2005 Volkswagen Beetle: harsh or hard shifting

Filed Dec 31, 2019 · Transmission · 33,000 miles · AR

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 volkswagen beetle. While the contact's daughter was driving 35 MPH, the vehicle hard shifted. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to crain volkswagen of fayetteville (located at 2011 west foxglove dr, fayetteville, ar 72704, (479) 695-5900), but the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 33,000. *ln

Filed Feb 29, 2016 · Transmission · 82,000 miles · CA

I bought a used 2005 vw new beetle with triptonic transmission with 82,000 miles a few weeks ago. Very quickly the car started having transmission issues which appear when the car has warmed up after ~10/15 mins. The problem I'm experiencing is that the car will not shift smoothly when running between the 3 and 4th gear and often revs up to 5000 RPM before it "clunks" into higher gear. It's also hard shifting very abruptly sometimes which gives me very little confidence in driving the car. It seems unsafe to drive as it suddenly lunges forward or gets stuck in gear and doesn't accelerate. One of the worst incident for me was while in traffic going slightly uphill the car got stuck in third and started revving up without accelerating and I almost got hit by a car behind who didn't expect my car to move so slowly. I took the car to a volkswagen dealership and they didn't find anything weird the first time when I took it for the 80.000 miles revision. After repeatedly experiencing the issue I took it again to the dealership to explicitly check the transmission and they recommended to change the valve body of the transmission. I have now read a lot of information on the internet and this is a very well known issue by vw as well as by many people who own beetles with triptronic transmission. Vw extended the warranty of the valve body of the transmission to 7 years or 100.000 miles whichever happens first. Unfortunately they didn't want to cover the replacement for my car since it's 2016 and the 7 years warranty expired in 2012 for this case. This is extremely disappointing and I feel scammed by vw not wanting to cover for an issue that's very well known by them. They sold defective cars and know perfectly well that the transmission is failing way faster than it should yet they now dismiss this because of the age of the car.

Filed Mar 22, 2014 · Transmission · 85,981 miles · FL

I acquired my vehicle on 7/29/2010 as a high school graduation gift with 31,290 miles on it. As of december 2013 my vehicle has been experiencing hard shifting issues.12/15/2013 I took the vehicle to vw for hard shifting issues when decelerating. Vw indicated that the vehicle had an extended warranty for the part causing the hard shifting issues. When the coverage information was pulled up for the auto trans valve body aq-250 warrant ext. The end date of the warranty was on 9/27/2011 or the end mileage of 100,000 miles. Vw dealership was unable to do anything because of the end date, so I proceeded to call 1-800 vw number only to be told that nothing could be done even though I was never experiencing any issues at the time or had any knowledge of the extended warranty. I had my vehicle for only a year. When experiencing this hard shift issue while decelerating the car feels as if someone has rear-ended me and driving this vehicle with this bad valve body is a nightmare, so the car has been stuck in my garage for a couple months now. I have read of many complaints about this same issue and vw quoted me for the valve body replacement of about $1,832.26. This is issue should be resolved and all consumers should be compensated because of this defect.

Filed Mar 19, 2014 · Transmission · 54,639 miles · VA

In september of 2009 the beetle was taken to brown's volkswagen of richmond due to transmission shifting issues. They noted the file: removed the trans pan to check--small shaving, cleaned screen and reinstalled--still having problem. They did not provide information on the extended warranty which had been approved by vw corporate.vw had extended the warranty period on the electronic trans valve body for the known issue with the transmission. Instead they wanted to install a new transmission which was not covered by them. This was not agreed on. In may of 2013 I learned of the extended warranty which had been offered by vw corporate and contacted vw via their web site and filed a complaint. In july of 2013 the vehicle was taken to west broad volkswagen for a computer diagnostic for shifting related issues. In july of 2013 vw corporate contact me stating browns vw had not logged enough information to determine the cause of the problem. I did state to them the car was at west broad vw now. The computer came back with code p0730 incorrect gear ratio. The mechanic stated verbally replacing the valve body should take care of the immediate problem. But the service advisor would not put that in writing and did advise to replace the transmission for $8,500. Vw corporate declined any warranty to replace the valve body. This condition is wide spread throughout the beetle 09g six speed tiptronic transmission. It is my opinion this is a safety concern that vw has passed on to the consumer. Vw knows this problem exist but has falsely represented their concern with the problem. Vw is not taking responsibility for their actions. They have misled the public. They should be held accountable for the truth about the problem and resolution. Erratic shifting/ slamming into gears/ loosing power transfer to the wheels/ without indication this is going to happen.

Filed Jun 5, 2013 · Transmission · 90,000 miles · PA

2005 volkswagen transmission will lurch and slip from 1st to 2nd gear. Issue is supposed to be a valve body issue that vw doesn't seem to want to recognize the defective part. This issue could cause potentially dangerous situation when pulling out onto traffic. The vehicle basically will not go when shifting between those gears. It takes several seconds for it to shift, the vehicle will rev up at that time and then slam into gear.

