Used 1999 Volkswagen Jetta Diesel Consumer Reviews
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Great car
HenPecked, 03/01/2002
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GL TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
Fun to drive, stylish and beats all other cars in its class easily.
TDi
TDi Love, 07/06/2002
1999 Volkswagen Jetta TDi 4dr Sedan
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
This is a great car. Fast. Efficient. A best kept secret in the USA. In Europe the TDi rules. Customizes well. Strong chassis. Highly reccomend this car.
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I love my TDI
Tarheel TDI, 02/09/2003
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Sorry it seems almost everyone else dislikes their Jetta. I have over 90K on my TDI and have never had a problem with my O2 sensor, transmission, electrical system, light bulbs, brakes, door ooze, or windows. MAF going bad at 85K and water pump wearing out at 90K are the only mechanical items that gave me heartburn. I empathize with the folks who have seasonal rattles in the interior as that is my only "major" peeve in a car that is fun/comfortable to drive and gets better than 50 MPG on the highway. Our other car is a new 2001.5 Passat which has over 30K of nearly trouble free miles. Our next car will likely be a Jetta TDI wagon or a Passat B6 TDI wagon.
Great commuter!
bicicleta, 04/27/2002
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Love this car so far.... 10K miles @ 50 mpg... commuting at speeds to 80. Plenty of power - can't believe this engine hasn't gotten more press. Wish they'd import the Passat diesel again. The Jetta is just a little small for my two 6' tall sons.
Never again!!
Gallinator, 07/22/2002
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Too much wrong offsets everything that is good about this car. I am on my ***14th*** window regulator! I live in Phoenix and the OOZE on the door sills is present 6+ months out of the year. The front end undercarriage is damaged (low clearance, a common Jetta problem). I finally bought a DieHard battery after the first two supplied by VW died in the first year. Performance, once excellent, now sucks wind - 0-60 in about 14 seconds. Fuel economy has dropped below 35mpg city 40mpg hwy. VW customer service is a joke - they are rude and do not care. I am glad I do not own this vehicle!! Built in Mexico - and it shows!
CAN ANYBODY FIX THIS CAR?
Dieseled out, 08/13/2002
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
This car was supposed to be my answer to commuting. I cannot keep it on the road. Check engine light has come on at 50,000 miles and at 90,000 miles it is still on. Volkswagen mechanics throw up their hands. What do I do? I have spent $2400 for the mechanics to silence this light. What is the 100,000 mile warrenty for? They still say glow plug relay. I began to bottle and sell the ooze that leaks from the doors. If Volkswagen could fix this problem, I would have a decent car. Power windows are a big joke. Fix them in a timely manner for God's sake. You could not run fast enough to give me another one of these cars.
DON'T BUY IT!!!!!!!!!
Lisa_Marie, 11/06/2002
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GL TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
DON'T BUY IT!! I have had so many problems with this car. The Transmission, window regulators, the serpentine belt (twice)---which caused my a/c, alternator, and power steering pump to go out. Which I was charged, b/c the car was at 24,400 miles. VW has no pride in their cars, just ask the service manager if they drive one.... I promise, they don't!!!!
Comfortable but unreliable
bynddrvn, 07/01/2014
1999 Volkswagen Jetta TDi 4dr Sedan
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Basically constant problems. For some reason the braking system has never worked correctly, even under moderate pedal pressure the brakes pulse as though the ABS is engaged. Replaced main brake booster, front disks, and brake pads. The fenders rusted through and this is apparently a known issue for the diesel version as it has additional insulation to dampen noise. Unfortunately, the insulation also happens to suck up moisture and road salt. Around 80k miles the MAP sensor went out and just about part related to the braking system was replaced, again. At just over 100k miles the turbo started leaking oil and this gummed up the MAP sensor, EGR valve, intake, and connecting lines.
Piece of Dung
ovaleye, 12/26/2002
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Those who give it praise now will indeed curse this car in the future. I have seen people judge their cars by whether or not they were stranded while driving. This car has stranded me 6 times since purchased in May 1999. That may not seem like much to other Jetta drivers (who probably have not been this fortunate), but I can assure you that it has been quite a disappointing journey for me. I will not go into detail about what has happened to this car during the last three years, due to limited space! Lets just say that I have put nearly $5000 into this car since after the 24000 mile mark!
