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Volkswagen Beetle Transmission Problems

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Comments

  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    so what was the outcome of this case
  • chewichewi Member Posts: 1
    I too have now become one of those that is having the exact same issue with my Beetle. I like others love my car however have had nothing but issues with it. It too has been in several times since I have it and now the transmission. I have spent over 200 on a transmission fluid change on a transmission that supposedly does not need to be changed. Now I am told that it is the cam (spelling?) within the transmission. I had purchased the after marker warranty being told that it would cover the transmission only to find that it will not cover the whole transmission but just certain parts. I was than told that even just replacing those parts will not take care of the issue at all (the transmission) will still need to be replaced anyway. Why not pay for the whole issue and not just the bandage to cover up the issue of the Transmission. I find it irresponsible from VW not to address this issue it is having with its vehicles. How do they expect to keep customers wanting to buy another VW if the first one constantly broke down? I too am very disappointed in VW America. I expected to see a company as large as they are to stand behind their product and if there is a flaw in their product to fix it and not by charging the consumer for their flaw. I too will never purchase another VW.
  • sundevil77sundevil77 Member Posts: 8
    I'm sorry you have to go through that (like I did) with your VW. Please spread the word so nobody else has to go through this! It is not just Beetle Convertibles either, I know several Jetta owners that have had nothing but issues. My insurance agent's wife had this vehicle and it almost ruined their marriage because his wife was always so stressed and angry over her Beetle convertible! I can sooooo relate!
  • junkbugjunkbug Member Posts: 1
    I did not read all the blogs therefore what I post may have already been said, however , I think it's worth repeating. My 05 New Beatle is getting a new transmission. The car only has 40,000 miles. I am lucky it's on VW's dime and not mine. The reason it's hard to detect these transmission problems, is because when the car is cold it runs fine, the jerking starts when the car is warm, this is why I went back and forth with the dealership, if they only drive it one or two miles it may seem fine. Mine was jerking pretty badly and was hesitating as well, they originally said they were going to replace the valve body, instead now they are going to replace the transmission, just a heads up maybe the valve body doesn't repair it correctly in all cases or they would of done that on my car to save themselves money. I know it's too late for some of you, which is pretty despicable for customers to spend that kind of money on something not build correctly to begin with. My message is for everyone who's car is still under warranty to get the transmission checked, the dealership kept telling me that if the idiot light is not on the transmission is fine, this was not true , my light never did come on, mine starting slightly jerking at about 30,000 and continued to get worse and worse. If they have to replace all these defective transmissions maybe they will build it right the next time.
  • cbahalocbahalo Member Posts: 5
    I was fortunate enough to have my 2005 convertible vw beetlenew transmission covered by VW America and my local dealership, in spite of having 60,200 miles on it. I reported trouble sporadically for several months before it was finally replaced. Now 10 months into the new transmission, it needs to be replaced again! Very frustrating...anyone know of a class action suit?
  • nataliemacnataliemac Member Posts: 14
    @cbahalo: Your transmission replacement was covered because the warranty is 65,000 miles. Mine crapped out and left me stranded on the side of a busy freeway in Los Angeles at 66,003. They would not cover any of it since it was 1,003 miles out of warranty.
  • sundevil77sundevil77 Member Posts: 8
