Why does the styling get hate?? I think VW honestly has the best looking non-luxury cars. And In my opinion this looks better than a BMW and a Mercedes. Simple looking yet Beautiful car.
Sure, some BMWs and Mercedes look worse than this German corolla, but the CLA looks much better than the Jetta. In fact, the Kia and Hyundai look better than the Jetta
Agreed, that's why I just bought one. I like the simple styling. A lot of the other new vehicles are ugly and look they came out of a 1970s sci-fi movie.
I am a serious car buyer who looking for long term serviceability and reliability in owning a vehicle. All the other car reviews on youtube are simply spilling out verbal bullshxts that I am not interested in ( Doug, redline, etc). While you man, are golden in providing me these info. Clap clap clap!!
I have a 2016 with same engine. 126000 miles. oil changes, spark plugs , filters, etc . Now timing belt. No issues except a spring in seat recliner come off. May just be my experience but it's been a great car. I drive a crap ton. Will see how it does . I'm getting carbon cleaned out soon for extra measure.
@@speedkar99 not to bad because I do it. 😁 Oil change every 7500 instead of 10000. Cost about 40$filter and oil . Trans fluid drain and fill every 75000,spark plugs, normal stuff . Cost a little more than a Nissan versa that I had and put 190000 miles on . Certain engines are better than others that's for sure. I also have a 2008 rabbit with 2.5 5cyl .It's pretty solid.
My friend bought a JETTA in 2005, used it until this year and bought another new JETTA. He is always a VW fan and he is very happy enjoying his new car. I also leased a base JETTA 6mt, it gave me a big surprise that a 1.4L engine can provide such big power regardless an ordinary 147hp number.
That "baffle" in the airbox is a Snow grate. It functions similarly as a Air oil Separator would but with snow and water. The drain at the bottom dumps it out at the bottom of the car. True while this car is a bit overenginered and may seem overwhelming to some people. Any thing that can go wrong with this car can happen with just about anything else on the road. Personally I wouldn't mind having to work on mine because I like the challenge in it.
Had a '90 Mark 2 Jetta for 12 years, and 239,000 k.m.---great driving and riding experience, but costly ownership due to poor electrics. 1.8 motor and old-style auto---i.e. 4000 rpm's at 120 k.m. Best-ever seats and visibility, great steering and tracking, and solid throughout. This purchase after owning a '79 Rabbit for 11 years. Daughter has a 2016 Jetta at 96,000 km. and no issues. Thanks, SpeedKar99 for your insightful reviews and education.---all 'top-shelf'.
I never thought I’d be interested in any video Jetta-related, short of one being driven off a cliff, but you have a straight ahead, quick paced style with enough deadpan humour thrown in to make any mechanical review interesting.
Thanks for reviewing components and systems that may require additional investment by the vehicle owner and attention by the mechanic. I recently watched quite a few under hood reviews of competitors in the entry level vehicle segment, and I am rather impressed by the Volkswagen, (VW) engine. It's intriguing enough, to where I want to look past all the plastic, flimsy vacuum lines, and replacement parts complexity. I really like how much time was taken by VW to figure out how to integrate the turbo and exhaust manifold into one piece. I really like that the intercooler was eliminated by adding a coolant line at the intake manifold. I am thankful that the water pump is on the opposite end of the timing cover and that the ball joints and wheel bearings are bolt on. To sum it up I like the vehicle design and I appreciate all that this Mexican made VW is introducing in an attempt to offer value while extracting the most efficiency and horsepower out of the engine. Down the road of vehicle ownership it appears important to keep an eye out for failing parts and cash handy to replace them.
Young man, you have done an EXCELLENT job describing all aspects & operations of the mechanical portions of this vehicle. BRAVO for knowing you stuff. Your Mom & Dad must be very proud of you....SUPER PRESENTATION !!!
Really enjoyed your excellent analysis of the engineering and ease of maintenance trade offs! I used to have aToyota Tercel and it wasn’t until I switched to a VW GTI that I realized what a phenomenal job Toyota did in making their cars easy to maintain. For example, they didn’t use all the different fasteners VW does: triple square, torx, metric bolts. My Tercel just used metric bolts everywhere and... they only used even-sized bolts: 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, etc. That made it very easy to guess which size socket to grab from the toolkit. It’s much easier to guess the socket size when they’re all 2mm apart and always even!
