My seat heater failed in my 2003 vw jetta, burning a hole in the seat under my left [xxx]. I was startled when suddenly there a strong burning smell in the car, then a hot spot in the seat occurred which caused me to have to quickly shift my seating posting and I immediately turned off the seat heater. Luckily I was driving slowly in the city and able to pull in the in a parking spot quickly and the seat or my clothing did not catch on fire. The seat was set to 3 on a scale of 1-5. The car has about 125k miles on it. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
2003 Volkswagen Jetta electrical complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 97, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I am the owner of a 2003 vw jetta. I was recently burned(11/2010) by the seat heater while driving and the car seat smelled like it was going to start on fire. My car had a recall not long after I bought it for the seat heaters. It is obviously a malfunction in the seat heater that vw has had numerous problems with based on the recall and the plethora of complaints on the internet. I can no longer use the heating unit. I took it to patrick motors in auburn, ma where I bought the car. They said it was out of warranty and they would charge me to look at it to see what the problem was and then maybe ask vwoa if they would help. I was not willing to pay more money for something that is obviously a manufacturing problem and has been documented as problematic.
(prior incident) 05/27/08 at 32k miles alternator harness burned and melted fuse panel (while car operating at low speed returning home from local trip). Fuse failed to prevent overheating of terminal connector on alternator harness at fuse panel. Current incident: 08/06/10 at 47k miles the alternator harness that had been replaced at 32k miles burned and melted fuse panel again, and alternator was also damaged requiring replacement (car failed to start at home after being parked overnight). Fuse again failed to prevent overheating of terminal connector on alternator harness at fuse panel.
As we were driving home, all the lights on the dash started blinking. The accelerator pedal stopped working in the middle of a busy intersection. The car engine continued running, but it just stalled in the middle of traffic and could not accelerate to get out of traffic. So we coasted the car for about 1.5 miles to a family members house. When we arrived, we turned off the car and tried to restart it, it would not start. After opening the hood we noticed that the fuse box/harness that sits on the battery was very hot. We opened it and saw the far left black wire/cable was burnt up and melting the plastic in the harness. The black wire was extremely hot. I had this problem before, it was 3 years ago, but I did not know where to look. I spent over $500 fixing what seems to me the same problem as before. On the dealership receipt it said "found generator harness at battery fuse box melted causing high resistance in voltage circuit.....replaced fuse box and generator cable". On that occurrence it was so bad the burns had ruined my battery causing it to leak. I called vw manufacturing, but they were not very helpful and just told me to call my local dealer for assistance. They said it was not a safety issue, even if there was a fire hazard. My car is currently being looked, looking for an underlying cause for this...if it is the cable or something else in the engine. The connection was reset but the wire/cable continued to get excessively hot.
Started car and turned on headlights. Started driving home and the dashboard dimmer switch caught fire. Fire went out but all dashboard lights were out.
2003 volkswagen jetta gl was found to have fried cable from alternator leading to fuse box on top of battery. Problem was found and fixed 3 years prior to being found again at the dealership. Both times cable and fuse box were replaced. Pictures of the second incident are available. Also found that this incident has happened on other jettas as well. Worried that could potentially cause a fire.
2003 vw jetta: digital display would shut off when key was removed from ignition. Unable to lock vehicle doors with remote. Vehicle had to be restarted for digital panel to appear (re-set) and for door to lock with remote. Engine would also shut off while at a stop light and while driving on freeway. Possibility to cause a crash. All digital panels still illuminated, key would be locked in ingnition, un-able to turn or be removed until car placed back in park and hand brake pulled up. Issues occured bi-weekly, weekly, and now daily. Vehicle brought to dealership. Was told that ignition switch failed and needed to be replaced. Would have been covered under warranty (warrant just expired last month). After trying to diagnose problem prior to bringing to dealership, I've found on several forums that this is not a new issue/repair for vw customers with the same make and model. Many customers have had similar complaints/experiences, all of which were taken in for repair after warranty expired. Vehicle is only 7 years old and is at approximately 85,000 miles. This vehicle has also had service for the following recalls: catalytic converter, failed ignition coils, failed rear window/door locks. This car is a lemon!
Sun roof drain clogs!!! No direction in manual for cleaning nor warning that it can happen. I found nearly three inches of water in the floor and water all over the interior fuse block. My concern is fire related. Corrosion can lead to high impedence connections and after water intrusion I have no idea how safe my electrical system is. This is the second or third incident and I finally found out what was causing the problem by doing research on the internet. Many others have experienced this problem and it appears that the design of the outlet nipple is the issue.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen jetta. The vehicle has a fuse box that is under the hood located on top of the battery. The 150 amp fuse is for the alternator; however, the fuse itself is getting hot enough to melt the box. The dealer stated that there are no existing recalls; however, they have seen this failure occur frequently. The VIN is not available. The current and failure mileage were 79,000.
I have a 2003 jetta gls. I had about 65k miles on it and the speedometer first fluctuated wildly then died, or appeared to be dead. It would randomly start working for a few days and often would die again while I was driving. Non functioning speedometer affects function of auto locking doors, odometer, trip computer, and related functions (they do not work when speedometer not working). My mechanic tested the vehicle speed sensor located on the transaxle. It is fine. I had the entire instrument panel replaced (to the tune of almost $700, $500 of which is for the part!). Now I am being told it may be a coolant migration issue similar to that of the my 99-01 cars. However there has been no tsb for 2003 jettas and now my car is out of warranty. Replacing the wiring harness is a very expensive ($6k has been mentioned) repair. Internet research shows that my issue is not unique, many failed speedometers in this model year jetta, although vw to date is silent w/customers.
1/10/08 I had my 2003 vw jetta in for service. I was told the ignition coil #3 needed to be replaced. 4/11/08 ignition coil #1 needed to be replaced. I found the recall on your web site after the april problem. I was told that my car is not part of the recall, even though it states 2003 jetta. On 12/4/08 I had to replace ignition coil #4 and on 1/21/09 another which also included the last two. I contacted volkswagen of america, inc and was once again told that my 2003 jetta was not included in the recall.
I have had 27 things break or fail on my 03vw jetta 1.8t. I bought the car used in 01/06 with 32,000 miles. After buying the car the first five mins the window shattered. First two months 2 tires blew out, front rim cracked, back tires out of alignment. Dealer paid to fix rim broke 2 weeks later the dealer paid fo used set of similar rims. Every light inside and out went out by 05/06 driver seat wont raise up cargo net in trunk falls apart dealer wont cover. Gas and trunk release buttons fell down inside of door. Radio stopped working front door speakers are shorting out. Driver window switch goes up when you push down and down when you push down have to fiddle with it for it to go up. Exhaust hanger broke causing chatter. Swaybar bushing fell out causing grinding and shaking when ever moving. Not cover by warranty all these happened by 05/07. Now its 10/08 and I have 84,000 miles. Current problems are rear spoiler brake light hangs down(dealer just glued it in place lasted about 4 months) cam and crank seals leaking oil cause odor inside of cabin. If I drive for more then an hour I get sick and light-headed. Seat, cargo net in trunk, is still broken. Radio still isn't fixed so I just went and bought an after market. Speakers still shortening out only when its cold out. Keyless entry only works within 4ft of the car. In the winter the car only gets 18mpg on the highway and about 14 in the city and the car is parked in a heated underground garage.
2003 vw jetta gls wagon with 62k miles, abruptly shut down while driving. After towing to local mechanic, it was determined the main fuse holder had shorted out and begun to melt, risking an engine fire. Part was replaced and problem repaired for $237.
Lost power, radio stopped working, A/C starting blowing hot air, epc light came on, battery light came on, ABS light came on. Then the car would not crank. I thought the battery was dead so I jumped the car. I made it home then the car would not start the next morning. After examination I found that the fuse box on top of the battery had melted. The wire from the fuse box to the alternator overheated. Was told by two different volkswagen dealerships in birmingham, al that this was a very common problem. If it is a common problem why is there no recall?
