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Hatchbacks Volkswagen Beetle Volkswagen Beetle Transmission Problems
125 messages, Last post on Dec 07, 2009 at 7:12 AM
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98 beetle 130000 miles , if you take off real slow the first shift is rather hard , if you take off normal it then shifts normal , car is new to us no info on pre service would a trans oil change help ???
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Hello everyone! I've been reading a lot of posts on here and on other forums and I think I might be having the same problem as some of you. A few months ago, my 05 Beetle started to jerk when I would put on the brakes and sometimes when I would step on the gas. I called the VW dealership and the guy said that it was normal for VW's to do that when they are about 4 years old. I didn't really understand how it could be normal, but I just left it as it was. It got a little it worse over time, but not much. About 2 months ago, I accidently ran over a cement block which caused my transmission pan to get dented. I had that fixed and since then my car has been having shifting problems. When the car gets warmed up (after driving if for about 15 minutes or so), it will get stuck in a gear and the engine will rev for a bit then jerk roughly into gear. I recently took my car in to get it looked at. The mechanic wasn't sure what the problem could be, but he noticed that the car was low on transmission fluid and that a piece in that area was bent and sort of melted or something (that piece had to be fixed in order to change the fluid). So, he fixed that, but the car still has the same problem. When I drove it home after getting that piece fixed, the problem seemed liked it was worse than before. When the engine was revving, the check engine light came on (it was yellow) and the drive, park, reverse, etc initials each had brackets around them, instead of just the drive ( [D] ). My car is at a transmission shop now. At first, they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Then they hooked it up to their computer and found a problem in the 4th gear. The mechanic isn't sure what the problem is, so in order to find out, he has to rebuild the transmission. So, even if that ends up not being the problem, I'll still have to pay for the rebuild. I cannot afford to pay for the trans to be rebuilt. So, I was just wondering, should I try to save money to get the trans fixed? Is it worth it? Could it be caused from something else other than the transmission? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Krissy
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Replying to: the_twins (Mar 10, 2009 8:39 am) Whats the status of your car? Same thing happened to my girlfriends car 2005 turbo convertible this last week. When stopped at a light it "bang" really loud and jerk forward then not come out of gear and rev really high. The engine light came on and all the gears selections on the dash were surrounded in brackets. Brought thecar to a local mechanic, charged me $100 telling me it was a pressure sensor switch, told me to contact VW first before bringing it to a tranny shop and basically have it taken apart. Brought it to VW, they told me my girlfriend spilled something on the shifter to make it stick, (girlfriend said it was always like that) they took it apart and claened it up and regreased it. Said the engine light was something else that came on the same time but is a recirculating valve in the turbo. they are not going to charge me for the cleanup of the shifter but the $250 for the turbo valve. They said the tranny goes into "limp"mode if the tranny gets the wrong info from the shifter, basicall the shifter is telling the tranny something wrong. the transmission protects itself by not shifting, which is a bunch of bull. That doesnt really protect the tranny when your car stays in first driving down the road. Seems like we have the same prob and i would be curious to find out what hapend to yours! - mark 
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Aloha, I own a 2005 VW Beetle that has all the typical problems including malfunctioning air bag light(check recalls for your year!), bad driver door handle, windows out of alignment etc; however, the transmission can be the most critical/costly problem of any late model Beetle with over 50K miles! If you have the hard shift and the slippage into neutral (feel like you ride in a carnival bumper car) you need to find out if the problem is indeed mechanical (which will need actual trans repair) or another contributing problem that is making the trans malfunction. Your repair tech will first scan your vehicle and tell you that the scan results balance with the driving symptoms of no shifting into 3rd/4th gear, etc. If there is no obvious contributing factor, i.e. sever overheating(can dissolve the viscosity of the trans fluid) or malfunctioning alternator(can affect cellonoid operation), that could affect the trans you will need to "service" the trans to determine if it is mechanical or something else. The trans "service" including filter and fluid will cost approx $300-$500 depending on your trans model and what kind of fluid it takes. it is not unusual to have trans fluid cost $130.00. You want to ask you mechanic to look for metal shavings on the magnet. If there are significant metal shavings on the magnet then it is a mechanical problem and will need to be rebuilt. (if you have significant shifting problems then tell your mechanic to just "drop the trans pan and check the magnet" no need to spend the service money if it will be a waste and you will only pay for another service with a rebuild). The rebuilt should include a $500 trans rebuild kit a $400 replacement torque converter, fluid, filter, labor and possibly new triptonic and neutral safety switches. A rough labor estimate should be 18-24 hours. A rebuild parts and labor is roughly $3500.00 for a solid job and warranty. Make sure you exhaust all contributing factors while keeping costs low. Overheating on these cars is common especially since the warning light(no gauge) doesn't even come on until almost 250deg. Your water pump, thermostat, driver and passenger side cooling fans, radiator, all work together to cool your vehicle(including trans fluid). The stock cooling fan motors often blow out the low speed and only operate on high when the vehicle is already too hot. The stock water pump has a plastic type spool and should be replaced with a metal spool to avoid total timing belt meltdown and especially clogging in the radiator are all common factors that lead to hot operations and overheating. An overheated vehicle can lead to burned up trans fluid and hard shifting. Don't repair expensive cooling parts until you check the magnet!!!!! Aftermarket alarms, roadside jump starts, incorrect new battery install, and on the fritz alternator can all lead to malfunction trans. Again check the magnet first!!!! With Aloha, Ashley |
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After searching the internet and reading horror stories of this make and model and spending lots of money on a car that has only 40,000 miles on  it having problem after problem over the last couple of months i did the best thing imaginable. They got the engine light to go away and the brackets around the gear selection indicator. The mechanic at the VW dealership said that it might only be a temporary fix. Brought it down to the local Honda dealership, (of course after doing my research on edmunds.com) Traded it in, got $11,000 towards a 2009 Honda Accord. I don't think i'll have any problems for a while..... 
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I have a 99 New Beetle, original owner. The car has 164,000 miles on it. Without warning, I was driving at 30 mph, stopped at a traffic light, and when the light turned green, I could only accelerate an inch or so at a time. The clutch felt the same, but the shifter has lost all control. The shifter is REALLY loose, and moves 1" sideways, and up and down thru the middle of the H, but not in any gear. I had it towed home. Has anyone had any similar problems? Kim |
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God, I wanted a Beetle since they came out with the model. I got a 2001 Beetle two years ago. But what a piece of crap. Mention of that trade-in has got me thinking ... Anyway, for a while now while driving on the freeway or something I felt like the car suddenly stopped listening to my gas pedal, but I told myself it was the wind--until today. There was a clear 4-5 seconds after a stop light that I tried to go--did at first--then it just wouldn't listen. Then it was back. I took it immediately to my VW mechanic who told me it was my catalytic converter. Went driving tonight--hmmm, not the catalytic converter. That kind of pisses me off not just cuz it's a waste of money, but from this forum I'm seeing that these symptoms seem to be tied regularly to transmission problems. |
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| I've spent over $1,000 in repairs over the last five months on this car--once to replace some stupid chip in my car key for $300. For the love of God, don't get a Beetle if you're looking into it right now. | |
| The front wheel of my VW NEW BEETLE 99 are locked, the car turned on but not moving and you can not push. Being turned on and accelerate and release the pedal, the RPMs drop quickly."> | |
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Which is the most common problem in the transmission of the beetle. Thanks
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