Good choice with the CrossClimate2's, we have them on both of our cars and they've been great, even in the snow.

On my 2011 VW GTI the volume knob not being vertical meant I only used the steering wheel controls. I like things orderly.

I can't believe that it's six years ago. Seems like just a few months ago that you did your initial review, and it still looks like new.

I will always watch a vwestlife video no matter the subject

Hi Kevin. Being a long time follower of your videos, this made me think about your "not pulling off carrying a purse"-joke. Your dry humor makes me happy. Thank you :D

So glad to see another car video on your channel. Manual transmission forever!

Good video as always. I believe (please confirm) that your engine is a GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection.) If that is in fact the case, the carbon buildup that you mention in the intake manifold is NOT from the gasoline, but rather one of the downsides of GDI. In a GDI engine (turbo or not) the gasoline is injected directly into each cylindar and does not spray over the intake valves. The EGR (Exhaust gas recirulation) system along with the PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) allows "dirty," or carbon rich gasses, and a small amount of atomized engine oil to flow through the intake manifold, and accumulate on the intake valves. In a MPI (Multi Port Injection) engine, (not GDI) the fuel injectors spray fuel into the intake manifold, typically one for each cylindar. The gasoline disolves the carbon buildup. If you determine that your engine is a GDI, there are do it yourself systems to clean off the carbon, or take it to a dealer or mechanic that you have absolute trust in. When it gets really bad (most likely was your case) the intake manifold has to come off and then the carbon is removed off the valves mechanically, or blasted off with walnut shells (not kidding.) I read on the Internet that some dealers will not explicitly explain all that for PR and marketing reasons. VW has a bad reputation in that catagory. I drive a KIA with a Turbo GDI engine, and the exact same thing happens. However, as a precaution, I use CRC Intake Valve Cleaner every 12K miles to prevent the buildup. If it is a GDI, and carbon build up was the cause, then that would explain the symptoms you were having. If it is in fact a GDI engine, the gasoline NEVER goes through the intake manifold, only air and oily blow-by gasses, etc. Carbon (soot) and goo can build up inside the intake manifold over time no matter what type of engine you have, but if you are being told that its the gasoline, they are lying to you. Please let me know. Thanks and Happy New Year!

VWestlife - one of the few guys on youtube that can run out of tape

love your style of videos, always entertaining yet informative

This was interesting to see how so many of the features that my old 2000 Audi A4 were still carried on in the Jetta so many years later. Also shows how slow VW/Audi was to make changes and evolve designs back then.

I just realized how long I have been following this channel for. Not only I remember when you first got the current Jetta, but I also remember when you got the Subaru. I live in Japan and don't own a car, but I always found you car videos very satisfying to watch!

I love that you left in the little blooper while driving, lmao

That gauge cluster illumination tech has to be one of the most German solutions to a basic problem I think I've ever seen. The wiper "maintenance position" feature is probably a close second. To their credit, I don't think I've ever seen a single Volkswagen with their headlights off at night. It's always Toyotas and Nissans.

Nice to see someone take proper care of and prefer a manual! On my side of the Atlantic manual is the default and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Fun fact about Michelin CrossClimate tires. In Finland an Sweden we drive folk racing, it is like budget version of rallycross. All special motorsport tires are banned so people use all wheather tires becaus those have best traction. couple years ago Michelin Cross Climate tires were banned because they could get so much traction on asphalt that lighter cars would wheelie and create dangerous situations on starting line.

So strange to hear a HubNut reference while watching another of my favourite channels!!

Glad you're still having a great time with the Jetta! Hope it gives you many years more of reliable service!

I always forget how much i love your videos

Normally a Honda guy here, but I find this manual Jetta to be quite interesting to me. It seems like it has many simple yet elegant features that speak to a practical-minded person like myself. Thanks for the great video!

I was looking for a first car, thinking of getting a Civic, but you're videos convinced me to get a VW. I ended up getting a 2010 Golf S with a 2.5 naturally aspirated inline-5, and a 5-speed manual. I am loving the car so far, the interior is great, it has a surprising amount of nice features for a base model, and the driving experience is really satisfying and refined. People say that VWs aren't super reliable, but with a simple N/A engine, a manual transmission, and good maintanance, they can last quite a while. Mine has 145k miles and runs like it's brand new. I plan on keeping up with maintenance and keeping the car as long as possible, as there aren't any new cars that fit my needs as good as this car.

As many have already said, gotta love the manual transmission and physical buttons. I'll probably never get rid of my Focus with a few simple mods because of those exact features, and i's complete lack of driver aids (traction control and ABS). I do enjoy going to SCCA events in the summer with it, although I may stop taking it to those as it gains miles, but also may take the opportunity to engine swap it as low mileage examples are still available cheaply. Great review. I'm normally hesitant about turbo charged little engines. I prefer 2L+ NA engines as they should last longer. However, seeing your service history, it seems that actual engine wear isn't all that much of an issue as you get higher up in the miles.

Happy new year!

I have a 2018 Golf R 7.5 with a 6 speed and it has 6,000 miles. I like the innovation where the glove box doubles as a mini refrigerator due to the air tube from the ductwork. I took it in for an oil change, which was basically fresh oil from the year before and the service guy said it was really clean and still new.

Quirks and features....Doug DeWestlife. Also, nothing snow related has changed. It will be back to normal next year when el nino goes away. Keep those snow tires.

This is the tipe of video that I like. The one that shows all the little quirks and features of a car, or anything really.

Lovely car. Happy New Year mate!

It is quite unfortunate that manual transmissions have become so rare. I agree that they make driving fun, and gives the driver a better feel for the vehicle. One of the vehicles in my collection is a low-mileage 2003 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, Tomb Raider Edition (#1 of about 1,050 produced), with a 5-speed manual. It is a ton of fun! Great choice to keep the Jetta. It has many more reliable miles left in it. Enjoy watching your videos over the years!

Thank you awesome videos just got a 2019 golf good to know what to expect!! 😊

Yeah! Keep this Jetta going! My 2003 Jetta has been in the family for 21 years now and is still going strong at 200k miles. Maintenance is key when it comes to Volkswagens.

Jetta is a cool car,i believe 90% of Jettas of this generation sold here in Brazil are automatic,manual is absolutely rare with 1.4 TFSI,the quirks of your jetta reminds some things of my Polo 9N3 2011. As always your videos are so cool specially in 720p 😂it's a nice touch!As a gear head and tape head too, LOL,please more videos about your cars.

Thanks for this report, Kevin. I have experienced very long life from VW brakes. The best was 88K miles on the original brakes in a 2001 Passat 4-Motion Wagon. I drove a lot of highway miles, but the brakes still got a good workout. That car was very reliable. The only warranty claim was to replace the catalytic converters. We just put CrossClimate2s on the wife's Tiguan and so far, so good. But we're still waiting for the first snow...

I once had a stick shift VW Jetta from 2002, it was a lease, I learned to drive on that car. The car was fun to drive, but the maintenance especially for the diesel model was hard to do for local dealerships. But it got really good fuel economy, especially on the highway, my dad drove it everyday to work. Diesel fuel was once cheaper than premium gas.

Ive wanted a 90s passat TDI for years because of that one video you did a while back (how I discovered this channel). Coincidentally, I just bought a 2012 Jetta SE 2.5 off of a family member for really cheap. It’s my first VW and I love it-just wish it were a manual.

Nice I always like your car videos. Glad you are keeping the Jetta since new cars kinda suck now. I also like the old camcorder video it just has a cozy feel to it.

My wife and I recently bought a 2020 Jetta 1.4T (base model with an automatic) to replace her 2007 Rabbit (2.5L with an automatic) which was totaled in a head-on collision (airbag deployed, wife is fine). We bought the car with 7,400 miles on it in September 2023. Since it was a CPO Car (Certified Pre-Owned), VW of North America extends the warranty 12 months or 12,000 miles, so we get 84,000 miles ending some time in late 2026. So far, I'm impressed with the fuel economy that this car gets. We run it on Sam's Club fuel, so we may have to switch that up to top tier stuff. My list of items that I wish our car had is fairly short. - Heated Seats - Adaptive Cruise Control - A sound system that integrates with my phone (an iPhone 8) better. It usually works, but gives me issues about 15% of the time. - Lighter interior color (ours is dark charcoal grey, which in Phoenix is a recipe for a scorched butt and thighs). It is fabric, which we prefer. Liked the review and will keep in mind the 40,000 mile spark plug issue. Cheers.

