1998 Volkswagen Beetle

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE. THE VEHICLE HAD EX THE SAME FAILURE AS INDICATED IN RECALL # 98V100000. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO OVERHEAT AFTER THE ENGINE RAN FOR FIVE MINUTES. THE VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALER, SAVAGE KIA, AND THE CAUSE WAS DIAGNOSED AS WIRING FAILURE. THE DEALER REMEDIED THE FAILURE. ON APRIL 12, 2007, THE CONTACT DROVE THE VEHICLE FOR THREE MILES AT 45 MPH AND THE VEHICLE OVERHEATED ONCE MORE. THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR LIGHT ALSO ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE DEALER , WHO STATED THAT THE ELECTRICAL WIRES WERE TOO CLOSE TO THE BATTERY. THIS FAILURE COULD CAUSE THE WIRES TO HEAT AND SHORT OUT, PREVENTING THE FANS FROM OPERATING. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER, AND WAS TOLD THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 75,000. *AK UPDATED 05/21/07. *JB

I"VE HAD MULTIPLE FAILURES WITH MY 1998 BEETLE. THE CAR WAS OVERHEATING--FOUND OUT THAT THE ENGINE FUSES WERE MELTED OVER THE BATTERY TERMINAL. MY REVERSE LIGHTS STOPPED WORKING--NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO CORRECT THAT YET, MY DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS DON'T USUALLY WORK, BUT SOMETIMES WILL COME ON ALL BY THEMSELVES. GOT LOCKED IN MY CAR TWICE. THE ALARM SOMETIMES GOES OFF FOR NO REASON. THE CAR PERIODICALLY DOESN'T START. HAD IT TOWED TO VW TWICE FOR THIS. THEY COULD FIND NO PROBLEMS. ALSO, SOMETHING IN THE CAR'S ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS IS DROWNING THE BATTERY--HAVE TO BUY A NEW BATTERY EVERY SIX MONTHS. I HAVE REPLACED BOTH WINDOWS ONCE . I HAD THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH REPLACED THREE TIMES AND WAS REAR -ENDED ONCE BEFORE VW FINALLY DID A RECALL ON THAT PART. I'M SURE I HAVE LEFT SOMETHING OUT--THERE IS SO MUCH IT'S HARD TO REMEMBER. BOTTOM LINE--THIS CAR IS A HAZARD ON THE ROAD FOR THE PERSON DRIVING AND OTHER MOTORISTS. *JB

DT: THE CONSUMER STATED THAT 1998 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE INTERMITTENTLY STALLED WHILE DRIVING. THE SPEED WAS NOT A FACTOR. THE WHOLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILED WHEN THE CAR STALLED. THIS STARTED HAPPENING IN JANUARY OF 2005. THE CONSUMER TO THE CAR TOOK THE DEALERSHIP, AND THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT FIND THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. THE CONSUMER DID NOT CALL THE MANUFACTURER. DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WAS DONE WITH NO RESULTS. *AK THE CONSUMER STATED THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN RECTIFIED. THE WINDOW SWITCH WAS REPLACED. *JB

THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD A SERIES OF PROBLEMS SINCE I HAVE OWNED IT. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A VOLKSWAGEN ENTHUSIAST. SO WHEN I SAW THE NEW BEETLES I WAS NATURALLY EXCITED AND COULDN'T WAIT TO OWN ONE. WHAT I EXPECTED WAS VOLKSWAGENS USUAL EXCELLENT QUALITY AND VALUE FOR MONEY. WHAT I GOT WAS A VEHICLE THAT NOT ONLY IS AN INCONVENIENCE TO DRIVE, BUT IS ALSO A SAFETY CONCERN. THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD AT LEAST 8 MAJOR DEFECTS. I CALL THEM DEFECTS BECAUSE SO MANY OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR ISSUES WITH THEIR NEW BEETLES. KEEP IN MIND THE VEHICLE IS REGULARLY MAINTAINED, AND IS ONLY AT 97,000 MILES. 1. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON AND VEHICLE STALLS OR CUTS OUT ON A REGULAR BASIS. 2. THE LOW BEAMS ON MY HEADLIGHTS ALWAYS BURN OUT. I CHANGE THE LIGHTS AND THEY JUST BURN OUT AGAIN. I ALWAYS HAVE TO DRIVE INSTEAD WITH MY HIGH BEAMS ON. 3. MY DRIVER SIDE AND PASSENGER SIDE WINDOWS HAVE FALLEN INTO MY DOORS. MEANING THAT THEY WONT ROLL UP, A LOUD, NOISE CAN BE HEARD WHEN YOU TRY. I WAS TOLD BY VOLKSWAGEN THAT THEY WERE "AWARE" OF THE PROBLEM. THEY EVEN TOLD ME THAT IT WAS BECAUSE THEY USED PLASTIC CLIPS TO HOLD THE WINDOWS AND THEY ARE NOW REPLACING WITH METAL CLIPS. FINE AND GOOD, BUT WHILE MY WINDOWS WERE DOWN MY SEATS BECAME SEVERELY STAINED. (THEY STAIN EASY) WHO'S GOING PAY FOR THAT??? 4. THE WINDOW SWITCH THAT CONTROLS THE WINDOWS GOING UP AND DOWN BROKE OFF IN MY HAND. 5. THE RADIO TRIES TO LOAD A TAPE WHEN THERE ISN'T ONE. HOOD LATCH BROKE, HAS TO BE OPENED WITH SCREWDRIVER NOW. THANKS VWOA!! 6. HEATER MOTOR TURNS UP AND DOWN ON ITS OWN 7. ENGINE HOLDS HIGH RPMS IN HIGHWAY, RAPID IOL CONSUMPTION. 8 REVERSE LIGHTS MALFUNCTIONED. QUESTIONS VWOA? CALL ME, WE'LL CHAT 269-986-0996 . *AK

