2002 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE Complaints

PASSENGER DOOR HAD BEEN DIFFICULT TO GET CLOSED SINCE ABOUT 9/15/06, BUT ON THIS DATE, ALTHOUGH DOOR HAD BEEN SUCCESSFULLY CLOSED AND LOCKED FOR 20 MILES, IT SWUNG OPEN AS I WAS EXITING A US HIGHWAY AND TURNING ONTO A STATE HIGHWAY. FORTUNATELY I WAS ALONE IN THE CAR. I TOOK IT TO A PRIVATE SHOP AND HAD THE DOOR REPAIRED - ALTHOUGH NOW I CAN'T OPEN IT USING THE OUTSIDE HANDLE, THE DOOR HAS NO PROBLEMS LATCHING. PREVIOUS TO THIS ISSUE WITH THE DOOR, MY TRUNK RELEASE BUTTONS ON BOTH MY DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR AND MY REMOTE WOULDN'T RELEASE MY TRUNK - I WAS ONLY ABLE TO OPEN IT MANUALLY USING THE KEY IN THE LOCK. I REPLACED THE REMOTE BATTERY, BUT THAT HAD NO EFFECT. AFTER MY CAR DOOR WAS REPAIRED, MY TRUNK RELEASES STARTED WORKING AGAIN. HOWEVER, ON OCCASION THE TRUNK HAS HAD THE SAME RELUCTANCE TO LATCH THAT THE PASSENGER DOOR DID. IN THE LAST MONTH, MY WINDOWS HAVE DECIDED TO GO NO FARTHER THAN AN INCH FROM TOP ON THE PASSENGER SIDE AND ONLY HALFWAY UP ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE AND I CAN NEITHER UNLOCK NOR LOCK MY CAR USING THE INTERIOR BUTTONS - I CAN ONLY USE MY REMOTE. *JB

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED. SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE SCAN DTC FOUND THAT THE DRIVER'S BUCKLE RESISTANCE WAS SET TOO HIGH. THE FIRST TIME THE FAILURE OCCURRED AND WAS REPAIRED WAS ON APRIL 6, 2005. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 52,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG LIGHT REMAINS ILLUMINATED. THE MECHANIC REPAIRED THE FAILURE ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, HOWEVER, IT ALWAYS RECURS A FEW DAYS LATER. THE POWERTRAIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 37,000.

WHEN YOU PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE WITH YOUR FOOT ON THE BRAKE, WHEN YOU LET OFF THE BRAKE THE CAR WILL ROLL BACKWARDS THEN JERK FORWARD.

FAILURE TO START, WONT READ KEY IN IGNITION DEALER UNABLE TO FIX PROBLEM AS OF YET. SIMILAR PROBLEMS OCCURRED LAST YEAR, PRIOR TO ROUTINE MAINTENANCE WHEN PROBLEM WAS MENTIONED, THE DEALER COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG.... BASICALLY BRUSHED ME OFF. VERY FRUSTRATING SINCE I GREATLY DEPEND ON MY CAR FOR WORK. THE CAR IS COMPLETELY INOPERABLE! *JB

02 NB WITH 7700 MILES, AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON. TOLD SYSTEM WILL NOT WORK WITH THIS FAULT. TOOK TO ROYAL VOLKWAGEN, WAS TOLD THEY COULD NOT COMMUNICATE WITH AIR BAG COMPUTER, SO, SORRY. NO OFFER TO INVESTIGATE NOR FIX PROBLEM. SPOKE WITH VOLKWAGEN CARE LINE, WHAT A JOKE, SORRY, NOT UNDER WARRANTY. COME ON VOLKSWAGEN, LETS DO A RECALL, OR DO YOU REALLY NOT CARE ABOUT OUR LIVES??? GERMAN ENGINEERING MY MONEY. *AK

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE. OVER THE COURSE OF THREE YEARS, THE SEAT BELT LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED ON THE DASHBOARD. THE FIRST TIME THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED THE FAILURE WAS REMEDIED AT THE VOLKSWAGEN DEALER. THE SECOND TIME, THE ENTIRE SEAT BELT UNIT WAS REPLACED AS A RESULT OF A CRASH. THE CONTACT NOTIFIED THE MANUFACTURER ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, BUT VOLKSWAGEN IS UNABLE TO RESOLVE THE FAILURE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 50,500 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000.

AIR BAG LIGHT WILL NOT GO OFF--FORUM SAYS MAY AIR BAGS MAY NOT WORK WITH LIGHT ON. IT SEEMS TO BE A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH VW BUGS FOR YEARS. SHOULD BE A RECALL. *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED A NHTSA RECALL LETTER WAS RECEIVED INDICATING THE BRAKE SAFETY SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT PRESENTED ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH YET. THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP WAS 130 MILES FROM THE LOCALITY. THE CONTACT ASKED THE MANUFACTURER FOR THE REPLACEMENT PART TO PERFORM THE REPAIR AT AN INDEPENDENT AUTHORIZED CERTIFIED MECHANIC OR OTHER TRUSTED DEALERSHIP. THE MANUFACTURER REFUSED THE PROPOSAL. THE CONTACT EXPRESSED CONCERN BECAUSE THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD BE FLEXIBLE IN CASES WERE NO DEALERSHIP WERE PRESENT IN THE AREA.

2002 VW BEETLE 2.0 GLS W/ APPROX. 77,000 MILES. LOW FUEL LIGHTS STAYS ON / WILL NOT GO OFF. THE FUEL GAUGE IS WORKING PROPERLY, THE LIGHT JUST WON'T GO OFF. WE CHECKED SEVERAL WEB SITES AND CONTACTED A COUPLE OF VW DEALERSHIPS. WE FOUND OUT IT IS LIKELY THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER AND IT'S A FAIRLY COMMON PROBLEM. VW WOULDN'T WARRANTY THE WORK. *NM