Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY | |||
| 05/23/2011 | 80000 | ||
| Window regulator failed. this is the 3rd of 4 window regulators to fail. rear passenger window failed to ascend leaving cabin open to weather. potential for accident increased as driver was forced to divide attention between failed window and driving tasks at near highway speeds. | |||
| 09/01/2010 | 15500 | ||
| Right rear passenger window made a grinding noise and window became inoperable. vw acknowledges that this is a known problem, but not a recall. repair is $1200 for one window regulator. | |||
| 11/06/2010 | 60000 | ||
| Well it has been nothing but trouble. first thing, the transmission went bad and then right after that there was no brake lights. the top will not come down by it self. the dash lights come on ( air bag, brakes, check engine, emissions). sounds like there are holes in the muffler. last but not least the right rear window fell down and they won't 800 to fix, there are several complaints about this and nothing is being done. | |||
| 10/02/2010 | 48435 | ||
| Driver side window failed in the down position on my 2004 new beetle convertible. the regulator has failed on many new beetles. the window regulator has been covered for 2003 - 2005 new beetle sedans but not convertibles. i want to document that the problem exists on the convertibles as well. | |||
| 07/15/2010 | 49000 | ||
| Power window regulators fail on 2004 vw beetle conertible rear windows. i have replaced 2 of tm so far in 50,000 miles. the first one was $375 for the parts only and now they have decided to increase that price to $672! it is absolutely ridiculous that they charge that much for a faulty part and the new ones are no better. if i pay the dealership to install it, it is at least $1,200. something needs to be done! | |||
| 04/10/2010 | 40000 | ||
| Rear windows regulators are out of order. it seems to happen quite often on these cars. | |||
| 04/12/2010 | 63000 | ||
| About 6 mos ago my driver side window front window shattered as i was driving in my 2004 vw beetle convertible. luckily i only received a few small puncture wounds from the glass falling on me. ia few weeks ago my rear window quit working. then a couple of days ago my passenger side front window shattered. my car was just sitting in the parking lot with no other cars around. when are they going to recall these windows? i feel very lucky that there was no one in the car when the window shattered the second time, but really? how common is it for a car to have 2 windows shatter and another broken regulator in 6 months? this is obviously a problem vw needs to address. | |||
| 11/16/2009 | 35000 | 1 | |
| The rear windows on my vw convertible keep breaking and the dealer wants to charge me $600 for the part that includes the motor and will not sell the regulator separately for $70. this will be the second one broken in less than 1 year. *tr | |||
| 10/30/2009 | 39000 | 1 | |
| Left rear window is stuck in down position. the component part is unavailable in the united states and has to be ordered from the factory in mexico. it will take 2-3 weeks for it to arrive. cost of repair is $800 for one side. complaints to manufacturer who will not stand behind their product as there are no recalls filed even though this is an on-going problem with many of their vehicles. additionally, the vehicle is a convertible. the hydraulic top has malfunctioned since the date it was purchased. it finally snapped off portions of the hydraulic mechanisms and portions of the interior flaps which are now all over the back seat. the top had to be manually raised and secured and does not function at all. although they repaired it previously, manufacturer will not repair because vehicle is no longer under warranty. driver's seat spring poked through the upholstery a month after purchase. additionally, there is a terrible blind spot while backing out. the rag top completely blocks vision on the right rear. i have complained numerous times to the manufacturer who offers nothing. i believe the entire vehicle should be recalled. i feel ripped off by the manufacturer. *tr | |||
| 05/10/2009 | 45000 | 1 | |
| Passenger front window does not retract when closing the door. it stays up and gets caught on the top. *tr | |||
| 09/16/2009 | 66750 | 1 | |
| Rear passenger side window will no longer come up. the regulator is broken and needs to be replaced. *tr | |||
| 01/20/2009 | 39000 | 1 | |
| 2004 vw new beetle convertible. vehicle has 39,000 miles and is recently out of warranty. dealer service told me me that driver's side front window regulator is bad and needs to be replaced. given the number of complaints entered regarding these window regulators, the manufacturer should replace them free of charge! how does a window regulator fail on a four-year-old car with 39000 miles?!?!?!? *tr | |||
