2001 Volkswagen Jetta: sudden loss of power

Filed Jul 7, 2010 · Driver assistance · 61,000 miles · CA

While driving on the highway at 65 MPH my car lost all power and the engine shut off. I was almost killed by highway traffic. I had repeatedly taken my car to the dealer for a check engine light that kept coming on more than 8 times. Finally my warranty expired and the vw dealer told me they could not fix the problem. I was repeatedly charged for this same problem and even had the check engine light come on as I drove it away from the dealer within 5 minutes after having it "fixed" and charged again without them honoring their previous work. I do not feel safe in this car.

Filed Jun 11, 2010 · Engine, Lights · 100,000 miles · MI

The vw jetta vr6 2001 that I purchased last year for $7,000 (financing through my credit union) is a lemon. I have had it less than a year and already spent $2000 on minor repairs and I estimate that right now it needs about $4000 more in the next few months. I believe that sundance improperly sold this car, knowing that a massive amount of things are wrong with it. I had a garage with which they are affiliated look at it and completely misrepresented the shape of the car. Since acquiring it I have been plagued with difficulties with it, from head lights mysteriously going out, to the water pump failing, to the serpentine coil failing, now to the air compressor failing, as well as the computer to the A/C, and today it is the epc code (which I believe has something to do with either the catalytic converter, or computer - but the thing is losing power and the brake lights don't work which is a major safety hazard), not to mention the transmission slips and will need to be replaced. Having been plagued with these issues, I have come to find out that there are many other vw jetta vr6 2001 owners who are adamant that this car is a manufactured lemon. Vw needs to be in some way held accountable - all of us have had nightmarish lives and are paying for the defects every day.

Filed Oct 21, 2009 · Engine · 153,000 miles · NY

2001 volkswagen jetta wolfsburg edition: cylinder 3 misfired due to a faulty coilpack. Coilpack was replaced, however cylinders 2 and 4 misfire. When the mechanic tested the coilpacks, they were working properly. Presently, random cylinders continue to misfire even though brand new coil packs are installed. This causes my vehicle to lose power and idle very rough. The check engine light continues to flash which is causing damage to my brand new cat converter.

Filed Mar 10, 2009 · Electrical · MO

There were no events leading up to the failure. The epc light comes on sporadically, thus making you lose power in the middle of traffic. It is very scary when you have no power in rush hour traffic and you have to pull the car over and restart hoping the light will go off until you can get to your destination. The check engine light stays on all the time for apparently no reason. We have had it diagnosed but with no results. Help!!

Filed Apr 20, 2008 · Engine · 103,604 miles · MD

1). Incident happened without warning. Vehicle stalled out while driving, leading to a loss of power and manueverable. Owner had to drift into right-hand lane to find a place to pull over. 2). No damage or injury was caused by the incident, as there was minimal traffic on the highway at that time of day. However, losing power suddenly and without warning could be disastrous in heavier traffic situations or adverse road conditions. Consequence was to limp to car dealership to have them diagnose and make repair to vehicle at owner's out-of-pocket expense. 3). Car dealerships diagnosis found faulty engine speed sensor (part # 06a-906-433-c). Sensor was replaced at owner's expense.

Filed May 25, 2007 · Electrical · 132,500 miles · TX

I have recently had the ignition coil on my 2001 volkswagon jetta gls vr6 go bad again for the third time. This causes sudden power loss while on the road and could be extremely dangerous on highways or other high traffic areas.

Filed Jan 31, 2007 · Electrical · 46,205 miles · CA

While leaving to run errands with my 1 year old child in the carmy 2001 jetta glx vr6 started losing power as if it would stall. The check engine light and emissions warning lights came on. When the vehicle was taken to mckenna vw they said I had a bad ignition coil, wires, and spark plugs. While researching the problem I found that this is an epidemic level issue with 2001 jettas. A vw press release contained information that they were issuing a recall, however vw refused to include my car in the recall for reasons they will not disclose. They are selectively choosing which cars to fix, although this problem is very wide spread among all their vehicles. Please investigate this issue as consumers are getting faced with $1100 bills for each ignition coil defect - I believe mine has 6. This is only the first one, however I've read other complaints that multiple coils are failing causing near-accidents.

