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VW New Beetle Problems - READ ONLY

94 messages,  Last post on Aug 30, 2002 at 5:55 PM

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What is this discussion about? Volkswagen New Beetle

Messages Page 8 of 10

#65 of 94 Cold engine light problem by dgordon12

Mar 18, 2002 (9:41 pm)

My friend has a 2000 New Beetle. When the car is cold, the cold engine light comes on. That is normal. The light goes off after the car is warmed up. The problem is, after some time when the engine is warm and the cold engine light goes off, the light will come back on! The dealer can't seem to fix it.
 
Has anyone else experienced this problem and, if so, did the problem get fixed and how?

#66 of 94 Oil Consumption - 2002 GLS 2.0 L Model by puengineer

Apr 10, 2002 (5:27 pm)

I'm considering the purchase of a 2002 GLS Beetle with the 2.0 L engine. Is the Beetle still having oil consumption problems (1 qt / 1000 miles), or was that with pre-2002 models? Did they ever get the problem "fixed" (really) or does the problem persist? Any thoughts / recommendations from any of you about my possible purchase?

#67 of 94 oil consumption - 2000 GLS 2.0 L by mposh372

Apr 10, 2002 (7:42 pm)

Add me to the list of 1qt/1000mi VW Beetle drivers. My beetle now has 46000 miles and the oil consumption has been about the same from day 1. The dealer is monitoring the consumption(and adding necessary oil) but so far it's "normal." Is it really a problem? What are the long-term effects?
 
The only other problems I've had have been with the "MLI" indicator which was replaced free under the recall and with a airbag sensor which cost about $40 to have fixed. On the whole I'm pleased, unless, of course the oil consumption is going to cause problems that will surface at higher mileage???

#68 of 94 by 8u6hfd

Apr 11, 2002 (4:38 am)

The only fix, has been to tear down the engine and install thicker piston rings.

#69 of 94 oil consumption by fowvay

Apr 12, 2002 (6:04 am)

From what I have learned VW built a series of 2.0 litre engines in which the piston rings were installed incorrectly. This was caused by the rings being marked incorrectly from the supplier. So, not all of the 2.0 litre engines have the oil consumption problem and the issue has been identified and corrected. However, as mentioned in the above posting, the only solution for the high consumption engines is to have them disassembled and new piston rings installed. If your engine isn't using a high amount of oil then it is unlikely that it will in the future but if it already is using oil then it is not going to improve until the inadequacy is corrected.

#70 of 94 Wind Noise in Moonroof by daryll40

Apr 14, 2002 (4:42 am)

Hello fellow New Beetle enthusiasts. About 6 weeks ago I bot a 2002 GLS with the "Rivera Blue" package...all the toys and the 1.8 turbo engine. Much to my delight, I have not had one single problem...none...zip..zilch...nada...at all and now have 1900 miles on it. I am hopeful that the quality problems that you folks are writing about have been ironed out for 2002 and, at the very least, the new 4/50 warranty will cover my butt..er...bug.
 
All that being said, I do have one complaint. There is a tremedous amount of windnoise from the moonroof when open. Actually, it's two different problems. One occurs when it's open all the way...a harmonic vibration. That can be solved by closing it an inch or cracking a window. I have had this problem on other cars as well and just consider it a "variant" and not really a problem.
 
The "problem", however, is that even if you just open the roof just a few inches, that pop-up thingie causes lots of wind noise. If I manually force down the pop-up-thingie, it is better but still noisier than other cars I've had.
 
Also, my friend has a '01 GLS and has burned thru front tires in less than 7000 miles. They are lousy on vehicle maintenance so I suspect the tires were underinflated or some other reason. Nevertheless, I am wondering how tires wear on these cars?
 
Any suggestions or even just other who can relate to my concerns. I will say that this is just a minor annoyance and I LOVE that Bug! I hope I still feel that way in 12 or 24 months...if not, I'll move onto something else.
 
Daryll40, Pittsburgh, Pa.

#71 of 94 tire wear by mposh372

Apr 16, 2002 (7:26 pm)

A friend of mine (1999 GLS) got almost 60k with the standard set of michelin's. I have about 30k with the standard michelins and 16k with a set of arctic alpin michelins (I switch the tires/rims for winter) and I don't see excessive wear yet.

#72 of 94 Re: Tire Wear by daryll40

Apr 17, 2002 (6:03 am)

Thanks for the report on the tires. I feel better about it now! If possible, I have a few other questions...can you email me privately?
 
bnewman3attbi.com

#73 of 94 Don't even think about buying this lemon by slafavers

May 06, 2002 (12:45 pm)

I bought a new 2001 VW Beetle GLS TDI (the diesel engine) way back in November 2000. All I can tell you is this car is a piece of junk.
 
The car drove very well for the first 10,000 miles, then just started to detiorate rapidly. The suspension became so worn that it felt like the car had no shocks whatsoever, panels began to rattle constantly. And of course, VW called this "normal" wear and tear and refused to fix it. I just dumped this car a month ago and bought a 2000 Honda Accord, MUCH more sensible choice.
 
Stay away from the Beetle, unless you want to drain your wallet.

#74 of 94 too quick tire wear by 8u6hfd

May 07, 2002 (9:25 am)

VW has a "silent recall" on the Goodyear Eagle LS tires for its accelerated wear. Many owners got free replacement set.

Messages Page 8 of 10

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