My 2003 vw jetta has been in the shop more in the past 6 months than in the last 5 years. The latest two problems were; 1) the engine coil (was replaced once by recall) and 2) my fuse box on top of my battery melted. I have spent over $1,500 in the last two months on the car. Was told that only one engine coil was allowed under the recall, and was told the fuse box melting was a common occurrence even though they did not ever find the "real" reason for it to melt.
Within 6 months (4) of the (6) ignition coils have failed. I have it in now for the third and fourth ones.
Driving home from work. Has made two stops. On the way to my home my ABS and airbag lights came on, radio froze, then car shut off. Was advised fuse panel on the top of the battery had melted. Mechanic found no reason for this to happen. No other issues.
There are many problems which seem to be a cause of the electrical system. The car will simply die when you stop at a red light, stop sign, etc. It will try to die while driving down the road. The digital display constantly resets itself, especially when you turn the car off, but also while driving. The radio does this too. The back brake light also has some type of short in it. It goes out and comes back on. We have replaced it twice in as many months.
I turned on the driver's seat heater to 5 (highest setting) on my 2003 vw jetta tdi when leaving my house at 7 am. I used this regularly to warm the seat for a few minutes on cold mornings, then would turn it off (lower settings never produced noticeable heat). Within one minute I felt a burning/electrical sensation in my upper left thigh. I was driving on a mountain road and the pain made me jump in my seat and nearly lose control of the car. I pulled over and turned off the seat heater (having heard of problems with the heater). The leather seat had a blister about the size of a cigarette burn but had not burned completely through. While I stopped the heater before it burned through the seat (and my pants), the real danger was in a possible accident from the burn/shock that caused me to momentarily lose control of the car. The seat heater is no longer safe to operate. My understanding from reading similar posts here and elsewhere is that the wiring is now broken in the seat (and many have had it break in the same spot). If I had not guessed the source of the problem quickly, or if someone were to unknowingly use the heat setter in the future, it could lead to a serious accident, personal injury, and car fire. Similarly, this poses a serious risk for other drivers of these vehicles who may not be aware of the problem and react too late. I request that the federal safety agency urge vw of america to issue a recall on this dangerous and pervasive problem (many reports here and elsewhere, such as tdiclub.com and vwvortex.com). Vw has issued a recall on this problem in canada but not in the u.s. They also have a voluntary repair for passats of similar years, but not jettas or golfs. Thank you.
Ignition coil failed, was told the o2 sensor was bad and needed new spark plugs, I had just replaced the spark plugs 5 days earlier, they only had 11 miles on them, so it cannot be spark plugs, question whether the o2 is truly bad, having ignition coil replaced but was unable to tell whether the catalytic converter is also bad until other problems are corrected.
Alternator wiring harness melted.
I drove to work the car ran fine. After work I started the car it begin to shake. It lost half its power..the dealership was three miles away. Ignition coil went bad at 46,158 miles and today 3-10-08 another one went bad at 49,036. My best friends passat ignition coil went bad at 19,367. I think these ignition coils are lemons and they need to make better ones.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen jetta. On two separate occasions, while driving approximately 30 MPH with the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. The contact drove home and had the vehicle towed to the dealer. The dealer stated that the coil inside the cylinder failed and had to be replaced for the second time in one month. The current mileage was 39,890 and failure mileage was 39,046. Updated 03/14/08. *lj the coil pack was replaced
I have owned a volkswagen jetta (turbo - 2003) and have had one horrible problem after another. Without fail, I have taken my vehicle in for random mechanical repairs every few months since purchasing the vehicle. I found out the car was manufactured in mexico and that vw was aware of how bad their car's manufactured in mexico were. If that is the case, how can so many car owners with so many mechanical issues continue to sell in this country? I would like to report vw for lackluster performance and for continuing manufacture in an area well known for its below average standards and for continuing to bleed the consumer when it is fully aware of the issue.
