Automatic Transmission Problems of Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible - part 1

My 2003 New Beetle Convertible with a 2. 0 automatic transmission (code: ggz) has a bad transmission that needs to be replaced and I see many other people are having the same problem. I cannot afford $6,000 for a new transmission and $3,500 for used. The used transmissions have more miles than my poor car. I want to file a complaint against vw.

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While driving at a speed of around 45+ mph my wife's vw beetle randomly downshifted to the point that it squealed the tires and threw her forward. The dealership determined that the transmission will have to be replaced. Their estimate is $4900 for a used transmission or $6000+ for a new one from vw. They also said that this is a "known" problem with this specific transmission. The dealership said we should have received a letter from vw extending the warranty on the transmission to 100,000 miles for this problem. I have the letter but my wife's car has 128,000 miles so vw has refused to help at all with the problem. I also checked with two other vw dealerships in the kc metro and they immediately started nodding their head in agreement about this being a "known" problem with this transmission. As I was trying to locate a used transmission online at a cheaper price I was absolutely in shock at the volume of people that have had this same problem with this transmission. That random downshift is going to cause a wreck if it hasn't already. If someone is following too close, the pavement is wet, snow on the ground, gravel roads, whatever scenario you can imagine - a downshift of that nature could easily result in a wreck. I also checked with a national transmission company (certified transmission) and they said that due to a "design flaw" with that transmission they will only warranty their work to 12mos/12,000 miles instead of their normal 3yr/50,000. Vw's own letter acknowledging a problem due to "customer complaints", 3 dealerships stating this is a "known" problem, a national transmission company reducing their warranty due to a "design flaw" and the literally hundreds of discussions with the same problem - it is obvious there is a known issue with vw's "ggz" transmission.

2003 volkswagon beetle convertable. . Transmission company stating I need a new valve body. . Very dangerous to drive. Received the extension letter but was a little to late. My young daughter was driving has been stranded on the side of the road. Something needs to be doen about this. .

Tl-the contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible. The contact stated that the vehicle would jerk while shifting from second to third gear. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, where the valve body was repaired. The failure continued. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 55,000 and the current mileage was 60,000. Sm.

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My 2004 vw new beetle with 81,000 miles on it needs a new transmission. Harsh shifting between 1st and 2nd gears; did a trans flush; now it won't come out of 3rd gear. Been sitting since January in my driveway. I was told I need a new transmission which is $5,800 + tax. My daughter was nearly rear-ended several times! vw has to do something about these failed transmissions. Purchase 2-1/2 years ago - still owe another 2-1/2 years of payments and I thought this car would get my daughter through college and beyond - boy was I wrong. They certainly don't make vws the way they use to. I had a bug when I was in college and the floorboards rusted out before the mechanics of the car!.

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2004 vw beetle turbo began jerking, surging, etc, sept/oct of 2010. Took car to dealership twice for transmissions problems, as obvious. Staff said no transmission problems, but paid over $1000 for "other" issues. Dec. 2010 car abruptly stopped running while I was on the interstate. Lost all power! car will surge unexpectedly while driving or parked. Dangerous to drive. Unable to control as car shifts itself inappropriately. The happens everyday after the car is warmed up. Every time you brake or accelerate, it jerks, surges, stalls, etc. Finally, April 19, 2011, (3 car shops later), another transmission shop confirmed my problems. Only 69,000 miles on my car . . Need new transmission! vw dealership has turned their back on me and "covered up" the fact that this model car has major transmissions problems and was made defective. I can not believe the number of people that are experiencing this horrific ordeal. A recall is imperative. I could have had two cars for the price that I am still paying for this car. Very unsafe and scary ride. An injustice and insult to the public, hard-working tax-payers!!!.

I have a 2004 vw newbeetle. My car was shifting funny and shaking as it drove. I took it to my local dealer and was told it needed a triptonic switch. They replaced it. After test driving the car with this new part they determined this wasn't the problem and that I needed a new transmission at a cost of 5400. 00.

Transmission hard shifting recall. Took car into dealer in driving condition. Car diagnosed and vw replaced valve body causing trans failure. Vw refusing to replace trans. Dealer forcing me to purchase new trans. Would not attempt another valve body.