Happy new year.

I've come so close to buying a Jetta a few times. I really like them. Lovely cars. Yours is nice BTW! and looks like you have taken good care of it.

Happy 2024, Kevin! 🎉

hi Kevin! I had a Golf TDI and the exhaust manifold clogged up. The dealer said it was from using cheap engine oil and that I should be using synthetic oil. Since it was a Diesel, it used a certain type of oil. The kicker was I always got the oil changed at the dealership! They did not recommend the synthetic oil to me until it was too late. I was so pissed!

Happy New Year Vwestlife!

I'm glad you're still enjoying the Jetta. I drive a 2015 Golf SE TDI that I purchased at the beginning of 2019. I've had it for right at 5 years, and I've gone from 43K miles to 110K miles. It's the 6-speed manual and drives extremely well. So far the only issues it's had are it needed a new battery (twice), the sunshade was broken and was replaced under the CPO warranty (it was like that when I bought it), the front drivers seat started showing the cracking that your seat is (replaced under warranty), and the sunroof and trunk both leaked water. The water leaks took a lot of time to find where the water was coming in, but I eventually fixed the issue myself for the cost of some time and RTV. Otherwise, it's been solid as a rock. It gets about 42mpg mixed, and gets me from here to there without issue. I've always had VWs and probably always will. Glad to see your Jetta is holding up fairly well. I've been curious about the 1.4L and 1.5L engines.

I like the 80's 90's vibe with music you put under it and the handycam footage with the authentic color fringing, contrast and standard defenition image quality. The outside of the car also feels 90's. The pricelist you showed, i know i will never have the money to buy and maintain a car.

It's normal to bash VW recently, so a good review of a well built European car is nice to see. So many thoughtful touches. I loved my old Audi A6.

Happy New Year!

I love the picture quality of your videos and the music. Reminds me of my childhood in the 80s. I have no interest in cars as do not drive but still enjoyed the video.

A modern VW is fine as long as you keep it serviced properly and choose a manual transmission, though unfortunately that choice is becoming more limited by the year. Signed, a 2012 VW Up owner with 100k miles (160k km) on it.

Your CEL and random cyl misfire issue mirrors my experience with my 2017 Golf R. Still in the shop as we speak. Only my dealer kept misdiagnosing the issue. At around the same milage as yours, I replaced spark plugs and coil packs, but that didn't fix it. Then they kept saying it was due to the ECU running too rich at cold start, and that an update should fix it. The update never came and now if it ever comes out, they want to charge me for it because im no longer under warranty. Now that the warranty is over, I went to a tuning shop that specializes on VW/Audis and they said it most likely carbon buildup on the valves. But by now my car has 172k miles and the carbon buildup was really bad. It's taken them 2 weeks to clean with chemical solvents. They told me they couldn't use walnut blasting because that would only chip away at the surface. Cylinder 3 was the worst of it. Unlike your valve cleaning that cost $600, they charged me almost $1.7k. I'm pretty mad at my VW dealer for not taking care of this around the 38k mark like yours did. This gave me really bad vibes with VW and I was about to swear them off for my next vehicle (thinking of going back to Japanese like Toyota, Honda, or Subaru). But now i feel like my current car will last a bit longer without costing me too much more on repairs. Thanks for sharing your long term review of your Jetta. It actually helped me understand what's happening with my own car.

My father has a 2019 Jetta 1.4t manual with a little over 202,000 miles. No real problems with it other than wear items expiring, the car recently received a clutch and timing belt service a few weeks ago. Good and surprisingly engaging vehicle.

I started buying used Jettas for my daughters when the became drivers. I have owned three. They are wonderful cars that give you A LOT of value for your money. Very happy with them.

I'm been waiting for an update of this. 😀

Yeah it's nice to see someone who taking care of theirs stuffs a very nice car you have love it.

