Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46
Grounding problems - causes the check engine light and the other lights on the dash to light for no apparent reason (10+ visits to the dealer for this problem).
Rear spoiler - sometimes works, sometimes doesn't (may be related to grounding problems).
Window wwitches - replaced twice.
Hub covers - VW emblem is peeling off after 1.5 years.
Paint - lots of small spots where the paint shows damage.
Gas filler door - cable broke.
Seats fading - black seats are quickly going grey, one seat bottom replaced.
Starter interlock - car totally freak-ed out twice and lost programming to the special keys and would not run (dealer provided me with a three page instruction sheet to start the car if this happens again).
This is our second "New Beetle". The dealer gave us this one to keep us from exercising the California lemon law. I thought the first was just a "bad" car, but after having a second and speaking with several dealers and other "New Beetle" owners, I have discovered my problems are not unique. Consumer Reports also bears this out.
I regret not purchasing an extended warranty (first time I have ever said this). The car is two years old and I can only imagine what the repair bills are.
Many people have told me of the grounding problems with VWs. This explains a lot of the electrical problems with the car.
On the fun side, the car is incredible. The car is quick, handles well and is very fun to drive (with the addition of suspension package, wings and spoilers and aftermarket engine parts). It is unfortunate VWOA has not paid more attention to detail and fixed the dozens of small (but annoying) problems most "New Beetle" owners suffer with.
I have a 1998 New Beetle, 2.0 liter - 5 speed and I have not had any major issues with the vehicle. I am very particular about my vehicles and I have owned worse. I owned a 1992 Honda Civic which was no prize and a 1986 Mustang GT which was pathetic. I have found that most people run across Lemon vehicle in their lives, but the dealer or manufacturer can make the situation intolerable. The only issues I had with my New Beetle stemmed form the 2K worth of damage the servicing dealer caused during one of the "free maintenance" periods. I normally never let anyone touch my car, but VW's free maintenance allowed me 2 years of "trouble-free" motoring. Unfortunately I had to take VWOA and the dealer to arbitration to fix my car. I finally got my car fixed, but what and ordeal and VWOA was totally worthless in support and customer service. I may or may not ever buy another VW, but I admit they are a strange group of folks. I am still dumbfounded by the companies sales practices and service after the sale. It is amazing they are still in business, but Enron and WorldCom stayed in business for some time also.
I also have a 2000 VW Beetle GLX. This is a lease that has been nothing but trouble since the second day I had it (it was in the shop for two weeks two days after I drove it off the lot). I have been to the dealer (one hour away) too many times to count. Some of the problems that I have encountered are: speedometer wrong, odometer in km instead of miles, outside temp gauge wrong (Celsius instead of Fahrenheit then showed the wrong temp altogether), CD changer only works when it wants to, gas tank cover would not open, etc. The dealer ordered the part for the temp gauge three times and still did not order the right one. I have given up! I went to trade it in and was told I had $6,000 in negative equity (I only have 7 payments left on the lease that total $2,400). I also tried to pay the remaining 7 payments and turn it in now (under the mileage) and was told I would have to pay the difference between the auction price and the residual price. That would probably be between $5,000 and $10,000. I will never lease a car again and I'm not sure I'll ever own another VW.
I have owned my 2001 New Beetle for two years and I absolutely love it! It's not anything fancy, just a 2.0 liter with black cloth seats and crank windows. After reading several stories people have written, I have to disagree with them. I believe that the cars have not been taken care of properly because my New Beetle still looks brand new and we live on a gravel road. People need to wash and wax their cars regularly and before they buy a used one they need to do a background check before purchasing it.
I leased a 2000 Beetle GLX after having owned 2 other VW's. I will never own another VW again. The car has been to the dealer 8 times so far for the check engine light. Of course, it is always a new problem. I have had the VO2 sensor replaced, CO2 sensor replaced, wiring harness replaced, catalyst replaced, etc., etc.. The engine light came on again this morning and it has only been 55 days and less than 800 miles since it came on last. VW refuses to buy out the lease, so I am stuck. My biggest problem is that I need a car at all times, since I am on call many nights a week. I am worried that the car will break down on the freeway or in an undesirable area of town. This car is not reliable. I have filed numerous complaints with VWOA and their response is to send me a gift certificate for free VW stuff. So even though this has been a bad car experience from the beginning, I should still advertise for VW. VWOA doesn't seem to get it that part of the problem is having to take the time off work and the huge inconvenience of not having a car that you have paid for, every time the check engine light comes on. On average I visit my dealer every 4 months. Think real hard before buying a VW. SJW - Michigan.
This is just a follow-up to a previously submitted comment. After taking my car to the dealer for the 8th check engine light, I looked into selling it back to them and was told that they would only give me $7000, at most $8000. The blue book on the car is over $12,000 and when I called to buy out my lease, it would cost over $16,000. It does seem strange that the dealer would only offer $7000 for a 2000 loaded turbo Beetle GLX with only 26,0000 miles. It seems that they don't want this lemon either.
I have a 2001 GLX Beetle that I bought in the end of 2000. I have way too many repairs for me to even keep the car. My car has been in and out of the shop with both head lights burning out and O2 and Oil sensors being replaced. Plus my check engine light went on again after 1 week of getting my O2 sensor replaced. My airbag light came on 2x and I had to take it in for them to turn it off. I will never buy another VW.