Agreed there. Toyota (and most Japanese) cars use even size metric until 14mm. Then it jumps to 17mm and goes odd numbers from there on to 21. Then 22 for the crank bolt.
@@speedkar99 Yeah, Japanese cars follow the JIS standard for bolt sizes, which has no 13mm, no 15mm etc. There doesn't seem to be a German DIN standard for bolt sizes!
@@Tony32 That is not so bad. So you can't simply pull it out like I can on my Mother's Nissan. Other than that I like my 2013 Passat 2.5. I fear that the CVT in my Mother's Nissan might be a Pandora's Box of problems.
I bought my 2019 VW Jetta new w cash in early 2019 and a little over 2 years and almost 40,000 miles later shes still a flawlessly running car. I drive her daily and I have the 6 speed manual but I'm a Euro car enthusiast and I owned an E90 BMW for many years before this so this engine will probably be much simpler for me whenever the day comes I do have to do a little of my own wrenching or maintenance. It's a life style! I owned an Acura TL also for a few years before my 335i and I never even thought of going back to Japenese cars, still haven't.
Thanks again for your in-depth review, I drive a 06 TDI with 260kms and still going strong with only a bad camshaft and nothing else, heavy on the oil changes 🇨🇦
I purchased a used '14 TDI sportwagen back in February and have put over 26k miles on it in 7 moths. I have looked under the hood and i can already tell if anything goes out i am screwed (The engine bay is so convoluted) . This is my 2nd V.W and i completely understand why everyone loves to talk crap about V.W's engineering. But if you take care of it will will have many trouble free miles! I personally love my wagen i drive around 200-250 miles a day and i get amazing highway mpg, the car is quite and smooth and the build quality has held up extremely well for a 7 year old German car.
We do have a lots of this engine in europe. It is pretty quick and fuel efficient. It is the Most fuel efficient 4 cylinder on the market. I hope they do also hold up as well.
I have a 2014 Jetta with the 1.8L motor and it's been a really good car for me. @68K miles no issues except that I am on my third battery. The stock batteries are really weak in these cars. Other than that it's been super reliable with no issues other than general maintenance ☺️!!!
My 2000 Daewoo Lanos was designed in such way, that it had holes in sound deadening material around spray nozzles. They would melt first quickly after engine startup.
I absolutely love these mechanical reviews you do...for somebody like me who keeps cars a long time being able to see all of the engineering involved and what maintenance may be like over the course of time is priceless information. That being said, as much as I want to like VW, I'm not at all impressed with the Jetta...seems like it's made to be disposable. I'm a lot more impressed with Hyundai's engineering and their apparent preference for keeping things simple and using more tried-and-true technology.
It’s fantastic to get this kind of review. You point out the potential problems. You do seem to say they’re trouble prone. And all those sensors and plastic parts = expensive and unreliable.
I have a 2017 Jetta with 90,000 miles. But I take of my cars and keep up with the maintenance and use Amsoil oil and filter. Last time I changed the oil at 90,000 the oil looked almost as new as the oil I put back the Jetta. And I follow Vw guidelines on oil changes every 10,000 miles.
Hope you do review of 2022 Jetta. Since its their 1.5 Turbo engine but other than that I'm very curious if there is difference between other systems like suspension, cooling setup.
@@speedkar99 easier than every other newer turbo 4 cylinder that I've worked, and many other NA 4 cylinders and other modern engines. The BMW N20 is my least favorite, followed by Honda V6s
Hertz after they get their rental car back: Why is there someone's brother's underwear in the glovebox? Speedkar guy: Did you happen to see a dirty toothbrush in there too?
VW dealer tech here. The transmission does actually have a fill plug right below the front of the battery tray. It’s a Torx T55 and takes at least a two foot ratchet with a swivel to break it loose haha
It makes me sick that we have the capability with modern tech to produce a 1980 Corolla that could go 1 million miles stock but instead all this tech is used to gank the reliability of our cars and increase profit margins. It's more society's fault though. If we lived in an intelligent culture that valued saving and preparation we'd all be picking from selections of tanked-out cars that never broke.