No advance notice. The car shut off in heavy traffic, almost causing an accidents. The volkswagen dealer , carl gregory in columbus, ga, could not find the cause of the problem at first. Later they found the problem and replaced: 1. Harness p/n 1j0-971-349-hg, 2. Holder p/n 1j0-937-617-d, .fuse p/n n-104-249-0. They did not return the parts to me. Since no one was sure what caused the problem or if this fixed the problem. I own a volkswagen with only 56622 miles that I could not trust to drive out of town.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen jetta. While driving 30 MPH, the check engine light illuminated. The mechanic stated that the ignition coil was defective. As of june 22, 2007, the vehicle has not been repaired. The VIN and engine size were unavailable. The current mileage is 76,000 and failure mileage was 69,000.
Ignition coils on 2003 volkswagen jetta 1.8t continue d to fail every 3-4 months. I have gone through 6 coils in less than one year. Numerous times a coil failed while on a major highway, especially while attempting to merge into traffic flow. I could recall twice where I came very close to being rear ended because of this sudden loss of power. The engine light would briefly flash letting me know that the car was having a misfire. The vehicle was taken to the dealership for this and plenty of other problems in the past. The service manager suggested that I do a tune-up on the vehicle only 5,000 miles after one was performed. He could not pinpoint' the problem or duplicate it either. Apparently, volkswagen was aware of the problem, but had not taken action to my knowledge. This was something very serious that should be more of a priority to volkswagen considering I have found plenty of articles on this particular problem.
Addendum to the federal safety agency action number: dp05004 over the course of the past 11 months, four of the ignition coils in my 2003 jetta gli/ 6cyl have failed. The service dates for each occurrence are: 5-12-06, 8-9-06, 12-26-06 and 4-5-07. Upon the third failure in december 2006 I asked if my vw dealer could replace all of the original ignition coils, as clearly a pattern of failure was evident. The dealer indicated that they were only able to replace coils as they failed and that I could contact vw to voice my concern. I contacted vw customer service to request that they replace the remaining 3 coils, to again receive the response that they will replace the coils as they fail, but not proactively. (as long as my car is under warranty.) today the fourth ignition coil failed and I am now outside of my warranty coverage. (warranty ended 2-28-07.) I contacted vw customer service to file another complaint and was instructed that I will be responsible for the repairs as the car is no longer under warranty. Upon receiving this information, I researched the issue and found the federal safety agency action number dp05004, which indicates that vw issued customer service campaigns on 1-31-03, 6-6-03, 12-03 and 1-04 instructing dealers to replace all ignition coil packs in model year 2000-2003 volkswagen jettas. Upon finding this information, I called vw customer service again to see if my car would be covered and was informed that my VIN was not covered by the csc, as csc's are VIN specific, not model/year specific. I would like the federal safety agency to re-open action number dp05004. The ignition coil issue is still occurring, and vw is not authorizing dealers to replace all of the suspect ignition coils as indicated when this action number was closed.
Three out of four of my ignition coils have blown and I have less then 50,000 miles on my car. The dealership admits there is no reason this should be happening, however I have to keep breaking down and getting my car towed in for it to be covered under warranty. This is outrageous they know they are all bad, but if I ask them to fix them I have to pay for it. This is an ongoing problem with my make/model and year. I have contacted volkswagen directly and they will not do anything about it they say and I quote "I'm sorry to hear that" I tell everyone how many problems I have had due to this issue and have deterred at least two people that were considering volkswagens to buy different vehicles. Its a shame this is my husband and I's second volkswagen but the car has been towed/or broken down 9 times in less then 3 years, that's not good. Once this lease is up we will never deal with volkswagen again. They don't want to do anything to help their customers, and that's a shame. I have done research on the coil issue and there are a lot of people who have encountered this same problem, obviously there is a huge defect and a lot of vehicles were affected.
Epc light on dash keeps coming on. When on, it is impossible to shift car out park. When at idle and light comes on, idles wildly up and down. When epc light is on, brake lights do not work.
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