Learn me: Mk IV Jetta Wagon (2001-2006)

I've been thinking about a MK 4 Jetta wagon as a dog hauler / HPDE car. I haven't thought much about these things since they were new.

My first inclination is toward the 1.8T, but I'm also wondering if a VR6 is worth considering. From what I understand, the 2.0 non-turbo is a slug.

Must have three pedals.

What do I need to know?

IIRC those are from the era of VW's not-so-great production quality. I owned a Golf Wagon of similar vintage in the UK (I think that's the same vehicle, at least they look the same) and it was mostly problem free other than a front spring collapsing from rust, the window dropping after the window regulator decided to take a permanent vacation and some other minor details. That said, I had bought mine from a friend of mine who's a bit of a Golf TDI Wagon nut and it was a "known good" one. Should definitely have enough space for dog hauling duties.

I wouldn't rule out a TDI either, mine was one and it was surprisingly sprightly and good on fuel. Mind you, the US got only the PD-TDIs, whereas mine was one of the 90hp "regular" TDIs. It'd also be amusing if you starting hunting down sports cars with a mildly tweaked TDI .

All that said, if you want to go with a gas engine I'd get a 1.8T. They're eminently tweakable and there's a good aftermarket out there. The VR6 might be heavier and if you want to get more power out of it you're probably looking at digging into the engine.

They sold both normal and PD tdis in the USA also. 1.8t or tdi are the smart choices, plenty of aftermarket for both. Audi TT front suspension is a good upgrade too. They will definitely need suspension work to handle well. I had a mk4 tdi jetta and didn't like it much though, the tdis can be very temperamental and hard to get running properly and take a lot of expensive tools to work on them. They go through tail light bulbs very quickly too, partly because the housings melt but other than that who knows.

I believe tbe 1.8t suffers from sludging if oil change intervals were done a factory recommend intervals, instead of something more reasonable.

I bought a black on black 5spd 1.8t wagon new in 2003. It was built in Germany instead of Mexico like all the sedans and hatchbacks on the lot. It was probably the best car I have ever owned. 3 years and 60K of pleasure resulted in one CEL which was a temp sensor that was quickly warrantied. It got decent mileage and it was faster than a Corrado VR6, actually quite a bit faster than a friends 83 911SC. The interior space was cavernous. It was very comfortable for 5 hour drives. It handled well enough despite the MK4 roll center issues that everyone likes to rant about. I never had any rattle, squeak, failing soft touch or crayon smell problems. I miss that car badly.

My late wife got excited about the return of the "Rabbit" badge and we traded it in on a 2006 Rabbit which was the biggest turd of a car I have ever owned. That mistake haunts me. It drove like a diesel, had absoludicrous dash rattles from the top AC vent that the dealer couldn't fix and told me to buy an aftermarket cubby that replaced the vent, oh yeah and the AC was abysmal and it got an average of 16mpg in town.

I probably will buy another MK4 Wagon someday. Perhaps the elusive VR6 5spd unicorn. I see the values on these have plummeted.

Trust me, the 2.0L drivetrain is actually the one to get. Reliable, doesn't light up the MIL (VW doesn't call it a CEL!) on a routine basis. The engine evolved from the original Rabbit.

The 2.0 is mated with a pretty decent gearbox that allows it to be decent in town but it doesn't have a lot of jam for passing on the highway. The 2.0L isn't popular, and the prices reflect that.

Mine isn't a wagon. I have owned it almost 5 years now and put over 50,000 kms on it with only one MIL - failed crankshaft sensor. It didn't leave me stranded, just made the car hard to start.

The hatches tend to rust and then the front fenders. Get as few electronic options as possible.

I dragged it home for $2K CAD and dropped $300 on parts.

Here it is when I had it on the road:

Still dragging me around - a little more rust and a few scars from the kids bikes etc.

In reply to Woody:

A friend had a 2000 Jetta sedan VR6 when it was almost new. I installed a Bilstein Cup Kit & Neuspeed swaybars on it for him...and quite honestly it still was not that fun or fast. It was much harsher to live with.

He sold it a couple years later, but before he did I removed all the aftermarket suspension. He then sold it all to another friend with a NB Turbo S, who I installed it for. It wasn't great on that car either.

I'd consider myself a VW fanboi, but the Mk IV is just subpar compared to everything VW produced before or after. Consider that I bought an 02 NB for one of our girls, and after fighting it for a month I was thrilled when I sold it without completely losing my ass.

They're not the absolute worst car in the world, but there are so many better choices out there to choose from.

I had a 2002 Jetta wagon with the 2.0 for a while. Pretty trouble free while I had it. The drivers front spring broke, which was a first for me. Other than that, it was just routine maintenance.

Had an 01 1.8t wagon with the shiftable 4 speed auto. If it had had a 5 speed manual I'd probably still have it. No issues with the engine. Car was reliable. Only problems were the time I smashed the oil pan on a hunk of ice while ice racing it on Lake Champlain. Oil pan is low and thin aluminum. Get a sump guard. The 1.8t is a good engine, though the vr6 makes wonderful noises. Was a kid in NER SCCA running one for a while in autocross. Don't let the haters dissuade you. And btw, MIL is the correct term regardless of make per Federal regulation to make common terms across all manufacturers.

Is a Passat too big? The B6 series wagon came with the turbo 4 and a stick. Interchangeability would get you the massive brakes my VR6 wagon has and 17" wheels are standard. On a big track my wagon will run and hide from my poor CSP Miata but the 3.6 VR6 is only available in an auto.

The 2.0T is an APR re flash away from pretty impressive power.

If room for dog+hpde is your goal I think I would go Forester XT manual, all the STI parts swap over easy and they can make close to 300whp with some minor mods.

