2005 Volkswagen Beetle: transmission slipping

Filed Mar 7, 2018 · Transmission · 7,800 miles · OH

Transmission slips or downshift very hard causes sudden loss of vehicle speed and or loss of control at normal highway speeds or on secondary roadways causing following vehicles to either heavy braking or swurve to avoid rear end collesion with the vehicle.

Filed Mar 29, 2017 · Electrical, Fuel system · 135,000 miles · WA

The drivers window does not work. They are using inferior parts that are known to break. Also the transmission is slipping out of gear while driving and the trunk will not work using the remote.

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 Mar 17, 2013 · Transmission · 72,500 miles · IN

My 05 vw beetle automatic began lurching/slipping when going from full stop to about 40mph.....when trans is going from 1st to 2nd to 3rd gears.

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 Aug 23, 2011 · Transmission · 55,000 miles · KS

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 volkswagen beetle. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH the transmission started slipping and the vehicle would not shift into any gear. The vehicle could not be driven. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who stated the transmission needed to be replaced for $4000. There were no recalls or related warranties. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 55,000. The current mileage was 60,000.

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 Nov 9, 2010 · Transmission · 64,450 miles · NJ

I have a 2005 beetle convertible, never in an accident - up to date on all maintenance with only 64,450 miles on it. A week or so the transmission started slipping so I took it to my mechanic. He was hoping it was a solenoid, and an easy fix but it turns out that the transmission needs a rebuild. He called his transmission specialist who said - 'I won't even touch a beetle, it's like putting on another wedding ring. You get tied to these cars' I have had several small issues with the car, and one big issue which my dealership took care of during my warranty period so I had been satisfied with vw's response at least in the past, but a lightly driven automatic transmission should not be failing 4500 miles outside the cars warranty..and the fact that transmission specialists recognize this as a frequent and recurring problem with the model makes me think there is cause for recall. Searching for beetle transmission prompts message boards with hundreds of entries on the topic and in many cases, people are in the 'just over 60,000 mile' category I fall under. Some examples: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f124d77 (33 pages of owners with the same issue) http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/vw_beetle.html (2004-2005 beetle owners who describe the same exact issue as I'm having).

Filed Nov 1, 2010 · Transmission · 82,000 miles · TX

2005 volkswagen beetle transmission slipping - less than 85,000 miles. At approximately 60k miles I noticed a jerking when I would slow. The jerking would occur while the car was slowing between 3rd and 2nd gear. That seemed to iron itself out, but then a new problem surfaced - the car will slip into neutral between 2nd and 3rd gear sporadically. At 80k miles, I took my car to my mechanic - he told me it could be due to low transmission fluid. He checked my levels and said all seemed to be in order. Now (a month later) it occurs more recently (daily and more than once a day), my car will transition smoothly between gears until transmission warms up. After approximately 10 - 15 minutes worth of driving, accelerating between 2 and 3rd gear, the car revs like it has slipped into neutral and will jerk violently into 3rd gear. When I can tell the transmission is slipping, I remove my foot from the gas, allow the rpms to return to normal and then try accelerating again, normally this will allow the car to smoothly transition to 3rd gear. Today, however, the car remained in neutral and although I took my foot from the gas, the engine seemed to continue to rev as if my foot was still pressing on the gas. I pressed the break to stop the rpms from climbing higher and then the car jerked into 3rd - this was by far the scariest because I had a car right behind me. Impromptu breaking and lurching could have caused a serious accident had I been in tighter traffic. I was only going 25 miles per hour. I contacted volkswagen and formally submitted a complaint. I've also gone on several vehicle forums and found I am not the only person with this year, make and model of vw beetle that is experiencing this issue. I took my car to my mechanic today to find out a diagnosis. Hoping someone else has heard of this and found a more viable solution other than soaking $6k into a 5-year old car.

Filed Oct 13, 2010 · Transmission · 33,000 miles · GA

When slowing for a red light the transmission slams into the lower gear..usually 4 to 3rd, but not always in that gear. Dealer said it was a problem in all the transmissions., but will not do anything about it. Dealer did replace a throttle body before warranty ran out. Problem has recurred and now the transmission is slipping in the gears. This is a major issue. Just google this problem and see what pops up.

Filed Oct 13, 2010 · Transmission · 33,000 miles · GA

When slowing for a red light the transmission slams into the lower gear..usually 4 to 3rd, but not always in that gear. Dealer said it was a problem in all the transmissions., but will not do anything about it. Dealer did replace a throttle body before warranty ran out. Problem has recurred and now the transmission is slipping in the gears. This is a major issue. Just google this problem and see what pops up.

Filed Sep 29, 2010 · Transmission · 50,000 miles · FL

Component: power train:automatic transmission details: issue has not yet caused an accident but will. Volkswagen beetle, 2005 model with fewer than 57,00.00 miles. Transmission failing causing hard shifting and slipping gears resulting in car lurching and pausing unexpectedly. From my investigation this is a very common problem with the new beetle, 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 vehicles that use these 6 speed automatic transmissions and correct this problem. *dt