2003 Volkswagen Jetta Equipment Problems
- Complaints
- 9about this part
- Share
- 2%of 456 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 33,450miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 9 complaints about the equipment of the 2003 Volkswagen Jetta, 2% of the 456 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 33,450 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“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? …”
NHTSA complaint #10197150, filed 2007-07, 5,000 miles“I bought my car at the end of november. Drove it off the lot with 9 miles on the vehicle. At the time of breakdown on july 25, 2003, the car had 10,900 miles on it. The current mileage on it now is 13,000 july 25th was a very hot day. I believe it was up to 110 degrees that day. I had noticed my car running at a substantial lower power than usual, but I assumed it was because of the heat and that I had my air conditioning on high. …”
NHTSA complaint #10070736, filed 2004-01, 10,900 miles“Out of no where my radio on my 2003 Volkswagen Jetta wagon stopped working. All I got was static on my radio. After reviewing several vw forums, I found out that my radio antenna had corroded inside. I took it apart and cleaned all the corrosion and found that the main wire on the circuit board was broke. I had to solder a new wire onto it. Many vw owners are complaining about this same problem, but Volkswagen will not do anything about it. A antenna should not go bad in a three year old car.”
NHTSA complaint #10164332, filed 2006-08, 61,200 miles“Recently the radio in my 2003 Volkswagen Jetta wolfsburg edition stopped working. At first the radio station was displayed but I was unable to get any buttons to work except the eject button, the volume knob, and the on/off button. The last radio station I listened to was displayed but no sound could be heard. I started to look for help on the internet, possibly a fuse or something simple but what I found was completely the opposite. According to several websites, the radio has an internal defect which fries the radio when the battery starts to get weak. …”
NHTSA complaint #10217406, filed 2008-02, 67,000 miles“I have a 2003 vw Jetta gli vr-6. The air conditioner stopped working after it was nice and cold for about 5 minutes. Hot air was blowing out of the vents. Engine (coolant) light came on after about a 10 minute drive. The engine (coolant) gauge was almost in the red 260 degrees. I switched off the air, and the gauge went down a little, but didn't really cool off. The guy at the dealership explained if the engine starts overheating, the fail safe for the car is to automatically turn the A/C off in order to save itself from overheating to the point where damage would occur. …”
NHTSA complaint #10232221, filed 2008-06, 56,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10228180Dec 12, 2022Update model year applicability to include 2023.
- 10175799May 12, 2020Tool number added to table. Removal of Behr Flush Kit. VAS 6337/1A
- 10174476Apr 21, 2020Updated to include additional models and model year applicability.
- 10161215Jun 12, 2019Update vehicle metadata.
- 10159010Mar 27, 2019The part number listed in the document is to be returned if it meets the criteria provided.
- 10159014Mar 22, 2019Alternative method for radio code retrieval.
- 10161475Nov 13, 2018Update vehicle metadata.
- 10149868Aug 20, 2018To include an additional model year applicability.
- 10157306Sep 19, 2017Update to model year applicability.
- 10157302Sep 14, 2017Updated to include model year 2014 thru 2018 applicability.
Equipment: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 | 1% |
| 2015 | 1 | 1% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0% |
| 2012 | 2 | 0% |
| 2011 | 8 | 1% |
| 2010 | 23 | 3% |
| 2009 | 2 | 0% |
| 2008 | 1 | 1% |
| 2007 | 3 | 1% |
| 2006 | 7 | 1% |
| 2005 | 3 | 1% |
| 2004 | 6 | 3% |
| 2003 | 9 | 2% |
| 2002 | 17 | 2% |
| 2001 | 19 | 3% |
| 2000 | 22 | 5% |
| 1999 | 7 | 2% |
| 1998 | 12 | 6% |
| 1997 | 4 | 7% |
| 1995 | 18 | 8% |
| 1994 | 26 | 22% |
| 1993 | 1 | 6% |
| 1989 | 1 | 4% |
Other parts of the 2003 Volkswagen Jetta
100 complaintsElectrical system
97 complaintsAir bags
77 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
54 complaintsEngine cooling
45 complaintsExterior lighting
28 complaintsBrakes
22 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
21 complaintsFuel system
17 complaintsEngine
16 complaintsBody and structure
11 complaintsOther or unknown
9 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2003 Volkswagen Jetta
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology