| 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI repairs by problem area
Engine (43%)
Transmission and Drivetrain (9%)
Brakes and Traction Control (5%)
Suspension and Steering (12%)
Electrical and Air Conditioning (22%)
Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (4%)
Other (4%)
Chart based on 203 repairs.
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI engine repair cost distribution
$2500+ (3%)
$1000 - $2499 (10%)
$500 - $999 (22%)
$100 - $499 (46%)
< $100 (20%)
Chart based on 79 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI
Engine not specified
| 125240 mi C $400 |
Car was having trouble starting as well producing many electrical related codes. Car was also stuck in safe mode Replaced cam sensor, timing belt, ignition coil, and spark plug wires. Car is out of safe mode but still having trouble starting |
| 66000 mi US $1247 |
Water pump failure. |
| 130200 mi C $200 |
Front pipe flange and flex pipe were leaking and needed replacement |
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI 4dr Sedan
turbocharged 90hp 1.9L I4 Diesel 5-speed manual FWD
| 199000 mi US $1200 |
timing belt and valve job. The valve job was required because I had just bought the car and I guess the person that did the Timing belt did not put it on correctly and the belt lost tension and I had valve piston contact. |
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI 4dr Hatch
turbocharged 90hp 1.9L I4 Diesel 5-speed manual FWD
| 194000 mi US $800 |
Potentially routine maintenance - timing belt change (every 100k). Timing was corrected and fueling was adjusted. |
| 196000 mi US $250 |
Weld exhaust brackets |
| 223500 mi | Intake manifold removed, cleaned and reinstalled. |
| 230000 mi US $350 |
injection pump setting was too high. Adjusted. |
| 250000 mi US $250 |
CEL due to EGR. EGR delete. |
| 162000 mi US $250 |
Starter replaced |
| 268460 mi C $1245 |
Informed by shop that intercooler tubing had contacted some sheathing and worn through, and I was loosing boost. My car is heavily modded so naturally I want full boost. They had a used one in good condition so I was lucky. |
| 274080 mi C $290 |
coolant system loosing coolant quickly. Mechanic noted a wire harness had chafed through the base of the oil cooler allowing coolant to escape. Replaced part. |
| 155000 mi US $638 |
Oil drain plug stripped. Replaced oil pan. |
| 159000 mi US $301 |
Coolant hose leaking. Replaced. |
| 310000 mi US $25 |
Replaced glow plug |
| 42780 mi C $500 |
coolant temp sensor failed, common on VR6 |
| 76880 mi | Timing belt tensioner replaced due to faulty tensioner installed at timing belt change 20,000km ago. Parts and Labor covered by VW. |
| 50000 mi US $130 |
On a longish trip, I got an overboost condition. I took it into a shop and they gave it a good shot, but did not ultimately solve the problem. When you turn the key off, the overboost condition is cleared, and turbo is restored, So I'm living with it. |
| 98000 mi US $950 |
Anutee of Dieselland cleaned the intake, replaced MAF sensor, trimmed the turbo vane actuator. (Removed all the go-slow). ECU tune (put in some go-fast). Replaced the negative battery cable. (End of all the electrical gremlins). New car! |
| 116400 mi US $700 |
Turbo boost leak caused emissions failure. Fixed boost line. Adjusted fueling for injector wear. Serpentine belt replaced |
| 86200 mi £400 |
Replaced corroded catalytic convertor |
| 78500 mi US $455 |
alternator pulley |
| 167300 mi US $188 |
serpentine belt tensioner |
| 236000 mi US $600 |
water pump failed |
| 314000 mi US $60 |
exhaust pipe clamp needed replacement |
| 413000 mi US $170 |
replaced oil cooler seals, heater core hose, and replaced hood release lever and coolant reservoir |
| 557000 mi US $221 |
Fan control module plus labor |
| 492000 mi US $208 |
Replaced original turbo control valve |
| 509300 mi US $95 |
glow plug harness |
| 523500 mi US $384 |
radiator replacement |
| 585000 mi US $330 |
replace vacuum hose, reseal vacuum pump, replace two heater hoses |
| 641000 mi US $1167 |
Replaced clutch, flywheel, rear main seal (273k miles on old clutch was very good.) |
| 661000 mi US $183 |
Replaced intercooler which had a small leak. |
| 687000 mi US $3400 |
Worn cylinder head, with over 440k miles. Preferred not to wait until something broke. |
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI 4dr Hatch
turbocharged 90hp 1.9L I4 Diesel 4-speed automatic FWD
| 112000 mi US $300 |
Threading on oil pan was stripped. Entire oil pan had to be replaced |
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI 4dr Hatch
115-horsepower 2.0L I4 5-speed manual FWD
| 152300 mi US $960 |
Secondary air pump starting to fail, makes a whirring noise |
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI 2dr Hatch
turbocharged 180hp 1.8L I4 6-speed manual FWD
| 72000 mi | Flex section of exhaust fell apart. Have not fixed yet. |
| 80000 mi US $30 |
Thermostat had to be replaced. |
| 100000 mi US $800 |
water pump broke, car wasn't driven for a month till I could afford repairs. Timing belt was done at the same time since 90 percent of the work had to be done to get to the water pump. |