    Do yourself a favor and get rid of this car before it is out of warranty. The transmission is only the beginning! I had my trans replaced and a month later started having the same jerking issues again. People on this blog keep asking about a class action suit. I don't know but I would begin with the BBB. That might lead into something? :lemon:
  • sundevil77sundevil77 Member Posts: 8
    My transmission was replaced on my 05 conv vw beetle and I also had issues soon after it was replaced, but of course vw wouldn't admit to any issue. After my vw spent over 100 days in the shop, I finally had enough and got rid of the thing. I contacted a lemon law attorney and they said I would have had a case if I would have called just a little earlier. Don't worry about how many miles you have on it, just submit a request to see if you would be eligible. I wish I would have sooner!
  • cupidnlovecupidnlove Member Posts: 1
    I just bought a 99 VW New Beetle last week, and it was love at first sight. I thought to myself the Beetle is the car for me. It's cute, small, and just for me. Boy was I ever so wrong. A few days after I got my car my whole world almost changed for the worst. I was driving home from work on interstate 75/85 south going through downtown Atlanta when suddenly my car jumped gears. I was doing between 65 and 70 when this happen. Within a split second my car went from 65 to 45. It was stuck in Neutral. I was terrified. I didn't know what to do. Cars started flying pass me left and right, and all I could do was coast. I was almost rear ended by several cars. After I was able to get all the way over to my far right hand lane; my car jumped back into Drive. I was able to make it home but very shaken up about what had happen. I couldn't sleep right for the next couple of nights afterwards. I took my car back to the dealer I bought it from and he said he would get it looked at and see what the problem was. The day after he supposedly got it "fixed" he said nothing was wrong with the car but the same problem keep occurring. I left the car there again and the dealer said he would drive it home through Atlanta to see for himself if the car would do to him what it was doing to me. Two days later I come back to pick up my car because he had another person from VW look at my car to "Fix It". When I asked him how did it drive for him through Atlanta he said he didn't drive it home because he had to pick his kids up from school. My question to him and to VW is, if you wouldn't pick your kids up in this crap, why would you sale it to me to drive and put me in danger? Im getting rid of this car from HELL, and I would advise anyone who is bitten by this Love for THE BUG to seriously think again. Go to the doctors and get your head checked before you go to the dealers to get this car checked. Trust me it's not you that needs to be put away in the Nutty house, its the car. DO NOT BUY THE NEW VW BEETLE! I REPEAT. DO NOT BUY THE NEW VW BEETLE. IT MAY COST YOU MORE THEN A NEW TRANSMISSION. IT CAN COST YOU YOUR LIFE. AND PLEASE REPORT ALL OF YOUR ISSUES AND COMPLAINTS WITH VW TO The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and your local State Attorney General Office . THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. ITS' JUST AS SERIOUS AS THE TOYOTA ISSUE. I've made my complaint already, PLEASE MAKE YOURS KNOWN. THE MORE WE SPEAK OUT THE MORE ATTENTION THIS MATTER GETS. Sincerely an Ex Vw Lover - 2/10/2010 -
  • stampersimstampersim Member Posts: 4
    Wow, your story sounds just like mine. I have an '05 Beetle Convertible Turbo and I've been having problems with the jerking for 2 years now (car is 4-1/2 yrs old and 42,000 miles). I've had the valve body replaced twice, as well as other things to try to get the jerking to stop, and this week I am getting a new transmission. My regular bumper to bumper warranty expired last June but thank God I still ahve the power train which will cover it. It is still a huge inconvenience, and I have to rent a stupid car which VW will not cover because they said once the bumper to bumper expires and you are only under power train they do not cover rental expenses. Well ... I've had this SAME problem for 2 years, which started while I had my bumper to bumper.

