2001 Volkswagen New Beetle: check engine light

Filed Sep 2, 2004 · Electrical · 3,405 miles · IL

I have a 2001 volkswagon beetle and was very frustrated when my check engine light came on and the car started shaking. I took it in to the dealer where I was charged $100!!!! And they told me that they did not know what the problem was! I was so upset! The next day the light came on agian and I was furious! I took the car in again and was told it was the ignition coil and they wanted to charge me $100 agian. I copmplained and got the 2nd fee waved. I'm not an expert but it is very rare for an ignition coil to fail???

Filed Sep 1, 2004 · Engine · 7,860 miles · NY

Check engine light came on, no drivability problems though. Dealer said not under warranty; 2001 vw beetle with 7,600 miles. Checked and charged $142.00 to diagnose problem, replaced cts, coolant temperature sensor. It appears that it is hard to find any shops with equipment to access vw's engine control system; only way is at vw or if a shop has a pc based system called morphus? Was this defect under warranty since it is part of the overall engine management system, controlling emissions? Thank you, [xxx].*ak information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Feb 17, 2004 · Electrical · 18,500 miles · IL

While driving my 2001 vw new beetle the car suddenly lost power and began to shake violently. I immediately slowed down but the car continued to idle very roughly. The ESC and check engine lights illuminated. I pulled the car off the highway and turned off the engine. I was able to re-start the engine and drive the car home. I took the car to the dealer and was informed that the o2 sensor and the throttle body had failed and required replacement. The total cost was $1097.00 and was my responsibility even though the car is a 2001 model with just over 18000 miles on the odometer. A call to the volkswagen "customer advocate" center proved hopeless as they refused to pay for the repair. I was told that the 2001 vw beetle came with a 2 year 24000 mile warranty. The lack of warranty leads me to believe that vw knew these cars were of substandard quality from the date of manufacturer.

Filed Jan 28, 2004 · Engine · 8 miles · PA

2001 new beetle 1.9 l tdi, 55,000 mi.: check engine light comes on and stays on until car is turned off then it comes on once glow plug light goes off and car has started (witin 20 seconds). The dealer first told me it was the glow plug sensor. Then recanted and said the sensor was fine and told me I needed a new bridge wire and 4 new glow plugs. Should glow plugs only last for 55,000 miles? The car just turned over 55,023 when the check light came on.

Filed May 8, 2003 · Acceleration · 55,000 miles · OR

Driving at 65 MPH, engine speed 2200 RPM, vehicle suddenly decelerates to engine speed 1200 RPM (35 MPH). Approx 5-10 seconds later the mil ("check engine") light comes on solid and the glo-plug lamp blinks. Obd-ii diagnostic code "p0226" (throttle position sensor) code was subsequently read. Throttle control may be momentarily regained by turning vehicle ignition off and back on in order to maintain speed (observing care that road is straight so that steering wheel lock does not lock up). Failure may re-occur within 50-100 yards, repeatedly requiring ignition turn-off/turn-on sequencing for 'bursts' of throttle function between failures being careful to try to avoid steering wheel lock. Alternative to recovery from loss of foot throttle is to quickly engage cruise control (limiting acceleration is limited to 1 MPH 'clicks'). Vw of america ([xxx] 3-mar-03, 1210 pst, - cust. Care #30108450) denies knowledge of a problem with throttle position sensors and vehicle defaulting to 1200 RPM 'limp mode'. Lithia motors (medford, or - vw sales & service) has also noted the p0226 ("throttle position sensor") code when vehicle was taken to service department for diagnostic trouble investigation but unable to correlate the "throttle position sensor" code with 1200 RPM engine limitation and loss of throttle function. Independent service shop says that throttle position sensors have been modified and are on back order and that the tps in this vehicle (VIN # [xxx]) fails to provide proper signal ("drive-by-wire" throttle) at between 7% and 17% of foot throttle actuation. Problem has occurred approx. 100-200 times since first noted on 19-feb-2003. Very curious that parts have been modified and are back-ordered when there is "no known problem" and vw and their dealers cannot correlate an obd-ii "p0226" code with this hazardous vehicle control failure. *nlm information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Feb 3, 2003 · Electrical · MA

I started my car on 1/31 and the epc, check engine and traction control lights came on. The car would drive however had much less power and was very rough. I borught it into the dealership on 2/3 and they stated it was a coil. They refused to replace all 4 coils, only the faulty one, and I was told that only if this power failure occurs again and it is due to another coil...then they would replace all four. I am questioning the reliability of my car, since it appears this problem has been wide spread throghout the us. I feel very unsafe in my year and half old beetle that was bought because of the high reliability rating at the time.

Filed Sep 24, 2001 · Acceleration, Electrical · TX

Epc and check engine lights come on///car loses power......extremely dangerous as most of my drive to work is on freeway...happened 7/4 and 7/5..taken into metro vw 7/5....told ot problems found....happened again 7/9 returned to metro vw/checked/nothing wrong....happened again 7/12/13...eturned to metro vw....throttle replaced....happened again 7/12 7/13 again to metro vw throttle body replaced......happened again 7/30 throttle body replaced.....again 9/10 9/11...control mod. Replaced again 9/12...thought I was goin to die this time....when lost power 18 wheeler was turnin my way.....again to metro vw.....worked on wiring overlay....waitin to see what happens next!!!