2005 Volkswagen Beetle: hesitation when accelerating

Filed May 18, 2018 · Electrical, Engine · 200,000 miles · OH · crash · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2005 volkswagen beetle. While driving 73 MPH, the vehicle hesitated and stalled without warning. As a result, the contact crashed into a ditch and smoke appeared from the front of the vehicle. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a towing lot. The contact called bill marine volkswagen at (937) 210-4257 (located at 415 e north st, springfield, oh 45503) and was advised to bring the vehicle in for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000. The VIN was not available.

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 Jan 18, 2011 · Transmission · 39,900 miles · NY

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 volkswagen new beetle convertible. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH the rpms would increase, but the vehicle would not accelerate any faster causing it to hesitate. She also noticed that when trying to parallel park it would hesitate before going into gear and it was harder to shift. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed the contact that she needed to replace the transmission body. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 39,900 and the current mileage was 44,000.

Filed Dec 28, 2010 · Transmission · 73,000 miles · DC

I currently own a 2005 vw beetle with 96,000 miles. Before me, the car was owned by my parents since it was bought in 2005. About one year ago, it began to violently jerk between first and second gear after about 20 minutes of city driving. When accelerating from a stop light or stop sign, the car would stall, then buck forward as if I was being rear-ended. I have taken the car to aamco, plus 3 additional transmission specialists in that time. To date, I have spent $1,100 to have the transmission serviced and the shifter replaced. The problem has only gotten worse and the car now violently jerks from second gear into third gear and hesitates on the highway when shifting between fifth and sixth gear. In stop and go traffic, I've nearly been rear-ended twice in 2010 alone. This is a daily occurrence. To date, volkswagen has essentially refused to stand behind its product. Though the volkswagen group of america has extended me a 7-years or 100,000-miles warranty, douglas volkswagen, the dealership from which the car was bought in new jersey refuses to replace the valve-body (the part covered under warranty) and has recommended I put a new $8,000 transmission in the car. They claim the transmissions made after 2008 do not have the problems 2003 through 2007 models had. Regardless, they have not tried to replace the car's valve-body, which is a part of the transmission. They seem to find it appropriate that I replace the defective transmission out of pocket at a cost higher than the car is presently worth. For that reason I have registered a complaint with volkswagen group of america. Many new beetle owners complain that they have also encountered similar resistance from volkswagen and have been pushed to pay for new transmissions only to realize the problem persists after thousands of dollars have already been spent. The company has made feeble efforts to correct the problem. I hope the federal safety agency will assist consumers presently being politicked by vw.

Filed Dec 20, 2010 · Transmission · 52,000 miles · MS

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 volkswagen new beetle. While driving approximately 30 MPH the vehicle violently lunged forward as it abruptly downshifted. The failure recurred intermittently. The contact also stated that the vehicle would intermittently hesitate while accelerating at a stop. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the tiptronic switch was repaired. The failure continued to recur so the vehicle was taken back to the authorized dealer where he was told the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 52,000 and the current mileage was 55,000.

Filed Aug 18, 2010 · Transmission · 64,000 miles · NV

I am an original owner of a 2005 vw beetle. Started noticing the transmission, hesitating and slamming into gear, mainly with 3rd and 4th gear. The problem is worsening, now at 75,000 miles I either need a new transmission or at minimum, a new flywheel. I have seen thousands of the same complaints and feel this is a defect.

Filed Aug 9, 2010 · Transmission · 80,000 miles · TN

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 volkswagen beetle. When the brakes were applied and the vehicle came to a complete stop the vehicle violently lunged forward. Upon accelerating the vehicle began to hesitate when changing gears. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be examined for the cause of failure. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure continued to occur intermittently. The frequency of the failures had increased over time. The failure and current mileages were 80,000.

Filed Mar 8, 2010 · Transmission · 55,403 miles · TX

I am the original owner of a 2005 new beetle conv. In 12/08 I took my vehicle in for 40k mile service at which time the transmission was checked for leaks and fluid level. In 2/10 my transmission had to be replaced because it was no good. My problems started about late november 2009 to december 2009. I started to have hesitation problems from take off and coming to a stop after about 15 minutes of driving. I first thought the problem was bad gasoline, however that was not the case. I would be going along just fine and then the transmission would jerk hard sometimes to change gears when coming to a stop. And would whine and hesitate and jerk to change gears when taking off. This problem got progressively worse and when I took my car in I was told @ 55,000 miles I would need a new transmission. So a new transmission was installed to the tune of $5,700. This is not was I bargained for.

Filed Oct 24, 2009 · Transmission · 95,000 miles · WA

2005 vw beetle with 95,000 miles. Been maintained and taken care of. As with many other vw beetle owners, the transmission is messed up. Doesn't happen all the time but hesitates and bucks when shifting up and down. Very worrisome in heavy traffic.

Filed Aug 25, 2006 · Transmission · 7,385 miles · CA

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the vehicle hesitated when the accelerator was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealership twice who declared the problem could not be duplicated. The dealership also declared that other models with the same electronic module presented the same transmission defect but did not provide any solution. Updated 10/17/2006 - the hesitation and stalling problems occurred when using the left foot to brake the vehicle. The vw technician said the computer module receives conflicting signal due to one foot on the brake and one on the gas pedal. There were no apparent warnings in the vw owners manual. There seemed to be no problem when using the right foot on the brake and gas but the problem showed up immediately when using the left foot on the brake and right foot on the gas.

Filed Aug 2, 2005 · Acceleration · 400 miles · NC

Dt: 2005 volkswagen, beetle. On occasion when stopping at red light,the car bogged down, when pressing the accelerator the car would not go. It would hesitate for at few seconds, and it will not take the gas. The engine had not quit as of yet. Consumer spoke to the dealership, and they put it on a machine, and drove the car. However, could not duplicate the problem. The dealership was cooperating , and said they would try to find the cause of the problem. This happened at 5 or 6 times since may.