Warning: Do NOT buy a Volkswagen! They are the worst cars ever. Just over two years ago, I bought a new car, a 2011 Volkswagen Jetta. From the start, the power adapters never worked. At the time, I thought the problem was my old car charger and didn't think much of it. After all, the car was brand new, obviously there's nothing wrong with it. Turns out, in VW Land, vehicles don't actually have to be 100% functional when new. The ignition sticks. Something like 6 months ago, one of my keys broke. Keys are the kind that fold and flip out. Then the other key broke. Then the key broke so much that it's completely unable to turn the key in the ignition. Of course this happened while I was running errands, so I had to go to a hardware store and leave the car running while I went in to buy a pair of pliers so I could turn the key.
There's something wrong with the transmission or something. I don't know yet. The car's in the shop. Once on Sunday and once on Monday I started the car and it would not shift gears. It ran in 3rd gear. Period. Both times, I stopped and turned the car off and back on again, and that fixed it. Last night, I started the car and the check engine light and this little wrench symbol (for service) came on, and there was no indication of gear. There should be a letter or number showing what gear the car is in (I have no idea what the correct name for that is). Nope. Not there. But it was not shifting again, presumably stuck in 3rd. I turned the car off and back on several times with no luck. I drove home at a crawl so as to not drive the RPMs too high.
I emailed Volkswagen about two weeks ago about the first two issues, explaining what had gone wrong and how displeased I was. 700 at the dealership to replace the ignition and keys. I flat out refuse to pay that. Why should I pay that much money because the ignition is faulty and broke my keys? Your Jetta was built to last, and I apologize that you are experiencing concerns with the ignition sticking. We appreciate that you have taken the time to reach out to us, and make us aware of the concerns with your key breaking off in the ignition. I understand you are requesting assistance with the cost of the repair. Volkswagen considers all requests for assistance with a repair outside of warranty on a case by case basis. I have had the opportunity to research your request. The Jetta is 18,000 miles outside of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Volkswagen is unable to assist with the cost of the repair. I apologize, as I know that this decision does not meet your expectations. We look for every opportunity to assist our customers.
If you would like, we can follow up with the VW dealership on the diagnosis for the 12v charger, and work with the dealer to ensure all of our technical resources are being utilized for both repairs. If you’d like us to follow up on your diagnosis and repairs, please reply to this email with the name of your servicing dealership and your appointment date. I didn't reply, because why bother? I appreciate your sense of humor by starting off your reply with a joke ("your Jetta was built to last"), but unfortunately the situation is beyond humor. My 1996 Chevrolet Silverado had fewer problems than this Jetta--it made it to well over 100,000 miles before requiring any significant repairs. It could be argued that the Jetta will certainly last if it cannot turn on and be driven, but that's rather deceitful, don't you think? My paycheck would last if I didn't have to use it. I would also like to make you aware of a new issue that has arisen. On Sunday, I left home.
After about a mile, I realized that the engine didn't sound right and the tachometer was holding rather high. Apparently, the Jetta decided that 3rd gear was sufficient for everything--stopping, accelerating, going 50mph, etc. It would not shift, nor would it allow me to shift. On the bright side, this vehicle will prevent me from becoming a bank robber--a skateboard would make a more efficient getaway vehicle. Can you imagine trying to make a quick exit in a car that requires two hands and total concentration to turn on, and which periodically goes on shifting strike? And on top of that, the car is theft-proof! A car thief would likely sue me for emotional distress caused by the trauma trying to make this car work. I'm almost impressed by how many problems this car has. You must have worked very hard to build a car that is so incredibly terrible.
