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Volkswagen Beetle Transmission Problems

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Comments

  • elenewlifeelenewlife Member Posts: 21
    Oh brother. ANOTHER one.

    I posted mine awhile ago. I get these every few days now. I had my flywheel fixed about 10,000 miles ago and now I feel the trans itself going. Nice. That cost me about $3,000. When the whole thing "blows" it will be time to just pull it over and give it a formal burial.

    I'm so sorry. We are all in an awful club unfortunately. And VW could care less. That's what's so upsetting. In my case, I drove these for over 30 years, maybe 35. I was a regular, loyal VW customer. Didn't do anything. THAT has my totally ticked off. They made a dog and KNEW it. WRONG.....
  • orangebugorangebug Member Posts: 13
    How many miles on your car? I only had 53,000, went to the dealer was told probably $6800 for a new transmission.

    I went to local AAMCO and they told me a maximum of $3400. Ended up being $2000, needed a new valve body, not a transmission. Still, not cheap but better than the initial shock.

    Complain to VW (I did this on the website and they called), they offered me a valve body if done at the dealer. I didn't trust them enough and figured they would get in there and tell me I needed the transmission so I didn't accept the offer.

    Sorry to hear about your car, it is sad, isn't it? Hopefully VW will get the message at some point!
  • precious707precious707 Member Posts: 2
    So it looks like I'm not the only one who is experiencing transmission problems with their VW. So I'm going on 100,000 miles and my car has been jerking when it shifts from gear to gear (mainly lower gears). I torn right now. I still owe more money than the car is worth, and I now I need to spend 3-5K on a transmission. I'm really sad right now cause my car is my baby. Shes an adorable powder blue convertible, but she's giving up on me. What do I do in this situation?
  • blackdog20blackdog20 Member Posts: 19
    Sorry about your bad luck. There is nothing you can do. The transmissions are 7K! VW has let us all down. Made in Mexico not Germany. Never, ever buy a VW product. File a claim with NHTSA. Mention safety in your claim. You will find explicit instructions by reading through this website. Purchase another car, something to get around if your low on cash, and wait it out until VW is forced to fix your car, then sell it. Some folks have paid for new trannys and then 10K miles it started again. It's a bad design. There is no way around it. They have discontinued the car. :mad:
  • lemonvwlemonvw Member Posts: 3
    PLEASE LOOK UP CUSTOMER SERVICE VW NUMBER AND TELL THEM ABOUT OUR TRANSMISSION.i CALLED AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY HAVE ONLY A FEW COMPLAINS
  • lemonvwlemonvw Member Posts: 3
    PLEASE CALL VW AND TELL THEM ABOUT YOUR TRANSMISSION, MORE WE HAVE MAYBE THEY WII DO SOMETHING
  • precious707precious707 Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the advice I have just filed a compliant with NHTSA. :mad:
  • elenewlifeelenewlife Member Posts: 21
    I know what you mean.....ALL my life I wanted a powderr blue Beetle Convertible. All the time I am reminded about that statement "be careful about what you wish for....you JUST MAY GET IT"!! WORST car of MY LIFE!! And sadly, I've been a loyal VW driver for about 35 years. I never had ANY problems with any of my cars, just this"dog" of mine.

    I just saw someone say something about "even if you fix it, the problem returns in about 10,000 miles". BINGO!! I thought for most of my 4 years with this car that mine was related to a faulty flywheel assembly. So when it finally pooped out for good about 3 months ago I spent the $3,000 to replace it, which encompassed the clutch, too. Well, sure enough, I put about 10,000 on it now and am hovering around the 100,000 miles and it is starting to shift just as badly as it did before!!! My GOD what the HELL is wrong with this thing? As the car heats up it does NOT want to shift smoothely. THAT was the original problem with it. It has ALWAYS been like that. I have a 5 speed and I hear people with the automatics saying the same thing. I had the lights that didn't work "all the time", too. Spent a lot of money on that as well.

