Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| TB-35-11-01 | 06/06/2011 | 10041250 | Ready | 09/21/2011 | |
| TB-35-11-01 | 06/06/2011 | 10041250 | Volkswagen: the gear box has a momentarily delay while accelerating. *rm | 09/21/2011 | |
| VWP-10-06 | 12/03/2010 | 10037805 | Volkswagen: warranty information for th e transmission valve body. *rm | 06/06/2011 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 06/01/2012 | 75000 | ||
| Transmission valve body malfunctions and causes the card to shift harshly. this causes loss of control during acceleration and deceleration. | |||
| 11/22/2011 | 63000 | ||
| My vw beetle 2005, has a 2 to 3 second shift delay whether in manual or automatic. when pulling out in traffic or taking off from a light or downshifting to slow down the car acts like it's in neutral. the engine revs but the car takes anywhere from 2 to 3 seconds to respond. sometimes it won't shift out of 4th gear and i have to pull over (in traffic that is going over 55) turn the car off and then turn it back on. i consider this very dangerous when cars are piling up behind me and ican 't get over to the side of the road to turn it off. i had my car towed to a certified vw repair shop over a 100 miles away because i knew it wouldn't make it. they informed me my transmission is gone. i need a new one. they can't rebuilt it. a new transmission is $4500. not including labor. i got my car in january of this year. i have $8000. invested in it already. my car is worthless. i am 60 years old. i have no steady income at this time and i can not afford to pay another $6000. i called volkswagen of america and they informed me they will do nothing about it. my driver's side window is also acting up and they will pay for that, but really, big deal. i have heard, unfortunately too late, that vw's with my kind of transmission are having the same problems and i think vw of america should stand behind their car especially when they still have low miles. my car is now considered a throwaway car but i don't have that kind of money to throw away. this has hurt me deeply financially and all vw of america will offer me is a loyalty customer coupon towards a new car. if i could afford a new car i wouldn't have bought a used one. | |||
| 01/04/2010 | 72500 | ||
| This is on a car with a 1.9l bew engine and 6 speed dsg gearbox. problem emerged as a rough idle (like a cylinder was missing) and knocking sounds while at idle and during engine shutdown as engine comes to a stop. car was taken to dealer and dealer diagnosed as failing dual mass flywheel, $1398 to fix. i got lucky and mine didn't explode/disintegrate as some others have, although i don't know yet if it has caused other damage to engine or trasmission. car has 73,000 miles on it and is out of waranty, spent extra money on extended waranty when i bought the car new to hopefully avoid situations like this - the longest waranty i was offered was 7 years or 70,000 miles. vw has re-designed the dual mass flywheel to improve it and they have recalled the cars in other countrys because of this failure but not here in the u.s. they obviously know there is a problem, otherwise why the re-designed part or recall? the failing flywheel could also cause sever damage to the trasmission and engine. | |||
| 08/10/2008 | 95000 | 1 | |
| Dmf failed blew shrapnel through bell housing! normal driving, volkswagen new beetle, 2005.5 diesel 1.9l tdi automatic trans dsg. dual mass flywheel (dmf) exploded on the road under 10mph. small metal parts of springs and aluminum punched hole in side of case. clear 'grease' and shavings everywhere. could have caused engine or wheels to lockup if it had jammed a larger piece in the drivetrain. towed to dealer with 95k miles, sounds like a slight grinding noise on acceleration. this is heavy part with a large hole blown in the edge where parts came flying out. only offered a $750 rebate on purchase of a new vw... this is a manufacturing defect, imho, that vwoa did not cover. replacement part number for dmf, oem part no longer available. vw replaced with part number 03g-105-266-be $785. work done at dealer, almost $2k! many dmf failure stories blame the clutch, but mine is an automatic! this is a bad part, that vwoa is trying to hide knowledge of, blaming customers. other auto makers have admitted bad part and replaced at 100k miles! i have the old part and further checks can be done to show it failed on the inside. my teenage daughter is scared to drive if it were to happen to her! no way to know, there is no scheduled maint, nothing to change or check. flywheel should be covered by vwoa, it is not a wear item! can you help? many others may not be reporting if vwoa is replacing under warranty, as my web research seems to show. they had to replace an airbag, but my dmf exploding on the road is not their problem? why no recall and no tsb's? bew gys with direct shift gearbox. damping layer failed in dmf. this will become a larger issue as more miles are logged on this part. will it cause someone to loose life? thanks. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 03/01/2011 | 50000 | ||
| I bought my 2005 volkwagen beetle in 2005. i experienced hard down shifting from 3rd to 1st within the 1st year of owning the car. i took it in to dwight harrison in snellville georgia where i bought the car. they said they couldn't find anything wrong. i just thought it was normal. year after year, the shifting got worse. it would happen randomly while driving. now after 100,000 miles, the shifting is so bad, i can barely drive the car. it now shifts hard from every gear. every time my car has to slow down or speed up from a stop light, it jerks so hard it throws me forward. it's ridiculous and scary. sometimes, while accelerating through an intersection, it will just stop, and i have to let off the gas and just pause and wait a second and then speed up again. it's dangerous to drive at this point, but i do not have the money to put in a new transmission. i recently got a letter from volkswagen of america staing that they're fixing certain beetle's transmissions, and my 2005 was one of them! i was so excited, but as i read on, the letter explained that the beetle had to be under 100,000 miles or under 7years old. well of course my bug was 400 miles over 100,000 miles!!!! i called volkeswagen of america faxed them documentation that my car had been in the shop for transmission problems at 50,000 miles, and i waited 6 weeks to hear anything back. finally, they sent me a letter denying me of a new transmission because i was 400 miles over 100,000 miles! this is absolutely ridiculous! they cannot get away with this. we need to file a lawsuit against volkswagen of america!!!! | |||
| 08/01/2010 | 52000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2005 volkswagen beetle. while driving approximately 30 mph the vehicle violently jerked as it abruptly downshifted. the failure has recurred intermittently. the contact also stated the vehicle would intermittently have trouble accelerating from a stop. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the tiptronic switch was repaired. the failure continued to recur so the vehicle was taken back to the authorized dealer where he was told the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 52,000 and the current mileage was 55,000. sm. | |||
| 08/05/2010 | 76000 | ||
| 2005 vw beetle began having shifting issues. check engine light came on and i took it to driver's edge. codes from computer were sensor related and tune up needed. i paid for the tune up and the next week i took to vw due to hard shifting. code was cleared so they said there was no problem. i still had issues so i returned the car then suddenly i needed a new transmission. my car only has 77k so i thought $6000 was extreme. started looking into the issue and apparently it's a common problem. previous code on car was ignition coil so i don't understand how it went from a possible recall issue to needing a whole new transmission. | |||
| 12/12/2009 | 70000 | ||
| I bought a 2005 vw beetle with 50,000 miles on it. it drove great until about 70,000+ miles when it starting hard shifting. it is hard shifting when gearing up from 2nd to 3rd and when it gears down from 4th to 3rd. it happens everytime i drive the car. | |||
| 08/19/2010 | 86000 | ||
| The transmission on my 2005 vw new beetle gls tdi failed. the auto shop cannot find an external cause for the failure. they say the flywheel exploded the internal part of the transmission and even broke the transmission case open. there were no warning signs prior to the failure in terms of noises or performance. the car has only 86,000 miles on it and is driven mainly on the highway. i am having the car repaired at a cost of about $6,500. despite numerous complaints by other customers, vw has not yet recalled this car, but definitely should! | |||
| 12/12/2009 | 70000 | ||
| I bought a 2005 vw beetle with 50,000 miles on it. it drove great until about 70,000+ miles when it starting hard shifting. it is hard shifting when gearing up from 2nd to 3rd and when it gears down from 4th to 3rd. it happens everytime i drive the car. | |||
| 08/19/2010 | 86000 | ||
| The transmission on my 2005 vw new beetle gls tdi failed. the auto shop cannot find an external cause for the failure. they say the flywheel exploded the internal part of the transmission and even broke the transmission case open. there were no warning signs prior to the failure in terms of noises or performance. the car has only 86,000 miles on it and is driven mainly on the highway. i am having the car repaired at a cost of about $6,500. despite numerous complaints by other customers, vw has not yet recalled this car, but definitely should! | |||
| 07/01/2010 | 98000 | ||
| My parents purchased a 2005 new beetle from volkswagen for me when i got my permit in 2006. the transmission is now failing. i was told it would cost over $6000 to replace. it shifts hard and jerkily. upset about this problem i did some research online and discovered i am not alone in this problem. i found many other drivers with the same complaint at this website: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f124d77/0 . if this is such a common issue why is there no recall? i am afraid to drive my car to school because i am afraid of it failing while on the freeway with all the fast moving cars. i'm in college and cannot afford to replace my transmission. i don't understand why volkswagen hasn't recalled this. is it because they don't want to have to pay to fix all of our cars that they built poorly? i don't think it's my fault that they built an inferior product. thank you for your time. | |||
| 12/12/2009 | 70000 | ||
| I bought a 2005 vw beetle with 50,000 miles on it. it drove great until about 70,000+ miles when it starting hard shifting. it is hard shifting when gearing up from 2nd to 3rd and when it gears down from 4th to 3rd. it happens everytime i drive the car. | |||
| 08/19/2010 | 86000 | ||
| The transmission on my 2005 vw new beetle gls tdi failed. the auto shop cannot find an external cause for the failure. they say the flywheel exploded the internal part of the transmission and even broke the transmission case open. there were no warning signs prior to the failure in terms of noises or performance. the car has only 86,000 miles on it and is driven mainly on the highway. i am having the car repaired at a cost of about $6,500. despite numerous complaints by other customers, vw has not yet recalled this car, but definitely should! | |||
