2005 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE Complaints

A 2005 TURBOCHARGED BEETLE CONVERTIBLE, SPONTANEOUSLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY ACCELERATED WHILE PARKING, IT JUMPED THE CURB AND TRAVELED AT MAXIMUM ACCELERATION 30 FEET UP A GRASSY SLOPE THEN THROUGH AN ALABAMA POST OFFICE WINDOW, VIOLENTLY ENTERING THE LOBBY. NO ONE WAS INJURED IN THIS INCIDENT WHICH WAS SUBSEQUENTLY TELEVISED DURING THE NEWS BROADCASTS ON ALL 3 LOCAL NETWORKS. WE HAVE IN OUR POSSESSION CLEAR PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE THAT THE BRAKE WAS BEING PRESSED HARD THROUGHOUT THIS EVENT AND THIS FACT WAS LATER CONFIRMED BY THE INSURANCE ADJUSTER WHO INVESTIGATED THE CASE. PRIOR TO THIS EVENT, ON 3 OCCASIONS WE HAD BROUGHT THE CAR TO THE LOCAL VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIP FOR EVALUATION OF A PERSISTENT, INTERMITTENT, THROTTLE PROBLEM WHICH THE DEALER WAS ABLE TO DUPLICATE BUT FAILED, EVEN WITH SUPPORT FROM THE ENGINEERS AT VW OF AMERICA, TO CORRECT. ON ONE OCCASION THEY KEPT THE CAR FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK AND ON ANOTHER, NEARLY 3 WEEKS. WHEN THE CAR WAS IN THEIR POSSESSION WE HAD BEEN ASSURED THAT THERE WAS IN-DEPTH COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THEM AND THE TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT AT VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA. THE CONVERTIBLE TOP WAS DOWN DURING THE INCIDENT RESULTING IN THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT BECOMING FILLED WITH LARGE SHARDS OF SHATTERED WINDOW GLASS. THE POLICE OFFICER INVESTIGATING THE SCENE CHARACTERIZED THE GLASS, STILL SUSPENDED IN THE FRAME ABOVE, AS "CHILLING". ATTACHED BELOW IS AN ARTICLE CONCERNING AN $ 8 MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT AWARDED LAST WEEK IN ANOTHER CASE OF UNINTENDED ACCELERATION IN A VW WITH A TURBO CHARGED ENGINE.

1,2,3RD GEAR JERKING SHIFTING GEARS AS WELL AS ON DOWN SHIFT. HAVE HAD CHECKED IS AT TRANSMISSION SHOP AS I FILL THIS OUT.

PROBLEMS WITH SHIFTING BETWEEN 3RD & 4TH GEARS, LURCHING, AND LAGGING. I CALLED THE DEALER, GAVE THE SYMPTOMS AND ASKED WHAT THEY THOUGHT THE PROBLEM COULD BE, THEY INSISTED THEY HADN'T HEARD OF VW'S DOING THAT. MY CAR CONTINUED TO DECLINE, BECOMING STUCK IN A GEAR, VIOLENTLY LURCHING, STALLING, AND ALL GEARS LIT UP(BRACKETED) ON THE DASH. WHEN I TOOK CAR TO VW NOV 2011, 80,000 MILES, FIRST THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T DUPLICATE, BUT I PERSISTED EXPLAINING MY HORRIBLE, LURCHING DRIVE INTO WORK, WHERE I STALLED SEVERAL TIMES ALMOST GETTING HIT, AND HOW I COULDN'T PUT THE CHILDREN I CARE FOR IN MY CAR FOR FEAR OF SOMEONE HITTING MY STALLED VEHICLE. THE VW MECHANIC TALKED ME INTO FLUSHING OUT THE TRANS AND CHECKING THE MAGNET($560). HE SAID 80% CHANCE IT WAS MY TRANS(QUOTED $6,000), EVEN AFTER THERE WERE NO METAL SHAVINGS IN THE PAN, OR SAID IT COULD BE THE VALVE BODY(QUOTED $1,600), BUT THEY WOULDN'T KNOW UNTIL AFTER THE REPAIR. I HAVE DRIVEN OTHER CARS WELL BEYOND 200,000 MILES WITHOUT HAVING A TRANS ISSUE, SO WAS SHOCKED THE TRANS COULD BE BAD AT 80,000 MILES! I TOOK GOOD CARE OF MY CAR, AND DROVE HER KINDLY. THE MECHANIC DENIED TRANS ISSUES BEING COMMON FOR BEETLES. I PAID THE $560, AND THERE WASN'T AN IMPROVEMENT. I FOUND OUT ABOUT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THE VALVE BODY TOO LATE(EVEN THOUGH IT WAS IN EFFECT WHEN I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR SERVICE!) I WAS SCARED EVERY TIME I DROVE, AND IRATE ONCE I LEARNED THROUGH ONLINE SEARCH THAT FAULTY TRANSMISSIONS ARE A HUGELY KNOWN PROBLEM AND VW WON'T FESS UP AND FIX THEIR PROBLEM!! AFTER THE TRANS BLEW ON THE INTERSTATE(THAT WAS TERRIFYING HAVING A TRANS GO AT 70MPH AND I AM SO THANKFUL I WAS ABLE TO GUIDE MY CAR TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD BEFORE I WAS HIT!!), THE BEETLE SAT IN MY DRIVEWAY WHILE I STILL MADE PAYMENTS ON IT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. PLEASE INVESTIGATE AND FORCE VOLKSWAGEN TO RECALL THESE DANGEROUS TRANSMISSIONS!!

