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I thought the exact same thing of the 5 speed manual. At highway speeds of 65 - 70, the car felt like it needed an extra gear (6th). When I drove the diesel with the 6 speed manual, it did not feel that way. The 6 speed automatic in both the 2.5 and diesel were also fine. My 2009 2.5 has the 6 speed automatic, and at 70 mph, it revs about 2600 rpm.
I don't believe there is anything wrong with your New Beetle's transmission, it is just the gearing ratios VW set up on that particular manual.
P.S. I also own a 2008 New Beetle convertible (2.5 and automatic). They are a fun car and I know you will enjoy yours!
Bel Air Car Guy
They seem like nice friendly folk who may appreciate an email.
Also, more reports at consumeraffairs
Btw- to het this done is about 350.00. Anything less is not getting this above done...
Thanks!
160,000 miles
I've had the transmission leak for 4 months. Dealership says nothing they can do because it's a sealed transmission. Advised not to replace oil. Says that someone put different transmission oil in it when in reality, I've never had issues with the transmission. I've only had the VW serviced by the dealership and a Certified Foreign Auto shop. Says that if he adds or replaces the fluid it may cause issues. His advice was not to do anything. Says once it starts shifting on it's own, then come in and have the fluid changed.
So I did the whole flywheel assembly/clutch thing at 88,000 for $3,000 or so. STILL wasn't right. DIED AGAIN at 108,000.
UNbelievable. They (dealer) just said I need ANOTHER clutch - not sure about the flywheel - and now "pulling out" the trans to see "what's going on"?????
YOU'RE SH------me????
I've driven clutches - and VW - over 35 years. NEVER A CLUTCH EVER BEFORE. NOW in under 20,000 miles I need TWO???
GET A GRIP VW. Time for a bonfire. Can't fix - don't have the $$$$. Cried so badly couldn't even catch my breath......
BTW I never got a letter about them replacing a valve for free? I hear this doesn't solve the problem of the transmissions and that it's probably just a company cover up so they don't look like they are not taking care of the problem.
I just don't get why VW is not addressing this issue. It reminds me of the Ford Pinto. All those people were killed even though Ford knew there was a defect in the engine that if hit would cause a fire or explosion. This went on for awhile and several people were killed in the process before Ford got busted. This is very similar because it is such a serious problem that can occur at a high speed. I am wondering why nobody is doing anything about this? Toyota's recent problems that caused serious accidents were immediately addressed. I know we can't discuss organizing anything on Edmunds but this is ridiculous. I could die on the freeway because of this problem.
I am going to try to bring it to the dealer again but honestly if giving me a brand new transmission didn't fix it then what on earth will? I'm sure this time they will tell me I have to pay for it. Ugh. I can't wait to get rid of this car. I WILL NEVER BUY A VW AGAIN.
Let it be noted I run a consumer show about commercials at the world's largest live streaming internet network. I will be talking about this problem and warning people across the world to not buy VW's and I will be updating them every week on how VW handles this problem with me. I will also be printing up all these complaints and writing a nice bitchy letter to the President of VW along with a copy of my show and your packet of complaints. I figure I will priority overnight right to all the top executives in this joke of a company.
My whole family will never buy VWs again. My friend who has a Jetta had a whole other set of problems and she is never going to buy VW either. It's hysterical how many customers they are losing. If they would just be honest and deal with things then in the long run people will not have a bad image of them but when they lie and are dishonest it leaves such a bad taste in everyone's mouth. Especially when dealing with major safety issues!!! What car co. ignores such a dangerous issue?
Can you tell me about this value body part recall? I never got a letter? See my postings on transmission issues and them replacing my transmission. Don't be surprised if it happens to your car again.
Rere
Then I received a notice from VW saying that, due to numerous complaints, they had extended their warranty on the VW NewBeetle transmission from 5 to 7 years, or 100,000 miles! I submitted a claim, (as the transmission failed in 2010, within the 7 year period), plus my mileage was well within the warranty limits.
