Childhood Dream Car turned nightmare

[Zypher]

Haha isn't that a great title? Hey I'm Kat, 25 year old living in Austin TX. Got my Beetle in 2002 (first owner) in Michigan. I could tell you my sob story but with this car? Everything that could go wrong, practically has gone wrong. Poor baby. She's good in the snow but she gives me nightmares. I guess I can start from the beginning:

-Peeling driver's door handle, armrest: replaced under warranty
-Driver's door lock broken, armrest handle broken, chair lifting handle broken: replaced under warranty
-Water pump went out <30K miles: replaced out of pocket
-Arm rest handle broke again, driver's door lock broken again: not yet replaced
-Car alarm starts going off randomly in the middle of the night: replaced battery and a sensor
-Windshield wipers stop wiping mid wipe in rain storm: undetermined caused
-Someone keyed it twice and repainted 1/2 the car
-Someone broke the window
-I backed into someone due to their fault of not seeing me as they were distracted 1 week after I got it, damaged bumper
-I backed into someone at their fault, again didn't see me because "I was going too slow", no visible damage
-I got rear ended, new fender and bumper
-Tire blew randomly
-TODAY: Car will turn over but then turn off after a second of running

See? I'm just super lucky

Anyway this car is still my baby, I want to drive it til it dies but I've had a bad experience. Hope to spend some time learning to fix her here!

[scarabY2k]

Hi Kat

I love your never say die love for your beetle- you are a bugophile for sure

Yep, most of the issues, you're experiencing are issues we've gone through, less a fender bender or two.

It's sad how our door handles go south like that. My nB hasn't suffered the breaks yet.

I would suggest the advance search feature of our forums- it can be your best friend; of course our fellow orgers aren't too shabby in the knowledge dept

Welcome to the org family.... keep posting and hang on in there

[Volksisme]

-TODAY: Car will turn over but then turn off after a second of running

Hi Kat, when this happens and you look on the dash does a little symbol of a car and a Key show up blinking? If so this is the Imobilizer. (A safty prec aution when the car does not recgonise the RFID in your key.) This tipically happens when the battry runs low or dead.

To re-sync you key with the cars computer follow the following steps:

1. Connect a battry charger to your battery, letting it get fully charged.
2. Keep the battery charger on the battery and turned on to keep a constant 12 volts to the battery
3. Turn the key to the ON position (you will see the imobilizer light blinking) Leave the key in the on position for 10 - 15 minutes and you will see the light stop blinking and turn off. (If it still hasent stoped flashing leave it on for an hour or so until it stops)
4. Now turn the key to the OFF position before trying to start the car. Your car should now start and stay running.

[mullardel34]

Thanks for the perseverance with your Bug; these New Beetles really do put such a stupid, goofy grin on your face every time you drive one, don't they?

Something that all of us with aspirations of long-term, reliable operation for our Bugs have had to do is this; you simply must locate a competent, fully-trained, fully-equipped, independent VW specialist service facility (they're likely to also service most of the other German marques (i.e., BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc.)). These are VW-knowledgeable folks with whom you can collaboratively work-out an aggressive maintenance program to keep your New Beetle consistently up-and-running. In many cases, these shops can help you get ahead of the known Bug "gremlins" and take proactive action to prevent down-time for your vehicle. A good, independent VW specialist won't be any more costly than the VW stealership (in most cases, they can get the work done for less), but they're worth their weight in gold if they can serve as trusted advisors in keeping your over-engineered (all VW/Audi products are horribly over-engineered; those Germans just can't help themselves... ) on the road; then you can just "enjoy the drive".

Just to give you an idea of what to look for, here's the URL for my local VW/Audi specialist service facility:

Indianapolis Auto Repair for Audi, BMW, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen, Volvo, Saab :: Euro Motorworks

Good luck!

[admin]

Welcome aboard!

[SMG]

That's an immobilizer issue similar to what I ran into during my 1.8T swap. Will it start up with the mechanic key?

[lil.smartie]

Not immobiliser at all!! It was the crank speed sensor.

Kate

[SMG]

Weird.

[Volksisme]

Originally Posted by lil.smartie

Not immobiliser at all!! It was the crank speed sensor.

Kate

Oh well glad to hear you got it fixed. It's hard to diagnose without seeing it. I have seen the Immobilizers do exactly that to people as well.

[Volksisme]

Originally Posted by SMG

That's an immobilizer issue similar to what I ran into during my 1.8T swap. Will it start up with the mechanic key?

The Mechanic / vallet key actually does not have the RFID chip in it so you cant re-sync with it. You must have the switch blade key.

[SMG]

I had a remote go bad once and it wouldn't let the car keep running, that's why I asked.

[Volksisme]

Originally Posted by SMG

I had a remote go bad once and it wouldn't let the car keep running, that's why I asked.

Oh yeah, that cause thats the one with the RFID chip.
It actually pretty anoying that it can go bad and leave you stranded.

[Zypher]

Poor beetle. At it again. EPC light intermittently!!!

Thanks for all your replies everyone. This is a great community!

[Zypher]

I was lucky - I got the car I always wanted when I turned 16, and my feelings haven't changed once since. However, she is almost 10 years old. I have issues with my Beetle (see above) and she has rust damage underneath from being in Michigan. Unfortunately her time has come to go to the dealer and hopefully to a new home. My trade in is more than they are selling for on eBay and as of tomorrow morning she will no longer be mine.

Trust me - I've cried. A lot. In fact I just took an entire photo album's worth of pictures to remember her by on top of all the great memories. I am not ready for this but it's time to get a more reliable car...

So, thank you all for your help. I have a 5 year contract on my new car and so I won't have another Beetle for a long time. My new car will be the Chevrolet Sonic LT in Inferno Orange Metallic - hey, if I'm getting a new car, it's going to have a little personality!

Again thank you all and I will try to drop by every now and then.