1999 Volkswagen New Beetle problems

Filed Nov 28, 2004 · Electrical · 43,000 miles · IL

Defective or incorrect dashboard instrument cluster and repeated failures of sensors and other miscellaneous electrical switches.

Filed Jul 7, 2004 · Seats · 34,000 miles · CA

Drivers seat adjuster bolts fell out, resulting in drivers seat silding fully to rear and seat coming off tracks. The drivers seat slid all the way to the back seat and I was looking at the roof with no ability to reach the brake, clutch, or accelerator pedals. My ability to steer the vehicle was severly impaired.

Filed Feb 17, 2004 · Body, Visibility · 30,000 miles · FL

The roof cover is falling down. The glue that is use to keep the cloth attached to the roof is very poor and after 3 years it will start to fall down. I have 2 identical vw beetle's and they both suffer from this problem.

Filed Jan 22, 2004 · Locks · CA

Remote hatchbatch lock release failure.

Filed Jan 9, 2004 · Brakes · 26,950 miles · CA

At less than 27k miles, I had to replace the brake pads and rotors. The dealer said the rotors for the new beetle are notoriously thin, and have to be replaced almost as often as the brake pads. This repair cost me $950. My roommate, another vw new beetle owner had the same problem at 31k, many other complaints were registered on beetlebuzz.com, when it was in operation.

Filed Sep 18, 2003 · Lights · 80,000 miles · SC

Low beam headlight on drivers side no longer functions. Dealer states cracked housing allowed water in which in turn burned out bulb. Judging by the number of new beetles I see with one head light out this appears to be a common problem.

Filed Aug 27, 2003 · Electrical · AR

My 1999 volkwagen beetle has a melted fuse block on top of the battery. I believe this was caused by the fuses being faulty as one leg of the fuse was completely burned off and the fuse was still not blown. I believe this is a fire hazard that should be looked into. On the website newbeetle.org, there are several more instances of this occurring including photos.

Filed Jun 30, 2003 · Electrical · NY

Consumer states that instrument cluster failed. It does not register readings for the vehicle speed or rpms.

Filed Jun 9, 2003 · Engine · 55,000 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

I was driving down the expressway at about 55 MPH, when my steering wheel locked up, and my car went up on the center divider. I could not steer my car off the divider, and the brakes weren't working as well either. I imagine what happened was that the engine stopped and my car powered off without warning (the car has a history of failed warning lights or warning lights going on for no reason, having the instrument panel replaced once, but not solving the problem). My car ended up spinning out across the road and slamming into a tree on the passenger side. If the timing was different by a split-second, I would have probably hit the tree with the driver's side, or slammed head-on into a light pole. My car was totaled and I split my head open and had to get stitches. I am very lucky to be alive. I have had nothing but problems with this car, and another one of it's stupid failures almost killed me.

Filed Mar 19, 2003 · Engine · 68,319 miles · MD

Mass air flow sensor failed.