I OWN A 1998 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE. ABOUT A YEAR AGO THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED AND I WAS LOCKED IN MY CAR. FORTUNATELY I WAS ABLE TO GET OUT USING A NEW REMOTE I HAD JUST PURCHASED.*AK SECONDLY, TWO DAYS AGO I WAS DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE, IT WAS WARM, AND I TURNED ON THE FAN. IT IMMEDIATELY STARTED BLOWING 'HIGH' AND WOULDN'T TURN OFF. WITHIN A MINUTE THE DASHBOARD BEGAN SMOKING AND THERE WAS A DISTINCT ELETRICAL SMELL. I STOPPED, RAISED THE HOOD AND THERE WAS NO FIRE. THE FAN STUCK IN THE 'HIGH' POSITION AND CAUSED A FIRE WHICH 'TOTALLED' THE CAR. THE DASH AND SEATS MELTED AND THE FRONT WINDSHIELD BROKE OUT FROM THE FLAMES.

MY 1998 BUG HAS BURNED APPROX. 1 QUART OF OIL EVERY 1000 MILES, DEALERSHIP REPORTED THIS AS NORMAL? DON'T THINK SO. I HAVE ALSO REPLACED THE HEADLIGHTS EVERY SIX MONTHS UNTIL THE SWITCH ON THE EMERGENCY BRAKE FOR THE DAYTIME RUNNINGS LAMPS BROKE. I OPEN THE CAR DOOR (STILL IN WARRANTY) AND THE HANDLE FELL OFF IN MY HANDS. FOG LIGHT HAD MOISTURE IN IT, NOW BOTH HAVE FALLEN OUT. BOTH DOOR HINGES BROKE. YOU CANNOT OPEN DOORS AND SHUT THEM, I HAD TO CLIMB IN AND OUT OF THE WINDOWS TO GET INTO THE CAR. THE TRUNK LATCH HAD TO BE REPAIRED, IT WOULDN'T OPEN. THE GAS LATCH IS BROKEN AND DOESN'T HINGE, THE GLOVE BOX HINGES DON'T WORK, THE COMPARTMENT ABOVE THE CLOCK DOESN'T HINGE PROPERLY. THE RADIO TURNS ITSELF OFF, THE TEMP READ OUT IN THE CAR FADES IN AND OUT, SOMETHING ON THE TRANSMISSION BROKE AND I ONLY HAD 2ND AND 3RD GEAR, I HAVE REPLACED THE OXYGEN SENSORS TWICE, MY AIR BAG LIGHT IS ON, I HAVE BEEN TOLD I NEED A NEW SEAT TO CORRECT THIS, EVEN THOUGH IT IS DUE THE THE ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS EVERY BUG SEEMS TO HAVE. HUB CAP HAS FALLEN OFF SEVERAL TIMES. I HAVE LOST ANTIFREEZE, BUT NO ONE SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO FIND OUT WHERE II'S GOING. I'M SURE THERE IS MORE, BUT THIS CAR CONSTANTLY HAS SO MANY THINGS WRONG WITH IT, I CAN'T KEEP UP ANYMORE. UNFORTUNATELY THE DEALERSHIPS ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CAN'T SEEM TO SEE ALL THE CRONIC PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE.*AK

MY 1998 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE IS FALLING APART. I'VE HAD TO REPLACE MY HEADLIGHTS 6 TIMES WITHIN THE PAST 4 YEARS THAT I'VE OWNED THIS USED VEHICLE. MY INTERIOR TRIM, WINDOW SWITCHES, GEARSHIFT KNOB & SEVERAL PLASTIC COVERS IN THE CAR HAVE FALLEN NOW FALLEN APART. MY 6 HEADLIGHTS HAVE COST ME APPROX. $600.00 PLUS RENT-A-CAR FEES WHICH MY WARRANTY DOESN'T COVER! PLEASE HELP ME.*AK

BEETLE HAS HAD A NUMBER OF MAJOR REPAIR PROBLEMS. AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM FAILED AT 3YEARS OLD RESULTING IN A COMPLETE REBUILD. RECENTLY, WINDOW PARTS FAILED ON BOTH SIDES RESULTING IN WINDOWS FALLING DOWN INTO THE DOORS. POWER WINDOW ON DRIVER SIDE, HATCH RELEASE AND GAS TANK DOOR RELEASE SWITCHES HAVE ALL FAILED OR BROKE RESULTING IN REPLACEMENT. ECM MODULE HAS BEEN REPLACED. GLOVE BOX DOOR BROKE AND HAS BEEN REPLACED. CURRENTLY DEALING WITH ANOTHER SERIES OF CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS AND AWAITING DIAGNOSIS.