    If my car didn't have such a huge cuteness factor (I have the light Aquarius Blue one with black convertible top) it would have been traded in long ago. My 16 year old daughter has had her heart set on this car since I got it.

    On top of the transmission issues, I've used my regular bumper to warranty to death. thank God I had it !!!!!!

    :lemon: Worst car I've ever owned .... but the service department at my dealer is awesome. They would be the ONLY reason I would buy another VW in the future (I'm not though ... plan to get a Ford Edge LOL).
  • bugme2bugme2 Member Posts: 2
    So it is with a 2005 turbo covertable with 36K mileage: transmission started shifting harshly at about 31k; took it to the dealer who tried to pass it off as fuzzy logic; they said they ran the diagnositics and that nothing was wrong; supposedly "fuzzy" is the bug responding differently to my and my wifes driving habits; progressively has gotten worst and started disengaging between shifts; problem is intermittent but clearly getting worst. Toyota's recent behavior has been my motivator to not tolerate large corps ignoring serious and expensive to repair issues. Returned the Bug to the dealership yesterday and told them they can keep it until they fix the problem. Fortunately, the transmission "behaved badly" when my wife took the maint. sup for a test ride. The vehicle is coming up on the 5 year warranty in July 2010. So we will see. Keep you posted....but the preceding discussion certainly has been reassuring that VW has a problem. Thanks for the postings.
  • stampersimstampersim Member Posts: 4
    Is it mostly with '05 Convertibles?? Does Turbo play a part in this do you think ???? I plan on printing out most of these postings and putting them in my arsenal if I continue to have problems even after the new transmission. They called tonight and said it's ready already ... 2 days before planned. It only took them 1 day to replace. When they said it was ready I thought they were going to tell me they decided to replace the valve body again instead of the transmission but they said they put it in. We shall see !!!!!!!!
  • cbahalocbahalo Member Posts: 5
    My vw 2005 turbo convertible bug had the transmission replaced April '09 at 60,000. The new transmission is doing the exact same thing - jumping gears and clunking into other gears. I'm just praying it "goes" completely before the 1 yr warranty on the thing is over. Of course it won't do it when I take the dealer rep for a ride.....
    The 1st excuse was the tranny fluid was 2 quarts low, they could find no other excuse to explain the clunking gears. Because it has a sealed transmission they wanted to charge me $800 just to look at it. Once they discovered how low the fluid was and couldn't explain why my husband convinced them they needed to replace the transmission due to poor maintenance at the factory. We'll see what happens with the next one.
  • bugme2bugme2 Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the update....I too will keep you posted....Yes, after they test drove the veh. their maint sup said that the turbo wasn't working correctly and that they needed to attend to it. He didn't suggest that the tranny problem was related. The good news about sharing experiences is that it prepares us in the event they attempt the same "story". What I have gotten from all these postings is to push for an 3 years(min) extended warranty for any work they do related to the transmission. I'll let you know how that goes.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    what is VW USA's contact info. Please blog this so everyone has it. I do not have this info. please.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    If some one would get the contact information for VW. and email or phone info what we should all do is start calling and emailing them at the same time every single day until the proper course of action is given to us by VW. We all need to do it every day at the same time.
    We can use co-ordinated universal time or also called Zulu time. Will someone please post the info and lets all come up with the best time for us to call every day blog your time so I can see and post to you a Time. If we hit them all at once every day at the same time It just may work. It is worth a shot. We need to create a paper trail with VW. and when they dont respond to thousands of e-mails we can then take that to local media and then to lawyers congress men ntsb etc. So after you email it we can all send copies of our e-mails to eachother and keep them in a folder. The pile will build and even if you get your problem resolved please stay in the fight are you in If I get the info I will start doing it at noon every day.
  • stampersimstampersim Member Posts: 4
    I picked up my car this morning and I am pleasantly surprised at how good the car feels. I am still paranoid that it's going to happen again. I was mistaken ... I have 50,000 ... not 41,000 ... but still. Cars should not need new transmissions at 50,000. Anyhow, I learned that the new transmission has its own 1 year/12,000 mile warranty so when my power train expires in June I am still covered for another 8 months. My daughter will be getting this car when she gets her license (already 16 ... but hasnt' wanted to drive) and I'm wondering if I should just trade the Beetle in on my Ford Edge right now ... then get her something when the time comes? Or wait. I"m just paranoid that the tranny will go out again and if I try to trade it in I won't get sh*t for it!
  • stampersimstampersim Member Posts: 4
    OMG if it's not one thing it's another. This morning my rear brake light is out. This falls under work I had done in December when my right rear fender was hit from behind but still ..... will there ever be a day when NOTHING is broken on my car ?!?!? I think I"ll trade it in next week LOL.
  • diannelaughsdiannelaughs Member Posts: 12
    I wrote them, told them my sad story and they offered me $ toward a new VW. I don't want a new VW. I want them to fix the one I have.

    Anyway, the contact info is:
    Volkswagen Group of America
    2200 Ferdinand Porsche Dr
    Herndon, VA 20171
    Stefan Jacoby, CEO

    The "VW Executive Specialist" who responded is Kathrene Fox. Her number is 218.754.6504 or 1.800.822.8987

    I'll be writing Ms. Fox again soon, I'm just trying to get all my facts in order. Why don't we all write her? And Mr. Jacoby? Shoot, maybe I'll find a contact person for VW World!

    Still shifting my automatic manually,

    Dianne
  • diannelaughsdiannelaughs Member Posts: 12
    The CEO is Martin Winterkorn. As far as I can tell, the mailing address would be Berliner Ring 2, 38440 Wolfsburg, Germany.

