Tl* the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen beetle. The contact stated that the moonroof was seperating away from the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer and they advised the contact that the roof of the vehicle would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unavailable and the current mileage was 106,000.
2003 Volkswagen Beetle visibility complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 56, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I took the top down this year for the first time the rear right side window went down but would not go up tried to get it fixed at the dealer they were going to charge more then $600.00 went somewhere else they took it apart and it started working fine then less then a week later it was stuck down again and two days later went up with some work now I don't even want to put it down at all!
2003 new vw beetle convertible passenger side rear quarter window. Window fails to fully raise and will automatically open when it reaches 2/3 raised position. Faulty window regulator. A very expensive repair.
Six months ago the left rear window in my vw convertible beetle broke, it would not go up or down. I do not use the rear windows very often so I was quite surprised when the window broke. I took the vehicle to a local dealer to get repaired. It cost me nine hundred and seventy eight dollars out of pocket. Close to a thousand dollars to have just the window repaired. I thought this was ridiculous for just one small window. Needless to say I was very very upset but I had no alternative I had to have it repaired. Now six months later the left rear window has broken. Once again I do not use the rear windows very often especially since the thousand dollar charge there is no way I was going to chance that happening. Here it is winter time so there is no reason to be using those windows. Anyway last week I was on my way to work and I heard a terrible popping sound, one which I have heard before and I thought oh no not again. Well once I got to work and checked sure as heck the left window was broken. It is down about eight inches and one go up or down. What a disappointment it will cost me another thousand dollars just to fix a window. I do not have a thousand dollars laying around to get it repaired. My parents also own a vw beetle and they have had several window problems. We have both decided we will never buy another vw because we just cannot afford the repair costs for all the things that have gone wrong with these cars. I cannot believe how much it costs for repairs. I keep checking on the recall list praying that I may get some help but as of yet there has not been any assistance. Can vw explain what is happening with these windows??? Thank you very much.
2003 beetle convertible window regulators.
2003 vw beetle convertible :drivers side windows regulator and motor and broken hinge. Also the check engine light says it need coil pack and temperature sensor. Seat belt light says it need seat belt sensor. Also door latch replaced.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen new beetle convertible. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked when she changed gears. The failure progressed over time. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced which was done at that time. The contact also stated that both the front window regulator motors failed; the vehicle was repaired at a local repair shop. The door lock actuators failed and were repaired at a repair shop. The air bag light illuminated and the contact was informed that the air bag sensor had failed. The vehicle was being repaired. The rear windshield was beginning to detach from the structure of the vehicle. The failure mileage was 75,347 and the current mileage was 93,800.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen new beetle gls (n/a). The contact stated that the driver side rear window regulator was broken. The contact stated that the regulators on the different windows had been replaced five times. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that the repairs would have to be performed at her expense. The current and failure mileages were 32,990.
I have a 2003 convertible vw and my back window has come unglued to the canvas. My vw has less than 45k miles.vw should be made responsible for this bad quality in manufacturing this make. I've inquired and it will cost $1300 to replace the entire top. This is ridicules - anyone know of a class action??
2003 vw beetle rear window issues. 3 times this has happened where the rear window wont roll up. 3 times vw dealership charged us close to a thousand dollars to fix because of there design flaw. So many people have had this problem its time to investigate...please! I have put the latest date this occurred, but as I say this has happened 3 times.
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.
I have a 2003 vw new beetle convertible and both rear window regulators continually break. I was told that there is an active campaign going on with your agency to get this item covered as a recall by volkswagen. The item or complaint number that was given me is 10282664. These window regulators are of a defective design and should be covered by vw. I don't feel that they should prosper by selling the regulator kits that are necessary due to their faulty design. This will be the second time that I am replacing these items in a 7 year old car.
2003 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.
Rear window will not come up. Other rear window is locked in up position as it broke 8 mo. Ago. There seems to be alot of this problem on the new beatle all years. Time for a recall?
I own a 2003 vw beetle convertible, purchased new. Only 42,000 miles on it. The front motor and module went our few days ago and had replaced. Now the rear regulator is bad o the drivers side. I have read of a whole lot of complaints about this, why no recall, other model years have been, also the coil pack is bad and has been recall on other years. Why don't include the 2003 model? Thanks
Odi number: 10282664 hello, I have a 2003 vw new beetle turbo convertible with only 26,000 miles. I have had at least 5-6 repairs in the last two years. I'm the second owner of the car and purchased the car in 2008 after the warranty was up. Like many, I have had two problems with the rear window regulator on the left and right side in the last 6 months. The last repair to replace the right side window regulator was over $1,000 dollars and no the other side has the same problem. This should be a recall!
The epc light comes on all the time, even after being fixed. The window regulators break. The battery has had to be replaced twice. The cv boot broke.
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 $1000.00 awaiting parts.
The rear windows on my 2003 volkswagen beetle convertible stopped working for no reason.
Rolled the back window down on the passenger side, then when I went to roll it back up it failed and the window went down on its own. Window is now inoperable. Will have to replace back window regulator, new beetle convertible.
2003 vw new beetle window regulators break and motors go out wayyyy too early. The 2005 and up are designed to pop down when you press the unlock button on the keyless entry but on the previous years, they do not. Therefore, this causes stress on the window and will not close properly most of the time. Also, since they do not pop down with the keyless entry, when the temp drops below freezing and the car is outside, the windows freeze and will not pop down to close the door until completely thawed out. Meaning you get to spend up to 45 mins with the door cracked waiting for the '!@#$% thing to unfreeze enough to pop down and close.
