Problems with my new TDI

[Middleton]

I just got a 99 Jetta GLS TDI about 2 months ago and I'm sad to say that I've had quite a few problems with it. My sunroof broke after 2 weeks (slider came off it's guides) which is now partially fixed (parts are on a big back order)... and now the paint is coming off of my front bumper. In addition to that, I have some sort of sqeaking/flexing sound in my passenger door.

I guess I would like your advice. I've been reading the stuff here for many months, and it's been a big help. I'm going after work today to my dealer to talk about this. It remains to be seen if they will cover the paint under the warranty. What should I expect out of Volkswagen? Should I expect some sort of additional warranty or some compensation of some sort? Please give me any feedback you may have. Thanks to all.

 

[mickey]

If the paint was damaged by rocks or debris, you're out of luck. If it's just peeling for no reason, they owe you a paint job on the bumper. (That would be covered under the 2/24K warranty.) The sunroof is obviously covered, as well. (Sounds like a typical sunroof to me. That's why I don't buy them.)

-mickey

 

[Craig]

I agree with mickey's comments on sunroofs. But a broken one after two weeks is real bad. So is peeling paint!

Just curious Middleton, what is your paint color? Is it metallic?

I have seen some metallic paints (on non-VWs) that have been more prone to peeling than non-metallic ones. Like sunroofs, I try to avoid them. But maybe metallic paints are much better today.

 

[Robber]

What about a manual sunroof? I have been thinking of having an aftermarket put in. No electronics. I definitely don't want leakage though.

I also have a squeak in my driver side door that just recently showed up when the frame flexes. Like when I go around a corner or go over large bumps.

 

[N Dennis]

So where are the Jettas and NB's assembled?

 

[mickey]

NBs come from Puebla, Mexico. I don't know for sure about the A4 Jetta. I think the Golfs are from Germany. Getting a TDI Bug gives you a little extra bonus, if you don't trust good old fashioned Latin American craftsmanship: The engines are made in Germany, unlike the Argentine 2.0 gas motors.

-mickey

p.s. For those who don't know, the Puebla plant also produces original Type 1 air-cooled Beetles right alongside the New Beetles. They still sell jillions of those things south of the border. A company in the US says they can get you a brand new, federalized Beetle for a mere $12,000! No, thanks. I already have a self-propelled lawn mower.

[This message has been edited by mickey (edited May 25, 1999).]

 

[Middleton]

Now that I've been to my dealer, I guess I jumped the gun... here's the story.

The sunroof parts are STILL on backorder. To clarify, the sunroof itself wasn't broken, just the slider just below the roof. My dealer says they are waiting for these parts for several clients and that they seem to be seeing this problem a lot. When you try to open/close the slider some plastic guides snap and the slider can't slide anymore. The sunroof itself (including the seal and the electronics) still works fine... but without the slider the glass can't open.

As for the paint, they are going to cover that under warranty too (to my surprise and relief)... the autobody people said that sometimes when making the plastic molds (for my bumper) the plant gets a little over zealous with the silicone lube and put too much on... then they have problems with paint sticking. So... that's all covered.

Thirdly my door was making weird noises... one of the techs got into my car and we drove around. Turns out it was the locking pin on the passenger side door. The tech said it just needed to be repositioned and then the noise would go away. (also under warranty)

Craig: my paint is Black.

N Dennis: Jetta's final assembly is in Mexico.

Thanks for all of your help everyone. If anyone has any more suggestions please submit.

 

[dparnell]

I've had some of the same problems---my 1999 Golf's sunroof broke upon delivery when the salesman was showing how to use it. It took about 5 weeks to get the parts and the slider jammed and came out of its track in about a week---that was over a month ago. Still waiting.
The paint seems to be exceptionally soft---very prone to dings and scratches---I have a 1995 Nissan 200SX with less. The dealer said it was not covered. I am NOT at all impressed with VW paint, at least not on my indigo blue Golf.

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[sljkr]

Ditto on the sunroof. My NB roof does not close properly when you turn the dial to the "closed" detent. It stops tilted partway up. I have to close it using the key from outside. Started after about a week. Haven't been back to the dealer to find out what they have to do to correct it. Would rather have done without the sunroof, but couldn't turn down silver TDI NB after only a 6 week wait when most said to expect 6 months.

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99 Silver NB TDI

 

[CJ Pugliese]

When I took delivery of my '98 Jetta TDI last November, the passenger side sun visor was missing. Of course I let the dealer know this before I drove it off of the lot. They were surprised to see this. They ordered one for me and it took 3 weeks to get it. They also could not produce an owners manual at delivery. It also took 3 weeks to get that. Somebody should give my local dealer a lesson in quality control.

 

[Olli]

CJ,

I hope that you wrote VWOA a letter of complaint. VWOA needs to here about what is going on (VWAG too) the dealer is just that, a dealer.

Dr. Piech has these dillusional ideas that VW can compete with BMW & Mercedes. The man must be drunk! In N.A. anyway he can forget about it. His dealer network is his achiles heel. The dealers service dept. may be the weakest link. This whole API rating issue has become absolutely ridiculous. My dealer honestly believes that the API rating means viscosity! What???? This was a service writer. The man should be fired, remember at this point he is representing VW.

Initial quality of current VW products can not meet that of either BMW or M-B. No way!
I love my NB TDI but.... why oh why should I be bringing it back for a nasty tranny/shift linkage rattle/vibration??? There is a TSB out for this problem. I will have to leave my car over night since it is a 4 hour repair!

