2000 VW Jetta Check Engine Light

2000 VW Jetta Check Engine Light VR6 My check engine light came on and a diagnosis was done saying my Oxygen (O2) Sensor needed to be replaced. So I did I thought the problem was over. 260 Miles later it comes back on and a PO4011 code comes on. Which is a Secondary air system malfunction. My trusty mechanic says there is a problem with the piping and VW says it could be my other sensor. They turn it off with no apparent problems. Another 260 miles it comes back on. Ive heard that I might need a new gas cap or there is just a problem with the air intake. What is the problem?

To answer the first question, your catalytic converter is damaged and will need to be replaced. VW will provide the part off warranty no matter how many miles you have on your car because it is a part of the car that is not supposed to fail. The converter isn’t bolted as tightly as it should and can become loose with regular wear and tear. Bring your car in if you haven’t yet so you don’t end up broken down in the B.A.B.F.

My wife’s 2000 Jetta has same problems - engine light. 6 VW dealer visits in 30,000 km ($1400)- several O2 sensors and map sensors - cat converter repaced on warranty. Car runs bad and has a gas odour when light is on. Every time we take it in they charge $172 to diagnose the problem - then parts costs. Inherant problem on older Jettas and I don’t think VW will ever resolve because it would be bad for their service business. I plan on buying another Subaru and someone else can deal with greedy VW Service Dept.

I’m having the same problem with my check engine light…. First time it came on i was on the highway… I unpluged the battery it shut off then it came back on on Sat… I don’t what’s going on can some help…..

i have a 2000 jetta the check engine light came on so i took it to auto zone they plugged in the computer and everything went goofy lights started flashing in the dash and no more start or even turn over

I have a 2003 Jetta GL, the check engine light has been on for nearly a year. I took it to the dealer, they read the code that said it was running cooler than it should. They turned off the light, but the next day it came on again. Took it back, they turned it off, came on again. When it’s cold out the car missfires and shakes for a while and the light flashes, then goes back to normal (still on). I had the spark plugs replaced and no change. Seems like this is VERY common on Jettas, yet nobody is sure what it is?

I have a 2000 Jetta VR6 GLX, my engine light and EPC light were both on so I took to my mechanic and after troubleshooting he told me that my EPC light was on due to a faulty brake switch, which has a recall but cost me over $200 in diagnostics. He also told me that my engine light was on because my O2 sensor was reporting that my cat converter was bad, even though the cat was not bad. he told me that my computer needed to be reprogrammed by VW because they did not program the car with wide enough ratio for the O2 sensor to think cat is bad when they made the car and that VW has the update to reprograme computer. I called VW and they want $175 to read code and $175 to reprogram. i told them that the code has already been read and i did not want to pay for that again said i just want it reprogrammed they did say that there is a update for this issue. i still have not taken car in for update. at this point, only my engine light is on, so when filling up with premium fuel, as i always use, i also added Octaine Booster. when i started the car, no engine light came on. which made sense if burning cleaner. Engine light stayed off for about 2 months / 6k miles then came on again so i added octaine booster again and again the light went off and stayed off for about the same amount of time. about the same time light came back on i started noticing a backfire when i shift from 1st to 2nd, and car was misfiring. i replaced my spark plugs and it was like driving a new car. this was about 3 months ago, and just a few days ago my engine light has come back on. i may have it reprogrammed since i just read cat warranty was extended to 120k and i have 124k. i am experiencing a new problem now as well, when i start the car sometimes, my teMp light flashes and it says “STOP” “CHECK COOLANT” “SEE SERVICE MANUAL” but then sthe light either goes off or if i shut off car and start again it does not happen. the car does not overheat nor does this hmp senappen while im driving the car. i recenlty also had to pay $700+ to have water pipe (a.k.a. crack pipe), temp sensor and housing replaced. anyone know what this problem could be? dont think its related to check engine light cause that alwasys says emissions workshop.

My 2000 VW Golf 1.9 TDI CEL has been on for years, dealership said drive it till the car quit. Have developed the sidewise spring dash light blinking. Doesn’t do this everytime I run it, but is becoming more freq. What does it mean?

