due to wear and tear.

That's a sharp ride. As a 2003 Passat owner, with the 1.8, I look upon you Jetta drivers with some jealousy. Same engine, less weight. And you got a stick. Nice.

I've had a thing for this generation Jetta. You've got a great ride. Thanks for sharing.

electrical problems that require a key cycle aren't something I would call minor.

Otherwise, its a good looking car. I think the Jetta went downhill from here design wise

You have driven it for 21k but how many miles does the car have? At how many miles did the coil pack go out at? Having a car towed is not a major issue? I guess it might not if it happened when you were close to the dealer but what if it happened in the middle of nowhere. And "a minor electrical glitch here and there", not something I like hearing.

I should have explained myself better. The car almost has 70,000 miles, and had about 48,000 when we bought it. The coil pack went out around 60 or 61,000ish. The reason why I don't consider that a major problem is that it was a known problem and they were just starting to issue the recall. Was it inconvenient and frustrating? Absolutely. And I'm glad that they didn't go out in the middle of nowhere, I was lucky enough to have it go out in a suburban street where I could leave my car overnight. But, having read about the known problems online, I knew that the coil pack could be an issue.

Also, the "minor electrical glitch here and there" is nothing more than the stability control light occasionally staying on after starting the engine, usually after the car has been parked and it's hot outside. This by no means affects the drivability of the car, and can be cured by simply turning the engine off, and turning it back on.

Nice car. My first car was also this generation of Jetta (a VR6) and I too had it for 7 years and 70,000 miles. I still miss it. Oh here I go, getting teary eyed while commenting. Damn it, where's the Kleenex?

Nice. I had a 2000 Jetta 1.8T with a stick that was quite similar. I loved that car, but it had to be sacrificed for the expanding family. It no longer worked to transport kid and large dog without interference between the two.

Fun to drive and sporty for a small sedan, but was less than pleased with the build quality. The engine itself was fine, but lots of the little gizmos inside broke way too easily. The remote mirror control broke off at least twice. The cupholder in the dash was a disaster and spent more time broken than fixed. I was driving down the road once and the glove box latch just broke and the door fell open with a bang and sent everything all over the floor.

Then there was the timing belt. In order to change it the dealer had to remove the entire front end of the car and take a week-and-a-half. That may be dealer incompetence since I have a hard time believing VW designed it that way.

Stuff like this drove me away from VW despite the Passat or Jetta wagon being a logical upgrade. Got a Mazda6 hatch that I am happy with instead.

"This by no means affects the drivability of the car, and can be cured by simply turning the engine off, and turning it back on."

Just because a telltale doesn't come back on doesn't mean there isn't a serious problem. I would either get it looked at or get yourself a cheap OBDII reader and check out what fault(s) show up when the light comes on.