    I'm thinking a letter will be coming together sooner than later.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    I just sent V.W. various blogs I have found on this site and several others. It was one big fat e-mail. I also sent them a car fax report detailing all of the items that have been checked. I dont want them to stroke me and I think that they will. I have 41k miles and my warranty expires in april. Now that I have all of my ammo I am ready to take it to the dealer. I hate doing it but I have to try and get my new transmission before it is too late.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    was your car fine after the new tranny was put in? I too have 41k miles on it and I think this was always a problem with mine. I got mine used and lived in a very small town so it never really got warm. But now I live in a different area and have to drive further distances. I pulled up a car fax and noticed the Transmission control module was replaced a month after it was put into the street. there were several other things of course but this told me there was always an issue. I think V.W. put the 5 speed triptonic in on accident instead of the six speed because in 05 that's when they came out with the six speed. This is just a theory and that is why they replaced it. They wont admit there mistake they will just hope that many of the incorrect transmissions they put in will outlast the warranty.
  • myposbugmyposbug Member Posts: 2
    I am the unfortunate owner of a 2003 Beetle that I purchased 2 years ago used. Had the valve body replaced last year and now the tranny is completely gone. I will NEVER buy a Beetle ever again. Once I have this junker paid off I'm getting rid of it. There's no way I would put another tranny in this thing after reading all the horror stories here. Did VW purposely build this car to go bad on you? :sick:
  • moanddonmoanddon Member Posts: 1
    My story is similar to yours! My 2003 Conv. Beetle jumped into neutral today while I was taking it to a VW dealership.(First occurrance happened a week ago in town - have seen 2 mechanics for this problem in one week) I was on I-95 going 75mph and suddenly I was going 40 to 25 - 15 and in neutral. it was all I could do to get it over to the side out of traffic coming behind me. When I got to the dealership, they said they had never heard of this problem - and yet I read all of this!

    When I got home tonight - in my delightful replacement rental car (the VW dealership did not have a auto for me to use) I called VW of US and they did not have a record of this problem. I agree - this problem is as serious as the Toyota issue and should be dealt with the same.

    I am appalled that the dealership and the VW of US is not aware of this. For me - my days of owning a VW are numbered if at all. When I purchased this car (we have had SAAB's for 20 years and expect our cars to last) I intended to have this car for more than 6 years and with 63,000 miles on it. I do not know what the VW dealership will find or be able to even help with this problem since this seems to be a new one for them. I would like to move further on this issue and present this to some group that will be able to help. Please advise. Thank you!
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    Yeah I just took mine in today and emailed v.w. The guy was at least nice where I went. I also think it is appalling that these service writers say they have never heard of this issue. I feel bad for you. I only hope that they can fix this problem. I have forwarded v.w. information and some customer complaints from here and various other websites I suggest you or someone else do the same. They need to know that you have filed a complaint with ntsb and that you are aware that others are having the same issue as you. the only way to help yourself and others is to create a paper trail and e-mail the piss out of them with whatever information you find. also forward your complaint that you sent to v.w. to news media, radio, newspapers etc.Then forward those emails back to v.w. so that they see that you are sending this information out to others. This I think is one way to fight back and the only way they may finally listen. If everyone here did that we just may get somewhere together.Good luck I send one email sometimes two a day. I would have loved to see the look on the guys face that read one of my e-mails and realized I forwarded it to cnn. Till next time.
  • myposbugmyposbug Member Posts: 2
    I think I figured it out. I bet the problem is the transmission can't handle the turbo. I noticed starting in 2006, the beetle was made with a 2.5l engine and a tiptronic transmission. :(
  • buggedout1buggedout1 Member Posts: 19
    same thing happened to my 2004 vw beetle...on route 95 in NH and the car gears were all in brackets, and the car slowed to about 30...needed to get to the right lane and get off highway! I truly cannot believe that VW NorthAmerica has customer service personnel just telling us that it is our problem not theirs. Cars should not need new transmissions under 100K miles! It is surely a design problem that they will not own up to.....I would very much like a reimbursement from them for the $5,000 I had to spend on my car. WHAT CAN WE ALL DO ABOUT THIS????? I try to talk to VW North America but can get nothing from them. It is more than frustrating....look what is happening to Toyota....we need to keep these write ups going.
  • shaunnalshaunnal Member Posts: 27
    I am curious if yours is a turbo also? As per the other persons thoughts who posted right before you. Mine is a turbo. Please let me know and yes we do need to make them fix these issues but how??
  • shaunnalshaunnal Member Posts: 27
    Good Morning,
    Well there certainly is ALOT of complaints on here to try to keep up with. I am wondering what you have found out, as I see its been about 3 months since you posted this. I have a 2002 turbo beetle with tranny problems...besides many others. Something has to be done!! Thanks for your reply
  • shaunnalshaunnal Member Posts: 27
    Today I called our local Dick Hannah Dealership, talked to the manager. Told him my problem and of course they want 100.00 to diagnose the problem. Im so frustrated that I contacted our local News Paper, hopeful that they will research this out and write a letter in the paper. Maybe they can help get things done. I have contacted the NHTSA (if that is the correct abbrev.) Others have as well, What is it going to take!!! If I can barely afford the repairs, what makes them think I can afford to take it in just so that they can tell me what I already know is wrong?? WOW SO FRUSTRATED!!! SOMEONE HELP US!!! The value isnt worth more than the TRANNY REPLACEMENT!!
  • twiliwish85twiliwish85 Member Posts: 1
    Hi all!

