Number 11: power window switches wear out over time. Number 12: rear seat lock release mechanism becomes disconnected internally, within the seat. A temporary work around is to open the rear hatch and wedge a flathead screwdriver into the physical lock and twist or push to dislodge the hook that locks the seat in the upright position. Then push the seat forward to lower it to the folded position. Number 13: the glove compartment door handle becomes brittle and breaks. Number 14: the fake leather seats will tear open over time. Inspect the driver's seat for worn upholstery. Number 15: electrical connectors in the engine bay get brittle and break on older cars. Number 16: CV boots tear Number 17: check the date of manufacture on the spare tire. Replace old tires even if they have never been used.
On the door that would always trip the alarm I jumped the door open/closed circuit before it goes I to the plug to make the car think the drivers door is always closed. Problem solved and I still have power door locks.
my rear doors don’t lock, i haven’t cared enough to fix it, it saves my life tho i’ve thought i’ve locked myself out of my car like 4 times, then i remember the rear doors are literally impossible to lock🤣🤣
You’ve basically described how my car was when I got it 😂 boot handle/lock was rusted, wings have water in them, had the same airbag light but it was solved with a new squib that’s behind the steering wheel, someone missed the jacking point on it and nearly crushed the sills, my central locking completely gave up years ago and alarm would keep going off but found out one of the clips inside the door barrel snapped so it was just spinning round inside the door, the suspension also needed changing and bushings as well, oh and my door has also dropped but think the hinges just need adjusting… luckily tho I’ve never had a engine management light, a handbrake issue or any oiling issues but the rest of it has been a bit of a nightmare tbh 😂😂 it’s finally on the road tho and slowly progressing
I know i'm 2 years late, but im missing one pretty common point (obviously i see why). The rear wiper motor is poorly designed - the nozzle is in the wiper axle and after time it just rips and starts pouring washer fluid into the wiper motor and into the trunk door, shorting the handle and rusting everything. If Your nozzle is following the wiper (it should be stationary) - You should check it out.
got a 1000€ jazz blue golf mk4 wagon 1.6 manual fwd list of some issues ive had in the 2 weeks of ownership front left and right doorlock module microswitches broke rear left door intermittently wont unlock on first press of key poor radio reception due to corroded amplfier in antenna base cracked glass headlight letting in moisture door fabric falling off on all four doors exhaust flex pipe completely shat itself from me wiggling it a little it too hard :D the largest issues is the gearbox, doesnt like going into 2nd or 3rd, synchros are fine and clutch is releasing but still grinds like mad, 1st 4th and 5th are fine though, the gearbox is the linkage type thermostats broken, takes FOREVER to warm up, and when moving temps drop down to 70-80c and stay there never reaching 90c theres a slight misfire at idle (sometimes) and makes setting of at traffic lights in a sensible manner almost impossible, have to rev the shit out of it or itll just stall right away the glovebox "soft open" is broken so it just falls open and makes a grindy type noise the V71 flap (hvac recirculation flap motor) is setting an intermittent fault code and when recirc is pressed it makes all kinds of weird noises the armrest lid button is broken, so when its up and out of the way it opens up by itself.. the rear washer pipe froze and popped off behind the D pillar trim, i only found out after doing some cleaning and the spare tire well was all wet the rear wiper washer nozzle is seized to the rotating wiper shaft, causing it to spray down towards the ground in a 90° swing + it leaks inside the tailgate the tailgate lock microswitch is flaky, almost always thinks the tailgate is open when its closed causing a mega annoying beeping the handbrake switch is also poorly adjusted so when the handbrake is down (disengaged but still just slightly up by accident) the car starts beeping at you though its not actually on even a click the front windshield sprayers leak, when you release the button they just keep leaking and leaking + theyre the expensive heated type 25€ each the evap canister vent hose is cracked as its made out of the brittlest plastic ever the rear cupholders are stuck in the catalytic converter has been emptied at some time (most likely the exhaust flexi pipe came apart and filled the cat with metal flakes messing it up) the rear axle bushes creak/groan like hell the doors like to freeze shut due to the shape theres always something rattling theres something whistling over 60kmh the cars underside is missing rubber plugs (all golfs are missing them but they let in water and salt) the brake hoses are solid as a rock and look like theyre ready to burst at any moment (possible nightmare to change) the brake booster vacuum line is cracked really badly, but doesnt seem to leak too bad yet (35€) the expansion tank is so yellowed and crusty its ready to explode the driver side door inner panel seal is starting to degrade causing water to get in the footwell the rear right door speaker grill is smashed to bits but its feels sooo good to drive 🙂 worth every penny :D + surprisingly good on fuel 5.9l/100km on motorways at 110kmh average with about 7l/100km on city / county roads
