Power Train Problems of Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible

When this car shifts into third gear, it is very hard and violent with an awful lunge, making it difficult to keep the car in control. I am still driving it, but waiting for an accident to happen.

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At 70,000 miles, my vw starting shifting hard causing it to be difficult to drive. Vw states that this should not happen this early but that they can't do anything about it.

I've been having shifting problems between 2n and 3rd gears. The car dramatically jerks to get into gears and throws the gear to first when breaking. I took it to Volkswagen to get it checked and they said I had two options to fix the problem. 1. Replace the valve body at a cost of $1950 (and it might fix the problem) 2. Replace the transmission at a cost of $6900. There is a warranty extension on the valve body but, since my car is over 100,000 miles they will not repair my car. I contacted Volkswagen of America in hopes to get some assistance on the repair since this is an ongoing problem with this car, but was told that they already made on extension on the warranty and could not assist me in any way other than a $500 voucher to buy one of there new cars. Really??? with the kind of problems Volkswagen cars are having I wouldn't even consider buying a Volkswagen again!!! also they have numerous complains on this matter and should repair all of their faulty cars. It is very dangerous to drive a car in this condition.

See all problems of the 2005 Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible 🔎.

Bought my car in 2011 August. Started noticing problems in November 2011. Gears shifting problems in Jan 2012. My mileage was only 77,000 could not drive car. Vw said my warranty was expired and wanted $3,500 for new transmission. Paid money and in 2 weeks was back in shop with same problem. But I almost got in a car accident, my gears stalled in middle of road. Luckily no one was in front of me or in back. Scared me and I wouldn't drive it anymore. Friend took it back in and they replaced transmission two times. (this was all vw transmissions). And its still in the shop because it took out the car computer now. Its been 2 months without a car and im a single working mother. Getting rides. They also wanted to charge me labor for the additional transmission errors!!!!! its been a nightmare! vw has been rude and not sensitive to problems at all. They could care less.

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Car occasionally stops in the middle of the road without warning. Takes several minutes to restart. Mechanic says it needs a new transmission. Used car warranty requires expensive testing on transmission before giving a decision as to whether they will pay for it or not. If they won't pay for it we can't afford to do it ourselves. We bought this car in sept. 2011. The mileage is too high to be part of the recall on many of the beetles built during that time. Vw is very cagey about acknowledging this issue.

I was driving on the highway and as I was exiting the highway, my car shifted down very hard and the steering wheel jerked causing me to hit a gaurdrail. I took my car to a shop and had the body repairs done ($3910. 00), and upon taking my car, it did the same thing again. I had it taken to a mechanic and he stated that it was a known problem with those vw's and they had a recall on it. My local vw dealership stated that they would not do anything for me because the warrantee on the vehicle was up. I was hoping that someone there could help me resolve this issue. The estimated cost of the repair is 5900. 00 for the transmission and the body damage was 3910. 00. Thank you, rossi norris.

Vehicle is seven years old with 59,100 miles and already needs a new transmission due to incorrect gear ratio fault 17114, and po330. Also, needs a catalytic converter, has air leak from brake booster vacuum pipe. Vw corporation advised converter under warranty and offered $1,000 toward a new or used vw. The transmission is approximately $4,000. I declined their offer. I also had to replace three window regulators. . . . Updated 01/30/12.

The contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible. The contact stated that the vehicle would jerk violently when shifting gears. A local mechanic diagnosed that the vehicle would need a new transmission. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 60,000. The VIN was unavailable.

My problem with the car is the same as everyone else that has complained. . . Identical problems! all told the cost, with a rental car is $6,500. 00, so far. The car is in the shop and I am having to wait for the remanufactured transmission to be delivered. This is insanity and I won't even begin with all the other issues the car has had and still has! the transmission is/was a safety hazard. Wake up people! I know a few of us must die for you to wake up. . . Get real. . . We are mad as hell. I want vw to pay for the transmission. Thank you.

I purchased my 2003 New Beetle Convertible brand spanking new in Dec 2002. The car had 32 miles on it when I bought it; the car now has 77k miles as of today. I have been experiencing a major tranmission problems that vw is acutely aware of. The car is a 6 speed auto transmission with trip tronic. The car hesitates upon acceleration and before shifting into 2nd gear. Instead, the transmission lurches from 1st into 2nd, causing the tires to screech. When the car lurches forward it causes the front drive/steering tires to lose grip on the pavement which is a safety issue. There have been a few times when it jumped so hard it almost hit the car in front of me and sometimes the lurch is so strong it feels like another car hit me from behind. The transmission works fine when it is cool but gets worse as the car warms up - after about 5 miles. The other gears have shifting problems too; just not as harsh as going into 2nd. This happens when the car is downshifting as well. I have also experienced the car getting ¿stuck� in 2nd gear while traveling in traffic which created a danger for me and others on the road. The only way to ¿cure� the problem is to safely make my way to the side of the road, turn the engine off, wait a few minutes, then turn it back on. This doesn¿t completely make the lurching go away but it gives me several travel miles before getting ¿stuck� in gear again. I contacted my local dealership who looked up my VIN. They told me I was over my ¿years� for the recall on the valve body ¿ which is what should correct my transmission problem. I have lived at the same address since I purhcased the vehicle in 2002 and never received a recall notice for this item. I am very dissapointed in vw of America! I waited several years for the convertible version to come out and this was a birthday present to myself (this is how much I love this car!).

