1999 Volkswagen Beetle complaints

THE LEFT SIDE DRIVESHAFT CRACKED AND IT RUPTURED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION.THIS OCCURRED IN MAY OF 1999. THE TRANSMISSION BUSTED AGAIN IN DECEMBER OF 1999. *AK

LOW BOTTOM CHASSIS CLEARANCE CAUSED DAMAGE TO VEHICLE WHILE GOING OVER CURBS EDGES. YH

WHILE TRAVELING 50MPH WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ON, WENT TO APPLY BRAKES TO RELEASE CRUISE CONTROL & FAILED TO RELEASE OR TO SLOW DOWN VEHICLE. INSTEAD, VEHICLE STARTED TO INCREASE IN SPEED & HIT A CONCRETE BARRIER. ALSO HAD HIT OR CLIPPED 2 OTHER VHEICLES. THEN THE VEHICLE SLID SIDEWAYS & CAME TO A STOP. NO INJURIES. *AK

WHEN DRIVING DURING THE DAYTIME THEIR IS A GLARE ON THE GLASS THAT APPEARS AS A CHECKER BOARD ON THE SIDE AND ON REAR WINDSHIELD GLASS THAT OBSTRUCTS THE CONSUMER'S VISION. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK

HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT OF HEAD RESTRAINTS ON FRONT SEAT CANNOT LOWER TO PROPER HEAD HEIGHT

WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED IN A PANTIC SITUATION ONE OF THE REAR WHEELS WILL LOCK UP ALONG WITH ONE OF THE FRONT WHEELS, THROWING THE VEHICLE INTO A SPIN . THE DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK

ELECTRICAL HARNESS BEHIND THE DASHBOARD FAILED RESULTING IN VEHICLE FIRE. *MJS

AFTER ONLY 3 MONTHS OF OWNERSHIP, THE MALFUCTION ENGINE INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON. TOOK THE CAR TO THE SERVICE CENTER, I GUESS THEY RESET THE SENSOR ON IT. THE END OF SEPTEMBER THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON. CONTACTED DEALER AND HE SET UP APPOINTMENT TO HAVE IT LOOKED AT. THEY LOOKED AT IT AND SAID THEY WOULD HAVE TO ORDER THE PART TO FIX IT. I WAITED ABOUT 1 1/2 WEEKS BEFORE I CALLED THE DEALER TO SEE WHAT THE HOLDUP WAS. THEY PICKED UP MY CAR FROM WORK AND TOOK IT TO THE SERVICE CENTER ON OCTOBER 6TH. MY RECEIPT THAT WAS PRINTED, STATES THAT THE AIR BAG TEST FAILED AND THEY REPLACED IT AND ALSO SOME RING. TODAY, TWO DAYS LATER THE AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON AGAIN!!!! I AM WONDERING HOW SAFE IT IS TO DRIVE THIS VEHICLE WITH THIS PROBLEM. THE CAR IS GOING BACK TO THE SERVICE CENTER ON MONDAY, OCT. 11TH.

JACK FAILURE CAUSED CAR TO FALL. FORTUNATELY NO PERSON WAS UNDER THE CAR AT THE TIME. DEALER HAS NO REPLACEMENT JACK IN STOCK TO COMPARE/ASCERTAIN CAUSE OF FAILURE. SHOULD FAILED PART BE SUBMITTED TO YOU?

INTERMITTENTLY THE AIR BAGS SENSOR LIGHT WOULD COME ON/OFF. DEALER NOTIFIED AND INFORMED CONSUMER THAT THERE WAS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, THE AIR BAG WILL NOT DEPLOY. SEEKING NHTSA HELP OR PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS MATTER. *AK

CAR SIMPLY DROVE OVER AN IMPACT WRENCH THAT FELL OUT OF A TOOLBOX FROM A VEHICLE PRIOR ON THE ROAD. IT HIT THE UNDERSIDE OF THE CAR. SMALL DENT IN A COMPONENT BRACE IN UNDERCARRIAGE. NO SIDE IMPACT OR DAMAGE OCCURRED AT ALL. MANUFACTURER REFUSES TO REPLACE.