Something worth notting , this isnt common knowledge so he didnt miss it . Fault codes can appear without an actual fault . If there was a real problem it usually wont clear cause it will be an "active" code most of the time its a passive/sporadic code i.e there was briefly a change in a reading from one of the many sensors and the ecu throws a code nothing to worry about
The locking is a micro switch in the doors from people slamming doors also it shouldn't be going through oil at all I'm running 26 psi and no oil consumption
List of shit wrong with my 2001 gti glx 12v vr6 from just age: -Hole in my driver side fender/skirt because of stuck water in the drain behind the fender liner -Glove box handle just fell out lmaoo -Glove box just 1 day unlatched and stays open now -door card is cracked and needs leather to be redone from its age the glue undone -headliner was sagging badly -rear seat latch just went bye bye on a light yoink - Sticky driver side passenger window controller so it stays up/down only -my passenger side bumper turn signal housing melted because the wiring housing became cracked and touched the wires lmao -tow hook got rusted almost off -door is creaking from sagging id assume -every single weather stripping/rubber on the car needs to be replaced -trunk was leaking from weather seal issue -rubber sunroof drain hoses just got undone due to shrinking with age/poor glue from factory -had to get cloth seats cause the leather one cracked so bad which now because i dont have airbag seats means i have an airbag/check engine light. -little trim just breaks and sucks in the car due to it being ABS plastic which isnt all that UV resistant over 23 years its old, itll have old issues, but i love it and for any manual golf you can find in the usa for like 2-5k is amazing to get for a project
Got an mk4 1.9TDI main problems it had was rust, basically everything you showed here, electrival stuff. My rear windshield always starts going when i ignited and when i needed to use it it worked for few secs and it stopped, remote lock sometimes worked aometimes didn'thad two sets of car keys, it didn't react to one but reacted to other or vice versa. And of course since it was diesel, it didn't like cold starts, especially if you left out cold for longer. The pros that i had with was that i bought it for cheap, had a very little gas consunption and the engine itself seems unkillable
@@AJCars. Yeah, still, would recommend it to people that are either looking for the first car to get a hang of in driving or people who just need to get themselves from point a to point b
My airbag light comes on but only when it’s freezing temps…last owner spent money on new unit £350 lol…just warm car for few mins reset code and all good. Something to do with clock spring connections getting cold I guess
Haha, i just bought a cheap mark 4, and the central locking system does not lock the hatch, and the hatch will not lock manually, because the lock seem to be damaged😂 fml
@@AJCars.hehe, i also have rust everywhere you pointed to plus some major rust low down on the both front skirts… one of my doors also like to drop i think lol, making it hard to open sometimes But they are not as major as opposed to the other stuff i have to fix/ have fixed
@@AJCars. yeah i had not done a rust removal job before, and oh boy it was hard, after like 3-5 hours i gave up and borrowed my moms grinding machine😅 The rust at the front is pretty bad so ill probably have to replace both front fenders and maybe even both thresholds if i want to repair it
I had a 02 plate golf one of the worst car ever the gear box mite as be made out of rubber bands I searched the hole of Ireland for one and paid stupid money for a second hand one, the box's are all the same
Great video but bad advise with the eml light, yes it could come on for a variety of reasons but it's definitely not always something to not worry about, also the main problems with them are oil pick up pipe with drops oil pressure which in turn makes the timing chain slack because the tensioner uses oil pressure you then get eml for camshaft over advance and it will kill the engine if left and its definitely not a cheap one
@@AJCars. I'm buying a 2005 150.000km 1.6 16v Mk4 3 door tomorrow, I'm living in South of Spain, so rust ain't a problem, it's very dry and almost never rain here, test drove it already once, I'm coming from a 2001 3 door 1.1i Peugeot 106
I bought a 2001 VR6 golf gti for $ 1,800.00 US with 85,000 miles on the engine . It came from a impound lot and sat for 2 1/2 months there till i bought it . The biggest and worst , stupidest thing you can do is run only tap water in the coolant system in these cars . The previous owner ran only tap water in the MK4 i bought , we have very high calcium in our tap water here in the states ( i live in California ) . Also timing chains i heard will need to be replaced on VR6 sooner or later and it cost big bucks to have fixed , theres no avoiding this . Run good quality oil in your mk4 golfs .
Golf’s or VW in general, bulletproof. That’s a fact, this is a good guide to some minor things to look out for, well done guys
Appreciate it mate!