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I do not know who to turn to now. I have been experiencing problems with my 2004 Volkswagen new beetle. I purchased the car March, 2010 and a few weeks ago it started acting up. The gears have been shifting very violently, so much so that it feels like someone rear ended me every time. Mind you, this only happens after I have driven the car for more than 15 miles, so I figure that it's once the car has completely cooled. I received a letter from Volkswagen in November, 2010 for an extended warranty on the transmission valve body because they have noticed that a lot of people have been having problems with this. I have been trying to get this fixed and now they tell me that I was only covered until September, 2010. The letter says it will cover to 7 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first from the vehicle's original in-service date. This makes no sense to me because technically I'm still on the 7th year and I'm currently at 54k miles. I have been doing a lot of research on this problem and have found that there a lot of beetle owners experiencing the same misfortune and Volkswagen is doing nothing of the matter because they know it will cost them millions. This is very upsetting, seeing that I've only had the car less than a year and it's had 2 previous owners. I tried calling voa and the "manager" tells me that they're looking into the matter because they have gotten a high volume call this whole week regarding this. I call 2 days later and they tell me that I am out of luck. It really does seem that this is a designer flaw, and vw is failing to step up to the plate.

2007 Volkswagen beetle convertable transmission, valve body defect. Vehicle will not shift and only solutions is replaciing both with a cost of about 6000. 00 for transmission and 2000. 00 for valve body. Very unsafe condition when you are on the freeway and your car will not shift.

Volkswagen, 2003 new beetle transmission problem.

Defective valve body for 09g engine that vw corporate has known about and fixed in later models.

Transmission shifts hard and slips in lower gears.

I bought a brand new vw beetle convertible in 2003. A few years ago, I reported a number of instances of a lurching problem to my service guy at the vw dealership, and he said they couldn't find a problem. A few months ago, the problem came back full force, and he said eventually I would need a new transmission. The car has begun lurching and shuddering violently when shifting, and today, my rpm's were highly elevated, despite my low speed. I pulled over and turned the car off, despite being on the 101 freeway in la. It couldn't drive. It started up again, and this evening the same thing happened. I'm afraid to continue to drive my car. It's seven years old and it only has 40,000 miles on it. There's no reason for this dangerous problem to occur, and there should absolutely be a recall. Thank you.

At 64,000 miles my 2004 vw , automatic, begin to "jump" gears between the 1st and 2nd gear after it warmed up. It got progressively worse and I took it in to the dealer. After being told that the warranty was out, I was told that they were certain it was the gear box because the transmission did not show up in the diagnostic as the problem. They did not guarantee that the gear box would fix the problem. I did not authorize the work and took it to another vw repair. They told me that it was the transmission, but there was a problem with it not showing up in the diagnostic. I have no confirmation of the problem and the work is expensive, the estimate for the gear box replacement (without guarantee that it would fix the problem was in excess of $2,000. The other gamble was to replace the transmission at the cost of $5,000 plus labor. I still don't have confirmation of what the problem is, but the repair options are costly and a gamble at best.

2004 vw beetle slipping banging transmission 4500-7000 dollar fix seems to be on most cars. Should be a recall from vw.

I am the original owner of a 2005 vw beetle. At approximately 89,000 miles I noticed a lurching between gears. This would occur only after about 15 minutes of driving. I am not a mechanic but suspected that there was an issue with the transmission. When my car was taken to the dealer for a fee of $95. 00 I was told that a new transmission was needed. Since the 2005 beetle convertible was built with a non-serviceable transmission the vw mechanic confirmed that there was nothing that I could have done to prevent the transmission from going up early. The mechanic also said that the transmission should have lasted several more years before having any issues. I purchased the car new in April 2005, and I do not have the $6,000. 00 it will cost to replace the transmission. Since there are so many complaints out there for the same issue on the same make, model and year shouldn't this be something that vw is required to fix? one other incident I want to mention is that within the first 2 years of owning my 2005 vw beetle convertible the air bag light came on. Since the car was still under warranty I took it to the dealer and had them look at it. I was told that the switch had to be reset and there was nothing wrong with my car. However, they never documented this complaint at all so when I went back with the same problem just a few days after my warranty expired. I was told they had no record of the complaint and they would charge me over $100. 00 just to look at it. Now that I am researching the transmission I see that there was a recall on this very thing and I was never informed, nor was the light ever fixed. After all the dealer told me it was just a tripped switch and there was nothing wrong, just a few months before the light came on again so I didn't worry about it until now.

