2004 Volkswagen Beetle: engine stalls while driving

Filed Aug 24, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 73,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen beetle convertible. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH with the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle jerked and stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to be restarted but the failure recurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure was unable to be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 73,000.

Filed Jul 10, 2014 · Engine · 89,000 miles · NY

Engine stalls while driving. Epc and check engine light goes on. Loss of power steering. It is a very dangerous problem. It has happened multiple times. The last time was 7/8/2014, the vehicle is in the shop. I am afraid to drive it. Repairs have not been successful in the past. Volkswagen has been contacted they say not recalls are listed.

Filed Apr 7, 2012 · Transmission · MO

Bought my car in 2011 august. Started noticing problems in november 2011. Gears shifting problems in jan 2012. My mileage was only 77,000 could not drive car. Vw said my warranty was expired and wanted $3,500 for new transmission. Paid money and in 2 weeks was back in shop with same problem. But I almost got in a car accident, my gears stalled in middle of road. Luckily no one was in front of me or in back. Scared me and I wouldn't drive it anymore. Friend took it back in and they replaced transmission two times. (this was all vw transmissions). And its still in the shop because it took out the car computer now. Its been 2 months without a car and im a single working mother. Getting rides. They also wanted to charge me labor for the additional transmission errors!!!!! Its been a nightmare! Vw has been rude and not sensitive to problems at all. They could care less.

Filed May 5, 2011 · Transmission · 67,000 miles · MS

2004 vw beetle turbo began jerking, surging, etc, sept/oct of 2010. Took car to dealership twice for transmissions problems, as obvious. Staff said no transmission problems, but paid over $1000 for "other" issues. Dec. 2010 car abruptly stopped running while I was on the interstate. Lost all power! Car will surge unexpectedly while driving or parked. Dangerous to drive. Unable to control as car shifts itself inappropriately. The happens everyday after the car is warmed up. Every time you brake or accelerate, it jerks, surges, stalls, etc. Finally, april 19, 2011, (3 car shops later), another transmission shop confirmed my problems. Only 69,000 miles on my car . . Need new transmission! Vw dealership has turned their back on me and "covered up" the fact that this model car has major transmissions problems and was made defective. I can not believe the number of people that are experiencing this horrific ordeal. A recall is imperative. I could have had two cars for the price that I am still paying for this car. Very unsafe and scary ride. An injustice and insult to the public, hard-working tax-payers!!!

Filed Feb 24, 2011 · Electrical · 84,000 miles · MI · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen beetle. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled after all the warning lights illuminated on the instrumental panel. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the fuse box and the wiring harness to the alternator burned and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.

Filed Jan 1, 2011 · Transmission · 76,500 miles · CA

2004 volkswagen 'new beetle' has serious design / oem-component flaws in the transmission and/or transmission control module, creating very-dangerous and unpredictable 'stalls' (step on gas, motor revs, but transm. Does not engage immediately) in traffic. Vw is aware of this, because they have sent a 'warranty-extension / replacement offer' letter for the valve-body of the transm., however, dealer 'computer' says it's not the valve-body, but rather a 'mechanical issue due to an incorrect gear ratio' and offers a complete transm. Replacement for $5500. (!) not a very 'helpful' solution for a car worth that or less. It would seem there is a 'control' problem with one of their oem components (ie: transmission control module and/or solenoid-pack) as there are *thousands* of owners with such problems, across this country, and imho, vw needs to recall these cars and fix / replace the transmissions - here is a link to a 20-page thread detailing others' experiences: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f124d77/[email protected]@ - this is *not* a 'single-consumer' or 'personal periodic-maintenance issue', and may have grave consequences for someone / some family(ies) if not recalled by vw -please, help us!

Filed Oct 19, 2010 · Transmission · 68,000 miles · MO

While driving the car, it started to just jerk right around the time I would brake to stop the car. Initially, I thought it was the brakes but had them checked out and that wasn't the problem. Then the car started getting worse. When the car shifts in low gears whether shifting up or down the car jerks and sometimes stalls.

Filed Sep 13, 2010 · Transmission · 76,000 miles · CA

I have been having a problem with my 2004 volkswagen beetle transmission. It has been intermittently jerking and stalling. I was driving slowly through a doctor's office parking lot very mindful of pedestrians when the car unexpectedly jerked forward and I nearly hit a pedestrian. It happened again at a cross walk where I was slowing down to stop but before I did stop the car downshifted abruptly and had I not had a firm grip on the break I would have hit children in the cross walk. I have been unable to drive my car because it is not safe and volkswagen will not address the problem even though there are hundreds of pages online of similar cases. It is just a matter of time before vw transmissions are the cause of a serious injury if it has not already happened. Very frightening and very expensive to fix.

Filed Aug 17, 2010 · Transmission · 96,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen beetle. The contact stated that when shifting from park to drive, the vehicle would hesitate and stall. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility where the contact was advised that the transmission would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 96,000.

Filed Aug 6, 2010 · Body · 51,000 miles · CA

2004 volkswagen new beetle hatchback intermittently loses power. I was in stop and go traffic on the freeway when it lost power. It has happened before when traveling 60 MPH on freeway. I brought car to dealership explained the near stall that happened that morning and previous experiences when moving at high speeds. They did diagnostic tests and said there was nothing wrong. Called independent vw shop and they were aware of this problem with this model and had reported it to vw and have received no response. There is no fix. The problem is difficult to replicate and when it is replicated the mechanics cannot identify the cause. Sitting on the freeway with no power is frightening and could prove fatal.

Filed Jul 15, 2010 · Engine, Lights · 64,000 miles · NV

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen beetle gls. The contact stated while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle began abnormally jerking while switching gears. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the engine was repaired. The failure recurred within one month. The dealer then replaced the transmission gear box. Shortly after, the headlights and tail lights failed which were also repaired by the dealer. On a separate occasion, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to immediately restart the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The failure recurred twice. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where the contact was awaiting a diagnosis of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000 and the current mileage was 64,000.

Filed Mar 29, 2010 · 104,369 miles · CO

I purchased 2004 vw beetle 7 months ago. About a week after purchase, the car began jumping, jerking, and surging. On three different occasions, the car stalled on the roadway, twice on the interstate. The car was barely driven due to uncertainty with what the problem was. While driving on the interstate today (75 MPH), the vehicle switched out of gear. I immediately lost ability to drive. I was barely able to get it off the highway before someone crashed into me. I had it towed to another vw dealership and just today found out the mechatronics control module needs to be replaced. Something needs to be done asap before someone gets killed!