Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - HOSE | |||||
| 010702 | 01/11/2007 | 10021315 | Dtc's p1297 (17705) or p1557 (17965) stored in dtc memory. this may be caused by intake hoses leaking (during boost conditions) due to incorrect torque on clamps or improper placement, worn or torn intake hoses. *kb | 04/03/2007 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| TB-01-12-04 | 02/10/2012 | 10043602 | Volkswagen: gasoline engines have rough idle, have significant loss of power or stalling with reduced performance. *pe | 04/13/2012 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM | |||||
| 2015831 | 08/28/2008 | 10026848 | Volkswagen: exhaust heat shield, replacement guidelines. heat shields are to be inspected after completion o any type of repair to the underbody (exhaust system transmission, etc.), and if damaged, replaced. *pe | 12/29/2008 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE | |||
| 10/10/2012 | 114385 | ||
| I own a 2003 vw new beetle convertible with an automatic tiptronic transmission. recently , at random times, when shifting between 3rd and 4th gear the engine would rev up past 4000 rpm and jump into gear. essentially a very hard shift. with plans to keep this vehicle for many years to come, i immediately took the vehicle to a trusted mechanic. after test driving and experiencing the hard shift, i was informed that it was most definitely transmission related, however, only vw can access the transmission due to the fact that it is completely sealed. the vehicle was taken to a david maus volkswagen of orlando for the diagnostic. i was informed that the transmission was coming apart from the inside and that it was a ticking time bomb. because the vehicle is over 100000 miles , it does not fall under the transmission valve body recall. the repair cost for a new transmission is $6000.00. i feel that this is gross negligence on the part of volkswagen of america, to knowingly place this vehicle with such a major defect on the marketplace. i now have an unusable hunk of scrap metal sitting in my garage for fear of the time bomb under the hood. i refuse to drive this car and potentially put others lives at risk. volkswagen needs to be held responsible for knowingly putting a car with such a major defect on the road. | |||
| 08/16/2012 | 96503 | 1 | |
| 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 ## *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 03/23/2012 | 82345 | ||
| As i turned off the 4 lane highway onto our local street i heard a lound noise, i thought i had blown a tire. i pulled into our driveway, about 30 yeards further, and saw nothing. fortunately, we have a nissan dealership whose parking lot has an entry across the street from our driveway. i drove to them very slowly as car was making terribly noises. i also found a broken off bolt about 1/2 inch diameter in the road just before our driveway and took it to nissan. nissan found that both engine mounts were broken. they felt one had broken and the weight of the engine falling had broken the second. my engine was sitting on top on my exhaust if this had happened on a high speed road -- the highway i had just turned off of --- i may have caused a serious accident with fatalities. i have reported to both my local vw dealership where the car has been serviced as well as the vw national office. neither would pay for my $800 repair, both said there were no recalls on my model. i maintain my car and feel this is terrible that something like this can happen. if the bolts are broken --which is what nissan says/ not rusted --- then the bolts are defective!!!! it was so fortunate that the engine dropped when it did and not on a highway!!! | |||
| 03/19/2003 | 1 | ||
| From day one this car had transmission problems which were denied by the dealer on 5 visits, after i sold the car i received a recall from vw, now that i am looking at blogs they have apparently recalled this recall to suit them. other complaints with this vehilce are window troubles, convertible roof troubles, electronic troubles, seatbelt troubles, airbag troubles. i can't believe anyone will allow this car to still be sold or on the road. it is a safety hazard on wheels. | |||
| 12/05/2011 | 95000 | ||
| This car was purchased new and within three months had to have the transmission replaced under warranty. recently it started to lurch at stops and starts, and the diagnosis was a failed valve body on the transmission. the transition company referred me to websites where there are multiple complaints for this exact problem with this model. i called volkswagen in mi and was told there had been a warranty extension, of which i was not informed, but that it would not apply to me now. it appears to me that the frequency of this problem warrants a look at this model and its transmission. the dealer warned my transition specialist that the repair which has been frequent only works about 50% of the time. i asked if it is safe to drive as is and was warned only for short distances. it appears to e that this should have triggered a recall or a class action suit. | |||
| 09/29/2011 | 92000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen beetle. while the contact was driving approximately 50 mph there was an unexpected loss of engine power without prior warning. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated the timing belt broke which caused extensive damage to the engine. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified and stated the vehicle exceeded the service warranty. the failure mileage was 94,000. rvk | |||
| 09/29/2011 | 92000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen beetle. while the contact was driving approximately 50 mph there was an unexpected loss of engine power without prior warning. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated the timing belt broke which caused extensive damage to the engine. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified and they informed the vehicle exceeded the service warranty. the failure mileage was 94,000. js | |||
| 09/06/2011 | 60 | ||
| Recall on airbag crash sensor back in 2008, which we had replace . however this problem constantley happen were the air bag creash sensor lights comes on and stays on. when you call the dearlship 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. | |||
| 12/25/2007 | 1 | ||
| 2003 volkswagen beetle began to spark while driving. consumer stated that she pulled over and then it caught fire. *kb the fire started in the engine compartment. ohio traffic crash report # 10-91-0903 | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 10/11/2008 | 99600 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen beetle. while driving approximately 70 mph on normal road conditions, the oil pressure and check engine warning indicators illuminated intermittently on the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the failure was related to oil sludge and the sending unit. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 99,600 and current mileage was 100,000. 4/01/09 *nj there was sludge in the oil pan and the check engine light stayed on constantly. updated 04/06/09. *jb | |||