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Comments
Nothing like a new interior or engine. no...
Instead, the 6 speed auto is now the only auto available (even on the coupe).
The dark blue and red are replaced by , another dark blue and red. (already available on other VWs)
The (cool) flaps on the NBC (GLS) are "no more" . I guess replaced by a hole, like in the GL.
Satellite radio is a new option , comes with 3 months of service.
To me, it's not worth waiting September for the 2005s.
(1) Does anyone know why the 2.0L engines tend to consume so much oil? I don't mean the technical reason so much as the rationale. Does VW engineer it in for better mileage or long life for the engine?
(2) Does anyone know what weight of oil comes in the car from the factory? That way as I break in the car (640 miles so far) if I need to add oil it's the same type. (tried calling dealership and sat on hold until I gave up)
(3) I can accept 'high' oil consumption...for me it's not a big deal to check the oil and such. But does the use of oil signify anything...such as the engine will not last as long? If it makes no difference (supposing I do encounter 'high' oil consuption) then I would just keep putting oil in and not insist on a new (or remanufactured) engine since I figure the less any dealership's service department touches a car, the better off the car is.
(4) Do you think it's worth putting synthetic in it and if so when (after full breakin)? We plan on keeping the car for over 10 years (a summer car for use in Minnesota). So I don't mind the additional expense...just wondering if it makes sense.
Thanks in advance for any input/advice/info you can give!
Paul
As far as the type of oil, read your owners manual and follow their advise.
- Info?
- VW statements?
- Rumors?
- Guesses?
I was wrong. We've had it for one week and I already have 8 things to address with the dealer.
The windows screach.
The top is mis-aligned.
The chrome around the doors and body is pitted and streaked.
The Engine whines really loud.
The driver's side window likes to do its own thing.
The driver's side window will not roll down all the way.
They left out the floor mats at the time of delivery.
There are already 2 recalls that need to be done.(I was told they were done but they wern't).
I hope it gets better from here. I am thinking I should have bought a PT Cabrio instead. They seem to get rated really high in quality. Maybe next time.
Anybody else having any of these problems?
It isn't all bad. My wife grins ear to ear everytime she drives it. It is a solid little car and is truely fun. Her favorite thing is the blue lights in the dash. We have the Platinum GLS 2.0L manual tranny. We chose the 2.0L because of the reported sludge problems with the 1.8L Turbo.
It's just frustrating because everything that is wrong with it should have been addressed when the dealership performed thier PDI (pre-delivery inspection).
Strange but the driver's window rolls up, then back down when we use the global up button. Anybody else have that?
I have been lurking on this forum for a long time. One has to gleen the useful information because sometimes the forums only reflect the negative. Volkswagen has sold thousands of the new beetles and I am sure some of them have problems. I am hoping many more will never have problems, mine included. Time will tell.
You want to know what Beetle owners think?, just walk up to them and ask. Beetle owners tend to be easily approachable. In fact, I believe I met DOTSBUG and her Mellow Yellow NBC in front of the Christmas Store in Manteo, NC, the first week in August.
Ugh...its raining today and I have the ghetto plastic in there for my wife as a rain block...being held in there with duck tape.
My list of warranty problems is now at 11 and I can't make it to the dealership for another 2 weeks. I've only had the car for 2 weeks now.
Should have bought a PT Cabrio.
The actuator on the passenger side will not work causing the top to bind itself. As a result, my wife had to drive 5 miles in the pouring rain with the top down to put it in the garage and to have me figure it out.
This morning I took it to the local VW dealership and the service consultant informed me that during the last year, 1 out of 5 NBC's have all of the problems I've had. He also said that this isn't the end of it and to expect a lot more.
What's even funnier (at this point I just have to laugh) is that the clutch went out on the loaner car (2004 Jetta 1.8 T) that they have as soon as I pulled out of the dealerships service department.
No wonder that VW is almost last in JD Power Quality.
I wear my seatbelt but it chimes to death before it gives me a chance to put it on or immediately after i take it off...please help.
when I picked up the car, the service manager told me "be thankful you didn't get the turbo."
Nice vote of confidence.
This is the worst quality piece of crap that I have ever come into contact with.
As a result, I am pursuing the lemon law buy back program.
ANYBODY WHO READS THIS, STAY AWAY FROM THIS CAR, IT IS NOTHING BUT A PIECE OF CRAP!!!! JUST READ ALL OF THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS HERE AND YOU WILL SEE THAT I AM NOT ALONE!
I would ask VW the following question: would you consider it normal if commonly used S,T, or H rated passenger car tires wore out completely at 3000 miles if a vehicle is driven normally, tires kept properly inflated, and alignment in spec? Who in the world would buy such tires? I drive manual transmission cars and I have not worn out any clutch in any of them yet, and I went up to 130K miles in one of them, and the clutch worked perfectly. To wear out a good clutch in 10k miles, one would have to drag race the vehicle all the time or ride the clutch constantly.
I haven't made my first payment yet and the dealership has had it for 3 weeks.
I will say that its a shame VW/Audi can't get their quality up. VW used to make good products as seen by my extremely reliable 20 yr old 84 VW GTI. I used to want a new GTI because this one has been so good, but all the owner reprots has scared me away from taking the chance.
I wanted a PT Cruiser, or a Camry Solara but bossywife said no - she wanted one of those cute beetle convertibles. So without doing any research I bought one; if I have problems, do I get to blame them on her? I don't think so!
My NBC is the GLS 2.0 Auto w/ leather, XM, and the wind blocker, (which I will probably never use). My wife insisted on black with the black interior which is fine except that in some recent pictures it is difficult to see our black lab in the back seat. Pearl, that's the dog, seems to enjoy the car but gets terrified if I put the top down while she is in the back seat.
The gas mileage so far is less than what I expected - over the 3000 plus miles, it has averaged 28.5 mpg. I have tried both regular and premium with no appreciable difference. Almost all of my driving is at Hwy speeds of about 70/75 mph which I would like to point out is very slow in the State of Georgia.
For all of you who have had problems, I wish you better luck as time goes on. As for myself, since I live about 80 miles from the nearest VW dealer, if I start having monumental problems, I guess I will test the GA state Lemon Law.
It scares me that there are so many problems that are going on with VW. We are turning in a 02 Passat GLX from a lease. They are offering a good interest rate and a$500 "loyalty" incentive. I guess I liked the fact that I could sit and not have my head bounce off the roof, that there is room to sit and not feel claustrophobic in a convertible. There really aren't many choices for convertibles in the affordable range. Might just get frustrated enough to skip it and buy an Accord. Any suggestions? I really would like a soft top car, but in light of all the negative comments, I'm not feeling very lucky. Thanks
Another possibility would be the new Ford Mustang. It's supposed to come out soon and is very nice looking. But don't expect any good deals since it will be a hot seller.
Like you, I worry about the potential for problems with the VW, but it was about the only car that I and my very opinionated wife could agree on. So I took the plunge and got the NBC with the 2.0 engine and automatic, (my wife is stick shift challenged). Now with over 4000 miles on it and no problems thus far, it is growing on me. Last evening for the first time I drove it in Atlanta rush hour traffic and it was fine - kept up with everyone else; and got grins from lots of other drivers who apparently think it is as cute as my wife thinks it is, or maybe they were amused at the sight of a 250 lb man driving such a sissy car - takes a REAL MAN to drive a car this girlie.
Anyway, like I say, it is growing on me and I am cautiously recommending it to people who ask - and a lot of people do ask. Maybe the folks at VW have worked out the problems - I certainly hope so. But for now, life with the NBC is good, and I can't wait for spring and quick 3 day trips to Amelia Island.
I hope this helps a bit, and good luck to you. Let us know what you do.
