Vehicle Data Hub

2003 Volkswagen Jetta engine problems

Owners reported engine problems in 54 complaints for the 2003 Volkswagen Jetta, 10% of the complaints on file.

At a glance

Complaints
54 10% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
75,000 miles 51 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
2 and 3
Injuries and deaths
0 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Engine complaints by mileage, 2003 Volkswagen Jetta Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 75,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 3 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 7 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 6 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 11 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 14 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 4 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 0 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 3 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 2 complaints 200k+ miles: 1 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 75,000 miles
Based on 51 complaints that include mileage. 31% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles3
20k to 40k miles7
40k to 60k miles6
60k to 80k miles11
80k to 100k miles14
100k to 120k miles4
120k to 140k miles0
140k to 160k miles3
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles2
200k+ miles1

What the data shows

Of the 51 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 75,000 miles, and 31% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 2 crashes, 3 fires.

What owners wrote

My 2003 jetta tdi was parked in front of my apartment building for approximately 40 minutes. When I went back out to the car to get in it, I found it with smoke billowing out from under the hood. As I started to pull the hood release to investigate, I noticed flames. I did not open the hood and instead quickly called the fire department and they responded asap. By the time they started putting out the fire, flames were engulfing the whole windshield from under the hood.

November 2003 Fire

The oil pump quit, causing the oil pressure lamp to come on. The vehicle is still under warranty, but since I cannot produce all of the receipts for oil changes since I purchased the vehicle, they will not cover the warranty. The dealer says that the failure was due to oil sludge. I was not informed that I had to keep receipts for oil changes durring the lifetime of the vehicle.

Reported at 26,000 miles, September 2003 Crash

Other problems reported for the 2003 Volkswagen Jetta

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Volkswagen models