2005 Volkswagen Beetle

I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 2005 NEW BEETLE CONV. IN 12/08 I TOOK MY VEHICLE IN FOR 40K MILE SERVICE AT WHICH TIME THE TRANSMISSION WAS CHECKED FOR LEAKS AND FLUID LEVEL. IN 2/10 MY TRANSMISSION HAD TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE IT WAS NO GOOD. MY PROBLEMS STARTED ABOUT LATE NOVEMBER 2009 TO DECEMBER 2009. I STARTED TO HAVE HESITATION PROBLEMS FROM TAKE OFF AND COMING TO A STOP AFTER ABOUT 15 MINUTES OF DRIVING. I FIRST THOUGHT THE PROBLEM WAS BAD GASOLINE, HOWEVER THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. I WOULD BE GOING ALONG JUST FINE AND THEN THE TRANSMISSION WOULD JERK HARD SOMETIMES TO CHANGE GEARS WHEN COMING TO A STOP. AND WOULD WHINE AND HESITATE AND JERK TO CHANGE GEARS WHEN TAKING OFF. THIS PROBLEM GOT PROGRESSIVELY WORSE AND WHEN I TOOK MY CAR IN I WAS TOLD @ 55,000 MILES I WOULD NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION. SO A NEW TRANSMISSION WAS INSTALLED TO THE TUNE OF $5,700. THIS IS NOT WAS I BARGAINED FOR. *TR

NEW VW BEETLE HEADLIGHT AND TAILLIGHT FAILURES. THE HEADLIGHTS ON MY DAUGHTERS 2005 BEETLE FAIL BUT CAN BE MADE TO WORK AGAIN BY HITTING THE HEADLIGHT WITH THE PALM OF YOUR HAND. HEADLIGHT/TAILLIGHT FAILURES ARE REPORTED AS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE NEW BEETLE AND VERIFIED BY MY VW DEALER IN METAIRIE, LA. LAST NIGHT WHILE MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING BOTH HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT WITHIN A FEW MINUTES OF EACH OTHER. TODAY I REMOVED THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY AND INSPECTED THE CONNECTIONS AND WIRING. BOTH ASSEMBLIES HAVE HEAT AND CURRENT RELATED WIRING FAILURES. WHERE THE WIRE IS CRIMPED TO THE BULB FLAG TYPE CONNECTOR THE WIRE IS DISCOLORED AND IS CORRODED. THE INSULATION ON THE WIRE IS ALSO DISCOLORED AND CRACKING FROM HEAT OR OVERCURRENT OR BOTH. THIS APPLIES TO THE LOW BEAM CONNECTORS FOR BOTH LIGHTS. THE BULBS ARE THE ORIGINAL PHILLIPS 55W WHICH IS SPEC FOR THE LOW BEAM. MANY OWNERS THINK THEIR BULBS HAVE FAILED AND THIS IS NOT THE CASE. THERE ARE MANY BLOGS REGARDING EARLY BULB FAILURE IN THE NEW BEETLE AS MOST OWNERS SIMPLY ARE UNABLE TO REMOVE THE ASSEMBLY AS IT REQUIRES MECHANICAL SKILLS AND TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE. I'VE ALSO HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS REGARDING THE TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLIES BUT I HAVE NOT THOROUGHLY INSPECTED THEM AS I DID IN THIS CASE. AGAIN THE VW DEALER TOLD ME TAIL LIGHT FAILURES ARE COMMON AND THEY DON'T KNOW WHY VW HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL. THIS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY PROBLEM AND NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. *TR

2005 VW BEETLE CONVERTIBLE - SLIPS IN AND OUT OF GEAR. I HAVE BEEN ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN IT DID THIS AND IT ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT WITH THE VEHICLES IN FONT OF ME AND BEHIND ME. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO SWERVE INTO THE RIGHT LANE TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT FOR NOW. READING OTHER FORUMS ABOUT VW, IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THIS IS A HUGE ISSUE THAT VW IS HAVING WITH A LOT OF THEIR VEHICLES. YOUR JOB IS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, SO PLEASE DO YOUR JOB AND KEEP OUR HIGHWAYS SAFE. *TR

THE CAR HAS 62,000 MILES ON IT AND HAS BEEN JUST DROVE AROUND TOWN AND IS NOW HAVING TRANSMISSION ISSUES IT HAS PROBLEMS GOING FROM 1ST TO 2ND AND WHEN I SLOW DOWN IT DOWN SHIFTS SO HARD IT FELT LIKE I WAS BEING HIT FROM BEHIND!!! I WAS SO STARTLED WHEN IT HAPPENED I HAD CHEST PAINS!!! ITS LOOKING LIKE THESE TRANSMISSIONS ARE DEFECTIVE BECAUSE THERE ARE ALOT OF PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM!!!!! *TR