    I've already posted on the NHTSA - quite some time ago. I am really upset that they KNEW these cars were dogs and they don't care. It's a big problem.
  • blackdog20blackdog20 Member Posts: 19
    yes, of course they said that because they are the same people responsible for the damn problem. They are full of sh**.
  • blackdog20blackdog20 Member Posts: 19
    THEY ARE NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING UNTIL THEY ARE MADE TO DO SOMETHING...PEOPLE DO NOT BOTHER CALLING VW.. YOU WILL ONLY GET MORE FURIOUS AFTER SOME 20 YR OLD READS YOU WHAT SHE WAS TOLD TO READ WHEN YOU CALL IN CRYING ABOUT YOUR POOR VW BEETLE CRAP BOX. :mad:
  • petey7petey7 Member Posts: 1
    edited October 2010
    I also my friends have experienced the transmission issues we all share. My car was violently jerking shifts. I only have 68,600 miles on it and have been good about maintaining the necessary service on it. I brought it to the dealer and the new transmission would be $5,000 PLUS labor. If the car was running good that would be the value of it. I have taken it to an independent specialist to work on. In the meantime, I have rental car expenses. If your working you need a car. I just don't enjoy working for car repairs so enormous.
  • carol_redbtlcarol_redbtl Member Posts: 4
    On the last message I posted I mention taking my 2004 vw beattle to my mechanic for a rebuild trany... Well that didn't help much I can still feel my car jerking when I'm changing gears! Especially when its hot out! My windows no longer work properly! The back driver side window doesn't row down any more the passenger front window gets stuck half way! Its really annoying! Also another thing it does the battery light goes on and after the beep warning my car just dies on me in the middle of the road.. Also my blinking lights blink to fast! The breaking lights r out!! I always have to replace them!!! Also the front ones!! I've spend so much money on it!!! Its done that a couple times now its scary! I regret getting a vw ! If anyone know where I can file a complaint please let me know... Anything a web site or number! Its the only car I have! So every time I go to work I'm always scared to drive that crappy car! Thanks!
  • blackdog20blackdog20 Member Posts: 19
    You need to file your complaint with NHTSA. You can do it on line.. Here is their website. NHTSA

    http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

    You may also want to get a new battery.. It sounds like it may help. Before spending the money on that you can do a serious cleaning of your battery terminals and refasten the connections and see if that helps.

    If you do get a new battery, don't bother buying the million $ one VW recommends,
    measure the battery dimensions and get the highest cranking amp one you can find at auto zone, it will be $95 instead of 200.
  • les24les24 Member Posts: 11
    I see I am not alone. I always wanted the conv. beetle and got it in 2005. As soon as warranty ran out so did my luck. The newes and worst problem is now the transmission. Should I fix it and then try to work with VW for reimbursement??Can I drive it with it shifting so roughly or will I get stuck somewhere? What a $29,00 mistake this was
  • elenewlifeelenewlife Member Posts: 21
    Oh boy. Mine I drove with that - had a $3,000 flywheel / clutch assembly done which they said would solve the problem. They don't COVER the clutch so it was out of my pocket. 10,000 miles later - SAME THING. Can't shift. Now I'm off to AAMCO hoping, like you. I wouldn't do ANYthing until you found out where VW was in the whole thing. AAMCO is supposed to figure out what's wrong then help me get it through my warrantee. They DO cover your trans up to 100,000 miles if you haven't gone over yet. Of course, you could be PUSHING it IN and they say "gee, I think it drives FINE"..... Yeah, right, clunk clunk clunk. Mine won't go into gear again, just like before. Why I don't know. They are suggesting "getting the fluids changed". Well I HAD them ALL changed when the whole transmission was just apart.

