31st May 2008, 04:39

2001 Beetle leaking rain rear drivers side and trunk area. Anyone ever solve this one? Ruined my leather in the rear. In general a terrible car and would never own another VW.

25th Oct 2008, 10:13

WOW... what happened to the Bug!!! When I was a teen, a Bug was a dependable little work horse with few problems!!!

13th Nov 2008, 14:20

I bought my 2000 VW Beetle used from a car dealership with 17,000 in 2002. It was a second car and I didn't drive it much at first. I had multiple problems with it not starting-it took months for them to figure it out. Then the car leaked from under the dashboard-flooded the interior and damaged the airbag sensor, which had to be replaced. I didn't catch the leak before the carpets molded and they had to be replaced. The leak was "fixed" and occurred again. Its just coming out of the shop today. The rear hatch has never closed/open properly. The car burns oil like a hot griddle. I always wanted a VW Bug since the 70's and now I realize it was the biggest mistake I ever made. I will never own a VW again. Buyer beware! Denise from Northern California

27th Feb 2009, 19:40

My girlfriend got a 2002 VW Beetle. Got rain water in the front and rear driver side floor, can't get an answer from any one on this, it's coming from behind the dash somewhere and flooding it. Anyone got a solution?

26th Jun 2009, 22:47

I bought a used VW 2000 Beetle almost 9 months ago. The car only has 69,000 miles. I had no problems with the car until almost 3 weeks ago. I tried to start the car, which would start, but then automatically die. I tried and failed many times to get the car to stay started. I towed the car to a VW dealership. After trying a few things, it was determined the Instrument Cluster was bad, and almost $800 later, the car is fixed. I called several mechanics before I told the dealership to continue with the repair, and almost every mechanic told me Bugs have a major problem with the instrument cluster. Now, I am having problems with my drivers side window. When I want the window to go up, it goes down. There are times, even when the window is rolled up, I hear a clicking noise. Also, I hear squeaks when I change gears. I love driving this car, but wished I would have known of several problems this type of car had before I chose to buy.

16th Dec 2009, 22:31

For all New Beetle owners who haven't had their water leaks fixed, if you have sun roofs, I have found the culprit (s). I was required to remove the headliner in order to change the headliner material that was stained and coming off because of the leakage:

There are four rubber hose drains on each corner of the roof. When you open the trunk, you will notice the two rear tan/off-white drain hoses that are pinched at the ends, apparently acting as a one-way valve. The front corners have the same type of pinched rubber hoses. The water trough for the sun roof drains from either the front or the rear hoses.

Chances are, at least one of these hoses is stuck closed so the water collects and drains into the interior of the VW. Use a tool to free the stuck hose and your leaks will be fixed.

S.M. Gapol

Hawaii

21st Jan 2010, 20:30

I have a 2002 Beetle Sport. I like the way the car handles the road while I'm driving, but I have had an alarming amount of issues with it.

Every time it rains, my passenger side floors are soaked, both front and back, and the service department can't seem to find where the water is coming from.

My hatchback will unlock, but not open. I have to press the open button and then run to the back to pry the hatch open before it locks again. I had a VW mechanic fix it, but that didn't last long.

My windshield wipers do not work consistently. Whenever it is raining, they will work for about 5-10 minutes, and then they will just stop working and come back on either a few seconds later or a few minutes later. It could be pouring rain or just a misty drizzle, they will stop in mid-wipe; they are not reliable.

With all the people I see and hear complaining about water getting in their beetle, VW should find the problem and make a recall to have resolve the issue. I keep up with my scheduled maintenance. Any work that my Beetle requires, or that is or has been performed on my Beetle is by VW dealership service department. They at least owe me and other customers a resolution to this massive water problem.

15th Feb 2010, 19:03

OK, after reading all these negative comments about my beloved VW BUG, I have to come to its defense.

Growing up in the 60's and 70's, I wanted a BUG more than anything. My boyfriend even had one that his mother had painted purple! I was in love with that car! I never got my Classic Bug, but when they came out in 1998 with the NEW Beetle, I was determined to get one. I put my name on the list and paid my deposit. Four weeks later I was tooling down the road in my 1998 white New Beetle. I made the excellent decision to buy the extended warranty... always, always, always get this!

The BUG is a great car, but any car can have problems. As for the headlight issue, yes we had that too. The problem was a faulty wiring harness... we replaced that and never another problem. Changing the headlights is simple too. Don't pay the dealer to change those things! I can't explain here how he did it, but my husband can change them out in 5 minutes, maybe 10.

My Beetle didn't have an oil leak, but it does use approximately a quart between oil changes. We do them every 5000 miles and we use MOBIL 1 and NAPA GOLD filters. Yes MOBIL 1 is expensive, but a lot cheaper than a new engine.

Another favor you can do for yourself is buy the VW Service manual FROM THE DEALER. Yes, that is expensive too, but you will never regret buying it.

The AC went out too... after 5 (FIVE) years... another thing that the extended warranty was good for.

Those door looks... that was a recall item from the factory. That shouldn't have cost you a penny. WE fixed them and then found out there was a recall and the manufacturer refunded our money on that repair.

The battery is a pain to change out too, but the service manual (NOT THE OWNER'S MANUAL) will help you with that one too.

That car has been through H*** and back. I nearly signed its death warranty by "loaning" it to my son to use as his transportation. If there was ever a testament to how good a VW is... this little car is it. It just rolled over 200,000 miles last week... and my little Herbie --- lovingly named SUZBUG --- is still going!

Guess what else??? I love BUGs so much that I traded in my VOLVO for another BUG! I've got a Gecko Green 2009 one now. You can say what you want about VWs, but I wouldn't have anything else now.