| 100000 mi | Exhaust was still broken when I turned it over to the Honda dealer |
| 160000 mi US $500 |
Water pump was leaking and needed replacement. Timing belt done at the same time. |
| 165500 mi US $200 |
Water pump was leaking and needed replacement. Timing belt done at the same time. |
| 181400 mi US $40 |
Replaced the cracked coolant tank |
| 176800 mi US $10 |
Ignition wiring overheated (again) and needs to be replaced at the ignition switch. Problem is due to headlight power running through ignition switch. Permanent fix = relay harness for headlights. |
| 189200 mi US $120 |
Fuel pump failed and was replaced. |
| 176000 mi US $195 |
Dirty injectors |
| 180000 mi US $100 |
Crankcase breather |
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI 2dr Hatch
turbocharged 180hp 1.8L I4 5-speed shiftable automatic FWD
| 139600 mi US $80 |
Replaced cracked upper radiator hose. |
| 140000 mi US $1200 |
Car catastrophically overheated on the highway. Blew two radiator hoses and the thermostat. Shop replaced. |
| 145000 mi US $550 |
Replaced crank position/engine speed sensor. |
| 136000 mi US $190 |
Car would not start. I narrowed the problem to the fuel pump relay, and replaced with duralast brand. Fixed the issue for one day, then broke again. Took car to a mechanic who installed OEM 409 fuel pump relay. |
| 26581 mi | 1- Waterpump replaced. |
| 77004 mi C $379 |
Shaky engine at idle only. When coming to a stop, car began shuddering. Check engine light appeared. Symptoms would go away while driving and appear stopped at idle. Dealer replaced vacuum pump and associated hoses. |
| 91140 mi C $1000 |
Banging into gear (auto transmission), check engine light appeared, transmission speed sensor defective. Banging into gear (auto transmission), check engine light appeared, transmission speed sensor defective. |
| 96100 mi C $100 |
Check engine light appeared while driving on freeway. Check engine light appeared while driving on freeway. Thermostat replaced. |
| 110360 mi C $250 |
Car would randomly die after about ~15 minutes of driving. After the stall, within a minute later it would start back up. No codes. Read up online and changed the crank position sensor. Success Car would randomly die after about ~15 minutes of driving. After the stall, within a minute later it would start back up. No codes. Read up online and changed the crank position sensor. Success |
| 114700 mi C $340 |
Leaking oil on garage floor. Valve cover gasket replaced Leaking oil on garage floor. Valve cover gasket replaced While examining engine , Pcv valve and associated tubes were separated. Replaced Pcv valve and hoses as well. |
| 116560 mi | While examining engine, PCV valve and associated tubes were separated. Replaced PCV valve and hoses as well. |
| 126480 mi C $400 |
Fans do not turn on, only when A/C is on and only when it already is overheating. |
| 129580 mi C $75 |
Coolant low light came on. Coolant was empty. Brought to mechanic slight crack in the plastic coolant reservoir. Replaced reservoir and filled with coolant. |
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI 2dr Hatch
turbocharged 180hp 1.8L I4 5-speed manual FWD
| 160500 mi US $32 |
Bad coil. |
| 65000 mi US $750 |
Leaking engine seals |
| 83000 mi US $2140 |
coolant temp sensor not working, and a new set of tires (BF Goodrich, $117 per tire, not in total). |
| 82000 mi US $400 |
Engine Coils/Plugs |
| 90000 mi US $800 |
o2 sensor, thermostat |
| 95000 mi US $900 |
New Cat |
| 109000 mi US $371 |
Ignition coils. Engine Coils |
| 110000 mi US $2800 |
New Head - Timing Chain Broke New Head - Timing Chaing Broke |
| 120000 mi US $850 |
Turbo seals have been leaking oil causing the turbo to leak and burn oil. Problem has been known about for several months. Replaced with an upgraded remanufactured part. |
| 120000 mi US $285 |
Engine started to misfire after a 700-mile trip. Failure of two coils. Replaced all four coils and spark plugs. |
| 165000 mi US $100 |
MAF replace |
| 89900 mi C $200 |
Engine threw a code citing cooling system malfunction; cleared code, didn't come back. |
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI 2dr Hatch
200-horsepower 2.8L V6 6-speed manual FWD
| 109000 mi US $225 |
Ignition coil needed replacement |
| 113000 mi US $600 |
Check Engine Light for a Secondary Air Intake malfunction. Tubing had to be replaced. |
| 116000 mi US $700 |
Ingition Coil needed to be replaced. While the car was in, I had the shop replace other old coils and spark plugs. |
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI 2dr Hatch
115-horsepower 2.0L I4 5-speed manual FWD
| 112000 mi US $550 |
Ignition coils replaced |
2003 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI 2dr Hatch
115-horsepower 2.0L I4 4-speed automatic FWD
| 115000 mi | Catalytic converter failed; Check Engine light with code for catalyst efficiency, and raspy noise from exhaust. Did not replace, as I was trading car in for a new one. |
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