2005 Volkswagen Beetle

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SHIFTING ABNORMALLY HARD. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THE DEALER ADVISED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT HAD THE TRANSMISSION REPLACED YET THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE CONTACT BELIEVED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS NOT THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM BUT THE VEHICLE COMPUTER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 49,000.

SLIPPAGE IN THE TRANSMISSION BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD GEAR CAUSING JERKING AND SLOWING. THIS CAUSES UNPREDICTABLE VEHICLE PERFORMANCE WHICH IS A CLEAR SAFETY HAZARD THAT COULD RESULT IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT, INJURY OR DEATH. REPLACING THE VALVE BODY AS VW HAS INDICATED IT "MIGHT"--IF YOUR VEHICLE MEETS CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS--WILL NOT FIX THIS PROBLEM PERMANENTLY. THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION IS AT FAULT AND MUST BE COMPLETELY REPLACED TO ENSURE SAFETY OF THE DRIVER AND PASSENGERS.

I BOUGHT MY 2005 VOLKWAGEN BEETLE IN 2005. I EXPERIENCED HARD DOWN SHIFTING FROM 3RD TO 1ST WITHIN THE 1ST YEAR OF OWNING THE CAR. I TOOK IT IN TO [XXX] IN SNELLVILLE GEORGIA WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR. THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG. I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS NORMAL. YEAR AFTER YEAR, THE SHIFTING GOT WORSE. IT WOULD HAPPEN RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING. NOW AFTER 100,000 MILES, THE SHIFTING IS SO BAD, I CAN BARELY DRIVE THE CAR. IT NOW SHIFTS HARD FROM EVERY GEAR. EVERY TIME MY CAR HAS TO SLOW DOWN OR SPEED UP FROM A STOP LIGHT, IT JERKS SO HARD IT THROWS ME FORWARD. IT'S RIDICULOUS AND SCARY. SOMETIMES, WHILE ACCELERATING THROUGH AN INTERSECTION, IT WILL JUST STOP, AND I HAVE TO LET OFF THE GAS AND JUST PAUSE AND WAIT A SECOND AND THEN SPEED UP AGAIN. IT'S DANGEROUS TO DRIVE AT THIS POINT, BUT I DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO PUT IN A NEW TRANSMISSION. I RECENTLY GOT A LETTER FROM VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA STATING THAT THEY'RE FIXING CERTAIN BEETLE'S TRANSMISSIONS, AND MY 2005 WAS ONE OF THEM! I WAS SO EXCITED, BUT AS I READ ON, THE LETTER EXPLAINED THAT THE BEETLE HAD TO BE UNDER 100,000 MILES OR UNDER 7YEARS OLD. WELL OF COURSE MY BUG WAS 400 MILES OVER 100,000 MILES!!!! I CALLED VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA FAXED THEM DOCUMENTATION THAT MY CAR HAD BEEN IN THE SHOP FOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AT 50,000 MILES, AND I WAITED 6 WEEKS TO HEAR ANYTHING BACK. FINALLY, THEY SENT ME A LETTER DENYING ME OF A NEW TRANSMISSION BECAUSE I WAS 400 MILES OVER 100,000 MILES! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! THEY CANNOT GET AWAY WITH THIS. WE NEED TO FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA!!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

2005 VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE CONVERTIBLE [XXX] PURCHASED IN THE FALL OF 2004; MULTIPLE REQUESTS FOR SERVICE TO DEALER GOSSETT VOLKSWAGEN / MEMPHIS, TN REGARDING HARD SHIFTING TIPTRONIC AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION STARTED REPORTING THIS JAN 2005 AT 198 MILES BUT I HAVE RECENTLY DISCOVERED THAT THE SERVICE ADVISOR WAS NOT RECORDING MY COMPLAINT, DESCRIBING VISITS AS "30 DAY INSPECTION"; ONLY DOCUMENTATION OF PROGRAMMING OF SHIFT POINTS AT 59860 MILES ACCORDING TO THEIR RECORDS DATED 7/17/08; NOTHING HELPED; MULTIPLE REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE FROM DEALER IGNORED DEALER CLAIMING COULD NOT DUPLICATE ISSUE. PROBLEM CAUSED HESITATION IN TRAFFIC; INVOLUNTARY JERKING AND SOMETIMES SUDDEN FORWARD MOTION OF CAR. ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION HAD TO PULL CAR OVER TO SIDE OF ROAD TO SHUT IT DOWN. PROBLEM RESOLVED WHEN CAR BELOW NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE THEN MANIFESTS AT NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE. DEALER STATED "UNABLE TO DUPLICATE" UNTIL AFTER WARRANTY EXPIRED THEN DECLARED TRANSMISSION FAILURE WITHOUT OPENING SO-CALLED SEALED UNIT TO DIAGNOSE. VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA ISSUED RECALL ON TRANSMISSION VALVE BODY LATE LAST YEAR; REFUSED TO REPAIR MY VEHICLE THIS JANUARY AFTER 6 YEARS OF VISITS TO DEALER FOR NUMEROUS ISSUES INCLUDING THIS ONE. I ALLEGE THAT THE DEALER AND VOA KNOWINGLY SOLD THIS MODEL YEAR WITH A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT AS MANY OWNERS OF PREVIOUS AND SAME MODEL YEARS HAVE FREQUENTLY POSTED ACCOUNTS OF THE SAME PROBLEM ON VARIOUS CONSUMER WEBSITES INCLUDING YOUR OWN; APPEALING FOR YOUR INTERVENTION IN THIS DANGEROUS SITUATION. THE CAR IS NOW PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY. I HAVE ALSO FILED A COMPLAINT AT THE STATE OF TENNESSEE CONSUMER AFFAIRS AGENCY ALLEGING THAT GOSSETT VOLKSWAGEN AND VOA HAVE ENGAGED IN A FRAUDULENT PATTERN OF AVOIDING RESPONSIBILITY FOR A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE BECAUSE OF THE EXPENSE OF NECESSARY REPAIRS. THIS CAR IS PARKED AND IS NO LONGER BEING DRIVEN BECAUSE IT WILL STALL, LURCH, AND ACCELERATE AND DECELERATE ERRATICALLY BECAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. *TR

VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE, 2005 MODEL WITH 105,000 MILES. TRANSMISSION FAILING CAUSING HARD SHIFTING AND SLIPPING GEARS RESULTING IN CAR LURCHING, SUDDEN DOWN SHIFTS AND PAUSING UNEXPECTEDLY IN TRAFFIC. CAUSED REAREND IMPACT WHEN VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. AS TOLD BY THE VW DEALER THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE NEW BEETLE 6SPD TIPTRONIC TRANSMISSION, ONE THAT VW WILL NOT ADMIT NOR CORRECT. I HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE FOR SOME TIME FINDING THAT THERE IS NO QUESTION AS TO WHETHER A NEW BEETLE OWNER WILL HAVE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS RATHER WHEN THE PROBLEM WILL BEGIN. WHILE I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DETERMINE HOW MANY IF ANY ACCIDENTS HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THIS ISSUE I DO KNOW THERE IS A GREAT CONCERN AMONGST THESE VEHICLE OWNERS THAT ACCIDENTS WILL OCCUR. VW SHOULD BE FORCED TO RECALL ALL THESE VEHICLES AND CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. *TR

I CURRENTLY OWN A 2005 VW BEETLE WITH 72,000 MILES. ABOUT ONE YEAR AGO, IT BEGAN TO VIOLENTLY JERK BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND GEAR AFTER ABOUT 20 MINUTES OF CITY DRIVING. WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP LIGHT OR STOP SIGN, THE CAR WOULD STALL, THEN BUCK FORWARD AS IF I WAS BEING REAR-ENDED. THE LEVEL OF UNRELIABILITY IS REALLY DANGEROUS, BECAUSE I NEVER KNOW IF IT'S GOING TO SPEED UP LIKE IT'S SUPPOSED TO. I'M IN CONSTANT FEAR THAT I WILL GET REAR ENDED OR STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION. I'VE TAKEN IT TO TWO MECHANICS AND TALKED TO TWO TRANSMISSION SPECIALISTS AND ALL OF THEM HAVE SAID THAT THEY WON'T WORK ON A VW BEETLE'S TRANSMISSION AND THAT I NEED TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER. I'VE TRIED AIDING THE PROBLEM WITH A NEW BATTERY, BUT THAT HASN'T HELPED. OTHER COMPLAINTS ONLINE (300 ON TOWNHALL-TALK.EDMUNDS.COM) HAVE STATED THAT REPAIRS FOR THIS PROBLEM ARE $5,000-$7,000 AND THAT IT HASN'T ALWAYS FIXED THE PROBLEM.

