Upon starting the vehicle the side air bag deployed. There was no collision. Consumer was injured. One month prior to the air bag deployment, the air bag light illuminated on the dash board. Also, the engine light illuminated prior to the side air bag deployment. Recall 98v100000 was issued.
1998 Volkswagen Beetle engine complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 33 of 33, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While driving check engine light appeared on dashboard and remained on. Then, vehicle stalled. Consumer tried to restart vehicle, but was unable to do so. Consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic could not duplicate the problem. Consumer informed the mechanic that problem occurred more than once, and had not been resolved.
I bought a 1998 volkswagen beetle from torrance nissan on 5 january, 2003: since the date of purchase, this car had been overheating off and on. I returned it to the dealership but was informed that it was nothing to worry about.? They went as far as taking it to a vw service rep on 5 and 6 january, 2003 for confirmation. I found out later that vw has no record of ever servicing or even seeing the vw until 1 april, 2003! During the months of february and march, 2003 I still experienced the vehicle overheating and each time I called amir, I would follow up with a visit to torrance nissan. Their replies were always the same, they could not find a problem for the overheating? There were many times I told the dealership that I no longer wanted this car and even submitted it in writing on 15 april, 2003. On 1 april, 2003 I took the beetle to volkswagen myself and had it fixed, but the water pump broke again and was replaced on 4-9-03. Three days later, the car was getting hot. I told both volkswagen and torrance nissan that I no longer want this car! I have proof of all the repairs performed and still it overheats! On 12 april, 2003 I took the car once more to volkswagen to thoroughly check it out and they called their technical support. A few days later they found a cracked head on the engine block. To top it off, I had a car accident on 28 april, 2003 on my way to work and had to be towed to the long beach honda body shop. Later that night the car caught fire and was burned down with 3 other cars in the body shop. Before the car caught fire, I was in process of a valid claim under the lemon law & magnuson-moss warranty act with the adam krohn of the consume law center. Issues: rental car $1,607.78 (my insurance only covered $600.00, my insurance covered only actual value of $10,788.31; leaving me with a balance of $1,043.00 out-of-pocket. Which my insurance informs me make a claim against the body shop for difference on balance and $ 1007.78 of the car rental.
While driving at an undetermined speed the vehicle stalled. The consumer took the vehicle to a mechanic. Please add any additional information.
Consumer replaced brake lights/headlights/rear brake pads and rotors/ engine shield and cooling system. *ak
Vehicle caught on fire, possible engine failure, while driving the vehicles brake system failed and the driver had to use the emergency brake to stop vehicle. *mr the head light malfunctioned and the vehicles is flling apart after one month of ownership. The dealer refused to fix it.
While driving vehicle stalls out and engine completely shuts down, also engine check light illuminates. *ak
This car drinks oil, the engine knocks, vw has done nothing to even aknowledge the problem. The window regulators are defective and one broke completely with the window falling out. The passenger side door can not be opend with a key and has been corode
Bad wiring, alarm goes off in the middle og the night, rear hatch light comes on and off, wiring is bad in cold weather, front headlights keep burining out, excessive oil consumption, at about 2000 miles engine will be bone dry, excessive road nosie, radio no longer works, in general the car is in bad shape after two years of use and it seesm to be all factory related type of problems.
Car overheats routinely. Initially in for repair on 1/25/01 when dealer claimed to have replaced the water pump and thermostat. Since then, car has overheated on three occasions, and water leakage has been observed. Dealer says they can not replicate the issue. Driver's side door does not lock and unlock reliably, forcing me to enter and exit car through passenger door. Reported to dealer three times (initially 5/31/00). One time dealer lubricated lock; currently they say they can not replicate the issue and will not fix. After water pump repair in 1/01, car exhibited a whining noise and power steering stiffness at low rpms -- likely due to improper workmanship during that repair. Dealer claims power steering fluid was low, and has been "topped off" to alleviate problem. However, I recently had rountine maintenance at another establishment just 4 days prior to taking into shop; during that service, power steering fluids were indicated as "ok." oil consumption is excessive. Despite repeated reports to vw (initially 5/00), have received no resoluion or investigation into this issue. Through research, I have learned that this is a common beetle problem, and some beetle owners are receiving new engines or valve stem repairs to remedy. Transmission jerks severly when shifting from reverse to drive. Initially reported 9/29/98 at 9596 miles and not addressed by dealer. Recurring problems with headlight sealant leakage and water getting into headlight assembly, causing headlights to be unreliable and potential electrical/fire hazard. Have researched vw and learned during initial beetle production in puebla, mexico, they experience an abominal 40% defect rate. From research into other consumer issues with 1998 beetles, I am certain that vw passed these defective vehicles on to consumers. Please contact me for further details. I have also experienced window reglator failures, dead battery, interior pieces falling apart and other issues. Thank you!
Coolant loss on two occasions causing engine to blow, no warning until last minute, all fluids and maintenace done and under extended warranty, dealer refused to pay for new engine.
While driving plastic cover that protects engine/ exhaust system and plugs disengaged from under vehicle. Please give any further details.
Multiple problems with car since purchase.
Possible engine failure and missing oil cap caused fire. Yh
Vehicle has had continued problems with transmission operation and shifting, replacement of the speed sensor,throttle cable and TCM wiring rectified problems.
Possible engine failure caused vehicle fire. Yh
Electical wiring located in the engine compartment was too close to the battery tray causing the wire to damage (recall-98v‑100), owner is not satisfied with vehicle with this defect. Yh
Plastic clip in cooling system broke, causing all coolant to be discharged all over the engine and engine to overheat. Dealer replaced plastic clip with metal clip. Vw sent dealer 8 metal clips the week previous. They said other beetles probably had this problem, that's why vw sent them 8 metal clips ahead of time.
Oil consumed at rate of 1qt/1500 miles. No leak or smoking exhaust. Vw recommends oil change every 10,000 miles. Engine would have no oil by 6,000 miles. Could cause engine to seize and possible accident. Other new beetle owners I know have told me they have the same problem with their gas 2.0l engine, 5spd new beetle. This situation is very unsafe.
While driving at 45 MPH, engine turbo went out, causing vehicle to accelerate to 120 MPH. Consumer applied brakes/emergency brake, and downshifted vehicle, it didn't work. Consumer kept pushing on the emergency brake, vehicle started slowing down, and then it accelerated back to high speed. Finally, slowed back down and came to a stop.
Vehicle has high oil consumption, radio/cassette failure which resulted in fire, previous incident radiator failure, computer failure, defective control switches and defectice engine.
Losing oil at rate of 1qt every 1,500 miles. Vw ordered new engine for me. Service said nothing could be done about it, and it is normal. I don't think so. Owner's manual recommends oil changes at 10,000 mile intervals. The engine would be bone dry at 6,000 miles.
The pistons in the engine had to be replaced because they were leaking oil. Dealer does not know the cause.
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