ACCELERATOR STILL ACTIVATED WHEN PRESSING ON BRAKE PEDAL. TOO CLOSE TOGETHER! I HAVE CONFIRMED THIS WITH MANY OTHER NEW BEETLE OWNERS. ALSO, VISIBILITY IS VERY POOR WHEN CHANGING LANES BECAUSE FRONT HEADRESTS CANNOT BE LOWERED ENOUGH AND PILLARS OBSTRUCT

I WAS DRIVING ALONG A STRAIGHT, DRY STRETCH OF ROAD AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MILES PER HOUR, WHEN MY CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND THE STEERING LOCKED UP. I WAS UNABLE TO CONTROL MY VEHICLE AND CRASHED INTO AN EMBANKMENT. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN SERVICED (REGULAR SERVICING) AT THE VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIP JUST 3 DAYS BEFORE. IN ADDITION, VOLKSWAGEN HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM ON ITS CABRIOLET ABOUT 8 YEARS AGO. THIS PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY THE WATER SEPARATOR PANEL BEING BENT DURING SERVICING. THE OUTCOME OF THIS ACCIDENT WAS $6000 WORTH OF DAMAGE TO MY VEHICLE AND MINOR INJURIES SUSTAINED BY ME.

WHILE DRIVING WITH SUN ROOF FULLY OPEN VEHICLE SHAKES AND SHUTTERS. ALSO THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE ENGINE. *AK

ENGINE COVER IS POORLY DESIGNED, AND THE CAR IS TOO LOW. ENGINE COVER GETS PULLED AND SCRAPES ON THE GROUND AND RIPPES APART WHICH GOES BACK INTO THE ENGINE. THIS OCCURS WHEN GOING OVER A LARGE SPEED BUMP ALSO PULLING UP TO A CYLINDER BLOCK. *AK

A HOLE DEVELOPED IN THE OIL PAN, CAUSING OIL TO LEAK WHICH RESULTED IN VEHICLE STALLING. DEALER & MANUFACTURER HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. *YC

WHILE DRIVING AT 55 MPH THERE WAS A LOSS OF POWER. CONSUMER HAS TO RESET THE COMPUTER, AND START THE VEHICLE BACK UP AGAIN. THERE WAS NO PRIOR WARNING THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN. *AK

AIRBAG CONTROLLER KNOCKED OFF VEHICLE IN SINGLE VEHICLE ACCIDENT; AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. *AK

DEALER CONTACTED ABOUT DAMAGE TO RAILS OF CAR. DEALER STATED THAT CAR MAY HAVE BEEN DAMAGED DURING OFFLOADING/TRANSPORT. *AK

PLEASE SEE PHOTO'S AT HTTP://WWW.CRIVELLI.COM/BEETLE.HTM. THIS CAR JUST EXPLODED INTO FLAMES WITHOUT ANY WARNING. VOLKSWAGEN ADMITS CAR IS DEFECTIVE AND IS TAKING VEHICLE TO MEXICO. *AK

ONGOING/INTERMITTENT PROBLEM WITH VEHICLE'S BRAKES SQUEAKING. VEHICLE BEEN IN/OUT OF DEALER SHOP ON SIX OCCASIONS, AND CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT NOTHING COULD BE DONE. SEEKING HELP FROM NHSTA IN THIS MATTER. *AK

CONSUMER IS NOT SATISFIED WITH THE DESIGN OF THE DRIVERS HEADREST, SITS TOO HIGH AND CAN'T BE ADJUSTED TO ACCOMODATE SHORT DRIVERS, CREATES DISCOMFORT. HEADREST WAS COMPLETELY REMOVED.

TRANSMISSION FAILED. YH

DRIVER CANNOT ADJUST THE HEADREST DOWN TO SEE OUT OF THE DRIVER'S SIDE BACK AND REAR WINDOWS TO CHANGE LANES. DEALER CONTACTED AND GAVE REFERENCE SHEET OF 1-8-99, #99-001, STATED CHANGE IN DESIGN FOR 1999 MODEL. PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. WARRANTY EFFECTIVE AND DOES NOT COVER. *AK.ET.