2001 Volkswagen Jetta: hesitation when accelerating

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 Oct 5, 2005 · Engine · 40,000 miles · WA

My wife owns a 2001 volkswagen jetta vr6 glx. Currently it has about 40,000 miles on it. In september we noticed that the vehicle was not accelerating properly. When the engine is cold, the car hesitates and feels as if it is about to stall. When it warms up the car works perfectly. We took it to the vw dealer last month to correct the problem and perform the needed service. They replaced the battery (which was needed) and performed the service, but did not fix or address the stalling issue. Their thought was that the stalling was related to the battery. When the stalling continued my wife took the car to a mieneke repair shop. They ran diagnostics but were not able to identify the problem. They did not charge us and suggested we take the car back to the dealer. On october 3, 2005 my wife called the dealer (dick hannah at the vancouver automall) to make an appointment. They asked what the problem was, and when she mentioned the stalling they immediately knew the problem. Before my wife could explain what the problem was, they mentioned that they continuously get calls at the dealership about this problem, it only occurs when the vehicle is cold, and it is occurring with several of the vw models. They went on to say that their management is aware of the problem and there currently is no solution. What they recommend is that my wife buy a fuel additive and see if that helps. They have noticed that after adding it to a few tanks of gas the cars seems to perform better, but that the problem does not go away. Vw thinks it is a problem with the valves, and that is a problem specific to the fuel used in the northwest. This is not an acceptable solution. When my wife is entering a roadway I do not want her car to stall or slow and put her in a situation where her safety is at risk. Please do something before there are injuries. Joe bessman.

Filed Mar 25, 2005 · Engine · 53,618 miles · OR

Car started hesitating during acceleration and stalled a couple of times upon stopping. Epc light flashed on briefly once, then not again. Today, the car started decelerating on the freeway for no apparent reason, then rapidly accelerated again, which seemed like an extreme safety hazard to me. Mechanic replaced the air flow meter and told me that he regularly replaces them on volkswagens and it is a known problem. I read several other complaints of the same behavior on this site, though the problem was not identified. If this is a part with known problems, why has volkswagen not recalled it?

Filed Jul 8, 2004 · Electrical · 28,000 miles · NJ

Consumer lost power when starting the vehicle. Also, when driving vehicle hesitated. The ignition coil was replaced at least twice on recalls. Manufacturer told the consumer to change the gasoline. However, vehicle still operated in the same manner.

Filed Sep 12, 2003 · Acceleration · 100 miles · MO

When trying to acclerate vehicle would hesitate, causing a distracion to the consumer. Dealer has been notified. *ak

Filed May 22, 2003 · Acceleration · 8,000 miles · AL

When pulling out into traffic the car will not accelerate, then suddenly starts to accelerate. The car stutters before taking off this has caused my wife to almost get into numerous accidents. We have taken it down to the dealership numerous times, the first time they said it was a clogged valve and they would order it and call me back when it was in stock. When I called them 2 months later they said we can schedule an appointment the part should be in stock, but they don't know what part it was exactly since it was not listed on the work order. When I took it back they said there was a service bulletin that stated when the brake is depressed and released the car will hesitate before going because the car still thinks the brake is on, but they could not reproduce this or any other problem on our car. We have also had problems with the steering wheel controls, after taking the car to the dealership 5 times they finally "checked" the controls and found something wrong.