The window regulator on the 2003 and 2004 volkswagen new beetle convertibles does not work properly. It does not allow the window to go down enough or sometimes not at all. This causes the window to rub against the convertible top. I now have a small tear in my top, which could lead to a larger tear or possible breakdown of my convertible top, rendering the car undriveable in my minnesota climate. This happens all the time with these cars and vw refuses to accept responsibility for their design flaw. This is unacceptable as the regulator can cost up to $700 per side to fix. This is outrageous for something that is happening to virtually every 03, 04 new beetle convertible.
Rear window is detaching from convertible top creating open space into car, rain entry and poor visibility thru rear view mirror when water is coming in. Fabric shrinking back from glass. Cannot be re glued. We have been advised the entire top must be replaced. Researching this on the internet as well as with a company that replaces convertible tops evidently his is common on the 2003 model. The rear convertible top window started falling out late 2008. I bought this car new and the warranty has expired. Too many safety concerns driving in bad weather.
Window switches/regulators on 2003 new beetle convertible continue to fail which then does not allow the windows to go up or down. One of my rear-seat quarter windows just fell into the window slot and I couldn't get it back up. Windows that do not close all the way are safety issues.
Rear window is deattaching from convertible top creating open space into car. Fabric shrinking back from glass. Headliner deattached from inside windows even though clips had already been replaced. $1850 for new top per dealer plus 6-8 hours for labor at $98 an hour.glass cannot be re glued ..whole top must be replaced. Vwoa customer care contacted many times and was told sorry you are over warranty. Many many people on line reporting same problem on the 2003 model. Vwoa not interested in checking into the problem only repeating that I am out of warranty. What happens if it falls out while driving..or falls in to the backseat and hits passenger or god forbid someone with a babyseat back there. Vwoa was not interested in the problem just in letting me know that there was no recall and it is not covered. There is nothing else wrong with the top it is a defect in the heat seal or adhesive holding the window in place. I have also had the same window problems as the other complaints on the site but was still under warranty at the time. However ,from my internet search it seems that the rear convertible top window started falling out starting for most in 2008. I bought this car in 04 and can't believe I cant even drive it safely even though I'm still making payments on it without making a $3000 repair.
Something needs to be done asap to make volkswagen responsible for the 2003 beetle convertible doors and window problems. I purchased this vehicle in 2003 with less that 10 miles on it since then I have had nothing but problems with this vehicle with most of the problem being with the doors and windows. The driverside door hinges broke off and all of my windows regulators/motors have been repaired multiple times and have been replaced once. Today tops the cake when my passenger side rear window would not roll up!! Now with the regulators just being replaced in 2006 this should not happen!!! After reading everyone else's complaints this is obviously an ongoing problem the government needs to step in and hold volkswagen responsible!! I did not pay the amount I did for a new vehicle to have problems like this. I have owned other types of cars and never had problems like this. If there is an attorney reading this I would be happy to file a class action lawsuit and I'm sure there are other owners that feel the same!!!
Rear window will not open or close.
The window regulators/motors in my 2003 new beetle convertible have all broken. The front passenger broke twice. The back passenger is now broken and I can't afford to fix it. It is spring in chicago and rainy. Now I can't drive the car. The last time, the front and back driver's side windows broke. My dealer helped me with the cost since vwoa would not listen. I think I should be reimbursed for the last repair and get the new repair done and paid for by vwoa. Reading the chats and the complaints here tell me this is a known problem. I also was told by vwoa that the recall did not cover the beetle convertibles. What a loophole! If owners drive the cars regularly and don't baby the windows, they break. My kids' friends won't shut the doors because they are afraid the windows will break. Please force vwoa to pay for these repairs!
My drivers side window will not go up and to fix it will cost over 800 dollars. Several other people have complained about the same thing. Please do something because I cannot afford to pay there price again it has happened before.
I have a 2003 vw beetle that only has 46,000 miles on it. The passenger side back window will not come up. Before I took my beetle to the dealership to be fixed, I researched this problem on the internet and found that this is a known issue with vw beetles. There was a class action suit brought by the law firm of stueve siegel hanson in which vw agreed to (1) reimburse all expenses incurred by vw owners in the past related to replacing the defective window regulators, (2) install a redesigned metal window regulator replacing any failed window regulators (which used plastic components) under an extended warranty, (3) extend the warranty for all four window regulators at issue to 7 years from the date of the car purchase including 1999-2003 model year vw golf, gti and jetta and 1998-2003 model year vw beetle. However, when I spoke with vw about this agreement, they stated that my vw 2003 new beetle was not included in this settlement because it was a convertible. My car's window regulators are demonstrating the exact failure as these vehicles. It is unsettling to drive a car expecting a window to fall down into the tracks at anytime - especially if it is during the winter, raining, etc. This defect, in my opinion, is a safety issue. Also it is unsettling that volkswagen of america does not have a company-wide policy concerning the reimbursement for this repair nor has instituted a recall to repair this defect. There are many horror stories of windows failing and cars being out of service for months while backordered parts arrive. I want volkswagen to cover the full cost to repair any defective window regardless of warranty status. Additionally, vw should be pro-active and issue a recall. This recall would improve volkswagen's customer service ratings by greatly decreasing the frustration and inconvenience caused by such failures. The lack of a recall gives the impression vw is profiting from the repairs of this defect, instead of taking action.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2003 Volkswagen Beetle?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history