My First Beetle ^_^

[Serens_00]

I used to own a Jetta GLS 2.0 and I thought I loved that car... turns out I had no idea what vehicular love could be.

No picture at the moment, but it's silver so you can pretty much picture that.

Always dreamed of owning one, and I got a real steal... right before everyone else started driving them again lol.

Oh right. Me... not just my car. hehe

I'm 29 and am between jobs at the moment. I have a clean driving record. I've never gotten a ticket. (Um... well I've been pulled over 16 times for speeding, but I said I never got a ticket. Not that I shouldn't have.) And when I told my boyfriend that the beetle was just a golf or jetta with a beetle hat on... suddenly my car became awesome to him. Knew I should have kept my mouth shut.

[IndyTom]

Welcome to the ORG

Newbie Welcome Kit!

WOW, you got pulled over 16 times for speeding and never gotten a ticket??? You must a girl since that would never ever happen to a guy

Congrats on your Beetle. Treat it right and make sure you keep up with the maintenance. Especially the timing belt/water pump service which is needed around 75K miles or 6 years whatever comes first.
Is your car a manual or suckomatic? If you do have an Automatic I wish you good luck and hope for the best. Do change the transmission fluid ASAP it may help extend the time you have with the transmission.

Good Luck!

[matt423]

Hello and welcome.Maint is the key to the nb or any car for that matter. As for the auto tran's i dont know why some people here have to bash itJust because they dont like them well some people just cant drive the stick and if the only way they can have a nb is to get a auto trans so be it .Why bash it if you take care of it and do the reg maint on it it should last!!!Nice to meet you enjoy your nb

[IndyTom]

It isn't just "SOME" people. It is a documented "FACT" that the 01M transmission is sub par on every level. Even VW acknowledges the fact by extending their warranty on all their "Automatic" Transmissions to 100k miles to keep the peace.
Their Lifetime fluid isn't really lifetime, their valve bodies are weak and the electrical harnesses are known to build resistance and are known to fail after a certain age. Sure some automatics may last a bit longer than others but in case of the 01M transmission it isn't if it fails but when.
But don't take my word for it. Do a search for VW automatic transmissions and you will have more than enough material to read up on and come up with your own conclusion.

[dnyed]

Welcome to the Org, and Welcome to the New Beetle!

I'm glad you discovered us!

[Bratgirl]

Originally Posted by IndyTom

It isn't just "SOME" people. It is a documented "FACT" that the 01M transmission is sub par on every level. Even VW acknowledges the fact by extending their warranty on all their "Automatic" Transmissions to 100k miles to keep the peace.
Their Lifetime fluid isn't really lifetime, their valve bodies are weak and the electrical harnesses are known to build resistance and are known to fail after a certain age. Sure some automatics may last a bit longer than others but in case of the 01M transmission it isn't if it fails but when.
But don't take my word for it. Do a search for VW automatic transmissions and you will have more than enough material to read up on and come up with your own conclusion.

Tom, seriously, you need to get off this automatic soapbox you are on..
Like I have stated before, there are probably THOUSANDS of people that have never had any issues with their automatic transmissions that we NEVER hear about because most people get on here looking for help with a problem, not when everything is hunky-dory. It is very discouraging to always have you tell EVERY new or prospective buyer "don't buy an automatic, you'll be sorry".
Yes, there are some issues, and with a little diligent maintenance they may be averted or at least forestalled for a bit. But to say they will ALL eventually fail is just ridiculous. I point out the guy in an earlier discussion that has 200K on his automatic, and has had no issues..(hope I didn't just jinx him ).
You could at least be a little more diplomatic about it.
I'm just sayin'....

[janitz]

Welcome to the Org!


As for this auto vs. manual thing, I will leave you with these pithy thoughts:

The thing with the auto vs. manual is that some of us just like to grab on to a nice hard knob and jerk it around while we drive.