Not mk4, my jetta had so many issues
@@wed3k Golf2 and 3 are good...only real issue is RUST! And roof🙃I had no 4 tho... but the 6 seemed also ok. I do not know the newer cars at all :P
@@wed3kwhich jetta? 4?
Okay ex
I have a 2003 150hp tdi mk4 it is a tank i like it power and confort for cheap better then my previous dacia
They all models are really good!
Number 11: power window switches wear out over time.
Number 12: rear seat lock release mechanism becomes disconnected internally, within the seat. A temporary work around is to open the rear hatch and wedge a flathead screwdriver into the physical lock and twist or push to dislodge the hook that locks the seat in the upright position. Then push the seat forward to lower it to the folded position.
Number 13: the glove compartment door handle becomes brittle and breaks.
Number 14: the fake leather seats will tear open over time. Inspect the driver's seat for worn upholstery.
Number 15: electrical connectors in the engine bay get brittle and break on older cars.
Number 16: CV boots tear
Number 17: check the date of manufacture on the spare tire. Replace old tires even if they have never been used.
Great in depth explanation bro! Whish I had this when I was looling for GTIs😂
Appreciate it mate❤️ and just thought it would be ideal for anybody looking for one to know the real truth about them🤣
How does it use the oil? Common leak? Burn?
If well serviced it doesn’t need oil a lot, I didn’t top mine up ever and it held, just serviced it yearly
This vid has come in handy I’m picking up a low mileage mk4 r32 for £££££. Top man Alex
🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
Had a few golfs and Audi's. The rust is nothing compared to a Honda 😂😂
Oh you’re joking really🤣
Switched to honda after golf. Yeah i learned that japanese cars end to rust more, but the primary decease of golf is rust as well
I have a Golf Mk4. Please help me reset the damn radio.
Are there any other buttons I have to press when entering the digits?
Code 1 is all I see.
I’m sorry mate I have no idea🤣 I put an aftermarket one in so I have a screen not the manual radio anymore
@@AJCars. No problem.
❤❤❤❤
Lmao the central locking thing sent me. Same issue with my 99 Golf Mk IV.
Edit: I've got the jacking point issue as well lmfao.
I call it golfitis with sills🫠 they all have it🤣
On the door that would always trip the alarm I jumped the door open/closed circuit before it goes I to the plug to make the car think the drivers door is always closed. Problem solved and I still have power door locks.
my rear doors don’t lock, i haven’t cared enough to fix it, it saves my life tho i’ve thought i’ve locked myself out of my car like 4 times, then i remember the rear doors are literally impossible to lock🤣🤣
just saying, if your car needs a new thermostat, get it done asap, so many things could go wrong big time over that
I agree mate it can lead to bigger problems👍🏻 I think everything on this list should be sorted if you have those issues
especially if the previous owner only ran tap water in the coolant system .
You’ve basically described how my car was when I got it 😂 boot handle/lock was rusted, wings have water in them, had the same airbag light but it was solved with a new squib that’s behind the steering wheel, someone missed the jacking point on it and nearly crushed the sills, my central locking completely gave up years ago and alarm would keep going off but found out one of the clips inside the door barrel snapped so it was just spinning round inside the door, the suspension also needed changing and bushings as well, oh and my door has also dropped but think the hinges just need adjusting… luckily tho I’ve never had a engine management light, a handbrake issue or any oiling issues but the rest of it has been a bit of a nightmare tbh 😂😂 it’s finally on the road tho and slowly progressing
@@Brinkz1.8t20v sounds like a nightmare🤣 well good luck with it I’m glad it’s back on the road!
I know i'm 2 years late, but im missing one pretty common point (obviously i see why). The rear wiper motor is poorly designed - the nozzle is in the wiper axle and after time it just rips and starts pouring washer fluid into the wiper motor and into the trunk door, shorting the handle and rusting everything. If Your nozzle is following the wiper (it should be stationary) - You should check it out.
@@IDiveI11 that’s good to know, I didn’t even know that👍🏻
got a 1000€ jazz blue golf mk4 wagon
1.6 manual fwd
list of some issues ive had in the 2 weeks of ownership
front left and right doorlock module microswitches broke
rear left door intermittently wont unlock on first press of key
poor radio reception due to corroded amplfier in antenna base
cracked glass headlight letting in moisture
door fabric falling off on all four doors
exhaust flex pipe completely shat itself from me wiggling it a little it too hard :D
the largest issues is the gearbox, doesnt like going into 2nd or 3rd, synchros are fine and clutch is releasing but still grinds like mad, 1st 4th and 5th are fine though, the gearbox is the linkage type
thermostats broken, takes FOREVER to warm up, and when moving temps drop down to 70-80c and stay there never reaching 90c
theres a slight misfire at idle (sometimes) and makes setting of at traffic lights in a sensible manner almost impossible, have to rev the shit out of it or itll just stall right away
the glovebox "soft open" is broken so it just falls open and makes a grindy type noise
the V71 flap (hvac recirculation flap motor) is setting an intermittent fault code and when recirc is pressed it makes all kinds of weird noises
the armrest lid button is broken, so when its up and out of the way it opens up by itself..
the rear washer pipe froze and popped off behind the D pillar trim, i only found out after doing some cleaning and the spare tire well was all wet
the rear wiper washer nozzle is seized to the rotating wiper shaft, causing it to spray down towards the ground in a 90° swing + it leaks inside the tailgate
the tailgate lock microswitch is flaky, almost always thinks the tailgate is open when its closed causing a mega annoying beeping
the handbrake switch is also poorly adjusted so when the handbrake is down (disengaged but still just slightly up by accident) the car starts beeping at you though its not actually on even a click
the front windshield sprayers leak, when you release the button they just keep leaking and leaking + theyre the expensive heated type 25€ each
the evap canister vent hose is cracked as its made out of the brittlest plastic ever
the rear cupholders are stuck in
the catalytic converter has been emptied at some time (most likely the exhaust flexi pipe came apart and filled the cat with metal flakes messing it up)
the rear axle bushes creak/groan like hell
the doors like to freeze shut due to the shape
theres always something rattling
theres something whistling over 60kmh
the cars underside is missing rubber plugs (all golfs are missing them but they let in water and salt)
the brake hoses are solid as a rock and look like theyre ready to burst at any moment (possible nightmare to change)
the brake booster vacuum line is cracked really badly, but doesnt seem to leak too bad yet (35€)
the expansion tank is so yellowed and crusty its ready to explode
the driver side door inner panel seal is starting to degrade causing water to get in the footwell
the rear right door speaker grill is smashed to bits
but its feels sooo good to drive 🙂
worth every penny :D
+ surprisingly good on fuel 5.9l/100km on motorways at 110kmh average
with about 7l/100km on city / county roads
Damn how many km’z did it have when you bought it ?
Something worth notting , this isnt common knowledge so he didnt miss it . Fault codes can appear without an actual fault . If there was a real problem it usually wont clear cause it will be an "active" code most of the time its a passive/sporadic code i.e there was briefly a change in a reading from one of the many sensors and the ecu throws a code nothing to worry about
I would take a VW MK4 GTI VR6 or R32 over any new fart maker's every time
All day!
I have a MK4 VR5 2.3 and I love it.
You'll need to eventually change window regulators,
The locking is a micro switch in the doors from people slamming doors also it shouldn't be going through oil at all I'm running 26 psi and no oil consumption
its not to bad I've changed a lot so its running good now, barely gets through it!
List of shit wrong with my 2001 gti glx 12v vr6 from just age:
-Hole in my driver side fender/skirt because of stuck water in the drain behind the fender liner
-Glove box handle just fell out lmaoo
-Glove box just 1 day unlatched and stays open now
-door card is cracked and needs leather to be redone from its age the glue undone
-headliner was sagging badly
-rear seat latch just went bye bye on a light yoink
- Sticky driver side passenger window controller so it stays up/down only
-my passenger side bumper turn signal housing melted because the wiring housing became cracked and touched the wires lmao
-tow hook got rusted almost off
-door is creaking from sagging id assume
-every single weather stripping/rubber on the car needs to be replaced
-trunk was leaking from weather seal issue
-rubber sunroof drain hoses just got undone due to shrinking with age/poor glue from factory
-had to get cloth seats cause the leather one cracked so bad which now because i dont have airbag seats means i have an airbag/check engine light.
-little trim just breaks and sucks in the car due to it being ABS plastic which isnt all that UV resistant over 23 years
its old, itll have old issues, but i love it and for any manual golf you can find in the usa for like 2-5k is amazing to get for a project
Got an mk4 1.9TDI main problems it had was rust, basically everything you showed here, electrival stuff. My rear windshield always starts going when i ignited and when i needed to use it it worked for few secs and it stopped, remote lock sometimes worked aometimes didn'thad two sets of car keys, it didn't react to one but reacted to other or vice versa. And of course since it was diesel, it didn't like cold starts, especially if you left out cold for longer. The pros that i had with was that i bought it for cheap, had a very little gas consunption and the engine itself seems unkillable
Yeah everything I listed are the real main issues for the car, some are really good but some not so much…
@@AJCars. Yeah, still, would recommend it to people that are either looking for the first car to get a hang of in driving or people who just need to get themselves from point a to point b
The only thing you need to carry when owning gti is fuel
My airbag light comes on but only when it’s freezing temps…last owner spent money on new unit £350 lol…just warm car for few mins reset code and all good. Something to do with clock spring connections getting cold I guess
Mine is from the seats… so annoying
The seat plug is annoying. You can cut it out and solder in 3" of wire to hardwire it in.