I have one of these! I have a 2019 Jetta Execline with the virtual cockpit, but I gotta say the Jetta 1.4T EA211 147hp is extremely slow and underpowered, and the small displacement and big turbo also has ALOT of turbo lag, when you press the gas pedal the car stutters for 2 seconds then starts slowly accelerating then when it reaches 3,000 rpm the turbo kicks in and you get good acceleration only after the turbo spools up at around 3,000 rpm, I wish VW had kept the 1.8T/170hp engine but the only way to fix the 1.4T lag problem is by using very expensive Shell V-Power 91 octane premium gas, on cheap 87 gas the 1.4T stutters very much and not smooth. I strongly recommend buying the Jetta GLI with 2.0T/228hp EA888 which is so much more power, more smooth and drives miles ahead better than the 1.4T standard Jetta
It's like the US is getting fake VWs. Because in Europe and Africa this is honestly a different story. That 1.8 engine was long discontinued because it is old fashioned and way too heavy on fuel.
It's a small turbocharged engine. You gotta run it with the proper gasoline to get the most out of it. Regular gas in Europe is 95 octane RON, or 90-91 American units. 87 will just not cut it, because its octane rating is way below what the engine is designed to use. Having 87 in this engine is like trying to bake cinnamon buns with salt instead of sugar.
I remember back when VW was fighting to be one of the top players on the US market... And coming out with shitboxes like this one. It's a far cry from what they sell on the European market.
Stuff like the engine leaking because of poorly attached hoses, the engine rocking back and Forward and the fact that dealers in the usa screw over their customers makes me as a European wonder why any us person buys one. A German made vw wouldn't have half of these problems
Great review as always. Seems like it’s an vehicle built with extreme cost cutting on the powertrain and chassis, however more money on the interior and exterior where most owners will interact and live. I’m curious where the reliability will fall after it’s outside the warranty. History points towards bad times, but for most first owners it will likely hold up long enough.
VW has been using that engine in Jettas since 2016. No real issues... but as is typical with German cars, maintenance and repairs are more complicated than they need to be.
@@speedkar99 I rented a Toyota Camry a few weeks ago. It drove like a washing machine on wheels. Why people would by them is beyond me. Get a car that's nice to drive.
@@umeng2002 THANK YOU. Jesus. All four cylinder Camrys have engines that sound like lawnmowers. I've been in countless Ubers (Rav4, Camry mainly) with rattling transmissions and they drive like tanks.
You can turn it off...? I do it all the time. Start/Stop is not necessariily a bad feature when you're driving in the city a lot. Just turn it off when you don't need it.
I had a 2014, never will I own a VW again. Had 2 fan controllers take a unexpected layoff. It caused my TDI to get stuck in regen mode. The fans would keep running and running when the engine was off and would kill the battery. I had a standard trans, which was excellent, it got 60 mpg to work and 48 going home. The emissions update I should have never done the first time. It screwed up the mileage
I use my 2019 Jetta for Doordash and it has been super reliable. I do keep up on all maintenance intervals. Just had my timing belt replacement at 144k i plan on doing it again at 250k
@elvirhodzic5720 my 1st, but keep in mind it was only 4 years old. With timing belts, you should factor both mileage and age of the belt. If it is an older belt, change it sooner. It was expensive to replace. $1500 but way cheaper than a new engine.
I just found your channel recently and I am loving the content. Could you do a mechanical review on the Subaru Legacy? I have an ‘08 GT (limited sadly) and would love to know all the ins and outs of it.
I have a 2015 Mazda 3 2.5l. And I just want to say that is how an engine bay should be laid out. Just about any job is a dream. Not that it has ever needed anything done. It's super reliable. But changing the air filter is a 30 second job.
The carbon buildup is not just with a Volkwagen but ALL direct injected engines. It is just nice that some have the injectors that spray over the valves also. I guess they realized that the direct injection was causing problems. There are catch cans for that problem but I never had a direct injected car before and never had that problem.
@@andybub45 I've never had a nozzle freeze over, but i have had ice freeze over top of them. Really hard to get off. Its nice to have washer fluid in -14 snowy weather. I think thats a nice feature for some places. But then you look at the 12 point reverse torx bolts that'll rust to pieces in a snowy climate and youll need to turn to liquid to remove. Horrible.
@@elkofcanada5003 i have never seen that happen to any vehicle once use the appropriate fluid 😳 at over 1300 meters above sea level with winters - 37°C ice on top yes inside the sprayer never seen it unless u going below - 50°C then u would have other issues
IMO, all German cars have some sort of complexity and they all use those torx screw bolts. After buying a set of torx tools, I'm all good. The torx design means it is less likely to shear as you try to unscrew or screw it. They are better for repeatitive use. I actually think the Jeep 4cyl is more complex and in a very unnecessary manner, so this VW is much better. As for the large amount of plastic parts, I think that could be troublesome in the future.
