2002 Volkswagen GTI: engine stalls while driving

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 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 27, 2003 · Electrical · 15,000 miles · FL

3 ignition coils failed while driving on two separate occasions. This resulted in vehicle stalling on highway. Consumer had to wait 4 weeks for replacement coils in both incidents. Dealer adviser consumer will not replace remaining coils until failure. First incident occurred mid-october 2002. 2nd incident in december 2002.

Filed Jan 26, 2003 · Electrical · 7,250 miles · OR

Car was running rough, smelled bad, and was considered un-drivable by my dealer. Vw towed the car in. In about 30 minutes, my dealer informed me that one coil pack had failed and they would have to order the part. I asked if they could just replace all 6 of the coil packs as there seems to be a history of them failing. Dealer said vw would not approve such a preventative maintenance action. They also told me the part was on a national backorder and they did not know when they would receive it. I was provided $25/day for a rental car. I'm not too upset with the handling of this one incident, but I'm very concerned that there are arguably 5 other 'time bombs' in my car waiting to fail and leave me stranded in a much less convienent manner than this first failure. With such a high number of coil pack failures in vw's line [both the 1.8turbo and the vr6], I wish vw would issue a recall once the part supply is available. This problem along with a chronic warm-start stalling issues has resulted in me not being able to recommend vw to my pals.

Filed Jan 15, 2003 · Engine · 7,710 miles · TX

Engine computer defect. Auto stalls and engine RPM's surge after engine has achieved normal operating temperature and user starts after driving and turning off car.

Filed Jan 13, 2003 · Electrical · 5,700 miles · NY

2 out of 4 coil packs failed while driving causing the vehicle to stall. Manufacturer is aware of problem, but will not replace component until they all fail.*jb.

Filed May 23, 2002 · Engine · VA

The car stalled repeatedly while being driven. It also stalls out at highway speeds which can be dangerous. The dealership has yet to determine the cause. The vehicle is unsafe to drive. *ts *jb ***dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12-12-02 cut over to artemis***762226