2003 Volkswagen Beetle: grinding or squealing brakes

Filed Jan 14, 2013 · Visibility · TX

The window regulator has failed. When I roll the window up it starts going slowly when it's almost all the way up and then it makes a squealing noise and then once it reaches the top it rolls back down by itself without me touching anything. This is a safety hazard because if there is inclement weather, I cannot get my window to stay rolled up. My car is not safe left with the window rolled all the way down. This is not just an issue that I am having. There a forums filled with people experiencing the same problems all with 2003 vw beetles. It is a cheaply made part that has to be replaced professionally. It is not fair that everyone has to pay $300+ for repair that shouldn't happen this often in the first place.

Filed Jun 24, 2011 · Transmission · 128,000 miles · KS

While driving at a speed of around 45+ MPH my wife's vw beetle randomly downshifted to the point that it squealed the tires and threw her forward. The dealership determined that the transmission will have to be replaced. Their estimate is $4900 for a used transmission or $6000+ for a new one from vw. They also said that this is a "known" problem with this specific transmission. The dealership said we should have received a letter from vw extending the warranty on the transmission to 100,000 miles for this problem. I have the letter but my wife's car has 128,000 miles so vw has refused to help at all with the problem. I also checked with two other vw dealerships in the kc metro and they immediately started nodding their head in agreement about this being a "known" problem with this transmission. As I was trying to locate a used transmission online at a cheaper price I was absolutely in shock at the volume of people that have had this same problem with this transmission. That random downshift is going to cause a wreck if it hasn't already. If someone is following too close, the pavement is wet, snow on the ground, gravel roads, whatever scenario you can imagine - a downshift of that nature could easily result in a wreck. I also checked with a national transmission company (certified transmission) and they said that due to a "design flaw" with that transmission they will only warranty their work to 12mos/12,000 miles instead of their normal 3yr/50,000. Vw's own letter acknowledging a problem due to "customer complaints", 3 dealerships stating this is a "known" problem, a national transmission company reducing their warranty due to a "design flaw" and the literally hundreds of discussions with the same problem - it is obvious there is a known issue with vw's "ggz" transmission.

Filed Jan 11, 2011 · Transmission · 88,210 miles · KY

The electronic automatic transmission became stuck in third gear while driving in traffic. I had to turn the car off while in heavy traffic for the transmission to reset. This is a perilous maneuver, but I didn't have many options. The transmission had been experiencing some problems shifting both up and down. The upshifts are problematic in that the car can suddenly lurch forward when the automatic transmission re-engages. For example, when accelerating from a stop, the car will not immediately shift from 1st to 2nd. The rpms will go to @5000, then the shift will cause the car to squeal tires and lurch forward.

Filed Aug 17, 2010 · Body, Visibility · 35,000 miles · VA

While the rear driver's side window was being lowered by the 20 year old female driver it made a horrendous grinding noise which caused the driver to nearly lose control as she tried to stop quickly. She feared something in the rear wheel was breaking. A short time later the pasenger side window ground to a state of disrepair. Now the driver's side front window needs to be lowered very carefully to avoid engaging the automatic feature as this causes the window to make a terrible noise. This is very distracting to the driver to have to stop the window just before it reaches the fully open position. The rear windows have to be manually positioned just right to allow the convertible top to be lowered properly. Also, when small children are in the back seat they may be able to cause the windows to fall down all the way subjecting them to ejection or the ability to fall out of the vehicle on their own. When it is raining or snowing the elements fly in throught the windows because they won't stay up. This is also very distracting and dangerous especially with small children in the back seat. Repair estimates for the rear windows start at $1500.00 which this particular owner/driver cannot begin to afford!. Vw refuses to address this problem.

Filed Mar 12, 2010 · Transmission · 39,000 miles · CA

Purchased 2003 new beetle convertible in june 2003. I am the only owner of the vehicle. The car had approx. 69 miles on it when I bought it. The car now has 39,038 miles as of this writing. Within the last month (when the car turned over to 39,000), I have been experiencing major transmission issues. Starting from a complete stop, accelerating, the car will not shift into 1st gear. Instead, the transmission grinds & then jumps (lurches) forward, causing the tires to screech. When the car lurches forward, there have been a few times when it jumped so as to almost hit the car in front of me. The problem is intermittent & seems to occur once I have driven the car for 10 miles or more. There is no rhyme or reason for this problem, & I cannot predict when or where it will happen. I would say that it happens frequently. I have read on line that many people with this make/model/year of car have experienced this problem. Some people have indicated that an accident was barely avoided - - same scenario that I am complaining of in this complaint. My question - why is volkswagen not recalling this car for the transmission issues before someone is injured by this unexpected lurching problem. Like the toyota accelerator problem of recent weeks, injuries could be prevented if the car manufacturer would take responsibility for this problem. I am unable to afford to repair my car & have an ad on craigs list fully disclosing the problem I am experiencing. Hopefully, I will be able to sell the car to someone who can afford the $4,000+ repair to replace/repair the transmission. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Mar 8, 2010 · Visibility · 26,577 miles · MA

1) put the convertible top down 2) rear passenger window went 1/2 way up and all the way down three times and then a grinding noise and window would not come back up again 3) took to dealer for repairs, repair to cost about $1000.00 awaiting parts.

Filed Feb 7, 2010 · Transmission · 78,400 miles · GA

I started experiencing transmission shift problems on my '03 vw beetle turbo, just around one year after purchase from a vw dealer. The vehicle was pre-certified at the time, since I couldn't afford the warranty, but the dealer had, I presume, declared it free of defects and problems. I took the vehicle back to the dealer to check the problem, upon which I was advised to replace the transmission at a cost of $4200. No further details were given as to the reason or possible cause for the problem, in spite of my requests for a description. The service advisor just stated "it needs to be replaced". I have since visited online automotive forums and found out this seems to be a problem with other owners as well. I am concerned now that even if I replace it, the replacement may have the same problem. In the mean time the transmission unpredictably starts slipping, or making a squeaking noise when slipping and at other times won't even shift for several seconds.