2003 Volkswagen Beetle

ELECTRICAL MAIN FUSE BOX UNDER HOOD BURNT AND MELTED INTO BATTERY. SEE PICS OF BURNT FUSE BOX, AND INDENTION OF MELTED BATTERY. CAR CUT OFF WHILE IN MOTION ON HIGHWAY, CAUSING MY 19 YEAR OLD COLLEGE DAUGHTER TO ALMOST WRECK IN ROUTE TO SCHOOL LAST WEEK AT 8PM EST. HER MAJOR IS NURSING. I WANT TO MAKE SURE SHE'S ALIVE TO SEE HER GRADUATE. OUTSIDE AIR TEMP WAS 65 DEGREES. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, NOT TO MENTION THE COST THAT WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH PAYING FOR VOLKSWAGONS POOR DESIGN ELECTRICAL MISENGINEERING FLAW, A NEW ALTERNATOR, ALL ELECTRICAL WIRING, A NEW BATTERY, AND POSSIBLY NEW CONVERTIBLE TOP MOTOR. HER VW IS/WAS IN MINT CONDITION WITH FEWER THAN 80K MILES. VW ESTIMATES COSTS TO FIX OVER $5K TO 6K. KBB VALUE IS MUCH LESS. MY DAUGHTERS LIFE IS PRICELESS. ALSO, THE WIRING HARNESS FOR THE SEATBELTS UNDERNEATH THE SEAT ARE TOO SHORT!! IF YOU SLIDE THE SEATS BACK, IT BREAKS ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS WHICH TRIGGERS SEATBELTS LIGHT TO COME ON, WHICH DISENGAGES AIRBAGS TO WORK IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. THE 2 FRONT SEATS ALSO MUST SLIDE FORWARD IN ORDER FOR BACK SEAT PASSENGERS TO ENTER VEHICLE. IS THIS HOW VW SAVES MONEY, BY SHORTENING ELECTRICAL WIRE TO CONNECT SEATBELTS? PERHAPS IT'S ON PURPOSE TO AVOID MILLIONS OF ELECTRICAL LAWSUITS?

ALTERNATOR GETS EXTREMELY HOT, UNTOUCHABLE. APPEARS TO BE DIRECT SHORT WITH HEAVY LOAD. MELTS FUSE BOX ON TOP OF BATTERY. FIRE HAZARD. ONLINE SEARCH FOR OTHER EVENTS REVEAL THAT IS COMMON OCCURRENCE EVEN RESULTING IN CLASS ACTION SUIT BUT STILL VW WILL NOT ADMIT FAULT. ALL VOLKSWAGON BEETLES SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE ROADS, IT IS A TICKING TIME BOMB. I WAS SITTING IN MY CAR IN MY SHOP CHECKING OUT SYSTEMS AND SAW AND SMELLED SMOKE COMING FROM FRONT OF ENGINE. VEHICLE NOT SAFE TO BE ON ROAD WITH ENGINE RUNNING. PLEASE REQUIRE GROUNDING ALL THESE VEHICLES UNTIL VW DOES A PERMANENT FIX, EVEN ON THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN REPAIRED UP UNTIL NOW.

INNER DOOR HANDLES TO CLOSE THE DOORS, BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT, HAVE BROKEN OFF, SNAPING. AS I DID RESEARCH TO FIND REPLACEMENT; I CONTACTED OVER 20 DIFFERENT JUNK YARDS IN MY AREA AND I AM BEING TOLD THE SAME; "ALL PANELS HAVE THE HANDLE BROKEN". THE ONLY WAY I CAN REPAIR IT IS BY BUYING THE WHOLE PANEL FROM THE DEALER AT AN OUTRAGE PRICE OR BUYING IT FROM A USED SELLER WHICH IS STILL AT LEAST $600.00 FOR THE PAIR PANELS. I NEED THESE HANDLES TO CLOSE THE DOORS SECURELY .

TAKATA RECALL AIR BAG LIGHT SWITCH HAS BEEN RECALLED ON SEVERAL 03 BEETLES BUT NOTHING THAT INCLUDED THE 03 CONVERTABLE VERSION OF THIS LIGHT BEING ACTIVATED THE CAR HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT THAT I KNOW OF AND IS A CAUSE FOR CONCERN WHERE NONE OF MY AIRBAGS WILL DEPLOY IF I EVER GET INTO AN ACCIDENT. GOD FORBID. THIS HAS BEEN CHECKED BY THE VIN BUT DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THE PART IS NOT DEFECTIVE. ALSO OPPOSITE LIGHTS IN THE REAR SEEM TO HAVE SOME SORT OF ELECTRONIC ISSUE NEW FUSES NEW BULBS AND RELAY SEEMS NOT TO FIX THIS ISSUE. COULD POSSIBLE BE PART OF THE SAME 03 BEETLE BREAK SWITCH RECALL??

THE CAR RUNS FINE WHILE IT IS COLD BUT WHEN IT WARMS UP THEN IT BEGINS TO "JERK", SHIFT UP AND DOWN "HARD". WE WERE TOLD IT WAS A TIPTRONIC SWITCH WAS BAD SO WE REPLACED IT AND NOW WE ARE TOLD THAT THE VALVE BODY TRANSMISSION IS BAD. THE CAR HAS LESS THEN 100K MILES ON IT. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN AS WE HAVE ALMOST BEEN REAR-ENDED WHEN THE CAR BEGAN JERKING.

REGARDING/RELATED TO CLAIM 0484819107 69 COMPLAINTS: 2003 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA SEATS: FRONT ASSEMBLY: SEAT ... I OWN A 2003 VW JETTA 1.8T WITH FRONT HEATED SEATS. DRIVERS SIDE SEAT CAUGHT FIRE DUE TO A SHORT IN THE SEATS HEATER 2 DAYS AGO ON 12/13/2005 AFTER THE HEATER WAS ON FOR LESS THAN 2 MINUTES. BURNING A SMALL HOLE TROUGH THE SEAT TO THE BOTTOM AREA OF MY LEFT SIDE (BUTTOCK) I HAVE COME TO FIND SINCE THIS HAPPENED, MY NHTSA HAS ... HTTPS://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/VOLKSWAGEN/.../SEATS-FRONT_ASSEMBLY-SEAT_ HEATER_COOLER.SHTML 29 COMPLAINTS: 2003 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM PROBLEMS THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE ENTIRE FUSE BOX ASSEMBLY FREQUENTLY MELTS INTO A GLOB OF PLASTIC, AND REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT FIRE HAZARD. I HAVE OWNED TWO NEW BEETLES ( 2003 & 2004), AND HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM FOUR TIME BETWEEN THE TWO. MY OWN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CAUSE(S) HAS SHOWN ME THAT IF THE VEHICLE BATTERY IS ... HTTPS://WHTTPS://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/SEARCH/?CX=PARTNER-PUB-6745124734283845%3A6PV4IH4BRAD&COF=FORID%3A10&IE=ISO-8859-1&Q=VW+FIRE&SA=SEARCH&SITEURL=HTTPS%3A%2F%2FWWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM%2FVOLKSWAGEN%2FBEETLE%2F2002%2FSEAT_BELTS_AIR_BAGS%2FWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/VOLKSWAGEN/.../ELECTRICAL_SYSTEM.SHTML WASN'T IN THE VEHICLE PERSONAL ASSISTANT/PROJECT CONSULTANT HELPING HARD WORKING PEOPLE LIKE YOU FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS! [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).? *PM