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Comments
Honda has been just as bad for issues. I also have VW Beetle and it appears as soon as the car is over 1 year old all manufacturers treat you like a second class citizen. They never want to look at anything without paying some fee.
It just sounds like a monopoly... Everyone is out to make a buck.
I can't imagine why it would take $900 to open and look at the issue. Don't they charge by the hour... about $80/hr.. so that is more the 11 hrs of work. I can't imagine that it takes that long to open the car to see what is wrong with it.
Crap - Oh it daylight robbery...
Brought into dealer last week, and I was told it needed the non-servicable transmission replaced. To the tune of $6,500.00 plus! Of course, my service person told me "off the record", that there is an "issue" with the transmissions.
I have done lengthy research, and there are no recalls, etc., in the works by Volkswagen of North America.
This has nothing to do with the temperature sensor in the transmission, which could lead to the warning light showing up on the dashboard. That is another problem, and is currently being addressed by Volks of N. America.
There are also currently no class action lawsuits in regards to the transmission problems. There needs to be one.
I have contacted an attorney and he is willing to assist, if I can show him that there are numerous problems out there.
If you are willing to assist, please email me @ trannybugsme@comcast.net.
Thanks, John R.
I purchased a used, 2005, Volkswagen Beetle Turbo GLS for my wife in July of 2008. At the time of purchase, the vehicle had approximately 24K miles, and to date has 32K miles. The four-year bumper to bumper warranty expired in February of 2009; however, the vehicle is still well below the 50K mile warranty threshold. Approximately 7 weeks ago, my wife began complaining that the vehicle was running "rough". The "roughness" she described was an abrupt jolt of the vehicle when attempting to shift gears. We live in Texas, so I assumed that any engine roughness was due to the harsh Texas summer climate. As the weeks progressed, however, the car continued to experience significant issues transitioning from 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears, to the point that I became concerned that a repair job was imminent to prohibit any engine damage. Therefore, we opted to take the car to a well known licensed independent mechanic (BMW, Mercedes, VW, etc.) who we sincerely trust. He evaluated the "bug" on two separate occasions and came to the conclusion that the transmission was in need of a valve stem replacement (approx. $1,500), but that due to the vehicles' low mileage, Volkswagen should be held responsible. He was not positive this would cure the issue, but mentioned this attempt was significantly cheaper than replacing the entire transmission. He also mentioned that in order for VW to take action, I had to present the problem to a VW dealer. After hearing this, we immediately took the vehicle to a local VW dealership so that their technicians could evaluate the problem (even though their mechanics have about 20 years LESS experience than our personal mechanic). I received a call today (10/6/09) from the dealership, who indeed acknowledged a problem, but said there is a slim chance VW would absorb the cost of repair because "we had a small dent in the oil pan." I'm not a mechanic, I'm a pilot by choice and a banker by force, but I cannot comprehend why the small oil pan dent would have anything to do with a [non-permissible content removed] transmission/vehicle. That being said, the service manager is supposedly in contact with "his" VW rep to determine what, if any, cost will be assumed by VW. Hands down the most frustrating car experience I have ever had. I WILL NOT EVEN CONSIDER VW FOR MY NEXT VEHICLE PURCHASE. EVER.
On a global note, after reading many of the reviews on this particular website, I feel that we have a strong case for the shoddy engineering of the VW transmission. In the event that VW declines my request to pay for the repair and labor cost to bring our "bug" back to working order, I will be more than happy to stand alongside you in any type of class-action suit we "ripped off'" VW owners come up with. In my opinion, your product is only as good as your service after the sale. If VW doesn't want to put forth the effort to acknowledge their engineering issues, they can keep their worthless product in Germany.
Sincerely,
Dan H.
