Volkswagen / Jetta / 1998
1998 Volkswagen Jetta problems
Owners have filed 253 complaints about the 1998 Volkswagen Jetta with NHTSA. Visibility accounts for 17.4% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of electrical system at 16.6%.
Complaints253
Crashes14
Fires8
Injuries12
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Visibility 17.4% · 44
Electrical system 16.6% · 42
Tires 7.9% · 20
Engine and engine cooling 6.7% · 17
Power train 5.9% · 15
Structure 5.5% · 14
Steering 5.1% · 13
Equipment 4.7% · 12
Severity
Of those complaints, 14 describe a crash, 8 describe a fire and 12 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 25 model years of the Volkswagen Jetta in this data, 1998 sits 19th by complaint volume. 2009 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 4 in the last three years against 7 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 78,000 miles.
In owners' own words
I have 1998 vw Jetta--I presently have three electric windows which do not go up or down. Two of them have previously been repaired. This appears to be a defect or needed recall. Cause of problems is motors or regulators. These should be repaired by vw. Of all the vehicles I have owned in the past 40 years with electric windows I have never had a problems except with the vw Jetta. Visibility
Driving on freeway at 65mph and the right rear windowed lowered abruptly and would not raise up. 4 Year old son in carseat was next to window. Had to pull off on berm and calm him down. Window would not lift up. Subsequent visit to dealer that day resulted in a charge of $500 to replace the window regulator. Vw dealer stated that they see a lot of these failures in vw's. Visibility · reported at 103,000 miles
The windows in the doors are falling down and needing the mechanism replaced. This has happened to 3 of the doors so far. Has this been a problem-was there ever a recall for this-this seems like a weird thing to have happen. It is a safety issue because you cannot roll the window up or down, as well as the interior getting wet from the weather. Thank you. Rebecca Visibility · reported at 98,500 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…