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Comments
was due to a slow oil drip from impropertly tightened oil filter (done by mom
and pop shop).
No oil light came on the day the engine froze. The engine light came on 5 mins
before the engine froze.
Should I go after VW America? They already denied my request that they cover for
the cost of a new engine.
Thanks.
Catherine
If the VW tech will sign an affadavit as to what was found (leaking oil filter) you might be able to collect off Mom and Pop's insurance.
Not to worry. There is nothing abnormal about these RPM numbers. I have a Mazda 626 V6 with a 5 speed manual transmission and the RPMs are about the same as on your Beetle at those speeds. I have 134k miles on my car and the engine runs great. I had a 1992 Mazda Protege LX with a 1.8 liter DOHC 4 cylinder and 5 speed manual and its revs were in the same range too. And its engine was doing great at 125k miles when I sold it.
thanks
-rix
I have a 2000 Beetle 1.8 L Turbo. So far it has been ok, no major problems but I think it is the beginning of the end. It has 90,000 miles on it. I was on the highway the other day and it just quit running. It felt like it down shifted and I pulled to the side of the road. Turned it off and it wouldn't come back on. The lights worked and so did the radio. Seemed like it was getting enough power. The car won't start even if it is jumped. I have no idea what is going on. Anyone else have this problem? I'm guessing it is something electrical and therefore expensive. Please help!
So I need to replace it and I want to do it by myself but does anyone know where I can buy the light?
And I wonder if anyone has had the same trouble...
Thanks.
My daughter still doesn't believe these cars have major problems because she sees so many on the roads in our area.
Can anyone shed any light on this? Do these cars have a lot of problems?
My wife loves her Beetle and would have no other car. We've only had one problem (a sensor) that was fixed under warranty.
So if you love the car get a late model one and realize that VW's are not a Toyota or a Honda. Reliability isn't everything. Drive what you like !
I've been reading posts in the New Beetle forum since September of this year, when my 2000 New Beetle with then only 52k miles on it started experiencing major problems.
I bought the Beetle used in 2004 from an owner who hadn't used the car much and bought the car brand new in 2000. At precisely a year to the date I bought the Beetle, the "check engine" light came on, which was the beginning of the end of my previously happy relationship with my little car...
I brought the car into a trusted mechanic who has been a friend of my family for years. He confessed to me that he had never seen anything like it: the car was registering 7 codes that, if were truly malfunctions of the car, the car would not be running. He had heard that sometimes the check engine lights in new VWs go off because of "computer glitches," and turned the light off and advised me to come back if it went back on.
It did.
I brought the car back and he was still baffled: the codes the car spit out weren't correct, as those issues were not wrong with the car. He did an upper engine wash and changed the brake pads and a rotor(which is a whole nother issue altogher). The check engine light remained off for a week, then returned a week later. Total: $350
I live in MA and the car was due for inspection in September. In MA, the car cannot pass inspection with a "check engine" light on. I was given a reject sticker and told to bring it back once the car was fixed. By this time, my car was not starting consistently: there were days when it took me a few tries for the car to start, others where it was starting on the first try. At the same time as this symptom presented itself, the car was accelerating by itself while driving. I began feeling unsafe in the car.
I then brought the car to a certified VW mechanic whom I had used with my 96 Golf (which, at 80k miles blew a transmission, which should have forewarned me). He agreed that there were 7 codes coming from the computer but told me he could fix two of them. One was some kind of temperature gauge in the car, the other had something to do with the engine revving by itself (sorry I can't explain exacts, I do not have receipt in front of me and I'm less that mechanically proficient). It cleared up both my starting issue and the engine revving by itself, I was estactic and thought my car was repaired. Total: $450
The "check engine" light came on the next week.
In November and December, my car was involved in two accidents. In both instances, I was rear ended by another vehicle. In the first, my car was in my work parking lot and I was not present. In the second, I was in the car with my foot on the break and was rear ended by a woman in a caravan who was not paying attention. In both cases, the owners' insurance awarded me checks for the body work damage to my vehicle.
A few weeks after the second accident, I experienced some shaking in the front end of my car when I reached 35mph and over. I was very concerned about this and assumed this was an alignment issue probably caused by the second accident when I was hit while braking. I had an assessor look at the car while it was in the shop for body work and he determined that the shaking was not due to the accident but didn't suggest what the problem was.
The shaking was even more violent when I drove the car home from the shop. I immediately brought it to the mechanic who quickly called me back to tell me that it wasn't an alignment issue, it was much worse: the front axle was completely bent making my car a "death trap." He said the only way the axle could have bent that badly bent is if I hit a HUGE pothole or if I hit a wheel extremely hard. Neither situation was explanatory (and if anyone knows any other means by which my front axle could have been so badly damaged, please let me know).
Meanwhile, the "check engine" light was still producing strange codes when read by the computer. The mechanic shut the light off again and encouraged me to make an appointment with a VW dealer (whom I called and wants to charge me $100 to just READ the problem from the computer!)Total for axle: $375
The day after my car was repaired, my brake pads were feeling thin--that feeling just before you know they will start grinding. The car's brake pads were all just changed in October, less than 3k miles ago. I am not a lead-foot or a constant braker. My alignment has been checked and is fine. This is the THIRD TIME in 6 mos. that my brake pads have needed to be changed. The car has probably only done 5k miles in this period. This can't be normal. The VW mechanic told me that, indeed, he has seen New Beetles whose brake pads must be changed every 4-5k miles.
In conclusion: I've spent approximately $1175 in repairs on my car since September. The "check engine" light is still on. There is a bright red "Reject" sticker gracing my windshield. My brake pads must be changed for the third time since August. My door handles are doing the peeling that I've seen complained about in other posts. The car is loud. I'm annoyed.
This weekend I am trading my car in as is. I'm tried of producing an extra $400 a month to repair my car and, from what it looks like on these boards, I have more costs to look forward to in the future as my mileage increases. I'm sure many of you have had similar experiences or might be able to allude me to some of the reasons my car has had some of the issues it has. Any information, comments, similar rants would be welcome!
Try disconnecting the battery for 10 seconds or so. That'll usually reset the computer.
Other than that you need to have the car diagnosed by the professionals.
http://www.myvwlemon.com
Any help is appreciated.
The dealer gave me a solar charger but that did not work either. Any suggestions? I'm sick of the car and was planning to sell it and buy another car. :mad:
it revs up to 4000rpms trying to get to 35mph and once it does it jerks into 3rd and it wont go past 45mph. The folks at the VW dealership claim that the transmisson fluid has a lifetime guarantee, i think it's bull. What im saying is i think its a transmission problem. Can the transmission be flushed out and changed is my question.
I was thinking of purchasing a HHR but after speaking with the dealership I did not like the amount of money they were asking for. Plus the car is to new no one knows what will go wrong as off yet. I am now interested in a beatle 99-03 I don't know which trim though. What I wanna know is what are there any major problems that these cars have and how well they handle in the snow?
Has anyone successfully fit a stroller in their Beetle? If so, what brand/model was it?
Thanks.
Kirtley
Linda