| 07/01/2010 | 98000 | ||
| My parents purchased a 2005 new beetle from volkswagen for me when i got my permit in 2006. the transmission is now failing. i was told it would cost over $6000 to replace. it shifts hard and jerkily. upset about this problem i did some research online and discovered i am not alone in this problem. i found many other drivers with the same complaint at this website: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f124d77/0 . if this is such a common issue why is there no recall? i am afraid to drive my car to school because i am afraid of it failing while on the freeway with all the fast moving cars. i'm in college and cannot afford to replace my transmission. i don't understand why volkswagen hasn't recalled this. is it because they don't want to have to pay to fix all of our cars that they built poorly? i don't think it's my fault that they built an inferior product. thank you for your time. | |||
| 08/21/2009 | |||
| I purchased my vehicle from volkswagen around august of 2008. my car began to show signs of transmission failure shortly after my check engine light came on, i took it to the dealer while under warranty and they stated it was nothing. it began to get worse but they assured me i just need to get my transmission serviced and i did. it began gradually from skipping gears to jumping into neutral and losing power while driving. the failure occurs very often now. i cannot drive my car for more than 15 minutes without being stranded on the side of the road for a short period. i noticed that as soon as the transmission warms up from driving, the transmission goes into neutral. i began doing some research into this problem and noticed that this is common problem with volkswagen beetles transmission, which resulted in a recall. i have a 6 speed transmission and the same symptoms take place. we have looked for quotes on replacement of sensors, rebuilt transmissions, but we are still trying to figure out what it may be because transmission work is really expensive. something needs to be done about this!!! | |||
| 12/12/2009 | 70000 | ||
| I bought a 2005 vw beetle with 50,000 miles on it. it drove great until about 70,000+ miles when it starting hard shifting. it is hard shifting when gearing up from 2nd to 3rd and when it gears down from 4th to 3rd. it happens everytime i drive the car. | |||
| 08/19/2010 | 86000 | ||
| The transmission on my 2005 vw new beetle gls tdi failed. the auto shop cannot find an external cause for the failure. they say the flywheel exploded the internal part of the transmission and even broke the transmission case open. there were no warning signs prior to the failure in terms of noises or performance. the car has only 86,000 miles on it and is driven mainly on the highway. i am having the car repaired at a cost of about $6,500. despite numerous complaints by other customers, vw has not yet recalled this car, but definitely should! | |||
| 07/01/2010 | 98000 | ||
| My parents purchased a 2005 new beetle from volkswagen for me when i got my permit in 2006. the transmission is now failing. i was told it would cost over $6000 to replace. it shifts hard and jerkily. upset about this problem i did some research online and discovered i am not alone in this problem. i found many other drivers with the same complaint at this website: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f124d77/0 . if this is such a common issue why is there no recall? i am afraid to drive my car to school because i am afraid of it failing while on the freeway with all the fast moving cars. i'm in college and cannot afford to replace my transmission. i don't understand why volkswagen hasn't recalled this. is it because they don't want to have to pay to fix all of our cars that they built poorly? i don't think it's my fault that they built an inferior product. thank you for your time. | |||
| 08/21/2009 | |||
| I purchased my vehicle from volkswagen around august of 2008. my car began to show signs of transmission failure shortly after my check engine light came on, i took it to the dealer while under warranty and they stated it was nothing. it began to get worse but they assured me i just need to get my transmission serviced and i did. it began gradually from skipping gears to jumping into neutral and losing power while driving. the failure occurs very often now. i cannot drive my car for more than 15 minutes without being stranded on the side of the road for a short period. i noticed that as soon as the transmission warms up from driving, the transmission goes into neutral. i began doing some research into this problem and noticed that this is common problem with volkswagen beetles transmission, which resulted in a recall. i have a 6 speed transmission and the same symptoms take place. we have looked for quotes on replacement of sensors, rebuilt transmissions, but we are still trying to figure out what it may be because transmission work is really expensive. something needs to be done about this!!! | |||
| 07/01/2010 | 98000 | ||
| My parents purchased a 2005 new beetle from volkswagen for me when i got my permit in 2006. the transmission is now failing. i was told it would cost over $6000 to replace. it shifts hard and jerkily. upset about this problem i did some research online and discovered i am not alone in this problem. i found many other drivers with the same complaint at this website: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f124d77/0 . if this is such a common issue why is there no recall? i am afraid to drive my car to school because i am afraid of it failing while on the freeway with all the fast moving cars. i'm in college and cannot afford to replace my transmission. i don't understand why volkswagen hasn't recalled this. is it because they don't want to have to pay to fix all of our cars that they built poorly? i don't think it's my fault that they built an inferior product. thank you for your time. | |||
