One problem related to transmission solenoid has been reported for the 2005 Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I have a 2005 beetle convertible, never in an accident - up to date on all maintenance with only 64,450 miles on it. A week or so the transmission started slipping so I took it to my mechanic. He was hoping it was a solenoid, and an easy fix but it turns out that the transmission needs a rebuild. He called his transmission specialist who said - 'I won't even touch a beetle, it's like putting on another wedding ring. You get tied to these cars' I have had several small issues with the car, and one big issue which my dealership took care of during my warranty period so I had been satisfied with vw's response at least in the past, but a lightly driven automatic transmission should not be failing 4500 miles outside the cars warranty. . And the fact that transmission specialists recognize this as a frequent and recurring problem with the model makes me think there is cause for recall. Searching for beetle transmission prompts message boards with hundreds of entries on the topic and in many cases, people are in the 'just over 60,000 mile' category I fall under. . Read more...