I just had my NB in for the 5k. When I got back in the car, I noticed what looked like simply some black dirt on the passenger seat (grey leather) I thought nothing of it. But then I noticed it all over the dash, on the console, and the back seat. It smudged real bad, I think it was soot. I was watching the Tech as he worked on my NB. At one point he blew something with air. This is proberly where the soot came from. BTW , he left both windows down, which allowed the soot to enter the car. Compete with BMW & M-B?

Did they wash my car? NO. My Lexus always gets a wash, and I am prety sure that M-B and BMW dealers do the same.

Paint quality. I look at paint with a different eye. I was a pro detailer and I have a lot of experience in custom painting. The paint quality on my NB is just so-so. On a scale from 1-10, I would rate it a 6.5. (we also have a 99 Lexus RX 300 that paint rates a 9) Of course I am rating the paint on the fact that it is OEM. I would never compare a custom job to OEM.

I intentionally did not want to wait for the sunroof because I was worried about problems. Why are there problems? VW has been making sliding sunroofs since 1964!!

Sorry about ranting. I love my NB. But why must the end user do all the quality control?


Olli

 

[mickey]

I'd say it has a lot to do with NBs costing 1/2 to 1/3 as much a a run-of-the-mill Mercedes or BMW. That explains the lack or "red carpet treatment" at the dealers. But it certainly doesn't explain the lack of training or the spotty quality of the cars themselves. There's no reason an $18,000 NB can't be as well built as an $18,000 Toyota Corolla! I wonder if it's more of a problem for the Latin American VWs than for the German ones. I believe Passats are from Germany, and one publication (Consumer Reports) recently rated the Passat as the most trouble-free car sold in North America over the first year of ownership! (That includes MB and BMW, and even more surprising Toyota and Honda!) Obviously, it can be done. That being said, my '99 NB is the first new car I've ever purchased (including Toyotas and Nissans) which was absolutely flawless when I picked it up, and after a quick 11,000 miles is still perfect.

-mickey

p.s. I'd agree with your assessment of the paint quality. It looks very nice, but seems to be a bit "soft", especially on the plastic bumper. I'll bet I could gouge it out with my fingernail! The award for the all-time worst corporate paint jobs has to go to Subaru. I traded a '96 Legacy for my NB, and at 40,000 miles the paint was almost completely sandblasted off the front bumper. What little remained was peeling off in sheets. My extended family has owned several Subarus in the '90s, and they're all like that. Great cars, mechanically speaking, but really bad paint and cheezy frameless windows!

[This message has been edited by mickey (edited May 27, 1999).]

 

[JRZTDI]

We just purchased a '99 new body style Jetta GLS TDI with the luxury package. We love it so far but have had similar problems as mentioned below... The most significant to date (ANd probably the most dangerous) was a problem with the car cutting out between 1200-1500 RPM under light throttle. Very scary to say the least while trying to cross an intersection. We brought it back to the dealer one week and 1,000 miles after taking delivery and they traced it back to a bad ECU. The ECU was replaced and it has not happened since. Also, the glowlug light kept coming on out of nowhere, they also traced that back to the ECU. The sunroof visor on ours also came off the track while trying to close it. This was fixed while addressing the ECU problem. And finally, we could not get ANY A.M. radio stations to come in, FM worked fine. They replaced the antenna base and the problem was resolved. What's strange about the radio is that, the service manager told me that this has been a common occurence since moving the antenna to the roof, however, the antenna base was replace and the problem went away... Go figure. All in all, this is a fun car to drive and is a great experience as this is our first dip into the diesel pool...

 

[BRUSSELS BELGIAN]

Well,you guys gave me an excuse to pontificate about quality control problems. My 97 Passat TDI was assembled in Brussels, Belgium; since I am also of Belgian descent, hence my "nickname." As a mechanic friend of mine once said:"the problem with vw 's is that they are great engines and transmissions surrounded by a Volvswagen!" This has been my experience: a powerful, economical and entertaining car plagued with: blown radio; blown speakers; bulbs that burn out early and often; soft paint; little plastic doo-hickeys and phillips screws either breaking or falling out; finally, my exhaust problem that vW pretends is not a problem-did I forget anything? Forget competing with BMW or MB. This car is a project compared to my (supposed) back up car, a 92 Mazda MX-6 with 122,000 miles (starting to get broken in) built by unfairly criticized US labor in Michigan. Without the diesel, this is a mediocre car at best. If you took the TDI engine and dropped it in a Mazda, it would be the greatest car in the world- and cost under $25,000. That gives me an idea: what a great merger!

 

[dennez]

My Euro (German built) Golf4 is anything but a troublesome car.
Haven't had any problems whatsoever with it
and i think it's quality and finishing beats
the hell out of every crappy japanese car
that's out there. My car has no rattles, my parents mazda (same age) does! (And it looks like crap, combined with the most boring, cheap looking interior ever seen)Putting a volkswagen engine
in a mazda would still leave you with a mazda.

---
Indigo Golf4 TDI

 

[BKmetz]

The little plastic sunroof guide broke on my car some time ago. If this happens it's real easy to close the sunroof. Remove the two small phillips screws that hold the wind deflector to the car. Then you can remove the wind deflector and with this out of the way the sunroof will close. I ordered a few extra of those little plastic clips. It takes about ten seconds to change one.

[This message has been edited by BKmetz (edited May 30, 1999).]