Impe
I got into an accident 2 days ago. I am fine but my car is not. All of the safety features worked as they should. I hit a guard rail and the passenger air-bag deployed. I must have tilted to at least a 30 degree angle because the roll bar popped up! I noticed a different feel with the steering just before the accident. I was wondering if anyone knew about any steering defects with the NBC. Also any other recalls/complaints that are known would be helpful!!! thanks so much!
Shauna
There are no recalls on the 3003 New Beetle.
You can check for recalls at the National Highway Safety administration site www.nhtsa.gov
Used seats: Junk Yard/ Salvage yard or find someone that you can trade seats with on their used VW
How would you know?
I did some research. recalls are public information.
You too can research recalls on your car at www.nhtsa.gov
Airbag light malfunction 2X
Top Misalignment 2X / wearing of top (going to upolster to see if it can be repaired if not new top will need to be ordered and Ive been advised a min of a 2months wait is usual and customary by the dealership
Top latch has been replaced
Moonsoon Stereo / Left front door rattles when music plays with too much bass
Right side door misaligned and has scraped the paint off of the inside of the door. Will need to be realigned and painted next week
Both windows "Lock Acutators" will need to be replaced next week. I have to roll the windows down to get out and use the key to roll them back up and lock the car.
Chrome around the top in the back had to be replaced as it was defective.
Although this was to be my dream car, and truly is exciting to drive, the time I spend with it at the dealership going back and forth, taking time off of work, waiting for VW of America to send a representative from SFO to NV, waiting for the VW dealership to send the report to VW of America, and aquiring permission to move forward with repairs, has become tiring. Owning this vehicle has created a feeling of insecurity in my life not having a vehicle I can rely on. At this time in the life having a reliable car is very imortant to me. I'm tiring of the high maintanace this car requires and unfortunately, and I may have to look for a new car, and it wont be a VW. Good luck to the NBC owners out there my experience has not been a positive one.
A guy in N. NV
Cold New Hampshire driver
The point of this is that I also have a 2005 New Beetle Convertible with about 5K miles on it, and I do not have a lot of confidence in it based on what other owners have written. Although it has not yet given me any trouble, it has already become a bit of a pain in the neck as I discovered when I when to change the oil today. After getting down under, I have decided that I will not be able to change the oil myself, and I had to go to several places to find the recommended 5W-40 weight oil. Once I found the oil, the oil change garage would not do the change because of the position of the skid plate which apparently is in the way! I guess that I drive to the nearest VW dealer which is about 130 round trip miles away.
I wanted the Solara Convertible but my wife said NO - she wanted the VW. Maybe she would like to try her hand at an oil change!
OH WELL!
Have fun with your Solara.
That rock shield that you call a skid plate is not hard to take off. There are only about 3 fasteners on each side that come off easily. Once they are loose the rock shield/splash guard/skid plate slides back and comes off. I can probably get it off in 3 minutes or less. You will however need a Torx bit set which you can purchase at any auto-parts store. The Torx set will cost you around $8-10. How much did you pay to have your oil changed ??
New Beetles may have problems, but getting the rock shield off is not one of the issues as to why you should buy a Solara.
Just off hand, do you know the size of the allen wrench that I will need? I have a bunch of those also, some of which are fairly large.
I have not had the oil changed yet but I did find some 5W-40 which the owner manual recommends. It is Shell brand "Rotella" and it is a blend of synthetic and fossil bases. The description indicates that it is acceptable for Diesel engines so it should be fine for the 2.0 gas engine, and it was about $14 for the 5 quart container.
I called it a skid plate but rock shield would be a better term as mine is already scratched up - I have a 1/4 mile driveway half of which is paved and half that is dirt and gravel and somewhat lumpy. My Beetle trips down the drive are at about 3 mph while dodging lumps and furrows.
One last question - how do you get your Beetle high enough up to work under it. I have a couple of stacked 2x8 boards that I fashioned into ramps but they don't give me the clearance that I need for the VW.
Again, tanks for the info.
Impe