Heyy i have a 2002 jetta and alot of the stuff ive been reading is starting to scare me. my engine lights been on for about two months now. ive had my spark plugs, wires and manifold gasket replaced. and it still continues to shake. it also seems like its not accelerating as fast as it should. this occurs when the engine light s blinking. i just had my coolant sensor replaced and its still happening! i need some help! PLEASEE

I have a 2000 Jetta glx 2.8 vr6, all of a sudden when i’m driving the epc light, the anti-slip regulation and usually the check engine light will come one, and i will loose control over acceleration. i.e. it has no response when i press the gas pedal. Right before this happens the car seems to jerk and the rpm goes up and down without me doing anything. Usually i’ll turn off the car and it will be fine for a while before it does it again. It doesn’t seem to have any real consistency on when it does it i can go for a few days without it occurring and then it continually does it for awhile. In addition to this, when i turn it on again the check engine light stays on ( but not always) and will usually be on for a bout half a day till it disappears. I have new spark plugs and wires, I believe the break light sensor was replaced awhile ago and i’m looking into replacing the pcv valve in hopes that this might also help. When I took it in they said there were 8 stored DTC’s 1. P0420- catalyst efficiency below threshold, B1 2. P0140- 02 sensor B1S2, no activity 3. P0411- secondary air injection system incorrect flow detected. 4. P0113- IAT sensor signal too high 5. P0300- Random multiple misfire 6. P0301- cylinder #1 misfire 7. P1545- throttle valve controller malfunction 8. P1142- load calculation cross check… Any suggestions? tess.meyer@colorado.edu

EPC constantly coming on at low speeds, CEL comes on occassionally, fan is starting to come on long after car is shut off, engine block is still very warm after being shut off for over an hour. Had numerous checks done for problem codes, had lots of parts replaced. Nothing has fixed the problems with the EPC or CEL. Besides using this car for fire department practise auto fire, what would be somebody's suggestion? We have spent over $3000 dollars last year alone, it is a 1991 2.8L engine, GLS Jetta.

Thank you to anybody who can help

Shoulda bought a golf! I have a 2000 VW Golf TDI. I just turned over 320,000 kms. Recently put in a new clutch and yes the regular maintenance can be a bit costly but the money I save in fuel has more than paid for that. I put on 1000 km per week and it only costme me $40 or less. By the sounds of all your comments, I don't think I will but a new VW. Too many problems with the newer ones. I'll drive this one until it stops.

everyone!, do not go to VW to change anything, a friend of mine has a '00 jetta and used to go to VW all the time, everytime he went there he would get different codes (the most common one was P0172), and when he went to another mechanic shop, it turns out that VW would input codes to his computer, if you are going to fix your jetta's DO NOT GO TO VW, all they will do is input codes related to the real problem and take all your money. my friend had to pay over 30 hundred dollars for everyproblem his car had. my advice: get another car, my friend traded his car at carmax for a honda civic, which is the best choice he ever made in his life!

I am the only owner of my 2005 Jetta. I had ZERO problems until this past year with my car. Last July (2009) the power windows in the front stopped working. Of course in the rain. Then I got them to go up and had to avoid all bank and fastfood drive threws until the first freeze when the driver side miraculously began working again... Windows are not a priority because I also needed new tires. Then new breaks. Then a new master hydraulic break cylinder. NOW my emissions light is flashing and my car only starts every other time for the last 4 days, runnign very rough, threatening to stall at every red light and stop sign and lurching forward and back in the process. Also, everytime the breaks went bad or the oil light comes on or now this light, a brake light or parking light shorts out! I now have a rental car for at least a week, who knows how much longer while I wait to get it into one of the only guys around who works on VWs in my area---because they are so backed up with VWs to repair !!! One thing I do kow if I just found out that my oil change place has been accidentally using regular oil instead of synthetic oil for the last two oil changes---any advice pr words of wisdom?

