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Comments
I had the valve body replaced which solved the problem. It cost me $2000+ but was a LOT cheaper than replacing the transmission to the tune of $6000+. If you decide to keep the car, insist that the dealership look at the valve body. Lots of dealerships are telling unsuspecting Beetle owners that they need a whole new transmission when they don't.
I'm so sorry you're going through this. It really is a fun car, but this transmission BS isn't any fun at all.
Here is the web site:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
Here is the web site:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
Here is the web site:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
Here is the web site:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
But I agree with u, the dealers are just saying u need a whole new tranny just so they can make $$.
My car slips gears when it wants too...so i know the tranny isn't THAT bad...
it goes back and forth....but I didnt buy my car frm an actual VW dealer so they are rebuilding my tranny at a transmission shop rather than frm VW.
I hope they don't charge me >.< since it hasn't been 30 days.... :confuse:
I just took my car to the local VW dealer today and I made sure I told them I spoke with VW corporate prior to dropping the car off. VW does warrant the powertrain, which includes the transmission. The warranty is 10 years/ 100,000 miles. I have a transmission leak and it is under warranty. Call VW @ 1-800-822-8987 if you have any questions.
Yesterday I drove the car out of town approx. 40 miles. While returning home last night I stopped at a grocery store. As I was leaving the store my car started to make a very weird noise which at first sounded like something was dragging underneath it. I stopped and physically got out to look under the car but saw nothing hanging down. I started to drive away and heard the noise again. I drove the car for 1 mile and stopped at a friends house. I had a friend come out and look under the hood to see if they could see where the noise was coming from. He asked me to put the car in reverse and it would not go in reverse. At that point I knew something was terribly wrong. To make a long story short I called a tow truck and had my car towed home. The next morning I had my car towed to a reputable foreign auto repair shop only to be told later that day that my transmission had gone out. Her words, "Inside the transmission box were pieces that I could hold in my hand." It literally broke into pieces. Now I'm being told that it will cost approx $3,600 to replace the transmission. I was told that they called the local dealership to inquire about similar problems in other VW Beetles. She was told that there was no recall at this time on VW Beetle transmissions.
Something about all of this just doesn't seem right. This car has very low miles and has been well maintained. What would make a transmission disintegrate like this. What do I do????????????
On another note transmissions don't usually go out like that. first you should experience shifting problems. I would check the serial number on the transmission to see if it matches because there may have been a switchero. These Transmissions are very expensive and people will go to great lengths to get there car going again. all it takes is about five hours if you are good maybe less. hopefully your car was secure but you never know.
Recall, recall, recall. For the life of me, I don't know why they don't research the problem and fix it. Wait.....that would cost them money......
Please post your email and I'll be glad to forward you the letters I have sent to VW USA as well as what I've drafted to send to Germany.
Dianne
The total cost for the job was $1,050.00 ($795 Valve Body + $255 Labor). I didnt have to pay it...thank goodness...cuz the dealership knew they shouldnt hav sold me the car like tht.
It drives well....hope to keep it for year and trade it in. I learned my lesson
PS. I was told buy my mechanic to take it in and trade it without telling the dealer. apparently this happens quite a bit....imagine that!?!
I want them to pay. This is NOT my problem. I don't have the money for this. They MADE it defective. There are THOUSANDS of complaints out there. WHERE ARE THE COMPLAINTS WHERE IT MATTERS?
I just filed with them. THANK YOU.
HOW INSULTING!! And how stupid of me, anyway, to think they would stand by their vehicle or maybe even be a little bit nicer to someone who had blown so much money on VW's and been so loyal over the years. NO way. Couldn't care less. So me and my fair-weather, horizontal only VW stayed out of traffic. Only experienced that awful smell you referenced a few more times when I got in traffic and once again sat there for some time. The car could not idle AT ALL. You couldn't simply go from first to second. Anyway it finally died it's valiant death. And it was the original problem, the clutch assembly.
I helped them sell a LOT of VW's. The converse will be the same as well.
Sorry for your experience. Hope it helps you a little to know that my experience was just like yours. And they treated me just the same as you. At least in THAT they are consistent.
Around 52,000 miles the CEL came on. The code was for the coolent system 2180. I replaced the coolent sensor, thermostat and eventually the water pump as my mechanic could not figure out why the code wouldn't clear (I had always taken it to the dealer for servicing before the warrenty was up at 50K). VW make such crappy cars now - the water pump had PLASTIC propellers and had started to crack. Thought it was fixed, but two years later the damn light is still on.
About 2 months ago I noticed that the car wasn't running right. I noticed that when going in or out of 3rd gear it would jerk. I see from this thread that a lot of you have had this issue. My mechanic checked it, but couldn't find anything wrong. Since the tranmission is sealed, of course, it would have been $200 just to see if the fluid was the issue. I took it into VW yesterday after I got a letter saying that my car may need a new catalitic converter - anyone else get this? At first they said that the transmission sensors just needed to be cleaned. I was so relieved - until they called back later saying, nope, I need to replace the transmission.