    If I were you I wouldn't do a THING until you figured out just what they will help you with. IF you have coverage still on it??? Good luck.
  • les24les24 Member Posts: 11
    When I complained by phone to VW, they said that the drive train (transmission) warranty was only for 5 yrs 60,000 miles. The car is in a shop right now and I am not sure what my mileage is, but I am 7 mos past 5 yr mark. They also told me that if there ever is a service action/recall, I can be reimbursed even if I no longer own the car. I have been through that b/s with dealership on another vw..."let's fix this such and such for a $1000 and see if that works" and then of course it does not fix anything. My car is a 2005, turbo, convert. What is yours. There seems to be some thoughts that this is a turbo problem. I am shopping today for a new car. How long can I drive a tin can rental???
  • ditzypoohjeanditzypoohjean Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2004 VW Beetle 2.0L with 65,000 mi. I've already had the transmission gear box go out on it. $2200 later, it's been about 6 months, it is starting to kick again like the tranny is going out again. Since I bought my beetle in Feb 2010 with 56,000 miles on it I've had both headlight wiring harnesses melt, and had to replace the following parts: air pump, fuel pump, fan, transmission gear box, and alternator. All repairs have been done at the VW dealership and I have all the maintenance records. I presently have an open case with the NTSB and welcome others to file complaints. I had my beetle just stopped in the middle of the road while driving around 45 mph without warning and it nearly killed me. The car behind me barely missed me and I ended up being stuck in the middle of summer in Las Vegas. NIGHTMARE!
  • dmcunarddmcunard Member Posts: 3
    I bought a 2004 vw new beetle convertible in 2006. It had 67000 miles on it and when we took it for a test drive the salesperson told us the jumping was from the dual transmission. SHE SAID THIS WAS NOT A PROBLEM. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO SHIFT THIS WAY. The car was supposed to be a certified used car. The car got worse in the bucking. My husband said the car was fine. It got worse and worse and withing 6 mths I took it in for repairs. They told me it was my fault that I must have hit something. I asked him ..since it was doing this on the test drive..did I hit something before I bought it...He refused to repair it so I took it to aamco. They checked the car, said it looked as though someone had changed the cover to hide the damage and that the damage had been there quite a while as it was all rusted over. I then took the car to another vw dealership, explained the cituation. Showed the man all the extended cerified vw warrenty papers and asked if they could do anything. He called me later that day and said the car was not a certified used car. They had gave us the paperwork but had never certified the car. They called us back and said the dealership where we got the car was wanting to tow it back to their dealership. I told him to let them and we would be over there. The man there said "the car just slipped through the cracks and they had to change the brakes to certify the car. My husband said what about the transmission? The man said that we did that it was not his problem. My husband said oh, you sell certified used cars with bad transmissions?..They eventually fixed the transmission but 6 mths later it was jumping again. The tiptronic switch has been switched out 4 times now due to it going out and then the numbers and letters display on top of each other. The back window on the passenger side is broke. they said the motor has burned out..795 dollars to repair. There is a recall on that window on the hardtop..not the convertible.This car is a piece of junk!!!! :sick: :lemon:
  • dmcunarddmcunard Member Posts: 3
    They fixed this on ours too..it lasted about 6 months before it went out again.
  • honeuyyhoneuyy Member Posts: 1
    Okay, I just bought a Volkswagen Beetle '99 off of KSL, "big mistake", I have had it for about a month now and a few problems already are: When I try to start the car: it takes a minute and makes a click sound when I'm turning the key, I believe something major is wrong because when I break, and push on the gas, it sort of jerks, and is something wrong with the breaking? Because when you usually put a car in drive, it rolls? my car doesn't do that and gosh! I don't think it's going to last much longer, can anybody tell me if these are any signs of trouble?
  • shaunnalshaunnal Member Posts: 27
    Hi Orange Bug,