    I purchased a brand new 2004 beetle in july of 04. Since I got the car I have problems, first the Windows would go down automatically or the power window feature would not work, the air bag light would go on, the dealership would tell me that it was my fault for not buckling up and waiting a few seconds before driving off, air bag light has been an issue atleast every 4-6 months, new battery 4 times since the car has been purchased, cracked fuel line (800 bucks), just recently had to replace fuses and battery because VW told me that I had a small engine fire and it melted my fuses(1000bucks), now my temp light comes on and tells me my engine is too hot. Got it checked out at Big O tire because they run the tests for free(VW is 125 bucks) they told me that my thermostast is going out and it needs to be replaced for 240 bucks. now my car is lurching and stalling, my RPM jumps to 4 even though im giving just a little bit of gas and going only 25 mph.My car has 80,000 miles on it and gets all its reg oil changes. I am extremely upset and need to know what everyone else is doing! I was reading about a law suit and a list. Please Please contact me as to how to join this fight against VW! :mad:
    This is simply ridiculous!

    -Angry Lil Bug!!
  • buggedout1buggedout1 Member Posts: 19
    No, my 04 is not a turbo. I am not sure on how to deal with this issue - I have made phone calls to VW North America. In one recent message here another person mentioned that they copied all the edmunds emails - great idea, maybe we all should copy and bring to the local VW dealer; and also send them to the executive offices at VW North America. The more copies the better for us, so that they see that it is most likely a design issue more than anything. The more copies for them then maybe they will act! Also, register the complain with the national transportation office.
  • sundevil77sundevil77 Member Posts: 8
    I was told my VW was not worth fixing. I also couldn't deal anymore, the stress of it just wasn't worth it to me. I traded it in and bought a Honda Accord and feel so relieved to have my nightmare VW out of my life!! By the way, I had a 2005 beetle convertible (not turbo). It doesn't seem to matter, the trans go out on all models.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    What kind of trade value did they give you. Did they know about your problem with the car? I too am thinking of trading it in but now I am working with the regional rep and still trying to get it fixed under the warranty.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    Yeah that was me that pasted the complaints and e-mailed them to V.W. . And a V.W. rep called me and told me he was confused and wanted to know what my problem was.I was shocked because I spelled it all out for them. A 6th grader would have understood that I did that for the community of pissed of V.W. owners. Any way we did not speak for very long. I suggest that everyone keep pasting similar complaints to theirs and keep doing it till they get it. Especially the ones where that mention filing a complaint with N.T.S.B. Yeah paste them to a word document with a heading explaining what and why you did what you did and mail them to the corporate offices. Go get em. also maybe a lawyer should have a copy of all of these and see what he or she has to say. Is there a pissed of lawyer in here anywhere that in here that could help us.
  • bughater1bughater1 Member Posts: 3
    I'm in, the 2005 Beetle I bought my daughter has begun shifting hard 1st thru 3rd both up and down shifting. I've had it at the dealer 3 times and am getting the same run around. There's no way VW isn't aware of this issue, I called VW America to complain about the dealership but got nowhere. I'm fed up and tired of being screwed, the car only has 65K miles and I first took it in with 58K miles on it. I was told the transmission pan was dented and the shift selector needed replacing, well I'm no idiot and have been maintaining my own vehicles for over 30 years so I threw the b--ls--t flag replaced the selector and removed the oil pan which had a small dent in it. The last time I took it in the selector was brand new and I had the service manager ride with me. She saw exactly what the car is doing, had me leave it overnight then had a technician call me the next day to say I needed a new transmission at a cost of $6500.00 which BTW dented oil pans are not covered by the warranty so I 'd have to fork over out of my pocket. Hell, I only paid $12K for the car to begin with. I'm ready to cause just as much trouble for VW as they've caused me so let's give it to them!
  • bughater1bughater1 Member Posts: 3
    What is the email address for VW? Do you also have the address for the NTSB? What about the consumer protection council?
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    customer care is vwcustomercare@vw.com

