Other fuel system problem on the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta
1 fire 1 injury 2 of the 13 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other fuel system problem gets reported
Owners of the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta report other fuel system problem at a median of 75,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 115,000 miles, from 10 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 90,000 miles. It is the 16th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 15,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 135,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 116,382 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
30% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16,868 miles | 31,950 miles | 72,800 miles | 113,250 miles | 133,250 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a fire and 1 an injury are mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $300–$2,200 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 20 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2019, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 2005 at 105,000 miles.
By volume the 2010 carries the most reports, with 100; the 2002 has 13. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
In the last six months my 2002 jetta 1.8t has been in the shop 3 times for faulty coil packs and now I need all new fuel injectors. This is a serious safety issue that should be investigated. I have had 2 new sets of redesigned coil packs and I still get an engine light causing the car to lose power and run rough, not something you want happening to you while driving 65 miles a hour on a busy highway. I wish volkswagen would issue a recall before someone really gets hurt. *nlm
I had a 2002 vw jetta 1.8t that developed serious problems related to a compter gliche that has something to do with fuel emissions as per the vw engineer I spoke with. The vehicle would experience multiple engine misfires resulting in symptoms of high engine idling, decreased ability to accelerate, stuttering of the engine upon start or with gear changes and over all sluggishness when driving. Another vehicle was awarded to me after I filed a lemon law case and vw stated they could not fix the problem. I was given the exact same make, model and year vehicle in nov 2002. This vehicle started doing the same thing in july 2002. I took it to the dealer who stated vw had not yet come up with a fix. The dealer reset the computer but within in a week the car was exhibiting the same symptoms. At that time I contacted volkswagen of america and filed a complaint and informed them I was going to file a lemon law complaint again. The next thing I know a vw rep is in town looking at my vehicle. I was then informed by the service manager that the rep did something to the computer and now I can only use premium gasoline. My concern is that he…
My 2002 volkswagen jetta gls turbo, 26,000 miles caught on fire in washington state while on the highway. I smelled gas while driving and pulled over opned hood and a fe seconds later a fire started. While on the phone with 911 there was a minor explosion and I received minor burns to the face and hands. Vehicle was towed 20 miles to karmart vw in burlington, wa. The next vw of america called and said they were investigating it. Three weeks later they called and denied the claim for repair or replacement. About $10,000 in damages. My insurance company allstate is involved and hired an engineer to investigate it. He determined it is most likely a factory defect. Vw denied to fix or replace the car becuase there no clamps present where the fire ocured. The hoses burned off about 3-6 inches. Allstate found the one of the clamps in the engine compartment. I think it rediculous that vw will not cover the damges or replace the car. What am I suppose to do with a 2 year car with major fire damage. I have lost total faith in the vehicle and don't want. I will have a hard time selling it with this kind of problem, who would want to buy car…
Also reported on the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta
Other body or interior problem
Other electrical problem
Other powertrain problem
Other engine problem
Misfire or rough idle
Tail light, brake light or signal failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 13 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other fuel system problem happen on the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta?
Across 10 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 75,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 115,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other fuel system problem on the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta?
13 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed