2004 Volkswagen Beetle

MY 2004 VW CONV. BEETLE RECENTLY HAD TO BE SMOGGED FOR THE FIRST TIME,REQUESTED BY THE DMV. I HAVE SUBMITTED ALL DMV FEES BUT WAS UNABLE TO SEND A SMOG CERTIFICATE BECAUSE THE CAR WILL NOT PASS SMOG TEST DUE TO THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT BEING ON. I HAVE HAD MY CAR SMOGGED TWO SEPARATE TIMES ONLY TO BE TOLD MY CATALYTIC CONVERTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, AND MY ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. I WAS TOLD I CAN ONLY BUY A CATALYTIC CONVERTER FROM A VW DEALER ONLY FOR APPROXIMATELY $1000.00 VW AMERICA AGREED TO EXTEND MY EMISSIONS CONTROL SYSTEMS WARRANTY FOR A CATALYTIC CONVERTER REPLACEMENT TO 10 YEARS OR 120,000 MILES. I TOOK IT INTO A V W DEALER TO HAVE IT FIXED & REPLACED BUT WAS UNABLE TO BECAUSE THE MECHANIC REFUSED TO REPLACE THE CONVERTER BECAUSE HIS DIAGNOSIS SUPPOSEDLY FOUND TROUBLES WITH THE TRANSMISSION TO BE THE PROBLEM, AND HE STATES THAT ALL PRIOR DIAGNOSIS ARE INCORRECT AND THAT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER IS TESTING NORMAL. THIS DIAGNOSIS COST ME A FEE OF 110.00 BECAUSE THEY FOUND THERE TO BE NO PROBLEM WITH THE CAT. CONV, AND THE FEE WAS CHARGED DUE TO THEM FINDING A SEPARATE PROBLEM. MEAN WHILE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS STILL COMING ON AND THE CAR IS RUNNING TERRIBLE, I AM TOLD I HAVE NO HOPE OF RECEIVING ANY EXTENDED WARRANTY HELP FROM VW , AND NOT TO MENTION THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN A RECALL ON MY TRANSMISSION BACK IN 2007 WHICH ALREADY REQUIRED MAJOR REPLACEMENTS AND REPAIRS ,NOW ONLY 3 YEARS LATTER AND HERE I AM ONCE AGAIN WITH MAJOR TRANSMISSION TROUBLE WITH NO WARRANTY. I FIND IT VERY HARD TO BELIEVE THIS YEAR OF CAR IS SUPPOSE TO GO THROUGH TWO TRANSMISSIONS IN ONLY SIX YEARS. I ALSO FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE TWO PRIOR SMOG STATIONS AND THERE MACHINES COULD BE WRONG ABOUT THERE DIAGNOSIS AND FOUND THERE TO ONLY BE CATALYTIC CONVERTER PROBLEM AND MIL LIGHT ON. THE BOTTOM LINE IS I CANT GET MY TAGS FROM DMV BECAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON DUE TO EMISSIONS(FUNCTIONAL) FAILING. AND MY CAR HARDLY RUNS. *TR