    address is
    volkswagen group of america
    2200 ferdinand porshe dr.
    Stefan jacoby ceo

    vw executive specialist is Katherine fox
    218 754 6504
    800 822 8987

    to file a complaint go to www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

    good luck to you. I think what you should do is call customer care tell them you want to file a claim and have the regional rep call you. They should give you a claim number and a rep will call you within 2 business days. If they deny your warranty claim you may be able to file a claim with your insurance company if you have comprehensive insurance. I suggest you find as many blogs as you can that seem to be the same as your issue and paste them to a word document for your records to show that you are not the only one. also forward those to vw America.Then forward the complaints to news all news media possible but always forward what you send so that the next person sees where else you have forwarded the info. Then take that and forward it back to vw so that they see you have spent time and have contacted the news media. This issue really sucks and I am in a battle myself. My car has been at the dealership for a week and a half and I am not sure if my problem will be covered or not. If your issue is not covered make sure you get in writing from the regional rep. (not just the service department) the reason for them denying your claim. You will need this for your insurance company. good luck to you. I am with you but I am a college student with a family. I am fighting hard and have taken all the steps listed above. If you have any ideas let me know.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    First off is your car under warranty?
    If so take it there no matter what they will wave the 100 dollar fee.

    I am guessing since you have a 99 you have no warranty. In this case find a specialty shop that specializes in vw. Most of the time they will diagnose for free. They should be able to tell you what you need to do. The steps are 1 drop the pan save the fluid and check the magnet. If there is metal in there you are screwed. 2 if no metal and the fluid is good put that fluid back in this will save you some money a flush is around 300-400 3. try resetting or more likely replacing the transmission control module (500). If they say to replace a temp sensor ask them how is that going to fix my problem because it more likely wont but it is only 100 dollars.4th If all that doesn't work a new valve body may be required about 1000. You can also try millenium transmissions out of Gilbert AZ. They seem to have good prices on used transmissions around 2000 plus. It is that V.W. always puts in new parts. You can have the part shipped to your mechanic and it will have a 2-3 year warranty. Sure beats 6000. You can google them and call them to be sure of what I say as I have not contacted them. Good luck.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    Mine is not a turbo but it is the limited edition.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    I ment they will wave the fee if they can fix it under warranty. sorry bout that
  • bug24bug24 Member Posts: 1
    ive finally had it with the beetle... my wife bought a 2005 vw nb on the 2006 brand new.. i never drove the car until it was about 15k miles, and i realize the transmission was slippin'.. i took it to vw dealership and they told me it was fine, i was outraged by it, so i made the mecanic drive the vehicle with me in it and he noticed the problem. long story short they replace my transmission with a brand new one and guess what ... nothing changed, same problem. ive been in that dealership more times i can count, i even talked to vw north america and they literally told me "we apologize, theres nothing we can do" WTF something NEEDS TO BE DONE..
  • carol_redbtlcarol_redbtl Member Posts: 4
    Im an owner of a 2004 automatic conv beetle! Ive had it with that car!!!! I purchase it pre own. Back in Aug of 2006, it started having little issues!.. like the windows not properly lowering when shutting the doors.. lights going out, my turn signals blinking to fast! Batteries going out!!! NOW... Im having serious issues with the transmission! it's sliping all the time!! for the first two yrs it never gave me any transmission problems! This just recently started happening in Aug of 09!!! It's the only car I have N I needed for work! I hate driving in that POS vehicle! I had to take it with my mechanic today.. and he will let me know how serious is the issue with my the car!!! After reading all this messages about tranmission getting fixed and not doing anything for them... I don't have much hope.. please let me know of any information for claims!!! so frustrated with the situation...
  • bughater1bughater1 Member Posts: 3
    Thanks for the prompt response. I've now taken the bug in to an independent transmission specialist who informs me that while I do have a dent in the oil pan, it did not initiate the problem. In fact the pan isn't even touching anything on the solenoid pack. The issue we all seem to be having with these transmissions is not limited to VW vehicles only as similar solenoid packs are used in many vehicles. The problem is the solenoid internals are coated with teflon which after a period of time apparently begins to "gum" up causing the solenoids to hang and resulting in the slipping and hard shifting problems. He told me a company in California is manufacturing a kit to correct this issue and he has personally installed this kit in other vehicles with very good success. The best part is the cost is only $800 to $900 vs $6500 and if the kit doesn't work it doesn't cost anything. He is installing my kit today so I will update all with the results soon.
  • diannelaughsdiannelaughs Member Posts: 12
    can you post information regarding the kit? Where can I get one?

