Volkswagen Beetle

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Christina of Mcallen , TX October 16, 2009

I have a 2004 VW Beetle and since day one i have had numerous problems with it, at first the battery was foul it wouldnt start, i had warranty on it and when i would take it in they would claim to fix the problem and the next day the same thing would happen again. I must have gone 6 times in 3 months for the same thing! I cant roll my front window down because it might not go up, the back window doesnt go down at all, at the back window is peeling off the convertable top.

I am now having trouble with my transmission, it jumps really hard from 3rd to 4th gear and sometimes it will get stuck in a gear and i have to pull over and restart my car! my aliggnment is never right and the headlights and breaklights are constantly having to be changed. I am tired of it and will never in my whole life get another VW!!!!

Michael of Seattle, WA October 13, 2009

In March of 2009, the airbag light on my 2002 VW Beetle indicated a problem. The VW dealer said my driver-side seat belt recepticle had a glitch, and needed to be replaced for 300. Seven months later, the airbag light came on again and the dealer said now the passenger-side belt recepticle had malfunctioned. Cost: Another 300. Instead of paying, I contacted VW Customer Relations (800-822-8987) and was told, more or less, tough luck, the car is too old for them to help cover the cost of repair. They did offer to sell or lease me a new car. (Ha!) This is my fifth, and, thanks to the company's attitude, probably my last VW.

Claudia of Ormond Beach, FL October 13, 2009

We purchased a 2003 conv beetle in dec. 2002 as a Christmas present to me from my husband;it was the first VW conv, beetle received into any dealership in the city of Toledo. In July 2003 I was t-boned in the passenger side by a full sized conversion van going over 40 mph; this shoved the car sideways 50 feet, bent both front wheels, broke the axle and rocked the car almost onto it side before it slammed back down onto it 4 wheels. The top was on, windows rolled up. All 4 headrests deployed, the passenger and driver seat brackets broke off. But not a single airbag deployed. The frame totally bent. The resulting injuries to me have been devastating and life shortening. yet no one from VW ever returned our requests for information, requests fro them to examine the vehicle - and after it was "repaired" the dealership auctioned it off to some poor fool... God forbid they experience any accident in this car.

Melanie of San Diego, CA October 7, 2009

I have a 2004 convertible Beetle with 50K miles on it. On a recent road trip my passenger side headlight lens fell off. Though it seemed strange considering the age of the car and I've never experienced it on any other car, I figured it would be a simple fix when I returned home. I took it into my dealer who showed me that the driver's side lens was separating in the same way and it would likely soon fall off as well. The quote to replace both was 900. Yes, you read that correctly. Since I am still in the middle of fixing my convertible top and need to spend another 250 to complete that fix you can imagine how angry I was.

Melixa of Winter Park, FL September 22, 2009

I purchased my 2004 VW Beetle Convertible in February of 2004 and within 6 months, it was in the shop because the top would not come back up. The problem was the switch and so it was replaced. By the end of the first year, I had the same problem repaired 2 more times. Since then I've had numerous problems with windows going down on their own, windows not going back up, the top getting stuck halfway, the top not coming back up, the interior peeling off, the headliner coming off. I've only put 30,000 miles on this car so to say that I'm unhappy is an understatement. I purchased my vehicle this time around because I wanted to finally pay off a car and not have to worry about a car payment. Wow did that bite me in the behind. Now, I've just found out that my convertible top has shrunk and the heat seal holding it to the back window has come undone. The cost to replace this entire top which cannot be repaired? 3,000 that I don't have and the best part is that the extended warranties don't cover convertible tops. I went to 5 different convertible top specialists who told me they see this a lot with VW Beetle Convertibles and that it happens every 5 to 6 years. I'm sure that wasn't information passed along to me when I test drove it. NEVER EVER buy Volkswagon, I have yet to meet a happy VW driver.

Julie of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA September 15, 2009

My rear windows in my 2005 Beetle Convertible have broken twice in 55,000 miles - first time under warranty, second time, just 5,000 miles over warranty, my dime. It costs over 350 per side to fix and will probably happen again, from what I have been reading. The problem is very hard to fix on our own and needs special tools. The parts are plastic and very badly engineered. VW's first fix was to make a less expensive kit available, however, the labor charges are the expensive part because of the location of the problem. A recall on this problem would not only be appreciated, it is warranted.

