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The battery would drain quickly and car wouldn't start...dealer never fixed problem, it wasn't a "short"...just a bad battery and the dealer couldn't figure it out.
The car's interior had a strong smell of gear oil and we never could find out why.
The rear hatch stopped opening from the remote.
The AC compresser broke right after the bumper to bumper warranty expired.
I don't think mom will by VW again..
Turns out a neighbor of mine has the Sport version Beetle...and she reported numerous problems as well.
Then sudden disappointment. Liquid cooled engine, in front. And a whopping price tag. The good beetle was still made in mexico, but dare them get to do the NAFTA thing. It was tabboo to try to import one to the US. Those old VW's where a well designed vehicle, easy to work on and inexpensive. But seems everyone is happy if they can spend alot of money for the same old pressed sheet steel, that is spot welded into a car.
The true "New beetle" at the time was the GEO Metro, but naaa everyone wants all these fancy conveniences in a car, but then they complain about all the problems. My car never breaks down.
And I get 40 plus miles a gallon.
My dealer is 50 miles away--and, besides, shouldn't any vehicle owner be able to do simple maintenance like changing the headlight bulb?--so I, of course, broke the plastic handle and now can't change my bulb. What's the part number and where can I obtain a replacement?
Or is it because a lot of car buyers in their quest to be the "first kid on the block" to have the latest and greatest - buy cars that are in their first year of production, and complain when things go wrong. Of course things will go wrong in the first couple of production years - most automotive manufacturers are counting on the buying public to be their "beta testers" to work out the bugs. I don't care if you drive a VW, Honda, Toyota, lawn tractor, whatever - ALL vehicles have some bugs the first couple of production years. Don't take my word for it - just check out the forums from the other manufacturers and you will see a recurring theme.
My secret - I buy my vehicles near the end of the production cycle (after the bugs have been worked out).
window regulator
window switch
o2 sensor
mass air flow sensor
water pump
two batteries
alternator
trunk latch
oil pan gasket
valve cover gasket
coolant pump
coolant flange
thermostat and o-ring
fuel pump relay
Currently I am waiting for the dealer to finish fixing a leaking vacuum hose. For the cynics, most items on the list occurred and were fixed independently of the other items (i.e. this car has been in the shop about a dozen times since I have owned it). Total repair costs (including two tow bills and about $300 to replace the timing and serpentine belts) are running around $2800. There's already enough icing on the cake, but why stop there:
-a roommate cross-jumped the car when I was having my first battery problem and fried my instrument cluster. Dealer said $500 to replace. Dealer explicitly said "not likely to be a fuse". Took the car home, found the fuse, and replaced for $1. First encounter with dealer...
-inside panels scratch easily and layers just peel off. Steering wheel paint or whatever it is slowly rubs off under normal use.
-dealer keeps car overnight routinely (though not today, thank God). Here's the extreme: car towed in Monday night, alternator replaced, car picked up Friday at noon.
-my reliable car is a 90 Corolla with 150K miles.
Let me now change topic and take the opportunity to apologize in advance to the person who buys this bug, and from what I understand from consumer reports, any New Beetle.
The Rep said something about a "Cold Safety Neutral Switch" that prevents the car from moving until it is warm. He seemed to be aware of the hesitation problem but I wonder if he is just blowing warm air up my leg. Any ideas out there?
David
The check engine light comes on for a variety of emissions related conditions. Usually when the emissions are high there is something wrong. It probably is worth checking the oil and the gas cap however you'll need a pro to look at your car to determine what is really wrong. Don't go replacing parts and sensors willy-nilly or you'll spend alot of money and probably not fix your car.
I love the look of the car and the great fuel economy but I just can't afford the upkeep anymore. It's got less than 65,000km too! I'm sorry to say that my previous car, a Geo Metro was built much better than this hunk. I will never buy a VW again.
Does anyone know if its possible to reset the check engine light or does a dealer have to do that? One of my glow plugs went and I was going to fix it myself but the shop told me there is no way to reset the light so they have to do it...is that true?
The drivers side head lamp low beam and daytime time lamps are no longer working. High beam works fine. Is it possible to replace the bulb without having to go down to the dealer and pay 1hour labor @ $90/hr plus retail cost of part?
