2004 Volkswagen Beetle

THE CAR JERKS BETWEEN GEARS AND IT IS GETTING WORSE. THE PROBLEM IS THE VALVE BODY. IT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM. (HUNDREDS OF POSTINGS ON THE INTERNET COMPLAINING.) VW HAD AN EXTENDED WARRANTY UP TO 100,000 AND WE ARE ONLY AT 69,000, BUT IT ENDED IN OCTOBER 2010. WE WERE NEVER NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM NOR DID THE MECHANIC TELL US OF THE PROBLEM. FROM WHAT I HAVE READ THE TRANSMISSION WILL NOW SUDDENLY JAM UP AND THIS HAS HAPPENED IN TRAFFIC. THE VW DEALERSHIP NOW WANTS $2,317 FOR THE REPAIR! CLEARLY THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE COVERED BY VW. *TR

I HAVE A 2004 VOLKSWAGEN 1.8 TURBO CONVERTIBLE BEETLE. THE CAR IS JUMPING BACK AND FORTH WHEN IT TRIES TO SHIFT GEARS. I BROUGHT IT IN TO THE LOCAL VW DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD NEED TO RUN DIAGNOSTICS IN ORDER TO SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. BY LOOKING ON LINE WE HAD A PRETTY GOOD IDEA THAT IT WAS THE VALVE BODY OR THE TRANSMISSION. AFTER THEY RAN THE DIAGNOSTICS THEY CONFIRMED THAT IT WAS THE VALVE BODY. THEY HAD EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FROM 5 YEARS 70,000 TO 7 YEARS 100000 MILES. WE WHERE THEN ADVISED THAT THE CAR HAD MISSED THE WARRANTY BY A FEW MONTHS BUT THAT WE SHOULD STILL PROCESS DIAGNOSTICS AS VW NORMALLY ASSISTS WHEN SO CLOSE TO WARRANTY EXPIRING. THEY KNOW THESE CARS HAVE THIS DEFECT. THE DEALER CONTACTED VW AMERICA AND TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD NOT ASSIST WITH THE REPAIR BECAUSE I WAS THE THIRD OWNER OF THE CAR. I PURCHASED THE CAR IN 2007 FROM A VW DEALER AND IT WAS A CERTIFIED VEHICLE. I AM THE 2ND OWNER. I AM AFRAID THAT I WILL HAVE AN ACCIDENT THE WAY THE CAR THRASHES BACK AND FORTH WHEN THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS. I AM ALSO VERY CONCERNED AS I AM PREGNANT. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE THAT VW IS UNWILLING TO MAKE THIS REPAIR WHEN THEY KNOW THAT THEY HAVE THIS PROBLEM. THIS WAS OUR THIRD VOLKSWAGEN. THE CAR ONLY HAS 72000 MILES. *KB

THE TRANSMISSION STARTED OUT SHIFTING ROUGH. THEN IT PROGRESSED TO A POINT THAT IT WILL SHIFT SO HARD THAT IT WILL THROW YOU FORWARD IN YOU SEAT. WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THE WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED AND THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. THEN LAST YEAR THE VW SENT US A LETTER SAYING THE WARRANTY HAD BEEN EXTENDED AS THE TRANSMISSION WAS DEFECTIVE. HOWEVER, THEY SENT IT TO US A MONTH AFTER THE EXTENSION EXPIRED. WE COMPLAINED TO VW AND THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO ABOUT IT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE CONVERTIBLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD JERK VIOLENTLY WHEN SHIFTING GEARS. A LOCAL MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION. NEITHER THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 60,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

MY PROBLEM WITH THE CAR IS THE SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE THAT HAS COMPLAINED...IDENTICAL PROBLEMS! ALL TOLD THE COST, WITH A RENTAL CAR IS $6,500.00, SO FAR. THE CAR IS IN THE SHOP AND I AM HAVING TO WAIT FOR THE REMANUFACTURED TRANSMISSION TO BE DELIVERED. THIS IS INSANITY AND I WON'T EVEN BEGIN WITH ALL THE OTHER ISSUES THE CAR HAS HAD AND STILL HAS! THE TRANSMISSION IS/WAS A SAFETY HAZARD. WAKE UP PEOPLE! I KNOW A FEW OF US MUST DIE FOR YOU TO WAKE UP...GET REAL... WE ARE MAD AS [XXX]. I WANT VW TO PAY FOR THE TRANSMISSION. THANK YOU. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).*TR

