Jetta sqeaks and rattles

2001 TDI Jetta owner. Have any of you noticed variety of squeeks/rattles in doors? Somedays worse than others. Depends on road surface. Seems to be coming from under top of door trim? Is it just me or have any of you been anoyed with this problem?

It is intermittant, but I bet it is that plastic piece running the length of the door. I can actually move mine back and forth to simulate the noise. If it bothers you, take it back to the dealer. I've had the car for 30000 miles, and squeaks and rattles seem to come and go. At first it REALLY bothered me, but now I don't even notice them anymore. This is just part and parcel with owning a VW I guess. I think they try for tolerances that are too close and that is why we get these squeaks. Looks great, but sometimes a pain in the rear. The rest of the car is solid as a rock though, much more so than the Jap or American crap. Id rather have a few squeaks rather than a cheap feeling car.

John

I'll second the thoughts on Camry's being solid. My family has had three and they have all performed like troopers. Granted, they are about as exciting as a dish of vanilla ice cream, but, if you need a solid car, a Camry is a viable choice. (Toyota's trucks are good, too. 100,000 on mine and still going.)

However, having said that, my wife and I came out of the grocery one night in the middle of looking at Saturns, Camrys and Jettas and decided, right there and then, that we were still young, and since we have no kids yet, we had no reason to get a "grandma" car like the Camry.

We got the Jetta and I'm looking at picking up a Golf TDI for me!

Your mileage may vary. . .

My 2001 Jetta has similar rattles. I'm taking it back in to the dealer to let them have a go at them. It does seem somewhat temperature related.

I also have some in the dash--one behind the instrument cluster that comes and goes and the cup holder which is pretty constant.

It is annoying and doesn't do much to further the feeling of quality engineering or construction.

BigJohnO, you may not like Japanese cars, but some time spent in a Camry would surprise you. Those things are very well constructed and very solid feeling. They may be bland to drive and not particularly frugal with fuel, but they do not rattle even with 100K on the clock.

I too am getting several rattles and such. Around the left vent/headlight switch assembly, seat track bushings or frame and now one that seems to be coming from deep in the dash. For now I think I'm going to live with most of them. I don't like the thought of dismantaling the interior chasing rattles- it'll probibily just create more. This is typical VW. Interestingly many of my old jetta TD's rattles disappeared as it aged.

Focus on the beautiful sound of that engine getting 48mpg, or turn on the radio and forget about it. It's a great car but its still a machine and can't possibly be 100% void of little creaks and rattles here and there.

OK: Up goes the volume, I don't want the dash dismantled either.

Yea, I get the cornicopia of squeaks and rattles, too. But like it was said earlier, you learn to ignore them. Do like I did and get yourself a 10" subwoofer with a 250 watt amp to augment that Monsoon system. Makes all the squeaks and rattles go away.

I had some little squeaks and vibrations when I first got the car. I just ignored them and they have all disappeared. I've got a '99 New Jetta GL TDI-- 26,000 miles.

We had 3 sources of squeaks/rattles, and all have been solved. First was that the rear door locks "buzzed". Dealer hit that with some lube. Second was that the fuse door located on the drivers side of the dash rattled. I installed a small piece of foam, attached to a bit of carpet tape to fix that one. Biggest noise was the drivers seat. The seat would "clunk" upon acceleration. Dealer replaced that under warranty.

Now have 21k miles, and all is quiet, excepting the purr of the TDI engine.

My driver seat clunks also. I have the leather with seat heater and lumbar support. Did they have to replace the whole seat?

Sometimes you can't focus on the sounds of the engine or crank up the stereo...

Sure you can do that when you're alone but this is the family car we're talking about. With another family member in the car, both options are out of the question.

But really, these "workarounds" ignore the basic issue which is why can't VW build cars that don't rattle? Or maybe it's why does mine have so many rattles?

When you pay what we do for a car the size of a Jetta it's really irritating to have to deal with these kinds of annoyances.

It's particularly irritating when I fly somewhere and the rental Chevy Malibu or Hyundai Sonata (both of which are pretty flimsy cars in comparison) doesn't rattle.

I like my car, but I could love it if it didn't sound like the body was going to slowly go to pieces as the engine soldiers on well beyond 200K miles.

A diesel Camry or Accord capable of ~40 mpg would be a very tempting purchase.

Here's hoping that everyone's rattles do like think diesel's and spontaneously disappear!

Slickfisher, the dealer replaced the front seat frame, part# 1J4-881-105-FS Seat FR. Was not the whole seat.

After the frame was replaced, they sent our car to a local upholstery shop to put everything back together. No complaints on the workmanship.

Thanks,
I think I'll bring the seat issue up at the next service.