Filed Nov 6, 2011 · Transmission · 60,000 miles · CA

While driving the car stop and go-when I stepped on the gas, the transmission would not shift to the next gear-the rpms would rev and finally the next gear would "catch" really slam into gear and the car would shift. I had many near miss accidents due to my car failing to move forward in traffic. I took it to the dealer several times and each time they could not duplicate the problem. No repairs were made. I finally drove it directly to the dealer while the problem happened and the mechanic was able to "witness" the problem, the repair was made-replaced transmission parts at 62,000 miles. Now at 80,000 miles, the car does 2 things-while driving on the freeway, the car feels as if it has lost power-the car stays on, but there is no power to the engine-step on the gas and nothing happens-no rpms, nothing, the car slows down immediately, but because it happens so suddenly, cars that are following me don't always react in time and I have almost been rear ended-after a few seconds all of a sudden the car will regain power. The 2nd problem happens randomly-as I am driving, the car just shuts off. All of the dash lights flash on and the car dies-no power steering, nothing, just a dead car. I have to put the car in gear, turn everything off (radio, air etc), and turn the car back on. This has happened during a left turn, at a stop sign, while driving on the street. Again vw mechanic finds nothing on the computer. This car is a lemon-I have had to replace 2 batteries, several headlights, tail and turn lights, air bag sensors, all 4 window regulators, plus 2 of the same window regulators twice, trunk latch, rear ashtray holder, convertible straps, rear convertible window clips, and now whenever it rains my car leaks. I am terrified to drive the car in it's current condition, afraid to cause or be involved in an accident. This car is not safe, please help.

Filed Sep 9, 2011 · Transmission · 61,500 miles · TN

Intermittent hard shifts between 4th and 5th gear with occasional slipping between 4th and 5th gear and also getting stuck in 4th gear which required stopping on side of the road and turning the car off and restarting it. Took the car into the dealer and was told the transmission had to be replaced. After researching it seems this is a common problem with these cars. Dealer told us that valve body replacement was not an option because the hard shifts were between 4th and 5th, not 1st and 2nd. Contacted vw of america customer service and was told they would not do anything to help. The week prior to taking our beetle in for servicing, we took our 2002 jetta in and was told it also needed a new transmission!

Filed Feb 20, 2011 · Transmission · TN

2005 volkswagen new beetle convertible [xxx] purchased in the fall of 2004; multiple requests for service to dealer gossett volkswagen / memphis, tn regarding hard shifting tiptronic automatic transmission started reporting this jan 2005 at 198 miles but I have recently discovered that the service advisor was not recording my complaint, describing visits as "30 day inspection"; only documentation of programming of shift points at 59860 miles according to their records dated 7/17/08; nothing helped; multiple requests for assistance from dealer ignored dealer claiming could not duplicate issue. Problem caused hesitation in traffic; involuntary jerking and sometimes sudden forward motion of car. On more than one occasion had to pull car over to side of road to shut it down. Problem resolved when car below normal operating temperature then manifests at normal operating temperature. Dealer stated "unable to duplicate" until after warranty expired then declared transmission failure without opening so-called sealed unit to diagnose. Volkswagen of america issued recall on transmission valve body late last year; refused to repair my vehicle this january after 6 years of visits to dealer for numerous issues including this one. I allege that the dealer and voa knowingly sold this model year with a manufacturer's defect as many owners of previous and same model years have frequently posted accounts of the same problem on various consumer websites including your own; appealing for your intervention in this dangerous situation. The car is now parked in my driveway. I have also filed a complaint at the state of tennessee consumer affairs agency alleging that gossett volkswagen and voa have engaged in a fraudulent pattern of avoiding responsibility for a very dangerous issue because of the expense of necessary repairs. This car is parked and is no longer being driven because it will stall, lurch, and accelerate and decelerate erratically because of the problem.

Filed Feb 19, 2011 · Transmission · 105,000 miles · TN · crash

Volkswagen beetle, 2005 model with 105,000 miles. Transmission failing causing hard shifting and slipping gears resulting in car lurching, sudden down shifts and pausing unexpectedly in traffic. Caused rearend impact when vehicle failed to accelerate. As told by the vw dealer this is a very common problem with the new beetle 6spd tiptronic transmission, one that vw will not admit nor correct. I have been researching this issue for some time finding that there is no question as to whether a new beetle owner will have transmission problems rather when the problem will begin. While I have not been able to determine how many if any accidents have been caused by this issue I do know there is a great concern amongst these vehicle owners that accidents will occur. Vw should be forced to recall all these vehicles and correct this problem.

Filed Jan 27, 2011 · 72,000 miles · IL

My hard-shifting beetle's transmission needs replacing! I drove my last beetle for 10 years! Now this car, only now 6 years old has a failing transmission? This began very slowly. When I had the car at the dealer for the airbag sensor recall I asked about it but we couldn't replicate it. Now they recall the valve body, a part within the transmission, yet vw has denied my claim to the warranty. They state my transmission is entirely ruined and the valve body replacement will not solve the problem now. Well what else could have caused this other than the faulty valve body? This car is completely unsafe to drive. The car lurches forward from neutral to 1st gear, then clunks through the rest of the gears. Please help get these dangerous cars off the road.

Filed Dec 24, 2010 · Transmission · 46,000 miles · CA

Hard shifting transmission. Wv replaced valve body. Caused trans failure.

Filed Dec 24, 2010 · Transmission · 46,766 miles · CA

Transmission hard shifting recall. Took car into dealer in driving condition. Car diagnosed and vw replaced valve body causing trans failure. Vw refusing to replace trans. Dealer forcing me to purchase new trans. Would not attempt another valve body.