22 problems related to power train have been reported for the 2003 Volkswagen Beetle. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Vehicle does not shift properly, vehicle does not shift to drive correctly and either shifts down or stays in neutral.
On 11/3/2018 at around 11:00pm, I was driving my 2003 Volkswagen Beetle on the highway (90e towards cleveland) going 65mph. Suddenly, my automatic transmission popped out of gear and hard downshifted. This caused a drastic reduction in speed, and I was almost hit by a semi-truck which was behind me . Luckily, the driver of the semi was alert and swerved out of the way just in time. This isn't the first time that this auto trans has acted up either. However, this is the first time where I really could have been seriously hurt or killed as a result of it. This transmission is faulty, the symptoms point to a malfunctioning valve body unit, and there needs to be an investigation or a recall. How many people have gotten into accidents,hurt, or even killed because of this bad automatic transmission (jerking/popping out of gear at random) not shifting properly? enough is enough!.
. Gets stuck randomly in 1st gear . . . Some of the time it shifts but if I leave it running in park for a few minutes (especially then) or when it warms up nicely and I then have to slow down into 1st like at a light after I exit the highway and then try to drive again it won't shift out of first . And. I know when it's about to start this because it starts shifting so hard the car lurches (sometimes so roughly that if I hadn't made sure to be extra far away from any vehicles in front of me then my car would have leaped right into theirs - even if I am braking) very scary:( and I feel unsafe especially when it lurches badly and also when the car stops gaining speed because it got stuck in 1st and the cars behind me almost run right over me ) from what I've read while researching this, this issue is a well known defect. V w made a minuscule effort to address it . . . An extended warranty which is useless because it doesn't cover fixing the damage to the transmission that this defect causes, leaving us owners to have buy a new transmission basically because of this known defect. Vw should fix it since they clearly know about this as a defect. It effects new Beetles years 2003 to 2007! and in my research it is clear that many many �03-�07 new Beetle owners have very similar problems and most feel like I do. . . That these cars are scary and unsafe to drive. Vw is aware of this but doesn't care so I implore you to please take a deep and serious look into this problem and help make vw take responsibility and fix this dangerous and unpredictable defect. Thank you very much and look forward to hearing from you. Respectfully, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
The car runs fine while it is cold but when it warms up then it begins to "jerk", shift up and down "hard". We were told it was a tiptronic switch was bad so we replaced it and now we are told that the valve body transmission is bad. The car has less then 100k miles on it. This is a safety concern as we have almost been rear-ended when the car began jerking.
Tl the contact owns a 2003 Volkswagen Beetle. While the vehicle was at a stop light, the brake pedal was applied; however, the vehicle failed to stop and rolled back. In addition, while driving at unknown speeds, the accelerator pedal was applied; however, the vehicle failed to respond and the safe mode engaged. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 133,437.
We have purchased this 2003 Beetle bug for my daughter and the transmission is hard shifting and down shift really bad. After doing research on this model and year. There as been nothing but complaints about the transmission (valve body). My understanding the extended the warranty for 7 years and 100,000 miles. This Beetle bug only has 86560. We can't even drive this car. I can't believe with all the issue that volswagon has had with transmission there is no recall on this. This is a major safety issue while driving this car.
Vehicle engine stopped while driving. Battery dead, no power in vehicle at all. Found melted battery fuse box under hood. Root cause determined to be corrosion on alternator power supply cable that created heat enough to melt plastic (~450f) and burn the protective cover off the alternator supply wire back 2 inches. Poor contact due to corrosion caused battery to drain, which eventually could no longer sustain engine ignition. No warning lights prior to engine stopping. No battery power also means no power steering, no power brakes, no airbags during collision. Online forums indicate this is happening to a lot of people. It would appear to be as deadly as the gm ignition switch issue, but it is not being taken seriously by vw.
The contact owns a 2003 Volkswagen Beetle. The contact stated that while driving 20 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic for a diagnostic test and the mechanic stated that the power train had failed. The contact had the transmission replaced. The contact did not call the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 36,000. Updated 11/15/cn.
I am the third owner and I should have cked this car out since the person who sold it too me didnt tell me a thing about the car. I am so dicusted about this adorable looking car. I only drove it once and took it too our mechanic. Wished I had taken it there first$800. 00 later and just the beginning! I paid too much to begin with. Ipaid $4500 for a 2003 vw because it was cute! so I wish vw would help us american people. I want to drive my car but have only driven it once. ! help !! still at the mechanics! wish people could be honest ! this would not happened in the 60"s . We have a good mechanic! thank god!.
Was driving my Beetle convertible at around 40mph there was a car that stopped in front of me and I started slowing down as the transmission down shifted it jerked so hard it made me go into oncoming traffic and almost have a head on collision vw is aware of these cars doing this and warrantied the valve body's but when I called and told them about mine they said I was to late that the warranty was over!!! this is a very serious issue and could result in people being killed vw didn't even offer me the part to pay someone to fix my car so now it sits in the yard and I can not drive it due to I have children and I'm scared it will gets us in a very bad accident and harm us! there needs to be a recall for this before so many people are hurt!!!! step up vw and do what's right!.
The contact owns a 2003 Volkswagen Beetle. The contact stated that the transmission would not shift and would exhibit an abnormal banging sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was determined that there was an internal problem and the transmission would need to be replaced. The failure mileage was 79,000 and the current mileage was 82,200.
While driving the vehicle unexpectedly and erratically down shifts or hard up shifts, creating an unsafe condition.
I was out driving my 2003 Beetle on the freeway and the vehicle begin to stall and slow down. I pressed the accelerator and the engine just rev very high and started jerking. I immediately got off the freeway as soon as I can. This problem appears to be be on going. After driving for approximately 20 to 30 minutes the transmission will rev high as though I put the car in neutral and eventually jerks and lunges. If I stop at a red light the car will stall and lurch forward upon acceleration. I have approximately 106,000 miles on this vehicle. This car is unsafe and should be repaired by Volkswagen.
The 2003 vw Beetle has started to slip at 96,500 miles going from 2nd to 3rd gear. I have done alot of online research and there are several forums and thousands of similar cases as the one I am having. I called vw of America customer care and talked to tim and he said because the car was out of warranty they could not do anything. I mentioned that the problem seems to be the valve body and he agreed but still could not help me. Further research led to me finding a class action suit agains vw America for exactly this problem. Since there are so many documented cases, I feel there should be a recall immediately as this can lead to a serious safety issue on the road. Worse yet, vw knows about it and is not doing anything! please help. ## VIN passed ## vw Beetle 2003 ##.
The transmission downshifts on its own at any giving time. Was close to getting rear ended several times. .
The contact owns a 2003 Volkswagen Beetle convertible. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked when there was a shift of gear. The contact also stated that the vehicle slid out of gears by itself. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop, where it was inspected and it was determined that the transmission was faulty. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, however no assistance was provided. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 108,000 and the current mileage was 109,000.
The transmission on this vehicle has started hard shifting when warm, causing erratic speed changes and possible lack of traction. Vwoa issued a recall around a year ago however only within a very limited number of miles done, showing they acknowledge there is a problem but will not take adequate action to resolve the issue.
I have a 2003 vw Beetle that I purchased on may 18, 2003 off the showroom floor of my local dealership. It currently is sitting in my garage as I have experience issues with the transmssion slipping hard into gear or jerking to a hard stop when slowing down. This started in April, 2012, I took it in to the vw dealership and was told I need a new transmission and I only have 85,000 miles. Well, I took it too several independent repair locations and they said the same with a cost up to around $6,000. I worked hard to pay my car off and now it sits covered in my garage as I have read their are possible class action lawsuits against vw for this issue. I did receive a notice from vw in November of 2010 regarding warranty extension - transmission valve body. It covers the valve body in your vehicle's transmission to 7 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the vehicle's original in-service date. Well, I bought my car in may of 2003, so my 7 years was up in may of 2010. . . So vw sends out a worthless notice in November 2010 and I am stuck with the bill. I have been getting calls and emails from my vw dealearship that I can trade in my car and they will give me top $$. I don't want another vw car, I just want this one fixed by vw. Please help direct me to the appropriate group, person so that I can be included in any lawsuit or settlement.
Recall on airbag crash sensor back in 2008, which we had replace . However this problem constantly happen were the air bag crease sensor lights comes on and stays on. When you call the dealership they wants to charge the consumer. There is always a jerking in the power transmission while driving . This is dangerous you would think the car is going to stop going up hill. I made a complaint back in 2009 complaint #102868 never received a response.
The contact owns a 2003 Volkswagen Beetle convertible. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the transmission down shifted automatically and the vehicle decelerated. The contact mentioned that the check engine warning lamp illuminated and the vehicle started to jerk violently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 88,000 and the current mileage was 98,000.
My 2003 Beetle has been violently jerking after about 10-15 minutes of driving (when it warms up). If I'm at a stop sign or red light and accelerate - it violently jerks into gear !! if I baby it and barely move (where traffic is practically running into me from behind), it is not soooo bad, but still bad and it is very dangerous. Vw also extended the warranty until 2010 or 100,000 which ever came first, and unfortunately 2010 came first and they refuse to extend the warranty to be used under the 100,000 miles rule. This is extremely expensive to fix, I've read thousands of the same exact complaints in this car -- thousands, the very same thing and vw will not take responsibility to change it to 100,000 miles and not just 2010 (which obviously has past 2 years ago). This is dangerous and expensive. It is a defect and vw should pay for this. Do people have to get killed before they offer the extension up to 100,000 miles??? thank you.
The contact owns a 2003 Volkswagen bettle. While driving approximately 25 mph the vehicle began to decelerate and there was an increase in the rpms. The failure occurred constantly after driving the vehicle for approximately ten minutes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated the transmission had to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 71,000.