2002 Volkswagen GTI: sudden loss of power

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 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 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.

Filed Jan 29, 2003 · Engine · CA

While driving the vehicle lose power . It's the ignition coil. Ph

Filed Jan 28, 2003 · Electrical · 7,934 miles · MD

I have a 2002.5 volkswagen gti 1.8t with a 4-cylinder turbocharged engine. All vw engine ignition systems are affected. The coil or coilpack fails due to poor manufacture or design. In some cases multiple cylinders will loose power. I lost cylinder #1 when accelerating away from an intersection. I lost cylinder #2 while attempting to merge with traffic on surface streets. In both cases the significant lose of horsepower could have caused me to remain in an intersection longer than expected and cause an accident. Vw is currently replacing failed coils free of charge and providing rental cars when a replacement cannot be performed immediately. However, vw will not replace all coils, just those that fail. This leaves the others to fail and potentially cause accidents. I must drive with the knowledge that I could lose power from one or more cylinders at any time. This is especially dangerous at highway speeds and heavy traffic or when crossing any intersection where cross-traffic has the right-of-way.

Filed Jan 27, 2003 · Electrical · 120 miles · IA

Coilpacks are prone to failure, causing the car to violently lose power. Also having an issue where the car is trying to start itself again with the clutch depressed.

Filed Jan 24, 2003 · Electrical · 8,660 miles · GA

Engine coil failure. Car lost power and was only running on 3 of 4 cylinders.

Filed Jan 21, 2003 · Electrical · 5,200 miles · MI

I purchased a new, 2002 vw gti 1.8t in august 1 of 2002 from howard cooper volkswagen in ann arbor, michigan. On december 16, 2002, my gti with only 5200 miles started rumbling and shaking violently while being driven in a cold morning. The ''check engine'' light began flashing, and the car lost power and was unable to accelerate. I researched and I found countless vw and audi owners who had experienced the same failures on their vehicles with the 1.8t engine on more than one ignition coil. The car sat in the dealers' lot for more than two weeks waiting for an ignition coil that was on national backorder.

Filed Jan 20, 2003 · Electrical · 2,900 miles · MD

Ignition coil failure on my 2002 vw gti 337. Coil on cylinder #3 failed, cause rough idle and signifigent loss of engine power.

Filed Dec 17, 2002 · Electrical · 6,000 miles · NJ

Part failure on my 2002 vw gti. Coilpacks fail and cause car to lose major loss of power and reliability. Undriveable. Almost caused a accident when passing a large truck. This has happened twice.