Bought an '06 Beetle for my daughter to go to college. Thought we were doing the right thing, putting her in a dependable car. Besides the window regulator problems, interior falling apart, turn signals falling out, etc., we just went past the 60,000 mile warranty by 2k and fried the transmission. The VW service tech wasted no time getting on the offensive. He started our conversation telling me how dirty the car was, how the air filter was dirty and then accused us of having submerged the car as there is moisture in the trans. No suggestion how the moisture got in there, just "decided" we did something wrong. Oh yeah, he also had to mention that the bottom of the car had some dents and bruises! Went the same route as you with VOA & got their patronizing routine.
Pretty tough decision what to do with it now. Car sells for about $10k. Doesn't seem worth a $7k transmission!
Please keep me in mind if you here of any class actions.
Ethan Feeney
I'm sorry to hear that you, like myself and many others, have fallen subject to the numerous defects that VW continues to produce. I love the fact that the mechanic blamed you for the damage. It's almost like VW is paying the dealerships and service centers to convince the customer that any defects with the car have been owner induced, rather than facing reality that their cars are well below today's standards.
As for me, the local dealership has our "bug" aka POS, and is charging me a $200 exploration fee to try and determine whether the phantom dent caused any transmission damage, to which I indicated to the service individual that I wanted pictures documenting each step of the "exploration." According to the complete incompetent service individual I have been dealing with, if the dent is found to have caused ANY disruption in the transmission, VW has already stated they will not cover ANY cost. When I asked the service rep if the dent was found to have nothing to do with the transmission, his response, "VW still may not pay for a dime." Furthermore, I had to educate our local dealership as to the VW powertrain warranty. Two individuals told me the vehicle was out of warranty, only to recant their words and tell me the opposite.
I'm currently in a holding pattern as to what steps to take next. If the dealership calls me tomorrow and tells me VW has declined to honor the warranty based on the "dent" in the oil pan, I will more than likely take this to a higher power, i.e. attorney, VW corporate, etc. Enough is enough. VW has a reputation of producing a superior product, but has evidently been caught up in profit schemes while sacrificing quality. I will not, ever, tolerate this mentality.
For whatever reason, I don't feel this battle is over.
Dan
Wichita Falls, TX
I was reading up on what you wrote in regards to your daughters VW beetle , I purchased a new 2005 Beetle for my wife back in 2004 . And for a year now the car is really bad with the transition ( jerking , shifting etc ) I have taken it to the dealer and they told me the transition may need to be replaced the car has 62000 miles its pampered , not a scratch on it in and out it gets serviced regularly that’s why I’m amazed as to why it needs transmition work at 62k miles . Its really upsetting because my wife is in love with that car and will not get rid of it , She was almost rear ended 3 times in the last 2 month due to the car bogging . I wanted to contact an attorney regarding this because obviously VW does not care . Can you help as to what we may need to do or if we can petition something for VW to address this concern ? any ideas ?
Thanks
Mario
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
Sign me up i am in. I have just begun to have this issue and my 05 beatle only has 41k miles. I would love to hear from you. I have posted a blog telling some of my story.
I have replied to many and now you. My o5 has 41k miles on it and I am the 2nd owner and the service department told me that the warranty does not transfer to the second owner but it looks as though you bought yours used. so now I am pissed they just dont want to deal with it.
My problem is that the transmission intermittently has trouble downshifting from third into second gear. It clunks and hesitates and then lurches forward. It doesn't happen all the time but often enough to be very worrisome.
Please contact me about any class action suit. I'm definitely game. I will do the NTSB safety thing, too. THE WHOLE THING REALLY SUCKS.
Maybe if we get enough complaints about this we can make VW pay for these repairs!!!!
Here is the web site:
http:/www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
Lets stop this unfairness!!
Web site : http:/www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
What do you know about the class action lawsuit? Im feed up with this car that cant even make it to 100.000 miles without major repairs needed!! Thanks
I saw your posting on your bug and was wondering what ever came of the transmission problem/repair. Did you see someone on here talking about a Transmillion Control Module in the dash being replaced to fix the problem? We have filed a complaint with the National Transportation in hopes of a recall. You should also. Thanks
I know I'm just a girl and everything, but shouldn't you get more than 80,000 miles out of a transmission? Huh? Just seems wrong.......