ok I've read all post any haven't come across my issue. My wife 2001 Jetta had issues with her break light switch (currently under recall, that her car didn't fall under) and when her battery died she no longer had a working radio. Strange thing is her radio is acting like it is in safe mode but doesn't display the word safe. All that come up is 88.3 MHz. I followed resetting procedure to no avail. Any ideas besides buying a new radio?
02/07/0/7 I repair car stereo and have four Premium 6 Jetta radios here with the same problem. The radio is supposed to power up and display "1000" and then accept your code input. These radios are powering up and displaying "FM1 88.3" and the radio will not respond to any buttons. They are Clarion model PU-2354A.
When the user has entered an incorrect code several times, the radio will not accept additional attempts until it is left on for one hour. This does not solve this particular radio issue.
I contacted Clarion who makes this unit, to inquire about service bulletins or any known problem of this nature. They indicated there is no known bulletin on this problem and have no knowledge about it. To further investigate, I contacted two VW dealers for information. The first dealer had seen the problem once, but saw no evolving pattern of failure. The second dealer had a very different story. They said their shop is replacing two or more of these units a day for this exact problem. They feel burdened by the exchange process and unwillingness of VW to stand behind the product relative to this problem.
To my knowledge, this applies to 2001 and 2002 Jetta at this time. I have seen the cycle of manufacturing defect caused failures before. The product line ages to a time when the defect manifests and after a period of time, the affected units are repaired or replaced and the problem goes away. This problem with VW is at a peak right now. Some manufacturing defects affect only certain lots and others will cause every unit in the product line to fail. In time, the problem may eventually affect a wider range of years and cross over to other body styles.
My suspicion is the problem is a failed microprocessor. Microprocessor failures are directly tied to certain radio models. Chrysler had a major microprocessor failure with their Cassette radios and CD radios manufactured around 2000 to 2002. The radios were Chrysler but the microprocessors were Motorola. Ford had it too in their JBL radios made in the 90's.
I hope this saves time for you folks who are experiencing this problem. Your choices are to exchange the radio at VW or purchase a used one on Ebay or at an automotive recycling center. Your dealer can provide an unlock code if you purchase a used radio.