Danielle of Jacksonville, NC September 9, 2009

I also own a 2003 New Beetle Convertible. I had to replace my passenger side rear window regulator. It costs over 400. I thought that it might have just been a freak thing until I saw this website. I am having a huge problem with my back glass having come unsealed from the convertible top. This is what brought me to this website. I was looking for recalls. Apparently there aren't any for this issue.

Obviously there is something wrong with the adhesive they have used. I URGE EVERYONE WITH THIS PROBLEM TO CALL VW CUSTOMER CARE. THE MORE COMPLAINTS THE BETTER CHANCE WE HAVE OF GETTING A RECALL FOR THIS. I called my local dealership. National Volkswagen and was told that I would have to get the entire top replaced. They referred me to an upholstery shop near Richlands.

Everytime it rains, my back glass leaks alot and I'm afraid this is ruining my car. Mold is going to set in where the inside convertible top is constantly wet. I live in Coastal NC and do not have a garage. This is not my fault that the adhesive obviously does not work.

Diane of Lake Forest, CA September 2, 2009

In 2006, I purchased a previously leased 2004 VW New Beetle Convertible from Toyota of Orange. It has been a nightmare ever since. Not even 1 week after the purchase, the airbag sensor warning light came on. It was still under the factory warranty and I thought it should be handled by a VW dealership, so I took it in for repair. This happened 2 more times before the problem went away.

I took my complaints to the sales manager of Toyota of Orange because I felt this was a safety issue of a car they sold me. I got nowhere with that. So much for "you won't get a lemon at Toyota of Orange!" That's just a drop in the bucket.

A couple of valves to the turbo exhaust system needed replacing... the glass windows had to be adjusted to meet the sealing points becuas the front windows were hitting exterior door handle pivots... the cd changer had to be replaced because it had an "error" message and froze...the transmission needed about3,000 worth of repair.. the car was surging forward when I would slow down preparing to stop. I needed drive shaft, core return, valve body, cv boot, bolts, gasket and a washer.

NOW onto December of 2008 my car was overheating, but wasn't using coolant up. it needed a new water pump and thermostat and since it was over 60,000 miles and the engine was pulled up anyway had the timing belt changed. (710)

Now just 8 months later the overheat warning came on. this time the coolant was low. I added coolant and got it looked at. the "phalange" that connects the hoses together had a leak which was repaired but the VW dealership said the the low speed fan wasn't coming on. so I needed ANOTHER water pump and thermostat! (1,100)

Oh by the way they also told me that I needed another timing belt because 8 month old one had ridges in it. To add insult to injury...just yesterday the driver side rear window made some crackling noises and refuses to come out of the panel. Based on what I've read on the complaints I'm thinking it's the regulator.

I called my local VW dealership about the extended window regulator warranty, but they said this didn't apply to the rear windows. Time for a class action lawsuit, guys! I will never purchase another VW even it they are cute. And yes... my rear window is separating from the inner liner too. Repeated repair of the water pump/thermostat system. Excessive cost in upkeep.

terri of Nederland, TX August 29, 2009

VW BUG....same thing. spent fortune in window regulators, and wing replaced on convertible and now the back window pulling away from canvas. I can not WAIT to trade this in and get something reliable. The engine is fine...for now. HEY VW are you listening? probably 3-4 thousand spend on ficing the poor quality of BUG.

S of Annandale, VA August 24, 2009

I have almost been rear ended 3 times, and have taken my car into the dealer 6 or 7 times and they still can not fix the slipping in the transmission, I have taken pictures of brackets to show the dealer, they said it was a computer fault. My car has gotten stuck in third gear (not changing to 4th) many times. When slowing down to come to a stop it jams between 3rd and 2nd. When taking off after being stopped the car will not move past 2nd gear and sometimes just stops. Since Volkswagon just did a recall on 2009 and 2010 models of the EOS, with the exact same problem I don't understand why they can not recall the 2003 Volkswagon Convertible Beetle. I can deal with the top no longer retracting, and the rear windows tracks broken.. But I feel my life is in danger with the transmission being faulty and the dealership not acknowledging the problem.

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