Please let me know if anyone has been able to preform this repair without getting the dealer involved. Thanks!
My wife's car had the EPC light come on. We took it in under warranty and they replaced one of the sensors. It may have been the throttle position sensor (crankshaft position sensor ???). Anyway the EPC just lights up when any engine performance diagnostic code gets set by the computer. Therefore the EPC light isn't one specific cause. There could be a variety of reasons that the EPC light came on.
Is is just me, or do other owners have the same noise compliant?
I would any appreciate comments.
Thank you,
David
You first need to pull up the lever under the hood to release the headlamp clamp.
The entire headlamp assembly can then be withdrawn through the front of the car and the bulb replaced. You will also need to remove the air filter box on the drivers side.It takes a little patience, buy its not that difficult.
You may look up the OBDII codes for yourself. Here are some links;
http://www.obdii.com
http://www.jimbennett.net/OBDII.htm
http://www.smogsite.com/obd2.html
http://ibmgeek.shacknet.nu/projects/durango/OBDII.html
The unit skips very badly, it seems to be much better if the volume is turned up, and rarely skips, no matter what the road surface?? At normal volume levels it will skip on any moderate road bump. ti does nto catch back up in the song, and I have to clear it by going back out of CD mode for about a minute. Does that make any sense? Has anyone had any luck with non factory changers using the factory in dash unit's controls? Is there soemthing I am doing wrong? I have returned the changer and adapter to the vendor, both were returned as said to have tested "OK". Any ideas are welcome....
Also, you can reset the check engine light with a Vag-com cable and a laptop. There are tons of other things you can do, too, with this setup. Search the web for Vag-com...
So have all the bugs been worked out? Should I even bother trying to negotiate for this car? (it's a 2004 GLS with auto/115 hp)leater etc
Thanks to all you owners who respond.
Buying last years model only makes sense if you are going to keep the car for 6,7 years or so. If you aren't going to keep it that long then it will never make sense as the trade in will be a year behind in trade value.
Thanks for your feedback about the "getting better but not quite toyota" I usually get board with a car after 4 years anyway.
If you can find a good dealer service area, you're very lucky. If not, any problem you do have will be that much worse.
I love VWs, and am looking forward to them bringing more of their TDI technology to this side of the pond - but I've yet to find a dealer service dept. that can even hold a candle to the better service depts out there, eg. Lexus, Infiniti, etc.
As an example just look up and compare Beetle resale values for 2001 and 2002 model years each with say 45000 miles. Since the resale value of the 2001 is much lower than the 2002 model you take a loss when you trade.
So that discount on the 2004 isn't so great when you consider that much of that discount is lost on trade in.
If you keep the car longer, say over 7 years or so then the year older car discount at trade in isn't so different. So the rule of thumb is, Only buy last years leftover cars if you are going to keep the car a relatively long time.
I am new to the forum but have owned my 99 Beetle for going on 4 years now.I really love to drive it but it does not shift good when it is cold.Sometimes it hesitates when I start to go doesn't seem to want to go into gear. We have always maintained it very well.IIt has about 70,000 on it now.It did have an issue with the battery.Got a bad battery and when the car went dead had to reprogram everything.So if your battery goes dead better change it asap. Had trouble with the brake locking thing in it once ( I guess it was a safety device in case it got put into a gear.)I need to know what is making a noise when I start it up it sounds like a fan and it goes away after it gets warm.Has anyone had any of these similar problems?Any info welcomed.....
If your car is under warranty then the dealer will fix it free. Otherwise maybe you could get an aftermarket CD player at Circuit City or somewhere. I got one (a Kenwood Unit) for my other car last year. the total cost installed withe the wire harness was around $150.
The car failed due to these two messages that came back from the computer:
P0134 HO2S Circuit Insufficient Activity Bank 1 Sensor 1
and
Mass Air Flow Sensor Circuit Low Frequency
I *have* to get these two things fixed. The state will suspend my license if the car doesn't pass emissions by the deadline.
Please someone tell me that this isn't a big deal, is inexpensive to fix, quickly done, and not to worry.
Thanks for the input!
:confuse:
What the heck is wrong with this car? :mad: