2004 Volkswagen Beetle

I PURCHASED 2004 VW BEETLE 7 MONTHS AGO. ABOUT A WEEK AFTER PURCHASE, THE CAR BEGAN JUMPING, JERKING, AND SURGING. ON THREE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS, THE CAR STALLED ON THE ROADWAY, TWICE ON THE INTERSTATE. THE CAR WAS BARELY DRIVEN DUE TO UNCERTAINTY WITH WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE TODAY (75 MPH), THE VEHICLE SWITCHED OUT OF GEAR. I IMMEDIATELY LOST ABILITY TO DRIVE. I WAS BARELY ABLE TO GET IT OFF THE HIGHWAY BEFORE SOMEONE CRASHED INTO ME. I HAD IT TOWED TO ANOTHER VW DEALERSHIP AND JUST TODAY FOUND OUT THE MECHATRONICS CONTROL MODULE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ASAP BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED! *CN

2004 VW BEETLE DOWNSHIFTS FROM HIGHER GEAR DOWN TO 2ND GEAR WITHOUT REASON OR WARNING. TWICE I WAS TRAVELING AT 40 MPH AND THE 3RD TIME HAPPENED ON INTERSTATE 26 AT 60 MPH. VERY DANGEROUS. EACH TIME THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED. WHEN THE CAR COOLED DOWN, IT COULD BE DRIVEN 8-10 MILES WITH NO PROBLEM AND THEN IT WOULD DOWNSHIFT AGAIN. THIS CAR HAS BEEN AT THE AUTO REPAIR SHOP FOR 8 MONTHS. VW WILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM.

AT ABOUT 35,000 MILES MY CAR STARTED SLIPPING WITH THE TRANSMISSION. IT WOULD JERK FORWARD AND SOMETIMES GET STUCK IN BETWEEN 1, 3, AND 4TH GEARS. THIS WAS NOT A HUGE PROBLEM AT THIS POINT AND DURING MY REGULAR CHECK UPS, VW DEALERSHIP ALWAYS SAID THERE WAS NO PROBLEM DETECTED. 2. THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IS NOW FAILING AT 60,000 MILES. IT HAS ALMOST CAUSED ME SEVERAL ACCIDENTS, ESPECIALLY AT INTERSECTIONS. PEOPLE ALMOST REAREND ME DAILY. NOT ONLY IS THE CAR JERKING FORWARD AND BACKWARD UPON GEAR SHIFTING, BUT NOW IT GETS STUCK PERIOD AND WILL NOT MOVE..THE RPM'S GOING ALL THE WAY TO 6-7. THE TIRES SPIN, THE CAR GROANS HORRIBLY, THE GEARS SHOW UP ON MY DASH IN BRACKETS. WHEN I HAD A DIAGNOSTIC TEST DONE AT THE DEALERSHIP ABOUT FOUR MONTHS AGO, AND I EXPLAINED IN DETAIL THE TRANNY PROBLEM, THEY SAID NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH IT. NOW, I CAN TELL IT IS ALMOST UNDRIVABLE AT THIS PT. ON MY FIFTEEN MILE COMMUTE HOME TODAY, I HAD TO PULL OVER SEVEN TIMES BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. I COULD NOT GET OUT OF FIRST GEAR THEN IT JUMPED TO SIX. I WAS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION AT A RED LIGHT, ALMOST GETTING BACKENDED. THIS IS TERRIFYING. I HAD A PANIC ATTACK. I HAVE AN APPT. TOMORROW AT THE DEALERSHIP TO SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS AND HOW MUCH MONEY THIS WILL COST ME. MY CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN CHECKED UP REGULARLY. *TR

MY 2004 VW BEETLE TURBO CONVERTIBLE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, VEHICLE THEN STALLED OUT, SMOKE CAME OUT OF ENGINE HOOD, EMBERS FELL BELOW CAR, SMOKE CONTINUED TO POOR OUT OF ENGINE HOOD, FLAMES CAME OUT OF ENGINE HOOD, 911 CALLED AND FIRE DEPT AND FIRE MARSHALL PUT OUT FIRE. I AM NOW WAITING TO HEAR FROM MY INSURANCE COMPANY. *TR

FOR THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS, AFTER DRIVING MY 2004 BEETLE CONVERTIBLE FOR ABOUT 15-20 MINUTES, MY CAR STARTS TO SHIFT (IT FEELS AS IF I HAVE BEEN REAR ENDED) AND MY CAR IS JERKED FORWARD. I FEEL THAT THIS IS A SAFETY RISK TO ME, MY PASSENGERS AND THE VEHICLES AROUND ME. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT IT NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION ($7,000). AFTER MUCH THOUGHT AND SEVERAL WEEKS, I MOVED MY VEHICLE TO A LOCAL TRANSMISSION SHOP. I WAS INFORMED THAT THE BEETLE CONVERTIBLES HAD A SPECIAL TRANSMISSION AND THAT REPLACING ONE WOULD BE EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE AND THAT I SHOULD PUT IN A SALVAGED TRANSMISSION. COSTS BETWEEN $4000-$5000. THIS TRANSMISSION WILL ALSO HAVE THE RISK OF DEFECTION. I VOICED MY COMPLAINT WITH VOLKSWAGEN CORP. AND THEY WOULD NOT HELP ME SINCE MY POWER TRAIN WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED. I AM EXTREMELY UPSET ABOUT THIS. *TR