The Customer care "advocate" took almost three months to respond, only to reject my claim on the strength that the 7 year clause meant "7 years from the date the car left the lot", not within the calendar year.
This is the fourth VW I have had in the last ten years. Two of the transmissions have failed , one even within five years. I have had numerous expensive repairs to car parts that traditionally should have lasted much longer, especially from a company that likes to project the whole "expensive luxury car "image. One would expect much more quality from a company holding the VW name. Seems like all that has changed.
In short, I have become SO disenchanted with VW, that despite my long love affair with Beetles and Golfs, I've had it! It's very sad that a once reputable company would stoop to such low standards, and such poor customer care. I wonder if anyone from VW even bothers to read these posts.
Their recent motto is "Here today, gone today". Are they referring to their customers? It seems to be a Going Going Gone event!
Hope you're watching VW!!!
Sadly, I missed the cutoff by about six months. Had, I just called Volkswagon Customer Service from day one... Sigh.. I know, non of us trust the dealership to shoot straight with us, that's why we are here.
Below is the URL for customer service:
http://web.vw.com/templates/Service?serviceName=customercare
The phone number is:
1-800-822-8987
I like our convertible enough to pay the $1,500 out of pocket to get it fixed.
Before you get the valve body replaced, under warranty or otherwise, I would have transmission fluid replaced and run it for awhile. Ours got much better, but to get it perfect we felt we needed to get the valve body replaced. Also, since the transmission has been running clean fluid for awhile, hopefully most of the gunk has been cleaned off and will not harm the new valve body.
Hopefully this will be the end of the story for us.
Best of luck to "all y'all" (as we say down south).
Peer
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_184717214908626&ap=1
Thanks for your cooperation on this
It sucked to fork out that kind of money on something that is a manufactures defect, but the way I was handled and the quality of work was worth it. The weather is beautiful today, it's Easter weekend, and my buggy and I are back in action. I actually passed someone today for the first time in 16 months. On a side note, if you are still driving your buggy with major slips and bangs, please take heed. Based on what they saw when they opened up mine; I'm lucky that the transmission fluid didn't catch on fire and destroy the car. I know it is still a ton of $$, but again, i love the car.
Good Luck!
Because of the sheer volume of posts related to this and how little VW seems to care, I am calling my local call for action here in Kansas City in hopes of getting this out to people. I wanted to provide that letter from VW to them. Can someone please send me a pdf of the letter to rockinrileys@gmail.com
Unlike my wife's experience with VW on her 2003 VW Beetle with the shifting problem that the dealer "thinks" needs a new transmission. Third world quality backed by second rate customer service should be VW's motto.
They look good but the quality and service is terrible. Good luck.
Those are the non-negotiable rules of the road here.
My post simply demonstrated the severity of the situation I have had with VW. I would thing Edmunds would like a free exchange of information so it's readers and subscribers can make a more informed decision.
A free exchange of info about the problems you're having with the vehicles is absolutely fine.
I bought this car with 56,500 miles on it and really since I have had it, the car has been at an AAMCO shop. We took it to two transmission repair shops and both said that the oil was smoking and that there was too much metal in the transmission oil. The transmission has been rebuilt time and time again. We only notice that the car slips when we go above 45 mph. The check engine light will go off if you drive slower than that. But the car slips really bad and gets stuck in gears. I am afraid that one of these days my car will slip and i will get rear ended. We took the car to the transmission shop at the beginning of march, it is now the middle of may. WE HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING. They rebuilt the transmission, changed the valve body multiple times, put high performance transmission fluid in, and they even replaced my computer.
They finally told us that they would give us all of our money back if they dont ever have to see the car again. But that doesnt help me. I am worried about driving this thing cross country and having my clutch go out.
This is a serious problem, from what I have read on multiple websites VW knows that this is a problem. What is it going to take for them to have a recall? These cars aren't safe. I was always looking forward to having a VW Golf too, well after the problems I have had with my Beetle it is safe to say that I am NEVER going to buy any Beetle again, and I will also be spreading the word about how horrible these cars are.