| 08/27/2008 | 35000 | 1 | |
| Window regulators are made with cheap plastic clips that break in about 3 to 4 years. some multiple times once warranty is up, cost consumer many dollars to fix and some don't fix and leave the windows broken. *tr | |||
| VISIBILITY - POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS | |||
| 11/20/2009 | 86508 | 1 | |
| Passenger rear window regulator needs to be replaced. broken. i read that many other vw beetle owners have the same problem and to report my problem here. my car is a 2004 vw new beetle convertible. *tr | |||
| 06/14/2009 | 100000 | 1 | |
| Rear window regulator failure x 2. *tr | |||
| 10/25/2009 | 50000 | 1 | |
| Rear window motor and or regulator breaks leaving the rear window in the down position. *tr | |||
| 09/16/2009 | 66750 | 1 | |
| Rear passenger side window will no longer come up. the regulator is broken and needs to be replaced. *tr | |||
| 05/01/2008 | 35000 | 1 | |
| 2004 vw beetle convertible. rear windows regulator/motors broke. vw issued an extended warranty for front windows (7 years) rear windows have the same problem. dealer wants $700.00 per side to fix. windows do not roll down on command. often fall on their own after a bump in the road. *tr | |||
| 03/21/2009 | 53500 | 1 | |
| The passenger side rear window will not go up. the dealership charged me $100 to diagnose the problem and determined that the regulator needs to be replaced. i purchased the premium vw extended warranty, but the dealership didn't repair the window (they claimed they didn't know if the extended warranty would pay for the repair - they wanted me to pay approximately $450 and then see if the extended warranty would cover it!) i had already had the passenger door window regulator replaced a few years ago - that was under the first warranty. if this is an ongoing problem, the regulators should be recalled and replaced for free! *tr | |||
| 05/21/2007 | 53000 | 1 | |
| My daughter has a 2004 vw beetle convertible, and last summer she went to put the convertible down and the rear window motors stopped working. we called the dealership and since the car had 52,000 miles they told my daughter that it would cost her $1500.00 to fix the motors. we have two more friends and their daughters vw beetles convertible windows stopped working too. i really don't feel that this is right. electric motors should not break after 50,000 miles. volkswagen should have a recall on this problem. how do i go about getting them to fix this problem with their car. *tr | |||
| 08/15/2008 | 39000 | 1 | |
| 2004 vw nb convertible with recently expired warranty and the right rear window regulator failed. left side replaced by dealer under warranty about a year ago. i was told that the replacement was an upgraded regulator...original with plastic clips is subject to frequent breakage. defective regulators should be afforded an extended warranty period for replacing with the upgraded regulator. *tr | |||
| 06/21/2008 | 1 | ||
| Approx 2-3 weeks ago my 2004 volkswagen convertible back windows would not go up. the regulator/motor is the problem. i was told this was under a recall, but i cannot find the recall anywhere on internet. this is a safety issue. i called volkswagen customer care 800-822-8987 and reported this. they said there is no recall on this. my warranty expired in january. i have been to dealer ship 3 times before my warranty expired for problems with this car. now the back windows will not work. *tr | |||
| VISIBILITY - REAR WINDOW WIPER/WASHER | |||
| 09/10/2009 | 27000 | 1 | |
| 2004 vw beetle convertible with less that 30k miles. has 2 broken rear window motors with an estimated cost of $1700.00 to fix! motors blew within a month of each other. *tr | |||
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | |||
| 06/28/2011 | 44000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen new beetle convertible. the contact stated that both the passenger and driver side windows were inoperable and remained open. the contact was unable to close the windows. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that the window regulator needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the issue who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 44,000 and the current mileage was 50,000. kmj | |||
| 06/28/2011 | 44000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen new beetle convertible. the contact stated both right and left side passenger windows are in operable. the windows are down at all times. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated the window regulator needed to be replaced at the cost of $2100. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 44,000 and the current mileage was 50,000. mw | |||