    thanks!!

    Dianne
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    Let me know as soon as you can If that worked. I would love to hear how it worked out. It certainly sounds logical. mine is still at V.W. I just cant believe they wont charge you if it does not work. What city are you in I just may have to take a drive up there if this guy gets it done.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    How may miles on it now? And did the dealer replace the transmission control module when they replaced the transmission? I would find out because they are suppose to. Find that out and let me know. I am not sure what the next step would be but while your car is still under warranty you are stuck. You can try a different V.W. dealer if it is conveiniant for you. let me know and read some of my other blogs there is some good info in there. We all need to file a complaint with D.O.T. and keep emailing media and email complaints to V.W. and make sure they see a forwarded E-mail from you to a news station or radio or newspaper. I have written instructions and contact info on previous blogs.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    Do you have an extended warranty? How many miles on it? Also don't just take it to any mechanic even if you trust them. If they are unfamiliar with the car or do not have the proper diagnosing equipment they may have a hard time dealing with this issue. Pay the mechanic for his time but try and get it to a beetle specialty shop asap. They will know more trust me. I trust my mechanic too but I am afraid it is not a headache he can fix. It is nothing personal it is just a safer option. Also see my previous postings for information on how to file a complaint to D.O.T and contact info for V.W.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    Big O tire is not the place to take your V.W. No I like those boys at Big O too but you really need to take it to a V.W. specialty shop. You should be able to find one. I have listed all the diagnosis steps on previous blogs to help you save money and have listed contact info to complain to D.O.T. as well as various ways to communicate to V.W. Good luck if you need anything else let me know. Also a radiator problem has nothing to do with the transmission and a thermostat is easy to replace should not cost that and I am sure a specialty shop wouldn't rip you off. I bought a thermostat for my 2003 nissan and it cost me 8 dollars. Now it took me about three hours to put it in but hey I'm not a mechanic. How much does a thermostat cost. I mean the part only. Any way it is something in your transmission it may be simple and maybe not but take it to a place that specializes in Bugs not just a place that says we can fix it or fix anything. No No No.
  • sad_bugsad_bug Member Posts: 3
    I should have done my research before buying my 2005 VW New Beetle Convertible last week.!!

    I was deceived by its "cuteness". It has 70,000 miles & its automatic.

    When I test drove it, it was so smooth. Then a week later when I finally got approved the loan, I drove the car off the lot and noticed the tranny was slipping @ 2 & 3 gear and when it would down shift.

    Now I know why the owner was trying so HARD to get me approved for this loan. Cuz he wanted to get rid of his piece of crap good looking car.

    I am SO sad about this cuz this is my first financed car and I have to go thru this stress.

    The dealer supposedly "FIXED" it....but 10 min after I picked up the car...it had the same problems.

    So my question is....how long can i drive the car with its slipping problem before I REALLY mess up the tranny? :mad: :P
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