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I agree with all the posts. VW should do something about this issue. Sadly, injuries and lawsuits will probably have to occur first.
I'll post another update when my mechanic calls me back.
Julie
When it was taken apart the accident assessor looked and said, no, it was not a result of the original accident. So we lodged a claim with the Mechanical Insurance Company. We had the repair done while waiting for them to make up their minds on the claim....the valve body was replaced at a cost of $6450 (New Zealand Dollars) and the car is running perfectly again.
the problem is that the mechanical insurers have turned down the claim as they say it was caused by the original accident and the accident insurers have come back today and said that this is a known and common problem with VW Beetles so it is not a result of the accident.....very frustrating and we are out of pocket severely.
How often does the valve body fail?
We now have to take both insurance companies to the Insurance Ombudsman here and get them to sort it out, which could take months.
I have also in the last few days written to our entire congressional delegation (house and senate) as well as the NTSB and CPSC asking why there has not been any government pressure to force a recall on an automobile which is obviously dangerous. My wife was nearly killed when her car stopped dead in the middle of a left turn at an extremely busy intersection one day. After fifteen seconds it decided to move again, but by then the lights had changed and she found herself charging into oncoming traffic; of course, she had no other place to go, couldn't stay where she was and couldn't back up.
We bought this car two years ago used, and I cannot tell you how many problems, major and minor, we have had with it. Just to list a few:
1. Front bumper passenger side air bag sensor corroded out.
2. Battery replacement is a major pain/expense.
3. Front running lights in bumper skirt fell out.
4. Right front wheel well skirt fell out at speed, causing wife to almost lose control of vehicle.
5. Left rear power window fell apart internally and will not shut/operate (this only costs $700).
6. Front seat belt force response sensors went bad and had to be replaced.
7. Floor mat locks broke, causing floor mats to slide up under brake pedal and accelerator.
8. Rear ashtray/cupholder assembly fell out, shorting out the rear lighter wiring harness in the process. Very exciting for the rear seat passengers at the time.
9. Don't get me started about the cup holders for the munchkins from Oz.
10. Right front headlight locking ring failed, causing assembly to fall out; fortunately was standing still at the time.
11. Transmission control module failed; had it replaced; but didn't solve the problem.
12. No way to check the transmission fluid; you have to take it to the dealer.
13. Transmission shift control failed; diagnosis called for transmission replacement.
So by all means please include us in any updates, correspondence, or whatever if you are going to pursue this. Everyone on this list serve should write to their congressional delegation, the local press, anyone who will listen, because the only thing VW is going to respond to is bad media coverage and government pressure. Maybe we should also all write to Ralph Nader.
Does anyone know of anyway that the ATF fillter can be damaged due to the underlying issues with the VW transmission?
The accident insurere is turning the claim down because of the kinown issues with VW Beetle transmissions, they are saying that the valve body problem we had is common and not caused by the accident.
The quote from the mechanical warranty assessor is
"The transmission pan was replaced due to being damaged, the transmission fluid was "very black and had a strong odour. The ATF Filter was found to be damaged and this could only have been as a result of the damage to the sump and would have allowed contaminants to be washed through the valve body and internals of the transmission."
the original transmission pan replacement was covered under our accident insurance, but they are refusing to cover the subsequent transmission failure.
Arrfgghhhh. After I've composed my letter, I'll set up a facebook group and post here to let everyone know. This is absolutely ridiculous. Surely, if we all start screaming, someone will hear us before one of us is seriously hurt.
I bought this new for my wife off the showroom floor at the same place in 2004. It has 74000 miles on it. Hmm...I do not want to add the cost up per mile to have owned this POS.
Anyone have any ideas on how we can get some pressure applied.... :mad:
USA Today.
Maybe because of all the transmission issues?
I have a 2004 Beetle with 97K on it, auto transmission. The transmission is junk. The dealership is blowing smoke and I spoke to VW CS which is useless. I wrote VW a letter and told them that they not only have a coil problem, but they should do the right thing and fix all the transmissions. I am not spending 7K on a transmission. Luckily it is a third car for us so we are not stranded. I went ahead and changed the transmission fluid even though it has the so called lifetime fluid, ( what BS is that, and not even a dip stick to check level). My mechanic said that there was a lot of brass in there which is from the disks. Have not put any miles on it yet, but do not expect it to have fixed anything. I was a long shot, but for $250, we figured we would give it a try. I will be joining the fight here, count me in against VW. :lemon:
If someone were to file a class action suit, it would be YEARS before anything was accomplished. The attorneys would benefit more than the classes would. The safety folks won't force a recall until someone dies.
I included a link to this thread in my letter, perhaps they will monitor it. Not sure what good that does, but I'm grasping at straws here. I haven't heard anything in response to my letter from the local dealer, but they probably figure the response from USA settles it.
I really, really miss customer service. I'm waiting for my formal letter from VW before I decide how to proceed. VW Germany? Maybe give Chevrolet a chance to shame VW? Maybe rent a billboard to show my displeasure with VW?