Filed Sep 25, 2006 · Brakes, Electrical · 38,000 miles · AE

We purchased our 2001 jetta 1.8l turbo wolfsburg edition in jan of 2003 from a certified used vw dealer. When we drove off the lot, not 5 minutes later, the turbo seemed to fail and we began to lose power, epc light came on, check engine light came on. We immediately took car back to dealer and they fixed problem. Everything ran fine until sept 2003 our check engine light came on, shortly after we received notice that there had been a recall regarding ignition coils. We took our vehicle to a local dealership where they replaced the coils free of charge. This solved the light issue for a couple of months, then it came back on again, this time when idling fluctuating between 700 RPM and about 1500 RPM and stalling on occasion. We took the car to a local garage and they ran a diagnostics, cleared the failures to see if that solved the problem, which it did temporarily...ever since we have been running diagnostics trying to determine why our check engine light keeps coming on, each time the problem is temporarily solved. At first the mechanic thought it was the airflow sensor, but once they looked closer determined it was a different problem. We have had corrosion removed, connections cleaned, and our lambda sensor replaced. Now our car continues to run and idle poorly and sporadically, the car stalls when you slow, the turbo works on occasion, losses power when accelerating, when car first starts it barely moves with accelerator floored, brakes are very sluggish, sometimes really having to push to get car to stop. No one seems to know what the problem is. Everytime we take it in multiple errors pop up, last time there was 17 fault codes, mechanic keeps going down the list of what to check hoping to find the problem. The bill just keeps getting bigger and nothing has been solved. Recently think that the original issue and current issues are one in the same as symptoms are becoming more similar. Help!

Filed Apr 5, 2006 · Electrical · 69,400 miles · IL

2001 volkswagen jetta glx vr6. In october of 2004 noticed the engine surging every once in awhile when accelerating. Eventually, the mil went on and there was a drastic loss of power. After bringing it into the dealer, it was deemed to be a $700 ignition coil pack. Research on the internet found that vw released a recall in february of 2003 stating a recall on all 2001 coil packs. I mentioned this to the dealer, and was told that my VIN was not included. I logged a complaint with vw customer care and they did nothing. In march of 2006, the exact same thing happened and once the mil light went on, I brought it into the dealer. This time it was the ignition coil pack, wires and spark plugs and they charged $1200. When I explained I had the same issue 14k miles and 17 months earlier, I was told that they couldn't do anything, as the coil pack was past its 12k mile warranty. The dealer stated they could do nothing for me and again referred me to vw customer care, who could care less as my VIN # was not included in the recall. This is completely unacceptable and unsafe, especially due to loss of power and surging. I am in process of writing a demand letter to vw, which will most likely not do much and will force me to take vw to small claims court to repay me for all of the repairs made.

Filed Nov 16, 2005 · Electrical · NJ

I have a 2001 volkswagen jetta gls vr6. In april of 2003 I experienced problems with my car where especially in wet conditions, the car would hesitate and misfire then the check engine light would blink on and off. It got to the point where it was difficult to drive because it was losing power. I took it to the dealership and they diagnosed it as the ignition coil pack was bad. They explained that this was an expensive part and that it would cost over $1300.00 to repair and was not covered under warranty. I did some research and found that many similar volkswagens were having the same problems and the manufacturer had a recall out on the coil pack. I contacted volkswagen and they claimed that my engine was not a part of the recall but that they would give me a courtesy and cover the cost of the repairs. In october of 2005 I began to have the problem with my car again. I brought it back to the dealership and again they diagnosed that my ignition coil pack was bad. I again did research and read several articles online that vw was recalling the coil pack for my particular model. I contacted vw and they would not do anything about it because in their system, my car didn't qualify. I explained that there has only been about 20,000 miles put on the car since the last occurance and to no avail would they help me out. They say that because of the age and mileage on my car they would not do another courtesy and because my VIN number does not qualify for the coil pack recall, it will not be covered under the recall. I have had several other friends with vw jettas the same year as mine and they have had the same problem. Why hasn't vw listed my car in the recall. Having this issue twice in the short lifespan of the car signals that there is a default in the part and it should be taken care of by the manufacturer.

Filed Aug 17, 2005 · Electrical · 90,000 miles · VA

Yesterday my 2001 volkswagen jetta vr6 started shaking slightly when I started it and at first I thought nothing of it, but as soon as I got out of the parking spot I was in the mil light (malfunction indicator light) came on and emission workshop started blinking on the little screen on my dash. There was a major loss of power when driving the car, I had to nurse it home! I have been reading up on these issues and apparently for vws and audi's (certain models) of the years 2001-2003 have been having the same problem with the ignition coil. The sad thing is, when you actually call the vw service number they ask for your VIN and if your vehicle isn't in the span for that recall they do nothing to help you. Yet they are supposed to be working on fixing the ignition coil problem with all 2001-2003 models.

Filed Aug 2, 2005 · Electrical · 39,215 miles · MA

Dt: the consumer stated 2001 volkswagen jetta had problems with the lights staying on. Also had a loss power issue. Consumer took vehicle to the dealership to have this problem fixed. After the car left the dealership it ran fine for a couple of hours. Then the problem recurred. . The lights were coming back on, and the car was still losing power. The car has been to the dealership twice. The was kept in the shop for three weeks. The car was under warranty both times when the problem occurred. The consumer thought that the dealership was not fixing the car correctly. The first time the car would not go over 5 MPH. Then second time it would not go over 60 MPH, then it took more time than usual to get up to 60 MPH. This problem happened for about 3 weeks. The manufacturer has not been contacted at this point. The dealership told the consumer that the problem was electrical .