I had a mk4 jetta TDI sedan and always wanted a wagon but the wagons are harder to find (also mine was the ALH TDI not the PD) mine was reliable but it was bare bones and was a cheap car everyway you look at it (but got great gas mileage)

The MkV is a much better car. A leap forward. The Mk3 and Mk4 were pretty stagnant. The MkV is much more Audi like (a good thing) - very nice interiors, good brakes, the direct injected turbo 2.0L is a big improvement over the 1.8T.

Take a look.

Our 2002 vr6 Jetta had 78k miles. Worst vehicle I've ever owned. Regularly needed repairs. Had an injector error code come up that I couldn't track down. Took to VW, they had it a week and gave up. Took it to a different version dealer and tried to trade it in, they told us "the sales manager says we can't take those cars in...sorry." Took it to a local mechanic named "Lucky"... hhhhhyeah.... he took my money, had the car a few days, called us to say it was fixed, two blocks from his shop the code came back and that vr6 sputtered. Took it back the next day (yeah, he gave that Jetta back to us right at closin time...) he told us "these vw's are terrible, better get a new car!" I lol' and got a refund. But asked him to clear the code. He cleared it and I drove it to the nearest Honda dealer. Incredibly, the code didn't pop up during that drive, nor when the dealership drove it. We got our new Honda Fit a week later. About six months later I went into that Honda dealership for an oil change. There's that 2002 Jetta, still on the lot, still parked in back. The salesman come over to me and proceeds to lay it on thick. Telling how "good we got it" and how "that car needs thousands in work". He Also wanted to know if I knew that prior to trading it in. "Really? Oh, that's too bad for you guys..." I said, with a smirk. To date, that rolling, clapped out, nazi car is someone else's nightmare. NEVER, EVER AGAIN, will vw trash come near my home. I'll ride a bike or walk before that happens.

I have a MkIV wagon. Actually, two of them at the moment - my 2003 TDi 5 spd and a 2002 2.0 auto parts car I bought a couple of weeks ago for the hatch and driver's front fender (they are randomly prone to rust at the top of the wheel opening).

While I haven't driven my TDI in a few years (due to reasons not the fault of the car), driving the parts car home reminded me of how much I miss that car. I really like the MkIV interior much better than the MkV. VW set a standard with that car they've had a hard time matching 18 years later. Despite the age, it doesn't really feel dated when driving it.

Otherwise, from what I've read over the years, a 1.8T is a much better option than the VR6. For one, the VR6 wagon with a manual was an exceptionally rare car - even more so than my TDi 5 spd. To the point where many MkIV enthusiasts deny its existence. I still have the MkIV sales literature from when I bought my car, so I know it did - but I'll be the first to say I have never seen one in the flesh (all VR6 cars I've spotted and been able to look inside were autos).

Regardless, the 1.8T was in general a better engine, although like all VW's with a turbo, EXTREMELY sensitive to oil quality. Especially back in 2003 when finding the correct VAG-rated oil was not easy. A lot of guys used standard Mobil 1 (5w-30), but that wasn't really good enough until the Euro Formula (0w-40) came out. For the first 2-3 years I owned my car, I usually bought oil at a local VW/Audi dealer near work. The benefit to being so neurotic about the oil was when I pulled the valve cover off a few years ago for the 300K timing belt change, the top of the engine still looked near new.

The VR6 seems to generally be more trouble prone. Most people I know who have a sour view of VW's once owned a VR6. Hell... my own prior experience with my ex's '93 Passat VR6 put me on the defensive before I even bought my car, but I took the leap anyway. The only VR6 car I'd consider is the MkIV R32.

Otherwise... my car goes through rear brakes faster than front brakes... and front hub bearings are a frequent item. The only really electrical annoyance I've had is related to the sunroof, which would randomly open and close without control input. I "fixed" that by pulling the fuse after I once found it open after I turned the car off. The sunroof on the parts car is completely fubar and won't entirely close.

A guy on TDI-club (owns the iDparts.com website) used to track his modified TDI wagon and had no problem running with a Spec Miata run group (usually dropping).

Personally, I'd go with a 2003 TDI - it was the last of the ALH engines. The emissions controls were minimal and the engines take mods well. I've often toyed with building my car to FSP specs.

Cargo-wise, the more squared off shape of the MkIV wagon seems to haul better than the more aero MkV version. I easily fit a clothes dryer in mine with plenty of room to spare.

A close second for me was the B5 ALH powered Passatts which had the bigger body and I think they had a massive fuel tank like 25 gallons which when you are getting close to 50mpgs goes a loooong way they were also built in Germany so rumored to be better built than some of the south of the border models like my jetta sedan TDI

The B5 chassis was never sold in the US with the ALH. The B4 was in 97 and 98, but the B5 was only available with the PD engine and were automatic only.

I can't seem to find it I thought there was there was a place in Washington/Oregon that was finding them and reconditioning them when I bought my jetta

For the B4 that wouldn't surprise me. Those seem to hold their value really well. That was actually why I ended up buying the Jetta new instead - when I was shopping back in 2002, all of the B4 TDi wagons I found had over 100K miles on them with asking prices of $10K, give or take. While the B4 is a much bigger car than the Jetta (back seat leg room difference alone could be a deal breaker for some), I just couldn't stomach paying that much money for a car with over 100K miles and such critical service requirements. So I bought my car new and since then I've been the only person to ever lay a wrench on it. Because of the size and relatively simple engine, the B4 ALH still sells for decent money today (at least the ones I've seen have).

Regardless... I just double checked on TDIClub and the B5 TDI was only sold in the US in 2004 and 2005, which would have the PD engine. The last year for the ALH was 2003. VW probably felt 90HP wasn't enough for a car that size.