I HAVE A 2004 VW BEETLE CONVERTIBLE WITH 71314 MILES. THE TRANSMISSION IS ACTING UP. I WENT TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID IT NEEDS A NEW ONE. THEY WANT $4500 TO $6000 FOR A TRANSMISSION. THEY ALSO SAID THAT IS NOT RECOMMENDED TO BUY A USED ONE SINCE THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I ASKED TO THE GUY WHO WAS HELPING ME AFTER 3 HOURS WITH HIM; IF THE TRANSMISSION ON THESE CARS WERE THAT BAD? HE SAID 'YES THEY ARE'. THAT WAS BETTER TO SELL IT AND GET ANOTHER YEAR. IT WAS THE SAME FOR ALL THE TRANSMISSIONS (TRIPTRONIC) FOR VW AND AUDI. VW KNOWS THE TRANSMISSION IS BAD ON THESE CARS AND ALL THE ONES THAT CARRY THIS TRANSMISSION. EVEN IF THEY FIX IT THERE IS NO WARRANTY THAT IS GOING TO LAST BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM IS NOT FIXED. I'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF RESEARCH AND YOU WILL FIND THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS SUPPOSED TO BE MAINTENANCE FREE. WELL, THAT IS NOT TRUE. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THESE TRANSMISSIONS ARE GOING BAD AROUND 30K, 40K, 50K. THE PROBLEM IS DUE TO THE VALVE BODY OVERHEATING. THE DUCTS FOR THE COOLING INSIDE THE TRANSMISSION ARE NOT BIG ENOUGH WHICH CAUSE THE VALVE BODY TO GET HOT AND IT START BENDING MAKING THE HOLD CAR TO SHAKE, HIT INSIDE, IT FEELS VERY HARD AND ROUGH. DEALERS KNOW THAT THE PROBLEM DOESN'T HAPPEN IMMEDIATELY IT CAN TAKE 30MIN TO 2 HOUR FOR THE CAR TO ACT UP. THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE AND SELL YOU THE CAR ANYWAY BECAUSE THE CAR IS SOLD AS IS AND THERE IS NO WARRANTY. THERE IS NO REAL WAY TO FIX THIS TRANSMISSION ONLY TO PUT A DIFFERENT ONE. NO THE SAME WITH THE UPGRADE. THAT IS WHAT THEY DO. THEY SELL YOU ONE WITH ANOTHER VALVE BODY KIT AND NEW SOFTWARE FOR $6000. HOWEVER THAT IS NOT ENOUGH. YOU WILL FIND THAT AFTER SOMETIME A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AGAIN. THERE IS THOUSAND OF COMPLAINS ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM. CAN THE GOVERNMENT DO SOMETHING? THE TRANSMISSION CAN FAIL AT ANY TIME WHILE DRIVING AND CAN CAUSE THE DRIVER TO LOSE CONTROL IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION WHICH CAN RESULT IN AN INJURY OR EVEN DEATH. AGAIN DEATH. *TR

UNDER NORMAL USE AND REGULAR MAINTENANCE THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFTS HARD UP AND DOWN THE GEARS. IT DOES THIS UNDER BOTH LIGHT AND HEAVY ACCELERATION. SEARCHING YOUR WEBSITE I SEE OVER 20 COMPLAINTS ON THIS VERY ISSUE YET, I SEE NO INVESTIGATION OR RECALLS LISTED. MY LOCAL VW DEALERSHIP SAYS THIS WILL COST ME AROUND 7000.00 TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION, JUST FROM CALLING IN AND DESCRIBING THE PROBLEM. THE DANGER COME FROM UNEXPECTED JERKS AND LAGS IN ACCELERATION. YOU CAN NOT DEPEND ON THE CAR TO OPERATE NORMALLY MAKING IT DANGEROUS TO MAKE LEFT HAND TURNS AND USE IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. THIS STARTED OFF SLOWLY, OCCURRING RANDOMLY AND NOW SEEMS TO OCCUR NO MATTER HOW FAR YOU DRIVE OR HOW WARM THE CAR IS. *TR

ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO MY DRIVER SIDE WINDOW FRONT WINDOW SHATTERED AS I WAS DRIVING IN MY 2004 VW BEETLE CONVERTIBLE. LUCKILY I ONLY RECEIVED A FEW SMALL PUNCTURE WOUNDS FROM THE GLASS FALLING ON ME. A FEW WEEKS AGO MY REAR WINDOW QUIT WORKING. THEN A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO MY PASSENGER SIDE FRONT WINDOW SHATTERED. MY CAR WAS JUST SITTING IN THE PARKING LOT WITH NO OTHER CARS AROUND. WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO RECALL THESE WINDOWS? I FEEL VERY LUCKY THAT THERE WAS NO ONE IN THE CAR WHEN THE WINDOW SHATTERED THE SECOND TIME, BUT REALLY? HOW COMMON IS IT FOR A CAR TO HAVE 2 WINDOWS SHATTER AND ANOTHER BROKEN REGULATOR IN 6 MONTHS? THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A PROBLEM VW NEEDS TO ADDRESS. *TR

