2003 Volkswagen Beetle

WAS DRIVING MY BEETLE CONVERTIBLE AT AROUND 40MPH THERE WAS A CAR THAT STOPPED IN FRONT OF ME AND I STARTED SLOWING DOWN AS THE TRANSMISSION DOWN SHIFTED IT JERKED SO HARD IT MADE ME GO INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND ALMOST HAVE A HEAD ON COLLISION VW IS AWARE OF THESE CARS DOING THIS AND WARRANTIED THE VALVE BODY'S BUT WHEN I CALLED AND TOLD THEM ABOUT MINE THEY SAID I WAS TO LATE THAT THE WARRANTY WAS OVER!!! THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE AND COULD RESULT IN PEOPLE BEING KILLED VW DIDN'T EVEN OFFER ME THE PART TO PAY SOMEONE TO FIX MY CAR SO NOW IT SITS IN THE YARD AND I CAN NOT DRIVE IT DUE TO I HAVE CHILDREN AND I'M SCARED IT WILL GETS US IN A VERY BAD ACCIDENT AND HARM US! THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL FOR THIS BEFORE SO MANY PEOPLE ARE HURT!!!! STEP UP VW AND DO WHAT'S RIGHT! *TR

THE VEHICLE STARTS UP FINE AND ACCELERATES NORMAL AT FIRST. JUST BEFORE THE VEHICLE SWITCHES TO SECOND GEAR IT GETS STUCK. THE ONLY WAY TO GET IT TO PROPERLY SHIFT TO SECOND GEAR IS TO GIVE IT MORE GAS, WHICH MAKES THE RPMS GO UP TO 7,000. AT THIS POINT THE VEHICLE CHANGES TO SECOND GEAR AND LUNGES FORWARD. I HAVE ALMOST REAR ENDED MULTIPLE PEOPLE DO THIS PROBLEM. ONCE THE VEHICLE GETS INTO SECOND GEAR IT ACCELERATES NORMALLY AGAIN, JUST UNTIL IT CHANGES TO THIRD GEAR AND DOES THE SAME PROBLEM THAT I DESCRIBED ABOVE. THIS PROBLEM IS NOT ONLY DANGEROUS, BUT ALSO FINANCIAL HURTFUL. I HAVE READ HUNDREDS OF REVIEWS ON THIS PROBLEM AND THEY ALL DESCRIBE THE SAME THING, ALONG WITH THEIR VEHICLES BEING VERY LOW IN MILEAGE. *TR

I OWN A 2003 VW NEW BEETLE CONVERTIBLE WITH AN AUTOMATIC TIPTRONIC TRANSMISSION. RECENTLY , AT RANDOM TIMES, WHEN SHIFTING BETWEEN 3RD AND 4TH GEAR THE ENGINE WOULD REV UP PAST 4000 RPM AND JUMP INTO GEAR. ESSENTIALLY A VERY HARD SHIFT. WITH PLANS TO KEEP THIS VEHICLE FOR MANY YEARS TO COME, I IMMEDIATELY TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A TRUSTED MECHANIC. AFTER TEST DRIVING AND EXPERIENCING THE "HARD SHIFT", I WAS INFORMED THAT IT WAS MOST DEFINITELY TRANSMISSION RELATED, HOWEVER, ONLY VW CAN ACCESS THE TRANSMISSION DUE TO THE FACT THAT IT IS COMPLETELY SEALED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DAVID MAUS VOLKSWAGEN OF ORLANDO FOR THE DIAGNOSTIC. I WAS INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS "COMING APART FROM THE INSIDE" AND THAT IT WAS A "TICKING TIME BOMB". BECAUSE THE VEHICLE IS OVER 100000 MILES , IT DOES NOT FALL UNDER THE TRANSMISSION VALVE BODY RECALL. THE REPAIR COST FOR A NEW TRANSMISSION IS $6000.00. I FEEL THAT THIS IS GROSS NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, TO KNOWINGLY PLACE THIS VEHICLE WITH SUCH A MAJOR DEFECT ON THE MARKETPLACE. I NOW HAVE AN UNUSABLE HUNK OF SCRAP METAL SITTING IN MY GARAGE FOR FEAR OF THE TIME BOMB UNDER THE HOOD. I REFUSE TO DRIVE THIS CAR AND POTENTIALLY PUT OTHERS LIVES AT RISK. VOLKSWAGEN NEEDS TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWINGLY PUTTING A CAR WITH SUCH A MAJOR DEFECT ON THE ROAD. *TR

THE 2003 VW BEETLE HAS STARTED TO SLIP AT 96,500 MILES GOING FROM 2ND TO 3RD GEAR. I HAVE DONE ALOT OF ONLINE RESEARCH AND THERE ARE SEVERAL FORUMS AND THOUSANDS OF SIMILAR CASES AS THE ONE I AM HAVING. I CALLED VW OF AMERICA CUSTOMER CARE AND TALKED TO TIM AND HE SAID BECAUSE THE CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY THEY COULD NOT DO ANYTHING. I MENTIONED THAT THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE THE VALVE BODY AND HE AGREED BUT STILL COULD NOT HELP ME. FURTHER RESEARCH LED TO ME FINDING A CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINS VW AMERICA FOR EXACTLY THIS PROBLEM. SINCE THERE ARE SO MANY DOCUMENTED CASES, I FEEL THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL IMMEDIATELY AS THIS CAN LEAD TO A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE ON THE ROAD. WORSE YET, VW KNOWS ABOUT IT AND IS NOT DOING ANYTHING! PLEASE HELP. *TR *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE CONVERTIBLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION DOWN SHIFTED AUTOMATICALLY AND THE VEHICLE DECELERATED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LAMP ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STARTED TO JERK VIOLENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 88,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 98,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE CONVERTIBLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE JERKED WHEN THERE WAS A SHIFT OF GEAR. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE VEHICLE SLID OUT OF GEARS BY ITSELF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A REPAIR SHOP, WHERE IT WAS INSPECTED AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS FAULTY. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE, HOWEVER NO ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 108,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 109,000.