2002 Volkswagen GTI electrical problems

Filed Jan 21, 2011 · Electrical · 110,000 miles · RI

2002 vw gti vr6 coil pack failure while driving on the highway almost got rearended because car slowed down and bucked. 3rd coil pack to fail on this car. The 2nd time failure damaged my o2 sensors which had to replaced due to car running rich, I believe. Coil packs on vr6's need to be addressed.

Filed Mar 8, 2006 · Electrical · 98,830 miles · NJ

Left work after sunset. On my way home my headlights stopped working. I then noticed that my turn signals, wipers, and defroster stopped working as well. Luckily I am a mechanic so I was able to find the problem as soon as I got home. That was after driving 5 miles with no lights at all on the exterior of the car. The problem was the ignition switch. When I took everything apart I noticed that the wire and connector was melted. I replaced the ignition switch, melted wire, and connector. I have the old part and the receipt. My only concern is that my car could have caught fire.

Filed Feb 28, 2006 · Electrical · 50,750 miles · ID

Check engine light came on, car lost power. I figured it was an engine coil, because this has happened to me before, last time it was covered under warranty, #6 coil. Since I was 30 miles away from dealer, I took my 2002 gti to a local mechanic, who diagnosed the problem as the # 5 ignition coil. I called the dealership to find out if there was a recall or extended warranty on this part since this was the second one to fail. Dealer said "no recall and the charge would be about $200.00 since the vehicle is no longer under warranty. Vehicle has 50,850 miles at this time. Since it wasn't covered, I had it fixed locally. Gti has the 24 valve vr 6 engine.

Filed Jul 28, 2003 · Electrical · 7,502 miles · GA

Engine running rough, possible coil pack in ignition failure.

Filed Mar 31, 2003 · Electrical · 37,700 miles · IL

Had a coil pack failure causing car to stall and decrease in power which almost caused an accident while driving through an intersection. Vw should issue a recall with this problem.

Filed Mar 7, 2003 · Electrical · 7,512 miles · MD

I have a 2002 vw gti 1.8t. The ignition coils have failed three separate times. Each time I was driving the vehicle in traffic on the interstate, and almost caused an accident. The car would only drive at 30 MPH. I hesitate to drive the vehicle because one of the faulty parts( the part number ends in I)is still in my car. Volkswagen will only replace the defective parts when they become defective. The problem can lead to a serious accident. I feel my safety is in jeopardy every time I drive the car!

Filed Feb 2, 2003 · Electrical · 4,700 miles · NJ

I have a 2002 volkswagen gti 1.8t with 4700 miles at the time of this common coil pack failure. I was on my way to work when I was making a left turn at a busy intersection. One of my coil packs went while turning onto main road and causing my car to sputter and lose power. On coming traffic had slam on their brakes to avoid hitting me. Thankfully an accident was averted. This is a safety issue. These coil packs are failing at epidemic levels. Major newspapers are doing articles on this problem. My car had to be towed while I waited in freezing temperatures and I missed work. Vw will only replace bad coil packs as they fail and my dealer admits that it will happen again. They replaced the bad coil pack but I still have 3 that are going to fail at some point. Can you imagine living with this in your mind? Please do something about this because it is a dangerous situation.

Filed Jan 31, 2003 · Electrical · 24,859 miles · GA

Had two coils go out on my 2002 gti 1.8t as I was leaving my house. Car lost all power and was un driveable. Had to be towed to the dealer. Only the two failed coils were replaced leaving me to worry about when and where the others will fail causing my car to become once again un drivable.

Filed Jan 31, 2003 · Electrical · 29,985 miles · OH

Ignition coil pack failure

Filed Jan 30, 2003 · Electrical · 10,644 miles · NH

I bought a new 2002 volkswagen golf gti 1.8t on june 22, 2002. On january 29, 2003 I had to have it towed to the dealership where I had purchased it for the #2 ignition coil failure. At that time, the car only had 10,600 miles on it. Now, as I drive down route 93 from nh to mass each day for work, I brace myself for the time that the next coil fails. Each time this happens, there is a considerable loss in power, to the point that the car can stall. The car begins to "buck" and stagger, and at highway speeds, this becomes very dangerous. As volkswagen is well aware, this is an epidemic problem with the 1.8t engines in all of their cars. They refuse to replace all 4 coils at once. Therefore, it's just a matter of time that this happens again to my car, as well as hundreds of thousands of buyers that have either experienced this problem already or will be. There needs to be a recall on these parts, or at the very least, an investigation on the ignition coils and the loss of safety associated with the comparable loss of power. Hopefully, this can be done before someone gets injured or killed.