On the subject of winter vs all weather tires: if you have a proper winter tire, it will not work as good in the summer as a summer tire. The rubber compound of the tire is softer, which in turn means that in the summer you'll get longer brake lengths and the car might hydroplane at lower speeds. But I guess this is well known to everyone. This video also made me miss my old 2016 Mazda 2 gasoline powered card. I have a 2021 Mazda MX30 electric vehicle now...

Love how the video format is a reference to the old VW introductory VHS tapes.

The fact that you upload in 720p still is on point.

'Triangle of Doom' 😂 I hope Ian is watching

I thought I spied a wonky knob before you did the radio segment! I’m also glad that you rotated that volume knob vertically as well! Alas we do not get the Jetta down under anymore, stopped in about 2017, and manuals are long gone.

Way to go! Rowing the gears like I prefer to do on my 6-spd 2013 CC. The carboned-up intake track is a result of direct injection as likely your car is as is my CC. The CC calls for premium fuel (as it is turbocharged) and though that is the only fuel I ever used I too had to have the intake track cleaned at around 40k miles due to carbon build-up. Without fuel washing over the valves this will happen.

Happy New year

Funny, I bought my Jetta in 2018 too. Mine is a 1990 model and had 140k when I bought it. It is the most modern car I currently own with the most luxury, it has power steering. My other 5 cars are older, I will never ever buy a modern car in my life.

Happy New Year

The carboned up intake valves has nothing to do with fuel quality. Your engine is direct injected, spays fuel directly into the cylinders over the piston crown. Oil vapor from the PCV system does not get washed off the intake valves like in a normal port injection engine, it builds up to the point where it causes issues with misfire. To be honest this is not just a VW thing its pretty much standard on most DI engines you will probably have to do the cleaning again in the future.

I got my 2014 Jetta 1.8T SE MK6 automatic w/ ~170hp in late 2016 and it had 25k miles on it. It used to belong to a Floridian car rental, so I'm the second owner. It is now 400 miles short of 100k and so far no major drivetrain issues. I did have to replace the AC compressor, and the AC side (passenger side) cooling fan motor at the radiator started making rattling noise, but that I could repair myself. And I had a service company change the rear brake pads just a couple weeks ago. And the front break pads I've never had to change, and they are now at 6mm (I hear they come brand new at 12mm). As for fuel, I have never run premium grade gasoline on the vehicle, only regular and never had any clogging issues, but I use QT or Love's most of the time so that may factor in. On cold days below freezing I do occasionally observer the car start at fairly low RPM's (maybe around 750rpm), which I'm not sure of, but it doesn't run rough and otherwise idles normally. All my previous fuel injected gas cars ran at a high RPM to warm up and then settled to about 700-800rpm. I still get around 37-45mpg with it, depends on the season. In winter I can regularly hit over 40mpg with the air conditioner turned off. But the brutal heat during Texas summer means lower fuel economy, around 37-40 because I run the air conditioner all the time at full blast.

so cool to see your Jetta has the same fob my 2005 Jetta Wagon has! only difference is i use that switchblade key to start it lolll

In my 2014 Jetta TDI, I was able to use the "Carista OBDII" adapter to modify some parameters in my car -- including making the mirror heaters turn on with the rear defrosters. Might be worth looking into. There are some other tweaks you can make with it to. For example, I was able to disable the seat belt alarm -- I do wear my seatbelt, but at least in my Jetta throwing my cellphone onto the passenger seat made the car think someone was sitting there and it'd ding at me because my... cell phone wasn't wearing a seatbelt. (Also I'm not advertising the Carista. There are plenty of devices that can probably do the same things, it was just a cheap way for me to do it)

I have a 2017 Volkswagen Beetle Dune, and at 46,000 miles it’s been a blast to drive. Easy to maintain, it’s fun, it’s cheap to use. I’ll do a video! VW’s are charming cars. I’ll always love them. Many of the same quirks ‘N’ features you pointed out, apply also to the Beetle’s I’ve driven over the years. Including my Beetle Dune.

