2003 Volkswagen Beetle

THE AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AND WHEN WE TOOK IT TO THE VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIP WE WERE TOLD THAT THE AIR BAG HAD FAILED AND THAT IT MAY OR MAY NOT DEPLOY DURING AN ACCIDENT, AND THAT IT COULD DEPLOY WITHOUT CAUSE WHILE DRIVING. CALLED VOLKSWAGEN CUSTOMER CARE NUMBER AND WAS TOLD THAT THE RECALL HAD BEEN ADDRESSED IN 2008 WITH THE VECHICLE AND THAT IT WAS NOT NECESSARLY REPAIRED "IT WAS JUST ADDRESSED". I COULD NOT GET ANY FURTHER RESPONSE. I HAVE NEVER HAD OR READ ABOUT A CAR HAVING TO HAVE AIRBAGS REPLACED AS A SCHEDULED SERVICE OR MAINTANCE. AIRBAG FAILURE SHOWES THAT IT WAS NOT DONE RIGHT TO BEGAIN WITH. THE CAR WAS PURCHACED WITH 34,000 MILES AND NOW HAS 60,111 MILES. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE AIRBAG POSSIBLITY DEPLOYING WHILE DRIVING MORE THAN NOT DEPLOYING DURING A CRASH. ANY HELP IN UNDERSTANDING THIS MATTER IS MUCH APPRICIATED. *TR

I JUST BOUGHT A VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE, 03. THE SMELL MAKES ME PHYSICALLY ILL TO BE IN IT. THE DAY AFTER I BOUGHT IT, I HAD THE CABIN FILTER CHANGED AND IT STILL SMELLS. THIS SMELL IS A CHEMICAL SMELL AND MY THROAT STARTED HURTING AND SWELLED UP. I SAW A DOCTOR AND SHE COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM BUT ADDED THAT MY THROAT WAS FILLED WITH PUSS. I STOPPED DRIVING IT AND ASKED MY HUSBAND TO DRIVE IT. HE IS NOW COMPLAINING THAT HE IS HAVING HEADACHES AND HAVING NEW ALLERGIES AFTER JUST ONE WEEK. WE CALLED VW WHO SAID IT WAS A RUST PROOFING MATERIAL THAT THEY USED TO PUT ON THE CAR AND THAT NOTHING COULD BE DONE. BUT I HAVE BEEN READING MANY WEBSITES THAT SAY IT IS A PARAFIN SOUND PROOFING MAT UNDER THE CARPET. THIS MATERIAL IS BEING REMOVED BY VW FOR SOME PEOPLE AFTER CONTACTING NHTSA. THERE ARE MANY POSTS ONLINE CONCERNING THIS CHEMICAL SMELL (LIKE BURNED CRAYONS). I AM CONCERNED FOR MY FAMILY'S HEALTH. I HAVE 3 KIDS WHO HAVE TO RIDE IN THE CAR AS WELL. I WANT VW TO REMOVE THE PARAFIN SOUND PROOFING MAT AT VW COST. *TR

MY VEHICLE'S RADIO SHUT OFF, WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON AND VEHICLE POWERED DOWN WHILE DRIVING. COULD NOT EVEN STEER VEHICLE COMPLETELY TO SHOULDER OF ROAD. POLICE OFFICER DRIVING BY STOPPED AND CHASTISED ME FOR NOT MOVING MY CAR COMPLETELY OUT OF TRAFFIC'S WAY. CREATED A VERY HAZARDOUS TRAFFIC SITUATION. POLICE OFFICER HAD TO DIRECT TRAFFIC AROUND MY VEHICLE FOR THE HOUR IT TOOK TO GET VEHICLE HOME. THE BATTERY WAS CHECKED AND WAS FINE. NO CHARGE ON ALTERNATOR. A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH LED TO CHECKING FUSE BOX NEAR BATTERY. ONE FUSE WAS COMPLETELY MELTED/BURNT AS WELL AS THE ALTERNATOR CABLE CONNECTION ON VEHICLE. THE GOOGLE SEARCH MADE IT SEEM AS THOUGH THIS IS A VERY COMMON OCCURRENCE, YET NO RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED. FROM MY ASSESSMENT, THE DAMAGE INCLUDED THE FUSE-BOX ASSEMBLY, ONE OF THE FUSES, AND ALTERNATOR CABLE RING-TERMINAL; HOWEVER, MULTIPLE WEB FORUMS SUGGEST THAT FAN ASSEMBLIES AND OTHER COMPONENTS MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED AS WELL, LEADING TO COSTLY REPAIRS. IT IS MY OPINION THAT THE ISSUE CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO MANUFACTURER'S FAULTY DESIGN. MY INTERNET SEARCH ALSO REVEALED THAT A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT WAS FILLED IN FLORIDA, 2011, BUT I CANNOT FIND ANY FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE MATTER. *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

THE WINDOW REGULATOR HAS FAILED. WHEN I ROLL THE WINDOW UP IT STARTS GOING SLOWLY WHEN IT'S ALMOST ALL THE WAY UP AND THEN IT MAKES A SQUEALING NOISE AND THEN ONCE IT REACHES THE TOP IT ROLLS BACK DOWN BY ITSELF WITHOUT ME TOUCHING ANYTHING. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD BECAUSE IF THERE IS INCLEMENT WEATHER, I CANNOT GET MY WINDOW TO STAY ROLLED UP. MY CAR IS NOT SAFE LEFT WITH THE WINDOW ROLLED ALL THE WAY DOWN. THIS IS NOT JUST AN ISSUE THAT I AM HAVING. THERE A FORUMS FILLED WITH PEOPLE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEMS ALL WITH 2003 VW BEETLES. IT IS A CHEAPLY MADE PART THAT HAS TO BE REPLACED PROFESSIONALLY. IT IS NOT FAIR THAT EVERYONE HAS TO PAY $300+ FOR REPAIR THAT SHOULDN'T HAPPEN THIS OFTEN IN THE FIRST PLACE. *TR

I BOUGHT MY 2003 VW BEETLE A FEW MONTHS AGO FROM A PRIVATE SELLER. IN THE PAST WEEK, THE SHIFTING HAS GOTTEN REALLY DIFFICULT AND IT VERY OFTEN WILL NOT ACCELERATE EASILY. MY HUSBAND DROVE THE CAR AND REPORTED HAVING NO PROBLEMS, SO HE DIDN'T BELIEVE ME. YESTERDAY, I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND COULDN'T GET THE CAR TO ACCELERATE PAST 50 MPH. IT WAS ESPECIALLY SCARY WHEN I TRIED TO CROSS THE HIGHWAY AND THE CAR DIDN'T WANT TO ACCELERATE AT ALL. THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT. AFTER CROSSING THE HIGHWAY, I WAS UNABLE TO ACCELERATE PAST 20 MPH. I PARKED THE CAR AT A RELATIVES HOME AND HAD HER DRIVE ME HOME AS I WAS AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR AGAIN. I STARTED DOING RESEARCH AND WAS BLOWN AWAY BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE FACING THE SAME PROBLEMS. THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION THAT NEEDS TO BE RESOLVED. *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

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE GLX CONVERTIBLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR WINDOW SEPARATED FROM THE CONVERTIBLE TOP. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE CONVERTIBLE TOP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND VERIFIED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL RELATED TO THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.