I don't know what to do. I love this car, but I can't keep putting $$ into it and then have something else go wrong. Aside from the CEL light that won't turn off, I had to replace the rear right window as the gear for that broke. I haven't even gotten the quote yet for the whole shebang, but I can imagine it's more that what the car is worth!
Am I crazy to think that a car should not have tranny issues after 75K miles???
I've driven VW's over 35 years BECAUSE they were "ISSUE FREE". Drove them into 250,000 and beyond WITH NO NEW CLUTCH, NEVER a transmission. THEY MADE THEM DEFECTIVE. PERIOD. UNTIL they just stopped making them at all.
I JUST got mine back - AGAIN - and with all the playing with the transmission they screwed up the headlights. THAT had already happened before so I hope they already know how to fix it. My compressor WENT on the A/C as it has with many others but mine is out of warranty. Another $1500 or so. ANOTHER documented problem.
NO - 75,000 on a VW transmission is UNHEARD OF. NEVER NEVER happened. THEY ARE DEFECTIVE. MONEY PITS. and VW knew all about it.
I wasn't shocked when they no longer made a 5 speed in the Beetle Convertible. And NOW they just no longer make that dog at all. NO KIDDIN' VW.
TIME to buy something else FOR SURE. You put money in a savings account or IRA. NOT a car.
Report your complaints to the NTSB. They ARE listening.
I have put in a complaint. I have written to VW of America numerous times and I will again. This time I'm going to include printouts of blog entries and I going to cc every d*** body I can think of. With this economic turn down, I don't know about everyone else, but I do not have the money for this so I am now $4900 further in the hole if they let me finance the job and give me the POS back. Absolutely, NO ONE buys a VW to pay Mercedes repair bills. This is absurd. VW did not give this car to me as a gift. I paid good money (my last cash) for it. I expected to have to make some repairs...not to rebuild it.
I've DONE my due diligence on these vehicles. Driven VW exclusively my entire driving career and I am now as old as dirt. My lights are an ongoing issue as well. Heading into my THIRD set - now possess the "winky-dink" model where only ONE side work. Thank GOD I haven't had the issues with that window falling out the back. Well, I just knocked on something hard. Maybe next week.
Take a moment or two and scan the internet. You will see we are NOT ALONE by any stretch. Perhaps a CLASS ACTION SUIT by ALL OF US will make a difference. I am unemployed (accountant) at the moment and did NOT have the $3,000 plus the towing plus the time. And I am NOT close to having this piece of you know what fixed even yet.
They stopped making them, DIDN'T THEY? Enough said.
File that complaint NOW with the NTSB. THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!
I ended up paying $486 for the fix and so far, fingers crossed, it seems to be working. I think what got us the deal was how much else is wrong with the car and that my husband remained calm on the phone when explaining the situation. Like he said, we spent $25,000 for a car that in the past was built to last. Not to fail 1000 miles after the warrenty was up.
So call VW of America and hopefully they can help with this fiasco.
:sick: .Ro
Anyway, yes, the lights. Another "issue of endearment". Mine was just brought back to the dealer this time. Both my low beam and high beam on the driver side don't work this time. But I have someone to blame I believe for it. Look at the internet and all the complaints about the electrical issues. Tons and tons of complaints out there.
I have been advising people to do only one thing that has any merit: Tell the NTSB. They are THE ONLY agency with the authority to do a recall on these cars and give us $$$ back. Other than that? No one cares. Look, it worked for the Hondas and Toyotas. Enough complaints and enough safety issues they listen.
Lights are certainly a BIG safety issue.
VW knows they had big problems with these cars. Just LOOK. They are no longer making them. THAT says it all.
Good luck with yours. I hope I can drive this safely soon. I have lost TOTAL confidence in it. And THAT was the reason I drove VW to begin with. Very very sad.
Well, the dealer would instruct me on how to drive a 5 speed. Nice, huh? Of course they also wanted a new flyewheel on ME? I said screw them. Another dealer just pretended they didn't have "issues" and said "DRIVE IT" so I did until it died about 3 weeks ago and I had it officially replaced. Until that time it would overhead, jump up and down, etc. if it got stuck in traffic. Terrible. One trip reading complaints on the internet and I saw it had problems. Next thing you know, they don't MAKE a 5 speed - then you stop manufacturing the Beetle. Gee whiz - why do you think THAT is???
Anyway, they have a litany of service issues a mile long. Cutest cars I ever drove but a service nightmare. And the transmissions seem to have been the most ill-thought out of all their issues.
I have only ever driven VW so it is a terrible disappointment for me. Don't know what to buy next. Boat???