    Just wondering since you replaced the Valve body and its been almost 2 months, so hows it running now? Thanks and curious :mad:
  • les24les24 Member Posts: 11
    I replaced that side back window on my 2005 convert. bug about 2 months ago for exactly that price. I have had my transmission "fixed" but need to take it in for a check up because when the engine is warmed up it wants to jerk into 2nd gear. It was my understanding that the warranty was 5yrs/50,000 miles. I spent $4,200 to fix it and can hardly justify buying a new car with that expense working against it. I would not want to sell to an individual and a trade in would barely cover the $ I already spent. I have complained to VW and to NTSB but if you have any more information on how to get someone's attention to this problem, let me know. :lemon: :mad:
  • boohoobeetleboohoobeetle Member Posts: 1
    Thank you everyone for your posting. My 2003 VW beetle convertible with only 56K miles just did this to me on Monday - going into neutral out of the blue. The only thing that saved me was that when I switched to the tiptronic, it was still grabbing. I similarly had the lurching problem intermittently over the last couple of months. When I took it to the mechanic, they said the transmission was testing fine and it was just general wear and tear. Similar to everyone else, the word I got from the dealer and the independent mechanic is that the only fix is $7K replacement of the transmission, no recalls. Unfortunately my extended warranty expired last year. I'm definitely filing a claim.
  • antonio6antonio6 Member Posts: 1
    OMG Just started reading about the transmission problems on the VW new bettle, I bought just that car 2004 VW convertible last summer for my wife, cute car and now with only 64k miles started to have the problems that every body has posted.
    First, problems started with the driver's window, did not close right, then the front axle, it just got fixed, and now the transmission started to act, jerking and going into neutral when it gets warm.
    I guess the next thing to do is to file a claim with the NTSB, if anybody knows anything else about problems with this car, please feel free to write a note.
    Never owned a VW before, I guess never will again, bad, bad PR for VW, have a lot of friends that love their VW, not me.
  • les24les24 Member Posts: 11
    Our favorite mechanic will not work on our VW. He told me he has a friend that loves VW Jettas, but only up to 50,000 miles and then he sells it and buys or leases a new one. After 50,000 miles things start to happen. never, and no more for me either.
  • shaunnalshaunnal Member Posts: 27
    Hello Antonio 6,
    I was just wondering what your front axle problems were? I know that mine was very squeaky but im not sure what that is. Thanks
  • convertiblebugconvertiblebug Member Posts: 4
    edited December 2010
    VW of America sent me an unsolicited letter. The letter said that if I was having "hard" shift problems, then they would fix the transmission valve body at no cost. The letter also said that if I had already paid for the fix, then I could request a reimbursement. There was no phone # in the letter, but the return address was Auburn Hills, Michigan. I suggest that you tell your dealership to call VW of America if you are having the described problems. Hope this helps.
  • buggedout1buggedout1 Member Posts: 19
    I received a letter last week re: extended warranty 7 yrs/100,000 because they found that some people were having trouble!!!!!! have all my info in the mail to the Auburn hills address with their "post card"
  • upsetvwownerupsetvwowner Member Posts: 3
    All
    I received a letter from VW extending the warranty of the throttle body assembly inside my transmission to 7Yrs/100,000 miles as well. I have already had this part replaced at AAMCO in Rancho Cucamonga (Great Mechanic) and my VW has been running fine for two months now. The repair was $2400.00 and I am hoping to get reimbursed for the repair. I would recommend that you contact your local VW dealer and let them know that VW has accepted responsibility for this defective part and if they can verify if this item is recalled for everyone. I did file a complaint with the NTB as well as others on this thread and not sure if we were notified first.

    Good Luck, I believe there is still hope.
  • convertiblebugconvertiblebug Member Posts: 4
    I'm glad that the fix worked. Mine is in the shop right now getting the same part fixed. Based on posts that I've seen here, I am very concerned that the problem is going to occur again. Get us posted on anymore problems with yours, and I will do the same.

    It had been my intention to keep this little car for many, many years. Now, I'm not sure that I will do so.
  • nataliemacnataliemac Member Posts: 14
    I just got my letter today too, so I'm hoping I can be reimbursed for the repairs I had done last summer. Unfortunately, the letter specifically says the reimbursement and warranty applies only to the valve body and not the transmission. The valve body was cheap to fix compared to the transmission - and it was the valve body being defective that caused the transmission to fail!

    On a side note, I just got the car back from the VW dealer this morning - I had to have both front axles replaced, as well as the window regulator for the passenger side window.

    I think the best investment I made after purchasing this car was purchasing an extended warranty for it. It has paid for itself four times over so far. I paid about $3000 for the warranty. The axles and window regulator this morning would have cost me $2000, but I only had to pay my $100 deductible. They've also covered repairs I've had to have done to the catalytic converter (wtf?), the convertible top, the glove box, the other window regulator, the transmission, and the valve body.