I OWN A 2005 VW CONVERTIBLE BEETLE TURBO AUTOMATIC. IT ONLY HAS 45,000 MILES ON IT. I HAVE BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH THE CAR LURCHING FORWARD OR SHIFTING VERY ROUGHLY BETWEEN 1,2,3 GEARS ON UPSHIFT AND DOWNSHIFT. ITS VERY SCARY AND HAPPENS ONLY WHEN THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVING FOR ABOUT 10-15 MINUTES. VW SEEMS TO BE GUESSING WHEN IT COMES TO A FIX FOR THIS ISSUE BUT AFTER READING EDMUNDS AND CONSUMER COMPLAINTS THERE ARE LOADS OF OWNERS OF THE NEW BEETLE (ALL YEARS) THAT ARE HAVING THIS EXACT PROBLEM. MINE IS IN THE DEALER SHOP NOW FOR THE 2ND TIME WITH THIS PROBLEM, 1ST THEY CHARGED ME 766.00 TO SERVICE THE TRANSMISSION (WHICH SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BE DONE AS IT IS SEALED AND THE FLUID SHOULD NEVER HAVE TO BE CHANGED FROM WHAT I HAVE HEARD), I STILL HAVE THE PROBLEM...NOW THEY ARE SAYING EITHER A NEW TRANSMISSION BUT THEY ARE GOING TO TRY AND PUT IN A NEW VALVE BODY INSTEAD TO SEE IF THAT WORKS. ITS A CRAP SHOOT. I FEEL UNSAFE AND NERVOUS DRIVING THE CAR AS DO MANY, MANY OTHERS AND I FEEL THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL. *TR

MY 2005 VW BEETLE TRANSMISSION BEGAN SLIPPING AND JERKING ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO. I T HAS 50+ K MILES ON IT. FINALLY TOOK IT INTO ARMSTRONG VW DEALER IN GLADSTONE OR AND WAS TOOK IT WAS THE "TRANSMISSION VALVE" AND WOULD COST MORE THAN $2000.00 TO REPAIR AND IT WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY!! THE DEALER'S SERVICE DEPT NOW TELLS ME THAT IF I PAY $550.00 FOR A COMPLETE 45K MILE TUNEUP THAT VW WILL REPLACE THE PART FOR FREE. YES, THE CAR HAS OVER 50K MILES ON IT! PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE THE BEETLE SERVICED AT A LOCAL GARAGE BUT THE DEALER TELLS ME THAT THE TUNEUP MUST BE DONE BY A VW DEALER! THIS IS A HOSTAGE SITUATION. IT APPEARS FROM INTERNET RESEARCH THAT MANY, MANY OWNERS OF VW BEETLES ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS LURCHING HAS NEARLY CAUSED AN ACCIDENT ON THREE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS. *CN

AIRBAG LIGHT ON FOR SECOND TIME, VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY, HAS COST ME SO FAR $110 FOR A DEALER TO CHECK AND $117 FOR PARTS NOT TO COUNT MY LABOR FOR REPLACEMENT WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN AN EXTRA $400 OR SO. I BELIEVE VEHICLE FALLS UNDER A RECALL FOR THE SAME PROBLEM AND DURING THE REPLACEMENT OF THE BAD PARTS I FOUND THE BAD PARTS MENTIONED IN THE RECALL NO. 08V178000 ON MY VEHICLE WHICH I STILL HAVE. WAS TOLD THAT MY VEHICLE, WAS NOT PART OF THE RECALL BY VW AMERICA BUT ACCORDING TO THE DOCUMENT NO. RCMN-08V178-2838.PDF FOUND ON THIS WEB SITE UNDER DEFECTS & RECALLS, IS IN FACT ONE OF THE VEHICLES THAT SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FOR THIS PROBLEM. I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE MY REPAIRS FINISHED, WHICH SHOULD ONLY REQUIRE THE AIRBAG COMPUTER TO BE RESET AND MY PREVIOUS COST AND POSSIBLE LABOR CHARGE REFUNDED TO ME BY VW OF AMERICA. *TR

THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION ALWAYS JERKS BADLY, WHENEVER I ACCELERATE AND APPLY THE BRAKES. THERE IS ALSO A LOUD THUMPING NOISE THAT IS HEARD OFTEN FROM THE TRANSMISSION. I HAVE CONTACTED YOUR PHONE NUMBER TWICE AND LEFT MESSAGES, BUT NO ONE HAS EVER RETURNED MY CALLS OR LEFT MESSAGES, SO I DECIDED TO TRY TO CONTACT YOU ALL ON-LINE. *TR

I HAVE A 2005 VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE. I BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW FROM THE DEALERSHIP. BETWEEN 2005- 2009 I HAD MANY REPAIR PROBLEMS. THE FIRST PROBLEM WAS MY WINDOW REGULATOR WHICH COST ME $400 FOR THE PART AND LABOR. THEN I HAD ALL KINDS OF ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS AND SENSOR PROBLEMS THAT THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMED THEY HAVE FIXED BUT IT WILL DO THE SAME THING LIKE A WEEK OR SO LATER. NOW I AM HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY TRANSMISSION, WHICH COSTS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO FIX. SO FAR I HAVE BEEN TO 5 PLACES TRYING TO GET MY CAR FIXED. MY CAR IS THE ONLY TRANSPORTATION THAT I HAVE TO AND FROM SCHOOL AND WORK. IT CAN GO OUT ON ME ANY DAY. IT JERKS WILL HARD AND OFTEN CAUSES MY TIRES TO SPIN FROM THE FORCE OF THE JERK. THIS IS SO DANGEROUS. I HAVE GOT MY WINDOW REGULATOR REPLACED ABOUT 3 WEEKS LATER THE MOTOR IN THE WINDOW WENT OUT WHICH COST ANOTHER $400 TO FITS. *TR