I really like it. Got the 6sp manual. Get better mileage than EPA estimate. I'm averaging... Averaging 38. It gets 46-47 highway pretty easily. Back roads driving easy 50. It isn't slow either. Handles great. Very quiet inside.
The cheapening is very evident, i used to have a MK6 Jetta(EU) "mid" model with TDI BKD engine, front suspension subframe was a huge laser-cut aluminium cast, plus the control arms where not stamped steel but cast pieces, rear suspension was multi-link as standard. The trunk used a articulating arm that was situated outside the trunk itself(so it occupies no space inside) instead of the cheap swing bars that protrude inside, it also had a motorized sunroof. Oil leaks everywhere is VW standard and cramped engine compartment chock full of hoses and sensors is par for the course. Also, timing belts are much better than chains, we tend to keep our cars almost for 10+ years, and a chain change is unholy expensive compared to a TB kit, hell with a couple of tools you can do a DIY TB change, not a chance to do that on a chain. I bet that summing 10 years of timing belts is still not as expensive as a timing chain(which a lot of times is a engine-out procedure)
@@speedkar99 i don't know if it's an "upgrade", but for OUR market it's much better as it's cheap to change(never engine out), and they usually last 120K(Km), you don't want to buy an used car where a chain change is 1/4 of the cost of the car (used cars here don't depreciate, in fact they get more expensive as time goes by). And as i've said, it can be done DIY
I don't see the problem with belts? They have to be changed every 100k miles but so does the tensioners on a chain setup which failure is likely to have a similar result than a worn belt. The most common failure mode for a timing belt is for some teeth to be stripped out not for a catastrophic rupture and although a chain is less likely to break a chain tensioner failure will also result in skipping a few gear. That being said many 4l VW engines have a timing belt between crank and exhaust cam but also a chain with tensioner between the cams on the backside of engine. Oh and about the cheapening: an interior review would have shown the money went into the electronics/infotainment which seems to be on top of its category and what many people are looking for now.
Have 2015. 280000km driven and no issues at all. regular oil changes and official maintenance = car runs great. Well i am european and use it in europe not US Manual gear tho.
@@speedkar99 yes vw has been doing it forever now. Its just a small heating element in the nozzle powered by that cable. I think its more to keep the nozzles themselves warm so ice cant form and clog them up. The fluid doesnt really need to be warm due to its low freezing point.
You can reach down behind the air intake at the front and get to the oil filter. It's a tight squeeze and I have large forearms but I was able to get to the oil filter that way. It's not easy but for me it's better than removing the belly guard under the car.
@@speedkar99 parts.vw.com/p/Volkswagen_2019_Jetta/Nozzle-Washer-Heated/48365985/5M0955986C9B9.html You do have to use anti-freeze as usual. Somwhere I read that the nozzles are more likely to freeze if they are not located above the engine. So if they are near the windshield VW heat them. BTW I love your videos. Pure content and no blah blah filler.
I bet that oil leak is because the guy at Firestone, yes, Firestone in particular (or maybe Valvoline but especially Firestone, both of those places' cars came in to my old job fucked up like this on a regular basis) simply tightened the drain plug with his fingers and didn't bother using a ratchet
The dealers can actually be just as bad. I've had a dealer use an air impact gun on the drain plug that flattened the crush washer paper thin...! I do all my own oil changes now...
@@andybub45 some climates experience cold snaps. I live in Edmonton which regularly gets -40'C or below in winter. Never had washer fluid freeze on me there. I was in Wales, in the UK during a cold snap a few years ago and every car had their washer fluid freeze solid because it was watered down for the temperatures expected in that climate, even though it was only -10'C or so.
@@andybub45 it can freeze. When jets are heated up from engine after long drive, fluid (or antifreeze component like alcohol) vaporize and next day you can have freezed jets. In old Opel (vaxhaul) Senator there was also electrically heated jets. In some Volvo you can find heated washer fluid tank with engine coolant (via heat exchanger).