Dianne :sick:
Took it to the dealer here in GA. explained the issue and told them it is not a transmission failure as it will manually shift. They called me the next day and told me the transmission is bad. I asked what they based that on and the service manager told me it was based on the dark color of the oil. I asked if they read the trans code or performed pressure tests or any other diagnostics and he said trust me the trans. is bad, he has seen this issue before. I picked it up and brought it home. Investigated it more, bought a repair manual and decided to replace the wire harness that goes into the trans case and replace one solenoid in the transmission control valve after removing the control valve and testing each of the 7 electrical solenoids on the trans. control valve. Found one with with different OHM value from the others. Put it back together and tested it. It still had the same trouble until I cleared the code, then it worked perfectly. Perhaps since it was a safe mode condition the code had to be cleared before it would function properly. It seems many people get burned with the cost of a new trans. because the dealer will not perform proper diagnostics. 5 hours labor and $280.00 in parts, instead of $5500.00?? I was fortunate to have the background to do this myself. Why do they get all that training if they don't use it??
I finally broke down and took my Beetle to the shop. It had the same problems everyone else's car did: hard shifting with banging, etc.
The mechanic put my car on the computer and said that the transmission wasn't reporting any errors, but that the valve body was broken. The valve body is PART of the transmission, but not the entire transmission. He warned me that if they took the transmission apart and it was broken, they would need to replace it, but he didn't think that would be the case.
Fortunately, my only issue was the valve body. The repair cost me $2100. That sucks! But it's a lot better than having to replace the entire transmission to the tune of nearly $6 grand.
A certified VW mechanic said online that many VW dealers are making people replace their entire transmission when it's just the valve body that's broken. If you take your car in for repair, make sure you ask the service rep whether it's just the valve body that is broken. This could save you $4,000. Shame on those VW dealers who are shystering their customers!
Finally managed to get an insurance payout as the damage to the valve body was (possibly) caused by an accident which damaged the pan and the filter. The insurance company paid out $3500 - they discounted the cost of the repair because they said that VW Beetle transmissions only last 100,000km before they will die anyway and ours had done close to that at the time.
I have now, reluctantly put my beetle cabriolet on the market, it is running beautifully now, but I am worried that something else will go wrong....has already had a waterpump, thermostat, airbag sensor and the transmission die on us at a total cost of around $11,000. Luckily mostly covered by the mechanical warranty we purchased with the car, but that runs out in May and I don't think I want to own it after that!! While I love driving it, it is the most expensive car to repair that I have ever owned.
In any event, I've ordered a handy dandy VW repair manual, it should be here by the weekend. My husband (he's built several cars) is convinced he can fix the problem.
I'll report back, am crossing my fingers and toes!! I truly love my car. :sick:
I bought my wife a 2003 VW New Beetle CONV. MAY of 08. I went to a local dealer here in clarksville, tn. Gary Mathews VW. First thing the car had under 60,000 miles and they didn't give us any kind of warranty what so ever. But this was my wife's dream car so i bought it any ways. I am a jack of all trades I work on everything with a motor. Well first thing was had to buy tires the same month I bought the car. 2 A new battery 3months later 3. the little ashtray thing in the back was broken 4. The dealer tried to charge me for a crash sensor that was recalled to be installed 5. the passenger side window regulator on the top was broken causing the cable to break and bind well the window was stuck. Ordered one on Ebay thought maybe I would get a good one well no same problem i used it though cause i needed her window up well it broke too. Now i just ordered a brand new one from a vw dealers warehouse store which MAN they are WAAAAYYYY cheaper than the dealer or anyone else. VW wanted over 275 for it cost there 108 brand new and warrantied. Well needles to say they did a recall for the same problem the beetle is having on the Jetta. But not the Beettle. Now to 6. The Torreck B transmission switch is bad well that is what the dealer from my hometown in ohio said. The car will sometimes bang in to gear and also the car will get stuck in what ever gear it is in sometimes and the little squares will be over ever gear on the dash which indactes transmission malfunction. They said it is due to the trip tronic switch (toreck B switch) I ordered it for 30 from the same company but the dealer will have to install it cause i dont have any way to get trans oil back in it. 7. The water temp light (Blue) will randomly come on at times not all the time but sometimes for a while and will go back off at times, UGHHHH I traded my near paid off car that had no issues for this heap of junk :mad:
have no one to blame but yourself. Besides it should of been checked out by a
reputable vw mechanic. Sounds like u got it for low $ and took the chance u could
repair yourself. Lastly, the dealer must give at least a 7 day warranty or u think
warranties are for jerks.
anyway I went to a transmission shop and they changed the valve body on the trans for $2000.00. Still sucks to have to pay anything but it sure beats $6900.00. The dealer says they do not repair only replace. they make it seem like the trans is no good at all when it may only be the valve body. probably causing people to spend $4000.00+ to buy a new trans that may not be needed. what a scam!!! My car is running better than when it was new. makes me think the problem was there all along. Defenitely will not buy another vw since they don't have any product integrity. Hope this helps a little.