Basicaly, light cming on, because too much air( poor mix). This happen because pcv valve bread more with age and miles of car, the canistry getting old give much more air to manifold( wich stay on soon litle above of idle), the brake with older give more air to manifold, too. Now we have another problem : above idle and under the maxim the EGR valve works em that area, wich make more poor the mix, specially getting old .........to fix a cel need work on entry excessive air on manifold...........
other point: MAF. The vw are manufactured for 10 years after that all plastics star decompose ( any plastic touched plastric broke) even with fuel lines (wich had been recall for that matter), so, for another words the flexiveis attach to exaut manifold star liquing, this smoke stabe the maf (so the problem on maf, is not bosch, but vw for impropery place to catche hot air feed the engine mix) solution of maf, clean with crc staf and disconet the tube coming of exaut maifold, that,s the end of maf problem. keep in mine never use electronic devices on smoke area ( even the smoke in houses must be repalce wittin five years because the possivle expousure to th smoke.......
to the engine run allways smood, use allways a single spark, the multilple sparks soon get some miles never let the engine run smood..........

I have a 2000 VW Jetta 2.0 with 132,000 miles on it. I've had sooooo many problems with this car. Never ever in a million years would I buy another VW. I've replaced endless coolant related parts. It seems as though after over $2,000 that problem is "fixed". Now I'm having a whole new variety of issues. I went to get my fancy high mileage oil change the other day. I was being super responsible and even took care of it ahead of schedule because I've heard Jettas really suck up oil. AS SOON as I drove off the lot post oil change my car started shaking. I turned around and drove back to the oil change place and gave the manager a piece of my mind. He started it, opened the hood and checked things, then told me that they did everything right and well it wasn't shaking now. So I left and drove to work. It was driving mostly normal and the shaking stopped. My friend later said that maybe something got knocked and the computer readjusted when the car was turned off and then on again. So a couple days later my check engine light goes on (it's still on). Still the car seems like it's running alright. Now in the past few days I notice that when I'm driving the fumes are so bad that I need to drive with the windows down and if I'm sitting in traffic I feel like passing out. Then the other day I tried to drive it to work and I went about a block. The fumes were extra bad AND it when I gave it a little gas it wouldn't go and then it would almost blast off...Oh and it's also leaking power steering fluid. I've spent soooo much money on this car and I unfortunately still owe $ on it. I am all set to buy a new car (NOT A VW) in about 8 weeks but I REALLY need it to last for at least that much longer. Is there any chance that it's just the O2 sensor that was recalled? (Power steering fluid looks to be a slow leak and just started)

1998 volkswagon jetta, wolfsburg,
check engine light does not come on at all, even when all others light up before start.
any suggestions?

I was having engine power issues and after reading some of the probs. other people have been having i went and checked all my hoses and vaccum lines. turns out it was a $2.73 vaccum line and now it has all the power back. the check engine light is still on. the diagnostics said i need a new cam scensor and cylinder 6 misfire.. i was told it would only need plugs and wires. should i replace the ignition coil at same time even tho I was told that it is fine?

I’ve got a 2000 VW Jetta GLS my check engine light came on. When I had it checked I got this code P1255 DTC Definition Not Found. What does this mean and what can be causing this problem?

Okay well I haven’t read most of the posts. But I did read the original question. If it flashes that is the Catalytic Converter. The manual says it will do that if its the converter, but my car was also diagnosed with that problem.

I get around problems with the check engine light by doing all my own repairs. I download repair manuals online and save myself thousands.

this car belong to the junk yard if you have one i hope you sell it sap i had one VW Jetta 1.8t i had to replace the turbo which it was at the dealer 1.500 i got it at eBay for 300 2 oxygen sensors 300 150 a piece catalytic converter 300.00 3 time the thermostat 55.00 water pump 150.00 + timing belt 39.25 head light the connector burn n melt 150.00 a piece the coils where free because the dealer recall for them but does where replace 2 and even then the check engine still on my luck my brother is a mechanic and I was able to fix it a his shop but It would been 1.000s of dollars take my advise buy your self a Honda or Subaru this car are low maintenance if u want one the parts are chip go for the Honda if u want a better quality but your welling to pay a bit more for part go whit Subaru u wont regret this cars like vw by the way Audi is the same crap

The check engine light came on today when I was driving in the high way. I am a quite new driver and this freak me out…. I thought it might be the oil, because I haven’t changed the oil for some time. After changing the oil. The light is still on…. Besides this, everything seems fine. No smells, and no blinks. I just had my car fixed and checked one month ago. In two weeks, I am going to drive from Ohio to Maryland for nearly 7 hours. Is it safe to drive this car for such a long trip?