[Bratgirl]

Oh, I hear that my friend. I have had my fair share of vehicles with knobs. Some of them with bigger knobs than others
I can't deny the fact that they are a hell of a lot of fun to drive.
But there are just some people that like to watch the clouds float by and observe other cars and people and otherwise occupy their brains and not have to think about shifting..though I will admit after a while it becomes second nature and you really don't even have to think about it.
Tom is just way to vocal with his hate of automatics, he needs to learn to be politcally correct...lol

[Smileybug]

Its not a hate...its presenting the facts. VW autos are sub-par. I don't plan on owning an auto, but if I had to, I wouldn't be buying another VW. VW claims the fluid is lifetime, but its not. It needs to be changed out. You don't change the fluid, you lose the trans (which is why we have at home an '01 Jetta TDI with a completely blown trans...at 114k. Drained the fluid yesterday and it was completely black, burnt, and smelled completely horrible). They also have valve body problems, and that just isn't in the O1M either. The tiptronics had problems too, as did the 5-speed autos in other Mk4 cars.

I have no problem with anyone wanting an auto, but they need to know they are problematic and will fail (its not an if but a when...2.0's let them last far longer but coupled with the higher power 1.8T and TDI engines they fail pre-150k quite often). They need to know they need to do a trans fluid and filter change upon getting the car. Its about all you can do to help keep these transmissions alive. Once a trans starts failing, you can't fix it. You can sort of prolong it but you can't stop it.

VWs aren't the only ones with trans problems. If someone said "hey I found a Honda from year range '98-'02" I would tell them the same thing. Hubby has one. Its made it to 177k, but the trans has been showing symptoms of failure since 140k. Fluid was changed on schedule at 90k, he changed it again at 140k and it was already black and had pieces of metal in it. Each time, it gets burned up faster (last change was around 5k ago...will probably do it again soon) and more metal is coming out. Its not a pretty picture.

[janitz]

Well, isn't that the case with all automatics relative to comparable manual transmission vehicles? More moving parts, more points of failure.

[Bratgirl]

Done.

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by matt423

Hello and welcome.Maint is the key to the nb or any car for that matter. As for the auto tran's i dont know why some people here have to bash itJust because they dont like them well some people just cant drive the stick and if the only way they can have a nb is to get a auto trans so be it .Why bash it if you take care of it and do the reg maint on it it should last!!!Nice to meet you enjoy your nb

Matt423 has some serious issues. He writes me some totally off the wall nasty PM and then is to cowardly to receive my response.
I won't post what you sent me but I seriously think you need to chill out and start taking your medicine again because if you don't learn how to relax you will stroke out one of these days. Have some Milk and Cookies perhaps that will help.

My apoligies to the OP for posting on this thread.

[ltlbeetle]

Don't get rubbed the wrong way over someones opinion! Like AH's everybody has one. Maybe Tom is a little over on the autos, but he does a lot of good on here. Lots of reasons for an auto BAD - foot, ankle, hip(wife), back, wrist,elbow, shoulder, and anything by or between these parts. Had my share of sticks - Camaros, Vettes, and a lot of other muscle cars. I,ve earned the right to lay back in an automatic and watch the scenery.....not to much scenery! Granny would make us hug and kiss on the cheek after a little spat....is this in order? LOL Keep up the good work guys, I enjoy it all....good and bad! Would love to make ToD, but don't know about wife. Took that route in a Probe GT turbo...WOW...wife got sea sick and had to slow down. Storm hit just before we got to lake and was foggy for a mile or so -mid afternoon- 90* or so and couldn't see 20 feet ahead. Ya remember the bad times, easier than the good. Have a good day !!!:

[300exoh]

Originally Posted by Smileybug

Its not a hate...its presenting the facts. VW autos are sub-par. I don't plan on owning an auto, but if I had to, I wouldn't be buying another VW. VW claims the fluid is lifetime, but its not. It needs to be changed out. You don't change the fluid, you lose the trans (which is why we have at home an '01 Jetta TDI with a completely blown trans...at 114k. Drained the fluid yesterday and it was completely black, burnt, and smelled completely horrible). They also have valve body problems, and that just isn't in the O1M either. The tiptronics had problems too, as did the 5-speed autos in other Mk4 cars.

I have no problem with anyone wanting an auto, but they need to know they are problematic and will fail (its not an if but a when...2.0's let them last far longer but coupled with the higher power 1.8T and TDI engines they fail pre-150k quite often). They need to know they need to do a trans fluid and filter change upon getting the car. Its about all you can do to help keep these transmissions alive. Once a trans starts failing, you can't fix it. You can sort of prolong it but you can't stop it.

