Weird car

[MAKG]

OK, I just bought a 1990 Jetta since my wife accordioned the Prizm (293K, RIP).

What an FN weird car.

The thermostat is on the radiator OUTLET conveniently located under the power steering pump bracket on the bottom of the engine. Held in by an ear the oil pan and TWO BLIND BOLTS. And the thermostat that came out of it was clearly stuck open and stamped "Made in W. Germany," i.e., factory original equipment (build date was almost exactly when West Germany ceased to exist).

There is no radiator cap. The overflow is pressurized and that's the only way to fill it.

There is a PCM, but no self tests, no diagnostic port, and no check engine light (though there would be if it was CA emissions -- this thing appears to have been bought in Germany and has a Federal emissions sticker). It has a VAF, which absolutely everyone seems to call a MAF (no, they are VERY different). It's just a spring-loaded flap in the throttle body, connected to a rheostat much like a TPS. I know VW basically invented EFI (along with Bosch), but even GM figured out self tests were essential in 1978 (in the Cadillac 350s). Ford EEC-IV did it in 1983. It's a basic tenet of control theory....

The reverse gear is "0th" instead of "6th." While that might sound like a good idea to keep from "shifting to 6th" on the highway, it's actually VERY easy to think you're in reverse when you're really in 1st. Not good in a parking lot.

The "dinger" yells at you if you leave the key in the ignition, but not if you leave the headlights on. And the car automatically turns the headlights off for you, but NOT the parking lights (so you can still drain the battery).

The turn signal indicator doesn't tell you what direction you're signalling!

OK, that's enough ranting for now. I still have to smog sniff this thing, and I'd really like to run the self tests. If there were any....

 

[rangerbum]

No kidding. My friend has a 91 jetta. Hes had it since before he had his license and let me drive it. The reverse is flippin wierd to get used to. Press it down and to the left and up? wierd. I dont know if you've noticed it, but reverse is a wierd experience in these cars altogether. If you use the gas in reverse, your going for a ride, because the reverse gear is low and takes off with ease when you let off the clutch.

 

[OldJunk]

Pretty odd engineering from the folks who brought us, swept wing twin engine jet fighters and guided ballistic missles in 1944. Maybe its East German made!

 

[chittybangbang]

Welcome to Vdub hell.Just wait until the electrical gremlins hit.

 

[MAKG]

Pretty odd engineering from the folks who brought us, swept wing twin engine jet fighters and guided ballistic missles in 1944. Maybe its East German made!

Somehow, I doubt a Trabi would pass "grey market" regs. No fancy stuff like radiators or catalytic converters (or decent seats), or even more than two strokes....

It's got Wolfsburg badges on it. While that wasn't far (AT ALL) from East Germany, it's still in Lower Saxony.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

alot of that isnt so weird.

most newer vehicles (fords included) use a pressurized overflow tank and no radiator cap. and my '89 escorts both have VAF meters on them. reverse has always been in a goofy location past 1st in VW's (hense the phrase "harder than finding reverse in a volkswagen"). but dodge rams with 6 speed manuals locate reverse in the same spot (and its even harder to find than in a VW).

the t-stat on the radiator outlet is a little odd though...seems kinda weird to require the whole radiator to warm up befrore the t-stat opens

 

[97BlackBetty]

My volkswagon is, push down (hurst shifter knob makes it easier) to the left, and back. Although it really isnt hard to find once you know where it is. My buddy is HUGE into VW's and I just dont get it.

 

[MAKG]

No kidding. My friend has a 91 jetta. Hes had it since before he had his license and let me drive it. The reverse is flippin wierd to get used to. Press it down and to the left and up? wierd. I dont know if you've noticed it, but reverse is a wierd experience in these cars altogether. If you use the gas in reverse, your going for a ride, because the reverse gear is low and takes off with ease when you let off the clutch.

Actually, the car as a whole seems geared very low.

Which is fine with me. It's a 100 HP 1.8L NA SOHC gasoline engine, and it seems to like to wind up. I suspect it's also a very light car (though there is no fiberglass I can find), 'cause it's very zippy, especially for its size.

It seems to like 3000-3500 RPM.

And though I haven't burned through a whole tank yet, it's clearly getting at least 30 MPG. And I'm not babying it.

 

[97ranger4x4]

yeh I remember that when I drove a friends Jetta a few years back about the reverse. on my moms 2001 Mercedes you have to pull up and go into second gear to get into reverse. So i guess it is directly opposite of the Jetta.

Must be a german thing because they put their hoods on backwards.

 

[chittybangbang]

alot of that isnt so weird.

most newer vehicles (fords included) use a pressurized overflow tank and no radiator cap. and my '89 escorts both have VAF meters on them. reverse has always been in a goofy location past 1st in VW's (hense the phrase "harder than finding reverse in a volkswagen"). but dodge rams with 6 speed manuals locate reverse in the same spot (and its even harder to find than in a VW).

the t-stat on the radiator outlet is a little odd though...seems kinda weird to require the whole radiator to warm up befrore the t-stat opens

My 84' rabbit had the pressurized overflow tank toh yeah,the reverse.Try pushing down and have the shifter fall through the floor.Total shit design

 

[rboyer]

I hate VW's. I had a friend who went out and bought a '96 jetta thinking he was getting the best deal in the world on it because of how nice it looked. He gets it home only to discover a myriad of problems. Once he got the title back for it I rigged the thing together with junkyard parts and a little bit of welding and a week later it was someone else's problem. I have messed with a few older ones and only had the hood open on one later model but from what i've seen i'm thinking that they had the most problems in the mid-late 90's.

 

[exbass94]

MAKG, you gotta update your signature!

 

[Sunk]

Actually, the car as a whole seems geared very low.

Which is fine with me. It's a 100 HP 1.8L NA SOHC gasoline engine, and it seems to like to wind up. I suspect it's also a very light car (though there is no fiberglass I can find), 'cause it's very zippy, especially for its size.

It seems to like 3000-3500 RPM.

And though I haven't burned through a whole tank yet, it's clearly getting at least 30 MPG. And I'm not babying it.

My ex had a 88 Jetta GLI, and it did like to spin. IIRC the redline was at 6800. Whenever I would drive it (like a bat out of hell) she would get pissed and didn't believe me when I told her it liked it. It was a very fun car, and the Magnaflow the PO put on it made it loud as hell, so I whored the attention.

We did a 700 mile road trip all over eastern WA last summer and with 4 days of camping gear and both of us, I pulled 35 MPG out of it doing 75-80 in the 95 degree heat. It actually got better mileage with me driving than with her poking along at like 65.

I'll agree about the reverse placement. I've driven a few VWs over the years and am pretty familiar with the location, but this one gave me a bit of trouble nonetheless. I often found myself in 1st when I needed reverse, reverse when I needed first, and occasionally in third. Luckily once we were rolling they were right where they needed to be. And I remember 5th being waaaaaay over there about where her left knee liked to sit.

 

[Simple_serf]

My ex Gf had a 96 and an 01. Both cars were total piles. The engineering was retarded, the electrical problems were never ending, the trans (manual 5 speed) blew up at around 100K, even with being shifted properly and maintained. the 01 had constant electrical problems in 05... was recalled 3 times.

Sorry, but I wouldn't touch another VW with a 20 ft pole.

 

[holyford86]

mom owned 3 VWs all of them went well over 250k before they were sold and all of them still ran excellent when we got rid of them. Great running cars.