    So all in all, there's no way I'd ever buy another Volkswagen. I was just attracted to the cute factor of a baby blue convertible bug. People compliment me on it all the time, and I immediately say, "Yeah, it's cute, but don't ever buy one. It's been nothing but trouble."
  • vwneveragainvwneveragain Member Posts: 3
    I will not be getting any help from Volkswagen with the hard shifting problem because my 2006 VW has just over 100,000. Also received no help or consideration when I had to put a new engine in it two months ago. Foolish me for purchasing a Volkswagen - never again.
  • potata75potata75 Member Posts: 2
  • yellow05lemonyellow05lemon Member Posts: 1
    I got my letter last week and just got back from the "DEALER" guess what it was a bait and switch! They found something else wrong with the Tray and said I would have to fix that first before they could do the warrenty work. The bill would be more than $500.00. So I said No, it still cost me $99.00 for their diagnosis and a free car wash!
  • convertiblebugconvertiblebug Member Posts: 4
  • carol_redbtlcarol_redbtl Member Posts: 4
    I received a letter just today... It said that they will also repair the transmission valve body as well 7yrs/ 100 thousand miles. I already had my tranmisssion re-build cost me llots of $$$$!!! So car runs better but not the same as how I got it at first :( Im gonna call to see if I can get reimbursment.. Hope I do!! Other than that! Car is falling apart turn signals dont work! the handles to move the seats forward slip out windows dont roll down when I shut the doors, so the doors don't close properly! which is really fruastruating!!! The list goes on and on!!! Don't know what to do anymore..
  • mftjpt02mftjpt02 Member Posts: 2
    What did you state in your letter? I am having the same problems and my husband is totally disgusted with the car. I cannot trade it in because I owe on it, but I can't drive it either!
    Any help would be greatly appreciated.
  • les24les24 Member Posts: 11
    I received the letter also and am gettiing my receipts together to send in for re-imbursement on the $4100 of repairs I had done. It took the transmission specialist 3 times and two valve assemblies to get the job done right and it is running great. the trade in value on this beautiful car is very low so if you can fix it and use it for a few more years, you should do that. I am done with it. I did not take it to a VW dealership for repairs and I am hoping I have enough records to prove I took good care of the car but it did not take good care of me. I wish you all luck. If you are in the Houston area Aplus Transmission Repair in Magnolia treated me very well.
  • vwneveragainvwneveragain Member Posts: 3
    The letter was a typical recall letter stating they would fix the problem if the car had 100,000 or less and 7 years or newer. My car has a little over 100,000.
  • yenyyeny Member Posts: 1
  • mybeetlesucksmybeetlesucks Member Posts: 2
    I got a letter from VW five days ago. Immediately took my car in for the "warranty extension" repairs. The dealer agreed that the Valve Body is the problem with my car just as the letter states, however the original owner took possession of the car just a few days prior to the warranty coverage. That is crap!! I've filed complaint with the Texas OAG and now I'm on to other organizations. DON'T LET THESE THIEVES GET AWAY WITH THIS! IF YOU RECEIVED A LETTER LET'S FIGHT TO MAKE THEM HONOR IT!
  • emd1emd1 Member Posts: 1
    I received the letter and decided to take my car in because the gears have been slipping. The VW repair shop was sure they could change out the Valve Body under the warranty but the codes from my car were different than what they say the Valve Body fault is. VOA would not approve the change of the Valve Body so the repair shop says I have to change the entire transmission which will cost $5,200! Has anyone had the same experience? I am going to contact Customer Care at VOA. Imagine having to replace your transmission with only 58,000 miles on a car that has been well maintained and has had all the service checks, etc.!
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    just because you have over 100k does not mean it is out of warranty you need to look at the amount of mileage that was on the car the first day you bought it ie. if you had 200 miles on it then warranty is good for102k miles.
  • tpadelfordtpadelford Member Posts: 33
    Now they have admitted that there is a problem by sending these extensions right. So now they are liable for selling a faulty product. They have admitted guilt by doing this. first off the dealers have ripped us off by telling us all we need new transmissions and now the company (V.W) admits that there valve bodies are faulty so they should have to pay for the transmissions that the dealers have talked us into. Also some of us have had to go through this more than once because a valve body replacement has not fixed all of our problems. It is the !@#$ing transmission and they need to pay. they are putting a band aid on a wound that needs fifty stitches in hopes that this will solve our problems and keep costs down for them. It wont and we need to stand strong. They know that they are !@#$ed now and now they are doing something that they claim will help. they need to recall all of theses cars and do this right before someone gets hurt in a serious accident. This is a safety issue. Do you want to be driving your kids around in a car that constantly has problems knowing that a faulty shift can happen at any moment causing an accident? How about your sister, brother, mother, dad, grandpa, grandma, nieces and nephews. !@#$ them this pisses me off even more. They should step up and fix them all. I dont care if they will go B.K. over this they deserve to not be in business anymore after what they have done to us. Its like a restaurant if you sell food that tastes like !@it then guess what no one will come and you will be out of business. If they would have done the right thing in the first place they may have been able to save their business but know the gloves are off because they did not listen and fix the issue and kept manufacturing cars with full knowledge of this hazardous defect. One more time. THEY KNOWINGLY KEPT MANUFACTURING CARS WITH A HAZARDOUS DEFECT. They have had complaints of this going back to before 2000 and did not listen. All they had to do was !@#$ing listen. All the ammo is there know this extension is a good piece of evidence in that they are now admitting they hav knowingly for a long time sold a hazzardous defective product. Sign me the !@#$ up for a lawsuit . those !@#$ards. !@#$ them!
  • vwneveragainvwneveragain Member Posts: 3
    I bought this car from the dealer and it had never been driven, I am well over the 100,000, and just hoping the transmission will last until I pay it off.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Just a reminder... the Edmunds forums cannot be used to organize legal actions, so please don't make posts along those lines as they will have to be removed. Thanks in advance for staying within the rules of the road!
  • potata75potata75 Member Posts: 2
    I took my car to the dealer and they told me i needed a new transmission (5,000 dollars) i filed a complaint wit wvoa and they told me the extension warranty only cover the valve and thats it. Im in the same situation, i still owe 9,000 dollars to the bank and a new transmission is more that 5,000 dollars so im not doing that! its not worth it! im calling the bank to return the car, i cant use it and i cant fix it. vw sucks!
  • convertiblebugconvertiblebug Member Posts: 4
    I think that you have two option s: Either trade it or try and get a warranty. If you go the warranty route, BE SURE that you research the company very, very well. (I bought one a few years ago, and it turned out to be a scam and absolutely worthless. It cost me $2,000. I found out it was worthless when I went to get my VW transmission problems fixed a couple of weeks ago.)