THIS IS ON A CAR WITH A 1.9L BEW ENGINE AND 6 SPEED DSG GEARBOX. PROBLEM EMERGED AS A ROUGH IDLE (LIKE A CYLINDER WAS MISSING) AND KNOCKING SOUNDS WHILE AT IDLE AND DURING ENGINE SHUTDOWN AS ENGINE COMES TO A STOP. CAR WAS TAKEN TO DEALER AND DEALER DIAGNOSED AS FAILING DUAL MASS FLYWHEEL, $1398 TO FIX. I GOT LUCKY AND MINE DIDN'T EXPLODE/DISINTEGRATE AS SOME OTHERS HAVE, ALTHOUGH I DON'T KNOW YET IF IT HAS CAUSED OTHER DAMAGE TO ENGINE OR TRANSMISSION. CAR HAS 73,000 MILES ON IT AND IS OUT OF WARRANTY, SPENT EXTRA MONEY ON EXTENDED WARRANTY WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW TO HOPEFULLY AVOID SITUATIONS LIKE THIS - THE LONGEST WARRANTY I WAS OFFERED WAS 7 YEARS OR 70,000 MILES. VW HAS RE-DESIGNED THE DUAL MASS FLYWHEEL TO IMPROVE IT AND THEY HAVE RECALLED THE CARS IN OTHER COUNTRY'S BECAUSE OF THIS FAILURE BUT NOT HERE IN THE U.S. THEY OBVIOUSLY KNOW THERE IS A PROBLEM, OTHERWISE WHY THE RE-DESIGNED PART OR RECALL? THE FAILING FLYWHEEL COULD ALSO CAUSE SEVER DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION AND ENGINE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE CONVERTIBLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH THE RPMS WOULD INCREASE, BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE ANY FASTER CAUSING IT TO HESITATE. SHE ALSO NOTICED THAT WHEN TRYING TO PARALLEL PARK IT WOULD HESITATE BEFORE GOING INTO GEAR AND IT WAS HARDER TO SHIFT. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A DEALER WHO INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT SHE NEEDED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION BODY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 39,900 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 44,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS 2005 VOLKSWAGEN CONVERTIBLE BEETLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HER TRANSMISSION SHIFTS FORWARD AND DOWNWARD SHIFT ON ITS OWN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO DUPLICATED THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND THEY OFFERED TO GIVE $1,500 TOWARDS THE REPAIRS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 48,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 66,000.

I CURRENTLY OWN A 2005 VW BEETLE WITH 96,000 MILES. BEFORE ME, THE CAR WAS OWNED BY MY PARENTS SINCE IT WAS BOUGHT IN 2005. ABOUT ONE YEAR AGO, IT BEGAN TO VIOLENTLY JERK BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND GEAR AFTER ABOUT 20 MINUTES OF CITY DRIVING. WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP LIGHT OR STOP SIGN, THE CAR WOULD STALL, THEN BUCK FORWARD AS IF I WAS BEING REAR-ENDED. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO AAMCO, PLUS 3 ADDITIONAL TRANSMISSION SPECIALISTS IN THAT TIME. TO DATE, I HAVE SPENT $1,100 TO HAVE THE TRANSMISSION SERVICED AND THE SHIFTER REPLACED. THE PROBLEM HAS ONLY GOTTEN WORSE AND THE CAR NOW VIOLENTLY JERKS FROM SECOND GEAR INTO THIRD GEAR AND HESITATES ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN SHIFTING BETWEEN FIFTH AND SIXTH GEAR. IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC, I'VE NEARLY BEEN REAR-ENDED TWICE IN 2010 ALONE. THIS IS A DAILY OCCURRENCE. TO DATE, VOLKSWAGEN HAS ESSENTIALLY REFUSED TO STAND BEHIND ITS PRODUCT. THOUGH THE VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA HAS EXTENDED ME A 7-YEARS OR 100,000-MILES WARRANTY, DOUGLAS VOLKSWAGEN, THE DEALERSHIP FROM WHICH THE CAR WAS BOUGHT IN NEW JERSEY REFUSES TO REPLACE THE VALVE-BODY (THE PART COVERED UNDER WARRANTY) AND HAS RECOMMENDED I PUT A NEW $8,000 TRANSMISSION IN THE CAR. THEY CLAIM THE TRANSMISSIONS MADE AFTER 2008 DO NOT HAVE THE PROBLEMS 2003 THROUGH 2007 MODELS HAD. REGARDLESS, THEY HAVE NOT TRIED TO REPLACE THE CAR'S VALVE-BODY, WHICH IS A PART OF THE TRANSMISSION. THEY SEEM TO FIND IT APPROPRIATE THAT I REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION OUT OF POCKET AT A COST HIGHER THAN THE CAR IS PRESENTLY WORTH. FOR THAT REASON I HAVE REGISTERED A COMPLAINT WITH VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA. MANY NEW BEETLE OWNERS COMPLAIN THAT THEY HAVE ALSO ENCOUNTERED SIMILAR RESISTANCE FROM VOLKSWAGEN AND HAVE BEEN PUSHED TO PAY FOR NEW TRANSMISSIONS ONLY TO REALIZE THE PROBLEM PERSISTS AFTER THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS HAVE ALREADY BEEN SPENT. THE COMPANY HAS MADE FEEBLE EFFORTS TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. I HOPE NHTSA WILL ASSIST CONSUMERS PRESENTLY BEING POLITICKED BY VW. *TR