| 08/21/2009 | |||
| I purchased my vehicle from volkswagen around august of 2008. my car began to show signs of transmission failure shortly after my check engine light came on, i took it to the dealer while under warranty and they stated it was nothing. it began to get worse but they assured me i just need to get my transmission serviced and i did. it began gradually from skipping gears to jumping into neutral and losing power while driving. the failure occurs very often now. i cannot drive my car for more than 15 minutes without being stranded on the side of the road for a short period. i noticed that as soon as the transmission warms up from driving, the transmission goes into neutral. i began doing some research into this problem and noticed that this is common problem with volkswagen beetles transmission, which resulted in a recall. i have a 6 speed transmission and the same symptoms take place. we have looked for quotes on replacement of sensors, rebuilt transmissions, but we are still trying to figure out what it may be because transmission work is really expensive. something needs to be done about this!!! | |||
| 07/15/2009 | 65000 | ||
| 2005 new bettle, 79,000 miles needs a brand new transmission. the car shifts hard from gear to gear, down shifts hard, accelerates on it's own, shifts into next gear and just revs up instead of shifting. this is now occurring every time the car is driven. the cost to replace the transmission is $3,00 or more. | |||
| 03/01/2010 | 57000 | ||
| 2005 vw new beetle auto 6 speed 57,000 miles. hard downshifting. this problem is ongoing. | |||
| 02/12/2010 | 62000 | 1 | |
| The car has 62,000 miles on it and has been just drove around town and is now having transmission issues it has problems going from 1st to 2nd and when i slow down it down shifts so hard it felt like i was being hit from behind!!! i was so startled when it happened i had chest pains!!! its looking like these transmissions are defective because there are alot of people having the same problem!!!!! *tr | |||
| 03/15/2009 | 1 | ||
| The automatic transmission always jerks badly, whenever i accelerate and apply the brakes. there is also a loud thumping noise that is heard often from the transmission. i have contacted your phone number twice and left messages, but no one has ever returned my calls or left messages, so i decided to try to contact you all on-line. *tr | |||
| 08/15/2006 | 1 | ||
| I have a 2005 volkswagen new beetle. i bought it brand new from the dealership. between 2005- 2009 i had many repair problems. the first problem was my window regulator which cost me $400 for the part and labor. then i had all kinds of electrical problems and sensor problems that the dealership claimed they have fixed but it will do the same thing like a week or so later. now i am having problems with my transmission, which costs thousands of dollars to fix. so far i have been to 5 places trying to get my car fixed. my car is the only transportation that i have to and from school and work. it can go out on me any day. it jerks will hard and often causes my tires to spin from the force of the jerk. this is so dangerous. i have got my window regulator replaced about 3 weeks later the motor in the window went out which cost another $400 to fits. *tr | |||
| 10/18/2009 | 95000 | 1 | |
| 2005 vw beetle with 95,000 miles. been maintained and taken care of. as with many other vw beetle owners, the transmission is messed up. doesn't happen all the time but hesitates and bucks when shifting up and down. very worrisome in heavy traffic. *tr | |||
| 07/07/2009 | 38000 | 1 | |
| The 2005 beetle i purchased had 31k miles on it when i bought it. i know have 41 k miles on it and between 2nd and third gear the engine revs then shifts really hard. my girlfriend has almost been involved in several accidents related to this issue. i have read other blogs on edmonds had have talked with other bug owners every chance i get. some have told me (who don't know about the blog site0 that they have had the same issue. obviously there is a problem creating a huge safety issue and vw needs to address the issue. there needs to be a recall on the transmissions. and not just my year but 03,02,01,04,05,06,07. from what i understand. a cop would and will eventually pull me over due to the erratic behavior of the car. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) | |||
| 07/26/2006 | 7385 | 100 | 07/20/2006 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving 10 mph, the vehicle hesitated when the accelerator was depressed. the vehicle was taken to the dealership twice who declared the problem could not be duplicated. the dealership also declared that other models with the same electronic module presented the same transmission defect but did not provide any solution. updated 10/17/2006 - the hesitation and stalling problems occurred when using the left foot to brake the vehicle. the vw technician said the computer module receives conflicting signal due to one foot on the brake and one on the gas pedal. there were no apparent warnings in the vw owners manual. there seemed to be no problem when using the right foot on the brake and gas but the problem showed up immediately when using the left foot on the brake and right foot on the gas. *nm | |||