I TOOK MY 2005 CONVERTIBLE BEETLE TO THE SERVICE PROVIDER BECAUSE MY R HEADLIGHT WAS OUT. THEY REFUSED TO WORK ON IT BECAUSE IT WAS A FIRE HAZARD. ALL THE WIRES TO THE HEADLIGHT WERE EXPOSED. THE PROTECTIVE PART OVER THE WIRES WERE BRITTLE AND APPEARED TO HAVE JUST ROTTED OFF. EACH WIRE WILL NEED TO BE REPAIRED BEFORE ANY ONE WILL WORK ON IT DUE TO THE HAZARD. I LOOKED AT THE LEFT HEADLIGHT AND SOMEONE HAD REPAIRED THE WIRES ALREADY ON THAT SIDE. LOTS OF ELECTRICAL TAPE AND WIRE NUTS. I STILL HAVE NO R HEADLIGHT. THE AIRBAG LIGHT HAS BEEN ON AS WELL SINCE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE USED LAST YEAR. I OWN ANOTHER BEETLE. IT IS A 2000 AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT HAS BEEN ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS AS WELL. I HAVE READ ABOUT WIRING PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRBAGS AND FEEL THAT IT IS ALSO A SAFETY ISSUE I FELT THAT NEEDED TO BE REPORTED. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

ON THE 2ND MY SON WAS DRIVING MY CAR ON THE HIGHWAY WITH ME AS A PASSENGER AT 70 MPH WHEN SUDDENLY THE RPM'S SHOT UP AND THE CAR STALLED OUT. FORTUNATELY HE WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR AND SAFELY GET US OFF THE HIGHWAY. WE THEN APPROACHED A LIGHT IN WHICH WE HAD TO STOP AT AND THE CAR DID NOT WANT TO GO. I FINALLY FIGURED OUT THE CAR WAS IN A SAFETY MODE AND IS STUCK IN 3RD GEAR. I HAVE HAD THREE MECHANIC LOOK AT THE CAR. NO ONE CAN FIGURE OUT AT THIS POINT IF IT NEEDS A NEW TRANSMISSION OR IT IS AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION. EITHER WAY A TRANSMISSION SHOULD NOT HAVE ISSUES AT UNDER 100,000 MILES. I HAVE ALSO LOOKED ON LINE AND SEEN TO SHOCK HOW MANY PEOPLE WITH THIS CAR ARE HAVE ISSUES WITH THEIR TRANSMISSIONS. WHY HAVE THE TRANSMISSIONS NOT BEEN RECALLED? WE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED OR SERIOUSLY INJURED WHEN THE CAR JUST STALLED OUT AT 70 MPH. ON TOP OF THE CAR IS FALLING APART! IN THE 9 MONTHS I HAVE OWED THE FUEL PUMP HAS GONE OUT, WATERPUMP, TIMING BELT, AND THERMOSTAT AS WELL. NOT TOO FORGET TO MENTION THAT THE INTERIOR IS SLOWLY FALLING APART AS WELL. SOMETHING DONE ABOUT THIS SITUATION!!! *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE JERKED WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.