@@M_77779my b6 Passat had the exact issue just soldered them and it was fine
Haha, i just bought a cheap mark 4, and the central locking system does not lock the hatch, and the hatch will not lock manually, because the lock seem to be damaged😂 fml
These golfs are too predictable🤣
@@AJCars.hehe, i also have rust everywhere you pointed to plus some major rust low down on the both front skirts… one of my doors also like to drop i think lol, making it hard to open sometimes
But they are not as major as opposed to the other stuff i have to fix/ have fixed
@@BigBearBjorna yeah rust is an absolute killer with cars, nightmare job, just have to try your hardest to avoid it🤣
@@AJCars. yeah i had not done a rust removal job before, and oh boy it was hard, after like 3-5 hours i gave up and borrowed my moms grinding machine😅
The rust at the front is pretty bad so ill probably have to replace both front fenders and maybe even both thresholds if i want to repair it
Just got an 02 Vr6 6sp😎🙏🏽
Oooo very nice wish I had the 6spd…
15 01 2024 м4 1.4л 75 )))) hi from UA ) i put tt bushes )
damn i bought it last week and this video poped up today man
Will still help you mate! Just make sure to keep a look out for these things and stay on top of them you’ll be sound👍🏻
Hello buddy can you do more pov driving and longer videos please I’m not into short videos
Of course we can mate, any other videos you’d like to see?
@@AJCars. maybe some convoy u know going out together but doing a pov at the same time and your both in separate cars
@@ahmedhussain9686 thank you for the suggestion mate👍🏻 we’ll make sure to do that, maybe when we’re next at caffeine and machine!
is it worth getting one? Are they reliable? and do they cost lots to maintain all the problems?
I’ve had mine for a few years now and it’s been great!
I had a 02 plate golf one of the worst car ever the gear box mite as be made out of rubber bands I searched the hole of Ireland for one and paid stupid money for a second hand one, the box's are all the same
I can’t agree because haven’t experienced that yet👀 hope mine don’t do that…
never heard any mk4 owners complaining about the gearbox, me being the first and drove mine 50k km
PD130/50’s you won’t get that problem. 02M box are great. 170k on mine no issue
Thank you
👍🏻👍🏻
Great video but bad advise with the eml light, yes it could come on for a variety of reasons but it's definitely not always something to not worry about, also the main problems with them are oil pick up pipe with drops oil pressure which in turn makes the timing chain slack because the tensioner uses oil pressure you then get eml for camshaft over advance and it will kill the engine if left and its definitely not a cheap one
appreciate the help, ill look out for that in future!
This is for the 1.8 gas engines tho if i remember correctly
every 2 months 🤯⁉️
What’s that?
@@AJCars. adding oil 🛢️
@@zakmckenzie1475 no mate, after having a golf service this changed I rarely have to now just your regular service every so often will be fine🤝🏻
@@AJCars. I'm buying a 2005 150.000km 1.6 16v Mk4 3 door tomorrow, I'm living in South of Spain, so rust ain't a problem, it's very dry and almost never rain here, test drove it already once, I'm coming from a 2001 3 door 1.1i Peugeot 106
@@zakmckenzie1475 yeah rust is a bad point with these cars in UK however as it’s so dry there you’ll have no problems! It’ll be a nice upgrade for you
no audio bro
It’s working on mine mate are you sure?
@@AJCars. oh its fine now mate , keep up the good work my lad
@@chandeepkundi thank you bro appreciate it❤️
Basically you purchased a lemon. Clearly my anniversary has 0 of the problems you just talked about. Up your budget and you wont get these problems
It’s mint now mate don’t worry about that, I’d rather put the effort in and make it my own
I bought a 2001 VR6 golf gti for $ 1,800.00 US with 85,000 miles on the engine . It came from a impound lot and sat for 2 1/2 months there till i bought it . The biggest and worst , stupidest thing you can do is run only tap water in the coolant system in these cars . The previous owner ran only tap water in the MK4 i bought , we have very high calcium in our tap water here in the states ( i live in California ) . Also timing chains i heard will need to be replaced on VR6 sooner or later and it cost big bucks to have fixed , theres no avoiding this . Run good quality oil in your mk4 golfs .
Seems like a very stupid thing to do putting water in as your coolant 🤔 but yeah I recently had my belts changed and they run sweet after!