Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY - POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS | |||||
| 0603 | 04/26/2006 | 10020720 | Door windows, may seperate from window regulator clamps. *kb | 01/03/2007 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY | |||
| 01/15/2011 | 67100 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen new beetle. the contact stated the vehicle would jerk violently when she attempted to shift between gears. she also noticed debris that entered the vehicle through the ventilation system which was a greasy substance that caused her eyes to burn and could have obstructed her view. the dealer nor manufacturer were notified. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact was awaiting an appointment with a private mechanic. the current mileage was 67,700. the approximate failure mileage was 67,100. rvk | |||
| 01/15/2011 | 67100 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen new beetle. the contact stated the vehicle would violently jerk, when she attempted to shift between gears. also, she noticed a debry that entered the vehicle through the ventilation system. the debry was a greasy substance that caused her eyes to burn when contacted and could obstruct her view of the road. the dealer or manufacturer had not been notified nor was the vehicle repaired. the contact was awaiting a service appointment with a private mechanic. the current mileage was 67,700. the approximate failure mileage was 67,100. bw | |||
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM - REAR WINDOW | |||
| 01/13/2004 | 1000 | 2 | 08/29/2003 |
| We have a 2002 and a 2003 vw beetle. the 2002 has door locks that only lock part of the time. the first seven times the dealer attempted to repair it they said it was an internal malfunction or they could not reproduce the problem. on the eighth repair attempt they finally decided that our power locks are not supposed to lock all the time becaues we have crank windows!!! the first fourteen months (until they replaced the instrument cluster for another problem) the locks worked perfectly all the time. they said that the locks meet vw specs but refused to give me a copy of the specs they are referring to. vw said our owner's manual is our vw specs and it says to push the button and the doors will lock. that only happens part of the time. this is a real safety issue. our teenaged daughter drives this car and needs to be able to lock her doors when she gets in and know that they will lock. the locks have done multiple other strange things also but the inconsistant locking is the most common problem. our 2003 beetle has a safety issue with the rear defogger. it takes anywhere from 9 - 20 minutes to begin to clear the rear window. the dealer says that it clears in 7 minutes and that meets vw specs but the 2002 vw we have and the loaner beetles we have driven all clear the window in 1-3 minutes. the fact that the window doesn't begin to clear, at times, for 20 minutes is a real safety hazard. the 2003 also has lock problems. it locked itself while in our garage and would not unlock for two days. if that had been a dark parking lot it could have been a disaster.*ak | |||
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM - WINDSHIELD - HEATER CORE | |||
| 06/26/2007 | 1 | 04/25/2003 | |
| Rear passenger side window has fallen down and the dealer wants around $1,000 to repair it. our thermostat went out last week and cost us $315 for just that, and then the next day our drivers side door hinge broke. the car has around 70,000 miles on it and things keep going wrong every week! i loved this car but the way it is going i will not buy another vw product (even though i owned 2 in the past). *tr | |||
| VISIBILITY - GLASS, SIDE/REAR | |||
| 08/31/2004 | 6 | 09/23/2003 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen new beetle. the contact stated that the driver side window would roll down and become stuck. the dealer replaced both window motors. the failure occurred on six occasions. the current mileage was 90,000 and the failure mileage was unknown. | |||
| VISIBILITY - POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS | |||
| 08/27/2007 | 63000 | 1 | |
| The driver's side rear window fell down, and would not come back up. the dealership priced repair at over $600 dollars. was told of extended warranty for up to 2002 models with similar problem, but not available for 2003 models. *jb | |||
| 06/26/2007 | 1 | 04/25/2003 | |
| Rear passenger side window has fallen down and the dealer wants around $1,000 to repair it. our thermostat went out last week and cost us $315 for just that, and then the next day our drivers side door hinge broke. the car has around 70,000 miles on it and things keep going wrong every week! i loved this car but the way it is going i will not buy another vw product (even though i owned 2 in the past). *tr | |||
| 09/01/2007 | 42000 | 10 | 03/30/2003 |
| 2003 new beetle windows continue to fail rear window failed vw wants $900 to repair stuck in down position front window failed wants $700 for repair i had them fixed during warranty at least 10 times, i don't think they ever get fixed they just keep braking and now they want me to pay? *tr | |||
| 09/02/2007 | 2 | 05/31/2006 | |
| In 2006 my right rear window stopped working, luckily the vehicle was still under warranty and the issue was fixed at no charge. last week the rear driver's side window began having the same problem, and is now at the dealership and will likely cost me at least $900. i have looked at online message boards and found this to be a common problem with the 2003 vw new beetle convertible, and feel that vw should be paying for this, not car owners. *jb | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER | |||
| 11/22/2003 | 15000 | 12 | 02/18/2003 |
| Windshield wiper failed to come on. on twelve different occasions, under varying but rainy weather conditions, while the vehicle was being operated by myself or my wife, the wipers failed to come on when switched on. on four of these occasions the rain began to fall quickly while the vehicle was at highway speed which caused a very dangerous situation. on all occasions, we had to pull to the side of the roadway, and only after a few minutes of repeatedly turning the wiper switch on and off and/or doing nothing but waiting, the wipers would suddenly come on by themselves. we have return the vehicle to the dealer on two occasions (the third being next week) with this complaint. the dealer replaced a relay, but this has not corrected the problem. this is a very dangerous problem as sudden rain at 70 mph leaves you completely blind. the incident date is today's date as today is the most recent occurrence. *jb | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER - MOTOR | |||
| 11/26/2003 | 1 | 09/20/2002 | |
| Refer to # 10051120 my windshield wipers would operate normally and then just stop in mid-swipe, right in front of my face, while i was driving. then after clicking the switch back and forth, i could finally get them to work. the dealer indicated that it could be the intermittent wiper relay , but it would have to be ordered. i should drive the car until then, unless it became a problem well, duh! when would it not be a problem to drive in the rain/snow with non-operable wipers? took my car back in, got a loaner and the intermittent wiper relay was replaced.*ak | |||