THE PROBLEM IS REGARDING MY 2004 VW BEETLE - TRANSMISSION. I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION ON MY VW AT 86,000 MILES WITH NO HELP FROM VW...THE CAR WAS RUNNING VERY HARD, IT WOULD STAY IN 2 OR 3RD GEAR (THOUGH AN AUTOMATIC) AND THEN WOULD GO INTO "NEUTRAL"....THIS HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY 95 WITH HIGH SPEED TRAFFIC. THE CAR WAS CHECKED BY A VW DEALER AND THEN TRIED A FEW THINGS, BUT COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT...THEN FINALLY SAID IT NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION - $6500 WITHOUT LABOR! I THEN BROUGHT IT TO A LOCAL AAMCO AND THEN CONFIRMED THE NEED FOR A TRANSMISSION(FOR A LOT LESS) AND THEY ALSO NEEDED TO REBUILT SOME OTHER PARTS THAT WERE FAULTY. THIS IS DEFINITELY A DESIGN ISSUE FOR VW BUT THEY REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL AND A REFUND FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE ALREADY SPENT THE MONEY. *TR

PROBLEMS WITH TRANSMISSION/SHIFTING PROBLEMS. EVERYTIME THE CAR SHIFTS INTO A GEAR, ITS VERY ROUGH AND INFACT WILL JERK VERY HARD. THIS STARTED EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE AND BEGAN HAPPENING MORE REGULAR AS A MONTH OR SO WENT ON. NOW IT WILL STICK IN 3RD GEAR AND JUST STAY THERE. WE CAN STOP AT A REDLIGHT, AND IT WILL REMAIN IN 3RD GEAR, THEN DRIVE FROM THE REDLIGHT WITH THE CAR STARTING IN 3RD GEAR! THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, BECAUSE THE CAR WILL STICK WHEN SHIFTING ALMOST EVERYTIME AND YOU COULD PUSH THE GAS BUT ONLY THE RPMS WILL GO UP..NOTHING ELSE. THIS COULD CAUSE ME TO BE REAR ENDED OR HIT FROM THE SIDE WHEN TURNING LEFT. I HAVE HAD MANY CLOSE CALLS DUE TO THIS ISSUE! I HAVE CHILDREN, AND THE CAR IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE ANYMORE. I HAVE PRICED WHAT WOULD FIX THIS, AND ITS NOT ONLY THAT I CAN NOT AFFORD IT, BUT THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM IS ONLY TEMPORARY! I HAVE SEEN MANY, MANY PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME ISSUES WITH THE SAME CAR, AND THEY HAVE SPENT COUNTLESS DOLLARS ON A PROBLEM THAT STILL PERSISTS. THIS PAST SATURDAY MY FAMILY WAS DRIVING AND THE CAR STUCK IN GEAR GOING 45 MPH, WHICH CAUSED THE CAR TO DESCEND IN SPEED, GIVING THE PEOPLE BEHIND US HARDLY NO TIME TO REALIZE WHAT WAS HAPPENING. WE WERE VERY VERY CLOSE TO AN ACCIDENT. TO ADD TO THIS PROBLEM I HAVE HAD AN AIRBAG SENSOR COME ON THE DASH ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO AND WILL NOT GO OFF. I HAD THIS LOOKED AT BECAUSE IT WAS A SAFETY RECALL, BUT THE VW DEALER TOLD ME THAT MY CAR WAS NO ONE OF THE VINS, BUT LOOKED AS IF IT HAD THE SAME PROBLEM! THIS IS SERIOUS! THEY SAID THEY COULD FIX IT, FOR A VERY HIGH AMOUNT, BUT IF IT WAS DEFECTIVE THAT I COULD BE BRINGING IT BACK IN FOR REPAIR! THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!!! WE ARE TALKING ABOUT LIFE OR DEATH IN A CRASH! *TR

INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) 2004 VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE [XXX] AIR BAG LIGHT HAS CAME ON TWICE AND VOLKSWAGEN SERVICE DEPARTMENT ADVISES ANYTIME THE AIR BAG LIGHT COMES ON IT IS A SAFETY HAZARD. I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE DRIVE & PASSENGER SEAT BELT LATCH TO MAKE THE AIR BAG LIGHT GO OFF AT A COST OF $600.32. IF THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, WHY IS THERE NOT A RECALL? *TR