Excellent design/mediocre quality
TeddyT, 07/10/2003
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I have a love-hate relationship with this car. Great fun to drive, adequate power, fantastic fuel mileage (43-52 mpg). I drive 40K per year & have pretty pleased. Repairs & maintenance too expensive. $650 timing belt expense. $450 air flow sensor @ 85K.
Great mileage---if it runs
quite_unsatisfied, 09/02/2003
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GL TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I have had several breakdowns with this car. This was bought as a new car. First, I had an electrical problem, where the security system broke and kept the engine from running. Then, at 30000 miles, the glow plugs and glow plug relay went out, and had to be replaced at my expense because they were not part of the "powertrain" even though the car would not run without them. VW wouldn't replace my warped rotors at 10000 miles saying that they were "within tolerances". Then I had to pay to get them replaced when the warranty ran out. It stopped running yesterday at a busy intersection. I am extremely dissastisfied.
Terrible reliability
poor quality, 01/28/2004
1999 Volkswagen Jetta TDi 4dr Sedan
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I bought this car for my parents to drive being a supposedly great car. Unfortunately, we have never seen such terrible reliability in a car. This car visits the dealership every other month with every breakdown possible from turbo, glowplugs, electrical, engine problems, carbon build up, door locks, lighting contols, stalling, not starting etc. etc. My parents are stuck driving their older Buick LeSabre most the time because it is the only car they can trust.
Pay me now or pay me later
OmahaBob, 05/27/2004
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Styling and ride are fine. I can't believe the things that went wrong that I have never experienced in a car in my life. Windows(2) dropping down into the door for no reason. Both cupholders that won't work. What's that about. Trunk release went inop for no reason. AM radio side has a range of about 2.4 miles. Mass air system not being covered by drive train warranty - but on a regular gas engine it was a recall repair. My power went down 50% because of this. $500 to repair. Stupid,stupid, stupid. Makes customer loyalty hard to consider. Other than this, I love the car. Dumb stuff hurts an otherwise nice car.
JettaTDI
Nalfs, 07/10/2004
1999 Volkswagen Jetta TDi 4dr Sedan
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Primary reason for buying was to avoid semi-weekly gas station fillups as I have a 100 mi. daily commute. Milege is better than advertised. I get 49-52 mpg. Paying dividends now with gas > $2.00 and diesel @ $1.70! It has been extremely reliable, it has never broken down or failed to start, even in subzero New England weather. Never any problems with electrical. Glow plugs had to be replaced once (not needed to start car) and were rather expensive, but you can find them cheap on the internet rather than pay the dealerships insane prices. 135K miles to date and many more I'm sure. Great car.
Good Car
Phil, 03/06/2005
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GL TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Bought the car new and have had very few problems. Replaced the glow plugs at 100,000, and fuel economy is not what it used to be ... but it still gets over 40 mpg. Great car on the highway or country driving. Feels like a sports car.
52 MPG
macmandrew, 03/22/2003
1999 Volkswagen Jetta TDi 4dr Sedan
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Driven over 130,000 miles, This has been a great car. Comfortable seats, Good heater, excellent A/C, 5 Speed Manual Trans (no problems). On the Dark Side: The interior trim is removing itself. Gas station attendant Conan'd off the fuel filler flap (cheap plastic?) Threw the 3 rear head rests in the trunk so I could see out the back window.
Great car! Best I've ever owned, I am 40
RO, 04/10/2003
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Awesome! Great car. The TDI motor is peppy (when linked to the 5-spd. manual) and gets 45-50 mpg. The driveability is excellent. Sporty. Mine has 70,000 and only minor things have had to be replaced, namely, cup holder assembly, glove box door, and power sunroof track guides. The only other bad thing I've encountered is that in severely cold weather (-10 to 0 degrees), I had the fuel "gel up" on me and had to be towed. Other than that FANTASTIC!. Best car ever owned, this includes: Ford Taurus, Ford Mustang GT, Plymouth Voyager SE, Subaru Wagon, Cutlass Supreme, AMC Spirit, Audi 5000T and more! I'd buy another one tomorrow.
Jetta TDI falling apart
Foz, 04/30/2002
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
0 of 2 people found this review helpful
I am less than impressed with the Jetta TDI I unfortunately purchased.
Review
blc, 09/16/2003
1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDi 4dr Sedan (midyear)
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Ive owned this car for a year and am extremely pleased with this, my 2nd Jetta. The TDI, with its excellent fuel economy is practically the best thing going. Couple this with the longevity and reliability of diesel, its the hands-down best. Although CR rates this model low in reliability, Ive had no problems in the past year.