Love the fact you are realistic, there is no "if" but "when" it fails. VW quality has taken an extreme nosedive in the last 3-5 years. Anyone thats compared the 7.5 Golf to an 8 would see. We have a 6R Polo (other half's daily driver) no chance its staying with us past warranty. Way too much risk. Lovely to drive though.
Most of ‘cost-cutting on 7.5 to 8’ is the emperors new clothes. Golf 8 comes with more standard kit and is a finer tuned car. For example, it doesn’t have a gas bonnet strut, but it has 2 bonnet catches and the bonnet is actually aluminium so it is very light. The interior is just as solid too.
I guess you just can't include simple and German engineer's in the same sentence, this jetta is not all that expensive compared to the corolla but you are going to spend a lot of money fixing it
Awesome review! I have a 2017 and 2019 Jetta a haven't had any oil leak problems yet..crossing my fingers. In your Jetta it looks like the leak is coming from the oil filter.
All German cars use lug bolts. How does that make it more difficult to put on the wheel? When you remove them the wheels stays there versus those with lug nuts where it just flops skew.
There's a thin lip on which the wheel is sitting. So it won't fall after the log bolts are out. But you need align the holes when putting the the wheels back on. A few cursing words can help.
Lug bolts are way less of a PITA compared to dealing with lug nuts on small cars like this IMHO. Only time I like seeing lug nuts and studs is heavy truck tires.
It’s just different and both ways are pretty easy once you get used to these as well. Line up pins exist to help and as stated these have a hub to center and hold the wheel.
@@FxRiderST It's really not that difficult. They have a long thin tool that fits into another hole making it simple to line up. Even without it, it isn't that difficult. It can be easily rotated on it. Certainly better than a floppy skew wheel using lug nuts.
We appreciate the engineering, tech, solid built quality for an affordable price. The MPG, regular transmission, and low end torque are the selling point for me. If you don't mind, which state do you practice?
The timing belt is almost preferable because timing chains (especially VW chains) don’t actually last a long time, maybe 120k before the stretch gets bad. And VW makes the chains impossible to replace unlike the belt
I don’t know but my theory is they use them as a deterrent for DIY repair. An average person doesn’t have triple square or Torx sockets so they are more likely to bring the car to a shop. I found this interesting on a BMW I have, they interchange between regular metric bolts and Torx on certain parts. What’s strange is they add Torx bolts to very specific parts, such as the air filter housing, but use metric bolts on the suspension. Germans also love using hex for caliper slide pins and rotors screws. As for the transmission fill port, this is pretty common nowadays with “lifetime fluids”, you just have to get creative and find the factory procedure for replacing it.
Torx can take more torque and don't strip easily. The torx screws are actually awesome. The problem is that VW didn't take the time and effort to simplify things. Making things simple actually requires a lot of skill and effort.
@@speedkar99 just because the washer fluid itself doesn't freeze doesn't mean that water from the outside can't get into the tips and freeze. Happened all the time on my old SAAB and Oldsmobile even with super low temp washer fluid. Particularly if we had freezing rain or rapid temp drops after a wet day.
"typical volkswagen oil leak" Camera pans up to show a leaking, crap quality Chinese made Canadian backwater auto parts special instead of a quality Mann, UFI, or Mahle filter.
I had an2009 Audi A4 Quattro avant. In the 4 years of ownership: The oil pan rusted a hole into it (HOW?!?!) The engine was replaced (tsb) The rearview mirror dry rotted. The middle cup holder/arm rest broke in the seat, unable to get it out. The sun roof drain tubes would constantly plug and drain into the backseat and passenger door well. Audi is chevy level quality at MB prices. Never own an Audi
True, but my dealer uses new plug and o-ring at every " yearly" oil change to prevent leaks. I would use the VW filter part, seeing how long it is in service. Price difference is aboot the cost of 3 litres of petrol - Sandy
@@speedkar99 Because in the northern climates the washer nozzles often freeze. Washer fluid is a mixture of alcohol and water. The alcohol evaporates from the washer fluid sitting in the nozzles and then the water left over freezes the washer nozzles shut. Heated washer nozzles are pretty common and several manufacturers (Not just VW) offer them.
15:05 "they are still using lug bolts which makes it more difficult to install wheels" True but owner should know there is a wheel hanger/alignment pin in the trunk tool kit to solve this issue or can be ordered on Amazon.
Awsome video used it to help me service my 2019 Jetta Highline, only thing I wished you added was the jack points to the review, since there are no resources showing where to jack up the car.