I own a 2004 Volkswagen beetle that has a tiptronic transmission with almost 69,000 miles. It started jerking when shifting gears, when accelerating and decelerating. I took it to an independent vw/Audi repair shop had diagnostics run and was told the transmission was bad, and that it was a problem frequently seen with 2004 beetles that have the tiptronic transmission. The cost for a new transmission would be $5700. 00 plus tax, and a used transmission would be $4400. 00 plus tax. I called the local vw dealership to ask about the frequency of the problem and whether vw was planning any type of recall due to the large number of complaints with the tiptronic transmission, and was told the problem didn't warrant a recall at this time. I think a $6200. 00 repair for a car that is worth around $10,000. 00 is insane. Given the number of complaints regarding the transmission in the 2004 beetles and the excessive cost of repair, vw should recall these transmissions.

The contact owns a 2005 Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph the rpms would increase, but the vehicle would not accelerate any faster causing it to hesitate. She also noticed that when trying to parallel park it would hesitate before going into gear and it was harder to shift. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed the contact that she needed to replace the transmission body. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 39,900 and the current mileage was 44,000.

While driving the car, it started to just jerk right around the time I would brake to stop the car. Initially, I thought it was the brakes but had them checked out and that wasn't the problem. Then the car started getting worse. When the car shifts in low gears whether shifting up or down the car jerks and sometimes stalls.

2003 vw beetle convertible. Automatic transmission began showing signs of trouble well over a year ago. Problem starts after 15 minutes of driving. Downshifts hard around 30-25 mph. Also shows hesitation coming out of 2nd to 3rd gear. Car has 75,000 miles. Had transmission fluid changed/flushed twice in past 6 months hoping that would help. Took to dealership today, quoted me $1900 to replace valve body. Are you kidding me? not to mention the fact that this car has had the rear window regulator go out -cost $300 to repair. The glue affixing the rear glass window to convertible top is breaking down. The check engine light comes on and appears to be some sort of malfunction with the gas cap. . . No matter how often I tighten it. Then it mysteriously goes off. Oh, and should you ever need a replacement key, good luck. Why couldn't vw use normal sized/type keys? vw is making crappy products. Nhtsa please do something. This manufacturer should not be permitted to release another vehicle off its assembly line unless it fixes the many problems affecting innocent, unfortunate vw owners like myself. Yield your power and enforce some action. Vw needs to be responsible for the junk they produce. Maybe then they'll think twice before turning out anymore crappy products. I will never own another vw product.

I've been driving my 2003 beetle convertible for 7. 5 yrs. Been taking it in for the last 2 yrs about hesitation/grabbing while driving. Was told that they couldn't find any problems. This week, the engine light comes on and I get the diagnostics run and found out I have transmission problems. And it's been going on for a while, which is what the grabbing and hesitation is. I only have 78k miles on a nearly 8 year old car (again, only owner) and shouldn't have this issue. Found out that vw has known about these issues with the transmission but waited until I was well out of warranty. Now I'm looking at minimum of $5k, most likely $6. 5k in repairs.

My vehicle has 75,000 miles on it and is a 2004 new beetle. It is no longer drivable and the car needs a new transmission. I took it to aamco and they have told me it is an unsafe vehicle and will cost anywhere from $5,000 to $7,000 to repair. After much research, I can see that this seems to be an ongoing problems with the 2004 new beetles. I am currently not driving it because it actually bucks so badly that it causes my car to jump anywhere from 1 to 5 feet and it could hit a vehicle or a pedestrian.

Lurching in shift of automatic transmission. We bought an off lease convertible 05 new beetle. It drove fine at first but we continually noticed a lurching or bucking shifting between first and second. This occurred after about 10 minutes of driving. After looking up the issue on the internet we found it to be a common problem. We were just out of the monthly warranty but under the mileage warranty. We took it to our certified vw mechanic and he said we needed a new transmission after doing a drain and fill. We contacted vw and they said we needed a dealership diagnosis for them to get involved. The dealership said we needed a new transmission. Vw offered a goodwill remedy of $1000 off a new beetle. We took it to a transmission specialty shop and they fixed the vehicle with an aftermarket throttlebody kit with a total cost of $1025. 00. The kit they used addressed the problem of the shift pressure. I don't believe the old part is available. So far no problems.

