Volkswagen Jetta (2000-2023) firing order — diagram & guide

The VW Jetta is one of the best compact sedans on the market which combines reliability with practicality and fair pricing. Still, if your Jetta starts misfiring or exposing oil leaks, using the Volkswagen Jetta (2000-2023) firing order is one of your best options.

If that’s the case, you may find this guide useful as our team strives to deliver proven pieces of data on the firing order for each Jetta engine used from 2000 onward. We’ll also talk about the cylinder pattern and arrangement in each Jetta model, so make sure to stand by for the details.

Fourth-generation Volkswagen Jetta (2000-2004) firing order

Among the fourth-gen Jetta engines, there were two predominant options including a four-cylinder turbo engine and a V6 otherwise known as the “VR6” engine. So, we’ll start our journey there and will guide you through the firing orders of each of the remaining engine options next.

Volkswagen Jetta 1.8L turbo firing order

The most commonly used engine in the VW Jetta of the fourth generation is the 1.8-liter engine. So, the Volkswagen Jetta 1.8L firing order is 1-3-4-2 and this engine is a basic four-cylinder engine with a straight-cylinder configuration.

That means cylinders 1, 2, 3, and 4 are laid out in that particular order from left to right, so the first cylinder is the left-most one at the front of the engine.

Volkswagen Jetta 2.8L firing order

As a special version of this model, the Volkswagen Jetta 2.8L firing order is 1-4-3-6-2-5 and this V6 engine is a pretty specific type of a V6. Precisely, it’s a VR6 engine which means the cylinders are aligned in a bit sharper angle.

Still, there are two cylinder banks within this engine, and the passenger’s side ones are numbered 1, 2, and 3 from front to rear, while cylinders 4, 5, and 6 are laid out on the driver’s side front to rear.

Fifth-generation Volkswagen Jetta (2005-2009) firing order

The fifth-gen Jetta was based on the Volkswagen Golf V and the Passat B6 models, and it also shares a lot of the engine options with those models. So, the only common engine is the 1.8-liter four-cylinder, and there’s a plethora of new four-cylinder options and a straight-five engine added here.

Volkswagen Jetta 1.4L firing order

The Volkswagen Jetta 1.4L firing order is 1-3-4-2 and this engine is the lowest-displacement option for the Jetta in this generation. The engine’s cylinders are laid out from the left side to the right, and they are all ordered from 1 to 4 sequentially.

Volkswagen Jetta 1.6L firing order

Just like for the previous engine, the Volkswagen Jetta 1.6L firing order is 1-3-4-2 as well. This FSI engine still features the same cylinder placement, so there are no significant changes regarding that.

The first cylinder would be the left-most one in this engine, while the one to the right is the fourth cylinder.

Volkswagen Jetta 2.0L firing order

Once again, the Volkswagen Jetta 2.0L firing order is 1-3-4-2 and the engine’s cylinders are arranged in a straight-four-cylinder layout. The thing is – all of these four-cylinder engines are FSI engines based on the same engine block, and that makes them much more convenient for maintenance.

That’s why we once again have the situation where cylinders are ordered from 1 to 4 in a straight sequence from left to right, so all the engines are seemingly built the same way.

Volkswagen Jetta 2.5L firing order

As the final petrol engine used in the fifth-gen Jetta, we have the 2.5-liter five-cylinder. So, the Volkswagen Jetta 2.5L firing order is 1-2-4-5-3 and this engine is a straight-five engine which means all the cylinders are laid out from 1 to 5 looking at it front to rear.

Volkswagen Jetta 1.9L diesel firing order

Since the 1.6L diesel engine features the same firing order and build as the 1.6-liter petrol engine, we’ll only discuss the 1.9-liter diesel option among diesel-powered models. The Volkswagen Jetta 1.9L diesel firing order is 1-3-4-2 and this engine comes with the cylinders ordered from 1 to 4, looking at the engine from left to right.

Sixth-generation Volkswagen Jetta (2010-2017) firing order

The sixth-gen Jetta featured a lot of the same engine options as the fifth-gen one, including the 1.4L, 1.6L, 1.8L, 2.0L, and the 2.5-liter five-cylinder. The only new option was the added 1.2-liter turbocharged engine, so we’ll discuss that one next as the same firing orders were still enforced for the previously-mentioned ones.

Volkswagen Jetta 1.2L firing order

The Volkswagen Jetta 1.2L firing order is 1-3-4-2 and this firing order aligns with the firing sequences of the previously-mentioned engines. Although it’s a turbocharged engine, it still has the same straight-four displacement with the first cylinder being the one furthest to the left, and the fourth one being on the opposite, right side.

Seventh-generation Volkswagen Jetta (2018-2023) firing order

Finally, the seventh-gen Jetta is the latest model and it more or less offers all the same engine options as the previous generation model. Some of the most notable engine variations here include the 1.2-liter, 1.4-liter, 1.6-liter, and 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines, and we’ve discussed all of these.

However, there’s also the 1.5-liter turbo petrol engine and we’ll discuss that one as the only different engine option of the seventh-generation.

Volkswagen Jetta 1.5L firing order

The Volkswagen Jetta 1.5L firing order is 1-3-4-2 and although it’s a turbo engine it still features the same cylinder configuration and layout. The engine’s cylinders are laid out from left to right and the first cylinder is the left-most one, while the fourth cylinder is on the right side of this engine.

Our take

Now that we’ve gone through all the Volkswagen Jetta engines and their firing orders, you’ll have an easier time figuring things out with the maintenance. We hope you’ll have an easier time with the engine upkeep and preventing misfires with this guide, so make sure to thoroughly follow the engine’s cylinder configuration.