Car has difficulty shifting between 2nd and 3rd gears and surges when it finally shifts. Multiple dealer visits in June 2011 and October 2011 indicate it was not the transmission. Local mechanic thought maybe computer issue. Reset of computer did not fix. Review of internet complaints indicates similar issues for hundreds of other 2006 new beetle owners with a variety of fixes suggested, tried and failed. No recalls listed despite large number of complaints.

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I currently own a 2005 vw beetle with 72,000 miles. About one year ago, it began to violently jerk between first and second gear after about 20 minutes of city driving. When accelerating from a stop light or stop sign, the car would stall, then buck forward as if I was being rear-ended. The level of unreliability is really dangerous, because I never know if it's going to speed up like it's supposed to. I'm in constant fear that I will get rear ended or stuck in the middle of an intersection. I've taken it to two mechanics and talked to two transmission specialists and all of them have said that they won't work on a vw beetle's transmission and that I need to take it to the dealer. I've tried aiding the problem with a new battery, but that hasn't helped. Other complaints online (300 on townhall-talk. Edmunds. Com) have stated that repairs for this problem are $5,000-$7,000 and that it hasn't always fixed the problem.

Transmission is jumping when shifting gears and slowing down. Volkswagen has issued an extended warranty for this transmission problem but not if the vehicle is older that 7 years from the inservice date. I reported my problem Jan. 2012 after I had learned of the extended warranty for this problem. I had been having this problem for many months earlier. I was told that the inservice date was Nov. 2004 therefore I was ineligible by about 6 weeks.

Vehicle would lurch when down or upshifting between 2nd and 3rd and 3rd to 4th at just over 90,000 miles. It would also stick in neutral for a few seconds before engaging. We took it to our local shop for repair in December 2010. This is a well known issue with the transmission valve body causing a number of accidents. While the our bug was in the shop we received a letter dated November 2010 from vw about extended warranty to 100,000 miles or 7 years from date of purchase. Our bug was purchased August 2003 putting it out of warranty. Considering the number of incidents vw should have been doing a general service recall on the transmission long before November 2010. .

The car has a transmission that is needing replacing after only 60,000 miles.

My transmission slams between 2nd and 3rd gear to fix it either need a new valve body or a new transmission.

My transmission valve body is faulty, but vw's extended warranty only covers vehicles after 7 years or 100,000 miles. My car was just 4 months too old to qualify and they refused to replace anything, despite it being a major issue affecting drive performance. Other cars in my same model year qualified, but mine did not. How is this fair?.

I purchased my vw 2003 New Beetle Convertible new in 2003. I have kept vehicle maintained- mostly at dealership according to the schedule. I have about 115,000 miles. Over the past month it has begun "revving up" or "jerking"- especially when slowing to a stop or accelerating from stop. This happens very sporadically, but is very scary when it occurs. I am not sure what the problem is, but have an amateur guess that it is transmission related.

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.

While driving the car stop and go-when I stepped on the gas, the transmission would not shift to the next gear-the rpms would rev and finally the next gear would "catch" really slam into gear and the car would shift. I had many near miss accidents due to my car failing to move forward in traffic. I took it to the dealer several times and each time they could not duplicate the problem. No repairs were made. I finally drove it directly to the dealer while the problem happened and the mechanic was able to "witness" the problem, the repair was made-replaced transmission parts at 62,000 miles. Now at 80,000 miles, the car does 2 things-while driving on the freeway, the car feels as if it has lost power-the car stays on, but there is no power to the engine-step on the gas and nothing happens-no rpms, nothing, the car slows down immediately, but because it happens so suddenly, cars that are following me don't always react in time and I have almost been rear ended-after a few seconds all of a sudden the car will regain power. The 2nd problem happens randomly-as I am driving, the car just shuts off. All of the dash lights flash on and the car dies-no power stearing, nothing, just a dead car. I have to put the car in gear, turn everything off (radio, air etc), and turn the car back on. This has happened during a left turn, at a stop sign, while driving on the street. Again vw mechanic finds nothing on the computer. This car is a lemon-I have had to replace 2 batteries, several headlights, tail and turn lights, air bag sensors, all 4 window regulators, plus 2 of the same window regulators twice, trunk latch, rear ashtray holder, convertible straps, rear convertable window clips, and now whenever it rains my car leaks. I am terrified to drive the car in it's current condition, afraid to cause or be involved in an accident. This car is not safe, please help.