2003 Volkswagen beetle transmission. The cost to fix this problem with the beetle is way out of line. An Volkswagen should have to fix the problem. With all the other hard working people that has had the same part to break. Please look at this and do something.

As happened to many other owners of this vehicle, the automatic transmission on my 2003 Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible began to bang very hard when shifting and locked up periodically in third gear. When the transmission locked up in third gear while stopped at a light, the car was very slow to move. This left me nearly stranded in the middle of major busy intersections several times. I had to get out of the car to push it to the side of the road with cars whizzing past. This defect is very dangerous and is a known frequent problem with these cars through several year models. It cost me over $3000 to have the transmission fixed. Vw is well aware of the problems with the control valve in this defective transmission and has extended the warranty, but has left out cars sold at the time mine was.

My 2004 vw beetle at 44,000 miles had to have the automatic transmission replaced, I allowed the vw dealer to do all the work. . The problem that occurs is it jerks and won't shift gears when on the freeway or in other dangerous situations. Over a year later at 54,000 miles my same car is now doing the same thing on the freeway. This is extremely dangerous and occurring on a so-called "brand new" transmission vw claims to have put in. My parts warranty from a year ago recently expired. A car should not have two automatic transmissions under 54,000 miles! I found several message boards full of the same complaint, same problem in the beetles from this time period. The transmission jerks on people when they are driving down a highway or road. There are hundreds of these complaints online. I am filing mine with you in hopes you will start investigating these complaints before someone gets killed driving from them.

Transmission problems with 2004 vw beetle turbo, abrupt shifting, and accelerating at low speed to a sudden stop dealership cant find solution it is frustrating might need to replace transmission and the car is only 68000 miles, no warranty for this problem. Already paid vw dealership 500dlls without a diagnose, car is getting worse has engine light on, esp and asr lights on, not safe to drive according to the dealership, yet they cant figure out what is wrong with it!!!!!!!!!!!!.

My 2004 vw New Beetle Convertible with triptonic transmission, only 53,800 miles, lurches in the lower gears after the car warms up in about 10 minutes. The car will not shift smoothly between the lower gears and often revs up to 5000 rpm before it "clunks" into higher gear. The car will not accelerate properly, left turns into oncoming traffic are dangerous. The car may decide to shift into neutral rather than lurch into gear. After stopping at traffic lights, I am often tailgated because the car will not get up to speed quickly. Luckily I have not been rear-ended as some others have. The vw dealer mechanic would like to replace the transmission at a cost to me of $6800. A transmission should not fail at only 53,800 miles unless there is a major design defect. . Read more...

Purchased a 2004 vw beetle convertible 2 days ago. Drove it home, drove it to and from work (for one day), today the check engine light comes on. Took it to the garage and they tell me the transmission needs to be replaced for $6500. The car only has 57,000 miles on it. This is insane. I have a 3 year old and this car could and probably will leave us stranded on the side of the road.

My 2003 vw New Beetle Convertible has approx 89k miles on it. The automatic transmission shifts hard causing a jerking motion. It has progressed from a mildly noticeable to a more obvious jerking upon shifting. After researching this situation online, it seems as if it is a widely reported complaint about these vehicles. I feel like vw should resolve the problem being experienced by such a high number of owners.

I am an original owner of a 2005 vw beetle. Started noticing the transmission, hesitating and slamming into gear, mainly with 3rd and 4th gear. The problem is worsening, now at 75,000 miles I either need a new transmission or at minimum, a new flywheel. I have seen thousands of the same complaints and feel this is a defect.

I have less than 80,000 miles on my 2005 vw convertible beetle and was told I need a new transmission costing $6000. When researching, I found that this model is riddled with transmission issues.

Vw beetle 2003, 98,000 miles, started shifting hard about 6 months ago; jerks while shifting between first and second, second and third, and 4th to 3rd to 2nd to 1st; called vw after I received the warranty extension - transmission valve body letter (Dec 11, 2010) but they are unwilling to cover the cost (5 months too old); they've admitted the problem but refuse to fix it.

2004 vw convertible beetle needs the valve body replaced. Car only has 61,900 miles on it. Rear windows both have broken air bag switch needs to be replaced.