I love your tech videos, dude, and this one is no exception. It's a lot of fun! Although I do question the validity of that MPG in a VW. 😁 But I am surprised you drive so much. I wouldn't have thought that was your jam. Have you thought about getting a bicycle for the new year?

With an ICE car I totally agree with you on the Manual drive. I always had manual drives on my ICE cars as well. That changed when I went electrical, then the accelleration is as good as the motor will allow you, and it leaves the ICE cars behind in the dust. I have a weird quirk in my Electrical car and that is that I cannot turn on the Mirror Heaters manually at all, in fact, the only way they will turn on is when the AC is in Auto mode, then it will work perfectly, without it - everything is a mess.

I never thought I'd see HubNut's Triangle of Doom get a mention on here 🙂

cheesy old corporate promo video music goes perfect with the random business parking lots you used as sets...has kind of a 80s Motorweek feel to it, well done!

The CrossClimate 2's are also first on my list when it comes time to replace the Yokohamas on mine. The dealership only valuing your car at $9500 seems like an enormous rip-off to me. That is an $18,000 USD car in my area, and I say that knowing that's what it cost new in your area.

A friend had a Golf V with the 1.4 TSI which was chiptuned at some point. With the six speed manual transmission I got it to around 52 mpg cruising country roads in 90 km/h. 40-45 was common. Great engine!

Glad to hear you're not replacing your car unnecessarily. My 2006 Subaru Legacy GT isnt going anywhere - even though it's EJ257 engine costs a fortune to fuel nothing ever seems to fail on it with just normal maintenance.

I always found that I got slightly better gas mileage when using premium fuel in my 1.4TSI Golf. So much so that the cost per mile was hardly any higher.

Cherish manual gear change and physical buttons for heater controls in this car. You can hardly find those in a new car.

A fellow manual enjoyer I see. Very based!

Do you shoot your videos with a MiniDv camcorder? It's got the early 2000s, late 90s look.

Delightful!

I’m actually going to listen to you as you have the manual

I was sad to get rid of my Golf a few years ago. I never drove it because I live a short walk from the grocery store, and public transport is also super convenient to get to most places here. Plus I don't have off-street parking, so maintaining it wasn't easy. I've been thinking of moving to a place with off-street parking, so I've also considered getting a new car as well. The Polo is the replacement for my old Golf (size-wise; the current Golf is about the same size as a hatchback version of the Bora would've been back when my Golf was new), but I've also been looking at electric cars and they don't make an electric Polo, so that's no good. I could've dropped down to an E-Up, but apparently it's a criminal offence to own a city car in Australia, which is probably why they're not sold here. So sadly Volkswagen no longer makes any cars that I'm interested in buying.

Cool Jetta! Happy New Year VWestlife! All the best from Hoboken, New Jersey.. )^_-)/

The feature with the wipers automatically switching to intermittent was a feature of the 1993 BMW 3 series I used to drive - not sure how long that feature had been around then, nor when VW introduced it themselves, but it was incredibly convenient when driving in traffic in patchy rain! The intermittent interval also decreased with your road speed, and would even give an extra wipe when you first started off with the wipers on. Fresh air intake for the climate control would automatically switch to a partial recirculation above about 70km/h, and would also do this when the interior temperature was significantly hotter than outside and you were trying to cool things down (you'd notice the switch back to more fresh air around 2ºC warmer than set temp, especially in humid weather, as the A/C would lose that telltale cold crispness of recirc).

Ive got the same tires you have on my ford fusion and they are the best wet weather tires I've ever had. Hopefully they work as well for you as they have for me

"I knew that was going to happen" - love it!😂

I LOVED my white 2015 2.5 SE and am still, STILL pissed off at the drunk driver who rear ended me at the end of 2017, 13 days after a major hurricane (Harvey). Best car I ever owned, first one I ever bought brand new, still crying myself to sleep every night!

...exciting driving music! 🎶🎹

Great cars love the mk6 I miss my 2015 gli

I like that it still has a cd player. My 2019 Honda civic didn't have one.

Holy smokes! You drive a lot! I still have my Saturn automobile that I got brand-spankin' new back in June of 2002 It currently has 106,288 miles on the odometer.