OUR REAR, DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW FAILED TO ROLL UP AND WE DISCOVERED IT WOULD BE $1,200 TO REPAIR/REPLACE THE REGULATOR. THIS IS THE SECOND WINDOW TO FAIL. WE PAID AROUND $1,000 TO HAVE THE REAR, PASSENGER REGULATOR REPAIRED TWO YEARS AGO. THIS TIME, AFTER RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM ONLINE, WE DISCOVERED THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME, RECURRING PROBLEM. READING REVIEWS ON EDMUNDS.COM, YOU'LL FIND PEOPLE SAYING THEY'D NEVER BUY A VW AGAIN, DUE TO THIS AND OTHER RECURRING ISSUES (E.G. SENSORS GOING BAD, TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS, CONVERTIBLE TOP LEAKAGE, ETC.). ONE INDIVIDUAL POSTED A RECALL LETTER FROM 2002 ON THE NEWBEETLE.ORG FORUM SAYING VW WOULD FIX THE FRONT, DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW REGULATOR AND WARRANTY IT FOR 7 YEARS. BUT, THEY OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T SOLVE THE REGULATOR ISSUES, AND HAVE DENIED US A SIMILAR EXTENDED WARRANTY. THIS MODEL CAR IS A MAINTENANCE NIGHTMARE, AND VW WON'T ADMIT THEIR UTTER FAILURE IN PRODUCING THIS LEMON AND TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE NUMEROUS MECHANICAL PROBLEMS. APPARENTLY, THEY HAVE CHOSEN TO PRACTICE CAVEAT EMPTOR TO THE FINANCIAL DETRIMENT OF THEIR NAIVE CUSTOMERS. THIS JUST ISN'T FAIR! *JS

WHILE TRAVELING ON A LEVEL BUSY FREEWAY AT THE NORMAL SPEED LIMIT (55-60 MPH), THE ENGINE SPUTTERS THEN DIES OFF CAUSING ME TO IMMEDIATELY PUT MY RIGHT TURN SIGNAL ON AND TRY TO MANEUVER MY NOW COASTING VEHICLE 3 LANES (OF A 5 LANE ROADWAY) OVER TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER LANE. LUCKILY THE OTHER VEHICLES NOTICED THAT MY NOW SLOWED VEHICLE WAS IN TROUBLE SO THEY ALLOWED ME TO CUT IN FRONT OF THEM SO I COULD PULL OVER. AT FREEWAY SPEEDS THIS EASILY COULD HAVE BEEN A DISASTER. AFTER GOT TO THE SIDE, THREE ATTEMPTS TO RESTART WORKED, GOT MYSELF HOME, TURNED IT OFF, TRIED TO RESTART AND IT WOULDN'T. GOT MY TOW TO THE REPAIR SHOP, INITIAL DIAGNOSIS INDICATED THAT THERE WERE NO FUEL PRESSURE WHICH INDICATED A POSSIBLE FUEL PUMP FAILURE. THE REPAIR SHOP ORDERED A REPLACEMENT FUEL PUMP AND FILTER ($561.61), REPLACED BOTH; ALSO ORDERED ($27.88) AND REPLACED A DISCOVERED CRACKED OIL DIPSTICK TUBE. PARTS AND LABOR SUBTOTAL COST WAS $919.49, NOT INCLUDING STATE TAX. THIS COMPLAINT IS PROMPTED DUE TO THE REPAIR SHOPS COMMENT OF "NORMALLY FUEL PUMPS DOESN'T FAIL AT 32K MILES". THE CAR RUNS SMOOTHLY NOW, SO FAR SO GOOD AFTER DRIVING IT 100 MILES OR SO. REIMBURSEMENT OF MY EXPENSES CAN BE JUSTIFIED IF THIS IS AN ITEM OF RECALL. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE DRIVER WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THERE WAS A SUDDEN LOSS OF ACCELERATION POWER. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THE AIR CONDITIONER FAILED AS MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER NOTICED THAT THE FUSE PANEL ON TOP OF THE BATTERY WAS ALSO MELTED. THE CONTACT INDEPENDENTLY REPLACED THE FUSE BOX BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,000.

VW NEW BEETLE TIPTRONIC AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION MANUFACTURER/DESIGN DEFECT: I EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE CLOSE CALLS IN THE FREEWAY WHILE THE CAR BEHIND ME ALMOST HIT ME. I COULD NOT KEEP UP WITH THE TRAFFIC AFTER SLOWING DOWN IN A CONGESTED FREEWAY CONDITION DUE TO THIS TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTION. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN TO ALL DRIVERS, NOT JUST ME. ALTHOUGH I WAS DRIVING VERY CAREFULLY TO AVOID ANY ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY THIS TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTION PROBLEM; BUT NOT SO FOR OTHER DRIVERS AROUND ME. THIS IS A KNOW POTENTIAL SAFETY-RELATED DEFECTS CAUSED BY TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTION. THERE IS A CLASS ACTION (CASE # 11-CV-02243, IN THE US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS). ALTHOUGH THIS WAS DISMISSED IN ARKANSAS, BUT THE JUDGE SAID "OTHER CO-PLAINTIFFS IN THE CASE COULD PURSUE CLAIMS IN CA". TO ME, THIS MEANS THIS DESIGN AND/OR MANUFACTURE DEFECT OF THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IS VALID. IT SHOULD BE ADDRESS IMMEDIATELY AND I AM ASKING NHTSA TO MAKE A SWIFT JUDGMENT BEFORE IT CAUSE ANY LIFE OR MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. *TR