Volkswagen Jetta Iii 1998

Model Jetta Iii made in 1998 by Volkswagen got 17 consumer complains as well as 2 service bulletins. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to electrical system and engine and engine cooling. Technical service bulletines regarding engine and engine cooling and structure.

Model 1998

Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM
201583108/28/200810026848Volkswagen: exhaust heat shield, replacement guidelines. heat shields are to be inspected after completion o any type of repair to the underbody (exhaust system transmission, etc.), and if damaged, replaced. *pe12/29/2008
STRUCTURE - FRAME AND MEMBERS - UNDERBODY SHIELDS
201583108/28/200810026848Volkswagen: exhaust heat shield, replacement guidelines. heat shields are to be inspected after completion o any type of repair to the underbody (exhaust system transmission, etc.), and if damaged, replaced. *pe12/29/2008

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS
10/01/199802/23/1998
 Security remote,door locks, and panic button failed.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE
01/13/200358000
 1998 volkswagen jetta vr6 has had second ignition coilpack fail, creating a dangerous driving condition and rendering the car inoperable. car currently has 58,000 on jan. 13th., 2003 and required ignition coilpack replacement. ignition coilpack was also replaced on 06/26/2000 when vehicle had 34,119 miles. volkswagen service manager agrees that this failed prematurely, but customer complaint center refuses to acknowledge a problem exists. this problem caused vehicle to stall and sputter in highway traffic, thus causing a dangerous situation for my family and surrounding vehicles.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH
01/07/200482563101/05/2004
 The ignition switch in my car is getting worse. the first time it malfunctioned was on a cold and snowy night. i was driving along and all of a sudden the lights went out, the wipers stopped, the defroster fan stopped and the abs light went on. it was a little unsettling. the vw dealer told me it was a bad ingnition switch and it would cost about $300.oo dollars to replace. when i asked the parts department if they had the switch in stock he laughed and said oh yeah. i am now driving my car only in the daytime while i save the money to replace the switch. i have owned over 30 cars and have never had an ignition fail.*ak
10/30/20031020002
 Ignition switch. i have a faulty ignition switch. with the car running, there have been occasions when my headlights have turned off, and the brake light came on. i have seen approximately 5 postings on different message boards with the same problem. *la
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING
03/25/2004212/31/2003
 The e brake light, and the airbag light stay on once the car is started. today this problem has included the heater fan not working, the headlights will not come on, and the wipers will not work. if i leave the light switch on, and leave the wiper switch on, i have found i can pull the high beam switch, and the wipers come on.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM
09/01/200318350308/23/2003
 Leaking coolant from the coolant overflow bottle migrated up the electrical low indicator sensor wires, causing damage the relay control board and alarm sensor module. this problem is known to volkswagen as a coolant migration problem. *jb
OTHER
10/01/199802/23/1998
 Security remote,door locks, and panic button failed.
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
08/02/2000209/01/1998
 Persistent problems w/auto transmission. several parts were previously replaced but problems continue. sudden disappearance of 4th gear; stalling; straining, etc. dealer contacted. *ak
STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR
10/01/199802/23/1998
 Security remote,door locks, and panic button failed.
VISIBILITY - POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
02/14/2006110000308/04/2005
 I bought a used 1998 vw jetta for my daughter. good car fun to drive but one day as she was driving the rear passenger window fell down into the door. a few weeks later the passenger side front window fell into the door. most recently during the summer the driver's front window fell into the door. all of these incidents could startle a driver or shatter the window. currently she has the window taped up on the driver's door and it hinders her visibility. vw said it would cost $485 per door!!!! you know the driver's rear door will go soon and it just doesn't seem right that we should have to invest another close to $2000 just to keep the windows up! this is a common problem but when i called vw they thanked me for being a loyal vw customer and asked me if i name my cars...vw knows that the plastic bottom on the regulator fails and they replace them with metal ones. they should do this for everyone that has these cars. i believe in 2001 the regulators with metal bottoms are oem. *nm
03/03/2006302/21/1998
 1998 jetta glx. another window regulator default. i'm original owner, third time this has occurred. back passenger window twice, no one ever sits back there and the window is hardly ever used. sat. driver's window, ker-plunk. really annoying, window down and it's raining. had to tape the opening closed. i'm paying for the repair, i know vw of america will not. between this issue and the body molding constantly falling off, i doubt i'll buy another vw.*jb
08/26/20053
 I have a 1998 vw jetta gls. i have previously replaced a window regulator at a cost of $450, now the remaining 3 have failed within a week. this is a known problem with vw and vw has acknowledged it with service bulletins,etc. vw usa customer care has refused to cover the repair. *jb
08/04/2005302/28/2002
 This is the third time this has happened to my same vehicle, all happened the same way. each time a different window. the power window button will start making noise when you raise/lower the window, then the window will only close half way. if you press the power window button again the window will drop into the door. in the past it happened to my 2 back passenger windows. each time vw told me it was the window regulator and it cost about $350 to fix it. since they are back passenger windows the dealer told me they could just prop the window up with a piece of wood much cheaper. today the exact same sequence of events happened to my drivers side window, since its a driver window i most likely will have to pay out the $350 to replace the faulty regulator. looking at www.myvwlemon.com i was surprised to see that this is an extremely common occurrence with all makes of vw yet vw accepts no responsibility for a faulty part.*jb
11/03/2004500004
 The power windows on my 1998 vw jetta iii failed. i've experienced this occasion 4 times since i've had my car. currently both passenger and driver side windows are not functioning. the powers windows would not roll up or down. i have not had them repaired since its a very expensive rapair. i've searched the internet and it seems that a lot of 1998 volkswagon jetta owners experience the same problems i have. i brought my car to the volkswagon dealer and they said that this was a common problem with the type of car i have.*ak
08/13/2004103000109/17/1997
 Driving on freeway at 65mph and the right rear windowed lowered abruptly and would not raise up. 4 year old son in carseat was next to window. had to pull off on berm and calm him down. window would not lift up. subsequent visit to dealer that day resulted in a charge of $500 to replace the window regulator. vw dealer stated that they see a lot of these failures in vw's. *ak
08/04/20041060002
 Consumer was driving the vehicl when the rear passenger window fell down. approximately six months earlier rear driver's window fell down.. the windows were currently taped up.*ak
01/01/200320000211/26/1997
 Passenger side power window motor failed at 20,000 miles and just recently driver side window motor failed by cable in motor snapping

Car dealers selling


StateCityZipNamePhone
FLTAMPALINDELL VOLKSWAGEN
ILMT. PROSPECT60056AUTOBARN847-392-6300
OHDUBLINMIDWESTERN AUTOGROUP614-889-2571
OHDUBLIN43017MIDWESTERN AUTO GROUP614 889-2571
ORBEAVERTONHERZOG-MEIER
WAAUBURNAUTO POINT
WABALLARDCARTER VW