I have a 2014 Jetta TDI wagon 6 speed manual. It's funny that you have the same dashboard gauges as mine where is a friend of mine has the digital fuel gauge and no temperature gauge on his 2017 and his 2015. My brother has the infamous 2.5 L 5 cylinder Jetta from 2009 with a 5-speed manual. I love my diesel the only issue I had with it was the DPF and EGR got clogged up under warranty and they reissued the warranty for another 120k so that's awesome that I get covered again. The problem was that the car came from carvana but back when it had its emissions recall in 2019 supposedly the dealership in Colorado changed out the DPF. But when I took it to the dealership a few months ago when the warranty work was being performed they said it was never changed because it looks to be original from 2014. I thought it was funny when you said about the dashboard lights they dim down so that you actually are not stupid enough to not turn on your headlights. Unfortunately I saw somebody driving an Audi and a new Jetta the dashboard lights stay lit and even though I tried giving the guy attention by saying hey lights are off I got a crude hand gesture.. I get these idiots on Facebook that you got to love they want to push you to get an Ev.. just like a certain KZfaqr on here 8 bit guy... They know where they can shove them ev cars etc. I will never get rid of my diesel wagon. Mine has 113,000 mi on it when I got it it had 52k in 2021 Dec. Upgraded to LED headlights and Lakeshore to keep that car clean especially in the fender Wells so that the drain doesn't get clogged and start a rust issue. I also have Goodyear assurance tires it originally had Goodyear weather-ready assurance tires and they weren't that good. The current originally had according to what the full size spare is Bridgestone. Good video is always Kevin

I have those tires. Great in the wet and decent in the snow. I still run a true winter tire, living in Calgary Alberta but they are good for occasional winter weather. The intake manifold cleaning is most likely due to the engine being a "direct fuel injection" motor. With the fuel being directly injected into the cylinder, the intake manifold and valves gets full of carbon from the engines exhaust gas re circulation system (EGR). Port injection engines naturally cleaned this from the fuel sprayed in the intake ports.

love me some of that 90's videography

My mom had a 2010 Jetta diesel wagon that she put almost 400k miles on in a little over 5 years. I drove it a few times. Unfortunately it got totaled right before the whole "Dieselgate" thing. A friend of mine recently got a 2018 Jetta wagon that I got a chance to drive from Michigan to Canada and back. I absolutely love everything about modern Jettas on paper, but for some reason, I really don't find them all that enjoyable to drive.

Incidentally I just rolled over 77k in my 2018 Audi A4 quattro coming home from vacation today. No complaints here, car was reliable thru the 4 year/50k warranty period. Only non-maintenance item I had to repair out of warranty at 60k was blown engine mounts (common failure on these). Same quirks and features inside. Does your passenger mirror tilt down when the adjustment knob is left on "R" and you shift into reverse? My 2006 Jetta and all the Audis I've had all did that. I'm surprised about the carbon buildup. While a common problem on DI engines, it generally is only a problem with much higher mileage. I went with ContiExtremeContact DWS06+ tires. Reasonably priced for a high performance all season and I've had good experience with the older models on various cars at this point. The Cross Climate2's get a tad pricey in 245/40R18! I get the same "upgrade" notifications from the dealer. The new A4 is not an upgrade as they removed TORSEN quattro system for something similar to the haldex clutch pack system found in the A3, TT, and R32!

I have a 2014 Golf and find a lot of the same oddities - the heated mirrors especially.

Ohh the fun stick!

Back when I got my 2013 MINI Cooper Coupe it came with runflats from the factory. They didn’t last even 20,000 miles. I replaced them with Continental Cinturato P7 All Season tires which have done 30,000 miles and still have a decent amount of tread. I only have about 50,000 miles on the car because I work from home and mostly do local driving.

Awesome video, totally loved the content, more importantly the look and feel of the video. Could you tell us the shooting and editing gear (incl. software, if any)? Much love!

Driving manual, that's the way to go!

If you continue like this you should easily be able to reach the 150k miles.

Im surprised the headlights dont just come on automatically when its dark. Even my 2011 Renault does that. Lovely car though, Ive always liked Jettas, so it is kinda sad that VW don't sell them anymore here in the UK.