I own a 2000 VW Beetle GLX turbo, 20,000 miles, and have experienced numerous problems since the car's purchase three years ago.
I hadn't even driven the car 30 miles off the lot, when the empty gas light came on, even though the car had a full tank of gas. When I went in to fix this problem, the dealer replaced one of the air bags.
I have never been to a dealer as many times to correct electrical problems as I have with this car. I have had the windows fixed, the ignition coils replaced, new components installed to fix the sticking gas tank door (not particularly great when you're on empty), and the trunk lock fixed. On top of that, I had to replace the battery, because the car was jump started too many times, because the engine was constantly dead. What a lemon. The car drives great and is fun to ride. However, the maintenance problems are unreal, and the meager two-year service warranty with this model makes vehicle ownership too costly compared to other cars in the market.
I own a 2001 gls w/glx package. beginning around 30,000 miles the check engine light came on. the air injection pump had to be replaced. (almost $400) three days later the cat. converter had to be replaced. (dealer billed vw under warranty $1648.00) the next day head lamp burned out. the following day the check engine light came back on and now I back to the dealer. at this point I'm going to trade or sale this vehicle and hope to never own another vw.
I own a 1998 VW Beetle and this thing has been one problem after another. The electrical switches have a ton of problems, I have had broken window switches, random accelerating, broken cup holders, etc. I hate this car and will never own another VW!
I leased a new beetle in 2000 and I must have been to the dealer 10 times. the window dropped 3 times and the response from the dealer is we will fix it and we will have to order parts which will take a week to arrive, so the dealer raised the window and locked it making it inoperable. what happens next, the window drops before I reach home. this happened twice of the three times. the third time I left the car with them for 3 days to get the window fixed. customer service is horrible. I have had too many problems in the last 2 months. just after the 3 year 36000 mile warranty expired. never lease a car beyond the warranty period. I mean any car...
Re: 2000 Beattle TDI - We leased this Beetle in 2000 from Central Volkswagen (Now The Volkswagen Store) in Richardson Texas and since that time it has had been in the shop for the following:
*Would not start - Towed in and Fuel Filter replaced <>$200.
*Dash access. lights going off and on - Bad connections warranty
*Cassette player broken - Stereo replaced warranty
*Driver window switch broken - Switch replaced warranty
*Sun roof surround moulding warped falling off - Molding replaced warranty
*Right heaadlight out - replaced <> $75.
*Cassette player broken again - Stereo replaced again warranty
*Would not start again - EGR valve built up with carbon - cleaned <> $200.
*Engine no power lots of smoke - Glow plugs replaced <>$300.
*Left headlight out - I replaced saved $75.
*Right headlight out again - I tried to replace, but release had been broken when replaced by VW Dealer so took it in and they repaired and installed new light partial warranty
*Engine light on - Glow plugs bad again along with harness and relay - replaced partially by warranty
This what I can think of at this moment however there are other times it has had to go into the shop just cannot think of the specifics at this time. The car is almost at the lease mileage about 72000 and about 4 months left to go and I do not want to pay for extra miles and am afraid it will break down again soon. I have had several VW's 81 Diesel Rabbit, 84 Rabbit, 81 Scirocco, 82 Rabbit truck, 84 Jetta Diesel and a 91 Jetta and none gave me anywhere near the problems I have had with this New Beetle. I will not by another new VW again and would not recommend that any one else invest their hard earned money into one either especially if you need a reliable means of transportation.
I have a 2000 TDI New Beetle and I can corroborate almost all of the negative comments above. In the first two years the car spent a total of two months in the shop over six different visits. Problems included:
Wouldn't start x3
Air bag light x2
Horn wouldn't work
Wouldn't shift correctly.
The interior of this car looks like garbage now. All the plastic pieces have a non-slip coating on them that flakes off at the slightest touch. VW said this is caused by wearing hand lotion. I guess they expect everyone to wear driving gloves before getting in.
VWOA won't even return our calls anymore. They did fix the no-start problem when the car was under warranty, but they say now that the car is out of warranty they won't pay for any more repairs even if they are related to the same issue. The only way we even got them to return our calls was to submit a Lemon Law complaint to the state.
I have just 4 months left on my 4 year lease, I can't wait for the day I can turn this car back in to them and tell them exactly why I won't ever have another one.
Ditto, Ditto, Ditto. My 2000 turbo has had the engine light on 7 times, always for something different. The latest is a $600+ repair to fix an emissions control. I have to do it or I won't pass emissions inspection in my state. This is so infuriating because we told the dealer that I needed a very dependable, long-lived car. We were assured this was the car for me. I'll be lucky to get another 2 years out of it at this rate. I just want to get rid of this lemon and stop wasting my time and money.
I have a red 2001 beetle and the paint is awful. It has more chips than I can count. The paint starting chipping within months of purchase. I also have a check engine light that is lit, well almost constantly, I pretty much just ignore it. I do like the car, but I'm not sure I'd buy another one. It's unfortunate because the car is fun to drive and the beetle convertible is very appealing.
New Beetle fuel filler cap door not working. To fix, simply remove the screw on the door and work oil down into the release cable.