I realize this is an old blog but thought I might try to resurrect it. My 2003 Jetta wagon 2.0 Liter automatic has been mis-behaving lately. It started a few months ago with difficult starts after a short run like after filling at the gas station. I don’t overfill it so I don’t think it’s related to the evaporative emissions charcoal filter being saturated. This morning when I started it it ran on 2 or 3 cylinders so I limped into my garage and sprayed the high voltage spark plug wires and coil with water displacer 40 (WD40) I was able to start it after 5 minutes. It’s running much better so far but I too have had a coolant temperature sensor or circuit fault code set for several months. I’ve cleared it several times but it comes back in a few minutes to a few hours. Just a thought, Last summer I had the plastic water pump impellar self destruct. I went to my local VW parts counter where I proceeded to pick the brain of the chap. (the young guys like to prove they know lots to older guys so he was willing to spill some pertinent info) The plastic impellers are known for this and the replacement pump now has an aluminum impellar. Replacing the pump is not for the faint of heart and it is driven directly off the timing belt. It’s a really good idea to replace or have it replaced by a competent mechanic before and at each 100,000 Km. This engine, I’ve been told, is not a free wheeeling engine. In other words, some of the valves will be left stranded in the open or partially open position when the belt slips or breaks, resulting in piston to valves smashing into each other. You would need a major rebuild after such a catastrophe. So my thought is that when I had the pump replaced, air may have become trapped in the cooling system as well as chunks of plastic. First of all, the plastic could keep the thermostat from closing if a piece became lodged in it. Second, and this applies to many modern vehicles, with air trapped in the system, localized hot spots and incorrect sensor readings may be the result. The plumbing system on many vehicles will not naturally vent all of the air out when it is refilled after maintenance. I learned this when I owned several old 240 series Volvos. Whith the engine cold and no pressure in the cooling system, one old time Volvo mechanic opened the coolant expansion tank and proceeded to rev the engine at a high rpm. The amount of large air bubbles that came gurgling out of that expansion tank was amazing! I just ordered the Bentley Repair manual so I will check out the re-fill procedure if it has one. Anyone else have any thoughts on these topics? I really like the car and was hoping to keep it for another 195,000 Km. Thanks

One year ago I bought a 2000 Jetta GLS with 146,000KMS (10 years old). It had a solid body and clean interior. I was impressed by the LOW KM’S, style and layout- just as I was when I purchased my ‘79, ‘86 and ‘92 VW’s when they were 10 years old. I also expected all of the quirks and minor inconveniences that I had simply “put up with” from those model years (like any car). What I did not expect in the 2000 model year was- EXACTLY THE SAME MECHANICAL PROBLEMS observed from the three model years mentioned above….ONLY 30 YEARS LATER, AND 1000 TIMES WORSE! For this model year and beyond, it seems as though there are extra surprises…. The advent of electronic controlls, coupled with the outsourcing of manufacturing to Mexico and China (for parts), have apparently been too much for the “excellent” GERMAN ENGINEERING that we have all come to “know” and love. Absolutely everything that could go wrong with my 2000 Jetta, HAS GONE WRONG! My question is- how can VOLKSWAGEN possibly, as an internationally recognised car company, go more than 30 years WITHOUT improving their engineering or manufacturing processes….. AND ACTUALLY DEGRADE THEM and still be a reputable business? I have just read more than 10 years worth of VW complaints, on various blogs,and EVERYONES STORY IS THE SAME- broken and unsafe interior and exterior parts, mechanical breakdowns (at low KMS), constant inexplicable elctronic problems and so on. I can’t believe there have NOT been class action lawsuits against this (now) deplorable company. People are still talking TEN YEARS LATER! Nevermind the model years after 2000…. My most recent car before this was a 2002 Ford Escort which never let me down. I just drove it to the scrap yard a few months ago with 396,000 KMS (246,000 Miles)and it was still in better mechanical shape than this VW PIECE OF SHIT- and less than half the milage! From what I hear, later models are not much better. Volkswagen OWES millions of unfortunate customers as far as I am concerned!