IN CITY TRAFFIC, MY VEHICLE HAS A VIOLENT JERKY DOWN-SHIFT WHEN APPROACHING A STOP, APPROXIMATELY 25MPH TO 20 MPH. IT FEELS LIKE THE BOTTOM OF THE CAR IS FALLING OUT. WHEN THESE OCCURRENCES FIRST HAPPENED, THEY WERE OCCASIONAL. ON THE HIGHWAY I BELIEVE IT SLIPS FROM ONE GEAR TO ANOTHER. TODAY, A FEW MONTHS LATER THE OCCURRENCES ARE MORE FREQUENT AND I AM FORCED TO SEEK PROFESSIONAL CARE FOR MY VEHICLE. I HAVE REGULARLY MAINTAINED MY VEHICLE WITH CARE AND ATTENTION TO THE MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS. MY ONLINE RESEARCH HAS INDICATED THAT THIS EVENT IS NOT AN ISOLATED EVENT, BUT THIS OCCURRENCE DESCRIBES A TYPICAL VW BEETLE TRANSMISSION WITH MILEAGE BETWEEN 50K AND 70K; THERE ARE HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF LIKE COMPLAINTS. I HAVE FOUND TWO SEPARATE FORUMS ONLINE SUPPORTING THIS VERY COMPLAINT. THIS IS VERY LOW MILEAGE FOR A FAILED TRANSMISSION, ESPECIALLY WHEN MANY SIMILAR SMALL VEHICLES ARE OFFERING WARRANTIES FOR 100K MILES OR MORE. THE VW CUSTOMER CARE HAS FAILED TO RESPOND TO MY INQUIRIES. I BELIEVE MY CAR HAS BECOME UNSAFE TO DRIVE AND I AM FEARFUL THAT IT WILL BREAK DOWN ON THE FREEWAY OR A POTENTIALLY DARK ROAD OR IN BAD WEATHER. I WOULD ASK THAT THE NHTSA PLEASE LOOK INTO THESE RECURRENT ISSUES WITH VOLKSWAGEN AND MAKE VOLKSWAGEN ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE FAILING TRANSMISSION, OR, AT THE VERY LEAST LOOK INTO THE VALVE BODIES AND WHETHER THEY ARE UP TO STANDARDS, STANDARDS THAT WOULD PREVENT THIS VEHICLE FROM FAILING ON THE HIGHWAY AND CAUSING POTENTIAL HAZARDS TO DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS. THANK YOU, *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 60 MPH WHEN THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO SHIFT FROM SECOND GEAR BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESPOND. IN ADDITION, THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED AN ABNORMALLY HARD SHIFT. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHERE THE MECHANIC ADVISED THAT THE VALVE BODY IN THE TRANSMISSION WAS DEFECTIVE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 58,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

AT LESS 60K MILES, I'VE BEEN HAVING TRANSMISSION PROBLEM AND WAS TOLD BY 2 REPAIR SHOPS THAT IT NEED TO BE REPLACED . BOTH REPAIR SHOPS ADMITTED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH VW BEETLE. I PURCHASE THE CAR NEW AND MAINTAINED AND SERVICE AT SUGGESTED TIMES AT SAME PLACE OF PURCHASE. I PURCHASED EXTENDED WARRANTY AND HAVE COMPLAINED IN THE PAST. THE PROBLEM THEN WAS INTERMITTENT AND SHOP NEVER FOUND THE PROBLEM UNTIL THE WARRANTY EXPIRED A MONTH LATER. I HAVE READ SIMILAR PROBLEM FROM SEVERAL OWNERS AND SOME WERE REPAIRED FREE WHILE OTHER WERE TURNED AWAY. SINCE THE PROBLEM IS INCONSISTENT WITH MANY OWNERS AT SUCH LOW MILEAGE, THIS PROBLEM QUALIFIES UNDER LEMON LAW. I REQUEST THAT NHTSA INVESTIGATE THIS MECHANICAL PROBLEM AND CONSIDER A RECALL BASED ON MANY COMPLAINTS. EVEN REPAIR SHOPS KNOW THIS PROBLEM EXISTED AND WE NEED HELP FORM THIS GOVERNMENT BODY TO INVESTIGATE THIS PROBLEM BEFORE IT CONTINUES TO COMPROMISED SAFETY. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE IT WOULD SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL GEAR AND THEN THE BRAKE PEDAL HAD TO BE ENGAGED IN ORDER TO SHIFT BACK INTO DRIVE. THE CONTACT SPOKE WITH THE DEALER WHO WAS TOLD THAT THE CONTROL VALVES CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 64,000. THE CONSUMER STATED THE ENGINE WOULD INCREASE IN SPEED AND THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTED DOWN TO 5TH GEAR. UPDATED 12/02/11

MY 2004 BEETLE RAN FINE FOR THE FIRST SEVERAL MONTHS AFTER A PURCHASED IT FROM THE DEALER, NOW THE CAR STOPS RUNNING AT 65 MPH ON THE FREEWAY SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK, DURING MY TRAVEL TO WORK. I HAVE READ SEVERAL POSTINGS ON THE INTERNET STATING THE SAME ISSUES FROM THOUSANDS OF VW OWNERS. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. I HAVE HAD MY CAR DIAGNOSIS STATING I NEED TO REPLACE THE TRANS, BUT THERES NO INDICATION TRANS FAILURE. ONE WEEK THERE CAR RUNS GREAT THEN, NEXT IT STOPS DURING TRAVEL AND HAS JERKY FEELS DURING MOVEMENT. I'M SURE THERE HUNDRED OF THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS OF THE SAME ISSUES AND THAT'S JUST ONE OF THE MANY TOO MANY TO LIST. *KB