2004 Volkswagen Beetle transmission problems

Filed May 4, 2021 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 160,000 miles · MI

Driving my 2004 volkswagen beetle is dangerous. The tiptronic transmission in the 2004 vw beetle is known by volkswagen to be defective. At any point the valve body can fail, which causes delayed shifting, and hard jerking between gears. My 2004 beetle fails to shift when accelerating between 2nd and 3rd gear. This causes the vehicle to coast for several seconds, sometimes requiring pulling off the road because of traffic. When downshifting it jerks extremely hard. You get in, start the engine, and receive no warnings that anything is wrong with the vehicle. No check-engine light provides any indication that the vehicle is dangerous. You drive down some city streets and hop onto the freeway to go to your favorite grocery store. After getting off the freeway the car is fully warmed up, and as it downshifts from 4th to 3rd gear it lurches. It feels like the engine is trying to jump out of the car! No engine light comes on. Then you stop at the end of the off-ramp, and wait for a traffic light to turn. After turning the car shifts from 1st to 2nd gear. Then it fails to shift from 2nd to 3rd gear. The gear doesn't engage, and the car coasts down the road without any power. Drivers passing by are staring. The SUV behind you is right on your butt; they begin honking. There's nothing you can do. Finally, after 20 seconds of coasting the car enters 3rd gear with a giant lurch. It feels like it's going to explode! You pull into the grocery store parking lot, heart racing, knowing that the car you're driving almost caused an accident that could kill a half a dozen people. And you know to get home it's going to happen all over again. This problem is reported by hundreds of owners. This is an extreme safety hazard. Volkswagen needs to recall the affected vehicles and pay damages for those whose transmissions were destroyed by this defective valve body and transmission.

Filed Jul 15, 2019 · Electrical, Transmission · 157,000 miles · NC

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen beetle. While driving 60 MPH, the battery and ABS indicators illuminated and the vehicle downshifted into first gear. The vehicle seized and was moved to the side of the road. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle, but was unsuccessful. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the wire harness failed and needed to be replaced. The fuse box was replaced three times, but the failure recurred. Leith volkswagen of cary (2300 autopark blvd, cary, nc 27511, (919) 842-5624) and the manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 157,000.

Filed Dec 29, 2018 · Transmission · AZ

2004 beetle with 85,000 miles hard shifting down - it jerks from gear to gear until it comes to full stop. . Now while upshifting it couldn't make it out of 3rd gear and have almost been rear ended 3 times. Car jerks ,shudders, lurches . Transmission problem is consistent with low mileage vw beetles

Filed May 14, 2018 · Transmission · FL

I bought the new beetle not even a month and I noticed a jerking in the transmission. I found out using specialized websites for enthusiasts that volkswagen issue letters to owners of new beetles in 2010 informing that tons of owners complained about the hard shift they were experiencing in the automatic transmission oftheir new beetle. Vokswagen offered to extend the warranty on the transmission valve body. The models affected spans from 2003 to 2008. In other words, volks sold faulty cars withing this time range and only recognized later in 2010 about the issue. However, the valve body failure in the transmission is across the board and a recall should have been issued for the range of 2003-2008. The component was designed to fail by design. Not even the replacement would fix it because it would happen again. Imagine the danger when there is a hard-shift and the car starts to jerk and changing gears erratically ? Imagine this happening on i95 or any other highway. Vw just extended the warranty but a recall is needed here. I called vw and they are refusing to fix it saying it is an old car and warranty is expired, but the truth is since 2003 the hard shift condition existed. It takes time for the valve body to fail but it will fail. I have other cars, but when I noticed the jerk I investigated. I attached the letter that I obtained from the new beetle.org site and there there is a detail explanation how the automatic transmission will fail due to the design

Filed Oct 2, 2017 · Transmission · 63,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen beetle. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle felt as if it were in neutral. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road, placed the gear shifter in park and then back into drive, and was able to resume driving. The contact stated that she had to repeat the same procedure five times until she reached her destination. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to perrysburg auto mall (26875 n dixie hwy, perrysburg, oh 43551, phone number: (419) 874-4331) where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 63,000.

Filed May 16, 2017 · Transmission · 130,000 miles · OK

The gearbox slips, stutters and jerks . And will slip out of gear and not go back in gear until engine is restarted. This happens when starting to move from a stop.

Filed Nov 16, 2016 · Transmission · 85,000 miles · IL

Transmission locks up, noisy upshift and downshifts. While driving unpredictable gear shifts.

Filed Jul 28, 2016 · Airbags, Seat belts · 118,000 miles · GA

My transmission went out all at once my airbag/seatbeilt light on all the time

Filed Jul 1, 2016 · Transmission · 90,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen beetle. While driving at any speed, when the vehicle slowed down to approach a stop sign or traffic light, it would downshift independently. The vehicle became inoperable and had to be pulled over, turned off, and restarted. The mechanic stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified and the vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

Filed Apr 7, 2016 · Engine, Transmission · 15,000 miles · KY · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen beetle. The contact stated that after the vehicle was parked, fluid was leaking from the front passenger side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking and an unknown hose needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. On another occasion, the contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, a burning odor emitted inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the timing chain and the water pump kit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. In addition, the contact stated that after the vehicle was started and switched into the drive position, it failed to accelerate without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 15,000.