Questions and Answers

Volkswagen Jetta Needs Transmission Q. Hello Vincent, I have been reading your site and your answers to other people's questions. I have a 1998 Volkswagen Jetta K2 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engine, manual 5 speed transmission with 61,000 miles. I was just told that I broke the rear gear and now my car is making an awfull loud noise when I back up.

Could you tell me please what my best option is because I heard many different opinions and do not really know what to do since this is an expensive issue I have on my hands. Do I have Volkswagen replace the transmission, rebuild it or should I go with a used transmission from a junk yard? And have you seen this happen (broken transmissions) by other VW Jetta's like mine?

Thank you in advance,
Christo

A. If it were me, I would get a transmission from a junk yard and put it in. You can get one from a low milage wreck for a fraction of the cost of a rebuild or replacement transmission.

There is good news and bad news about this. The good news is if the transmission is no good, the junk yard will give you another one. The bad news is you will have the labor of taking it out and putting it in to pay again.