Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | |||
| 03/14/2009 | 69890 | 3 | |
| Throttle body goes out (02-03-2009) cv axel goes out (03-31-2009 brake lights go out (02-18-2010) cv axel goes out again (4-31-2010) alternator goes out (06-21-2010) ignition coils fail (09-13-2010) ignition coils fail again(01-21-2011) brake switch replaced again (01-21-2011) air flow sensor fails (01-21-2011) air flow sensor fails again (07-26-2011) timing belt replaced (06-15-2011) thermostat replaced (06-15-2011) water pump replaced (06-15-2011) now having problems with throttle body/ throttle body sensor/ electrical issue. dealer is not sure what the problems is and wants to throw money at it to see what the problems is. this car is just one problem after another after another. | |||
| 1 | |||
| The vehicle experienced loss of control due to the throttle pedal sensor. the vehicle was repaired by an independent mechanic. *nlm | |||
| 02/19/2002 | 55000 | 150 | 04/04/2001 |
| Driving at 65 mph, engine speed 2200 rpm, vehicle suddenly decelerates to engine speed 1200 rpm (35 mph). approx 5-10 seconds later the mil (check engine) light comes on solid and the glo-plug lamp blinks. obd-ii diagnostic code p0226 (throttle position sensor) code was subsequently read. throttle control may be momentarily regained by turning vehicle ignition off and back on in order to maintain speed (observing care that road is straight so that steering wheel lock does not lock up). failure may re-occur within 50-100 yards, repeatedly requiring ignition turn-off/turn-on sequencing for 'bursts' of throttle function between failures being careful to try to avoid steering wheel lock. alternative to recovery from loss of foot throttle is to quickly engage cruise control (limiting acceleration is limited to 1 mph 'clicks'). vw of america (aaron grayhek 3-mar-03, 1210 pst, - cust. care #30108450) denies knowledge of a problem with throttle position sensors and vehicle defaulting to 1200 rpm 'limp mode'. lithia motors (medford, or - vw sales & service) has also noted the p0226 (throttle position sensor) code when vehicle was taken to service department for diagnostic trouble investigation but unable to correlate the throttle position sensor code with 1200 rpm engine limitation and loss of throttle function. independent service shop says that throttle position sensors have been modified and are on back order and that the tps in this vehicle (vin # 3vwcp21c61m458652) fails to provide proper signal (drive-by-wire throttle) at between 7% and 17% of foot throttle actuation. problem has occurred approx. 100-200 times since first noted on 19-feb-2003. very curious that parts have been modified and are back-ordered when there is no known problem and vw and their dealers cannot correlate an obd-ii p0226 code with this hazardous vehicle control failure. *nlm | |||
| 05/01/2001 | |||
| Epc and check engine lights come on///car loses power......extremely dangerous as most of my drive to work is on freeway...happened 7/4 and 7/5..taken into metro vw 7/5....told ot problems found....happened again 7/9 returned to metro vw/checked/nothing wrong....happened again 7/12/13...eturned to metro vw....throttle replaced....happened again 7/12 7/13 again to metro vw throttle body replaced......happened again 7/30 throttle body replaced.....again 9/10 9/11...control mod. replaced again 9/12...thought i was goin to die this time....when lost power 18 wheeler was turnin my way.....again to metro vw.....worked on wiring overlay....waitin to see what happens next!!!*ak | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - ACCELERATOR PEDAL | |||
| 02/19/2003 | 55000 | 20 | 04/04/2001 |
| 2001 new beetle 1.9 l tdi, 55,000 mi.: engine mil light comes on solid and glo-plug light blinks on/off at steady rate (no apparent code to blink rate). foot throttle control is lost and engine changes from (normal) idle (950 rpm) with foot-throttle (accelerator) control to complete loss of foot throttle and steady 1200 rpm engine speed. this may happen at random times during driving or (once) even within seconds after starting engine before vehicle is put in gear or begins moving. most times, it occurs when vehicle is at speed, causing immediate loss of speed (i.e. 2000 rpm in 5th gear = 55 mph changes to 1200 rpm = 35 mph). independent garage has 'read' obd-ii diagnostic codes and determined throttle out of range. two remedies (1) re-boot the vehicle (turn ignition off and then back on --- requiring straight/wide stretch of road because of interlock with steering), after which throttle control is regained for some random period of time (fraction of a km to several km's) before throttle control is lost again... or resort to vehicle operation with hand throttle (called cruise control. with 1200 rpm engine speed limit, vehicle can be driven if very gingerly shifted gears, getting up to 20-25 mph in 3rd gear at which point cruise control (cc) can be engaged. subsequently higher speeds can be obtained by incremental (1 mph) increases on cc, eventually regaining 55 mph (2000 rpm) engine speed. driving in traffic required continuous engagement & disengagement/re-engagement of hand throttle (cc) as foot throttle is useless. starting from traffic signals, merging with high speed traffic, etc. is inconvenient at best and, typically, quite hazardous when considering the constant 1200 rpm engine speed limitation (until the painstaking hand throttle increments slowly allow speed increases from 20-25 mph to highway speeds. vw customer care claims there is no recall and they are unaware of a problem. *nlm | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CRUISE CONTROL | |||
| 10/10/2005 | 25000 | 1 | 02/18/2001 |
| 2001 brand new beetle started developing stains on the seat from day one. blue jeans and dark sweaters stain the interiors to that color everytime someone sits down in the car. the throttle body has gone out three times, costing me over countless dollars in repair fees and is now out for the fourth time. crown volkswagen in tyler, tx has repaired it each time, the longest repair lasting about four months. they've paid for the repair once, but do not provide me with a replacement rental vehicle, refuse to pick up the phone during the day or return phone calls, and has cost me tons of time and money traveling from dallas to tyler to check on the car and pick it up. once, i drove two hours from nacogdoches, tx to tyler, tx on the scheduled pick up day, having tried to call before leaving town to make sure it was ready, only to find that they hadn't gotten to the car when i arrived. this happened twice during the same repair which lasted a couple of weeks. they have been uncooperative, and the car is horrible. the arm rest broke one day as i lifted it, it just fell apart in my hands, the interior covering on the doors and dashboard flakes off, the sunroof broke numerous times while driving over a railroad track to get to work everyday. it finally jammed the visor so that it no longer works. the seat moving mechanisms no longer work. the airbag is in constant malfunction, the check engine and eps lights are always on. i constantly have to pull my car over onto the side of the road because it loses power and i have to restart it to get it to work again, although it never has a lot of power. this particular issue has nearly caused several wrecks. i am incredibly lucky. the cruise control no longer works, and it takes about 200 dollars a month to fill it up with gas because the engine problems effect the fuel efficiency. *tr | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - LINKAGES | |||
| 03/01/2001 | |||
| When stopped at a traffic light and the brakes are being applied, the vehicle suddenly lurches forward. this happens almost daily and sometimes multiple times consecutively. in one instance, the car thrust forward into oncoming traffic.*ak | |||