    I traded my VW yesterday. I was upfront with them about the problems (transmission valve just fixed, convertible top would not go all the way down, ac broke for the 2nd time, passenger seat broke for the 2d time.) I felt blessed that they took it as a trade in.
  • mftjpt02mftjpt02 Member Posts: 2
    I also received a letter this past weekend about the Valve Body replacement. What worries me is that if the "codes" are the wrong codes, then they will not replace it. I loved my car (notice past tense), but I can guarantee you if it is the valve body and they do replace it, I will have one less vehicle in my yard as soon as I can get rid of it! More problems than with all the other vehicles I have ever owned! The door latch inside the door broke after about a year, the door - yes the door - broke! My husband had to take the mirror off and it would have fell to the ground - that was the only thing holding the door on the car! Now the transmission - took it at the end of the summer and they said the transmission fluid smelled burnt and the transmission was $5200. Who has that kind of money to put into a car you still owe on! Sick and worried to death I will have this car forever and never be able to drive it again. Not including having to replace the fuse box onto of the battery 4 times at a $100 a pot!!!!!
  • shaunnalshaunnal Member Posts: 27
    Well the mall in my town has a new VW parked inside it on display. You dont know how badly I would like to put a DONT BUY VW on that window when passing by. Whats all this talk about letters going around to replace a part of the tranny? Bummer thing is its 7 years or 100,000 miles. Well Ive owed mine for 11 1/2 yrs with 82,000 miles on it so Guess Im out of luck. Its been doing this for a year now. Feed up!! :mad:
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