VWs aren't the only ones with trans problems. If someone said "hey I found a Honda from year range '98-'02" I would tell them the same thing. Hubby has one. Its made it to 177k, but the trans has been showing symptoms of failure since 140k. Fluid was changed on schedule at 90k, he changed it again at 140k and it was already black and had pieces of metal in it. Each time, it gets burned up faster (last change was around 5k ago...will probably do it again soon) and more metal is coming out. Its not a pretty picture.

Honestly after owning numerous american cars with automatic transmissions I wouldn't be too upset with 177K miles. Our chevy was well maintained and carefully driven and the trans went out at 85K miles. The fact is that all auto trans are prone to going out much sooner than a manual no matter what car you buy. Sure you can claim the auto in say a camry/accord lasted 200k+ but how often does a car like that get driven hard? From what I've read most of the beetles with autos are lasting well beyond 100k mi. which is reasonable in my book. I'm not trying to start anything here...I'd just like to put it in perspective. I really don't think the auto trans in the beetles are any worse that most others on the road...

[Smileybug]

Oh, not upset at 177k, but its more that if we were to have followed the regular maintenance schedule on it, the thing would be completely dead by now for sure (fluid has been changed 3 times since the 90k maintenance). We got lucky on ours. There are Odysseys and Accord V6 cars of that gen on their 3rd and 4th trans at 90k...its a known very weak point on those cars (the autos don't have a filter! at least VWs have that...).

Its more that even though there is a "schedule" for maintenance on an auto, it really needs to be tended to much more often. 40-50k changes at least I think. When VW is recommending this for their new autos, I think the same logic should be applied to the mk4 autos too since they are known for failures. Again, we have a car with a completely blown auto at 114k (there was a good 3/8 of an inch of metal sludge on the magnet). Fluid was never changed. Filter was original and falling apart. VW claims lifetime fluid, which is partially to blame for the downfall of them (valve bodies are a huge issue too and expensive to replace). Making it to over 100k shouldn't be a tough feat. Neither should making it to 200k. Most fail before 150k, especially in the 1.8T and TDI cars.

I think that an auto isn't really a bad thing. But people need to know that they need to be maintained, especially when buying a VW auto. I was happy that we had an auto in the family after my accident because my right hand was sprained. Only way I could drive for a few weeks was on the Honda. Its really just all about maintenance.

[300exoh]

Originally Posted by Smileybug

Oh, not upset at 177k, but its more that if we were to have followed the regular maintenance schedule on it, the thing would be completely dead by now for sure (fluid has been changed 3 times since the 90k maintenance). We got lucky on ours. There are Odysseys and Accord V6 cars of that gen on their 3rd and 4th trans at 90k...its a known very weak point on those cars (the autos don't have a filter! at least VWs have that...).

Its more that even though there is a "schedule" for maintenance on an auto, it really needs to be tended to much more often. 40-50k changes at least I think. When VW is recommending this for their new autos, I think the same logic should be applied to the mk4 autos too since they are known for failures. Again, we have a car with a completely blown auto at 114k (there was a good 3/8 of an inch of metal sludge on the magnet). Fluid was never changed. Filter was original and falling apart. VW claims lifetime fluid, which is partially to blame for the downfall of them (valve bodies are a huge issue too and expensive to replace). Making it to over 100k shouldn't be a tough feat. Neither should making it to 200k. Most fail before 150k, especially in the 1.8T and TDI cars.

I think that an auto isn't really a bad thing. But people need to know that they need to be maintained, especially when buying a VW auto. I was happy that we had an auto in the family after my accident because my right hand was sprained. Only way I could drive for a few weeks was on the Honda. Its really just all about maintenance.

Exactly...rather than bash the beetle's auto trans like some are doing...I think it would be best just to warn potential buyers of the additional cost, maintenance and potential risks that go along with owning an auto trans regardless of what car/manufacturer they chose.

Basically you are looking at an initial cost of about $1000 over the manual trans, additional money spent on maintenance (say roughly another $1000 over the life of the car) and somewhere between 100k and 200k mi it will need a full rebuild which could cost $3k+

Quite expensive in the long run for a minor convenience if you ask me. I do agree they are nice at times...which is why we kept our monte. A few years ago I had knee surgery and driving a manual would've been near impossible so the autos do have their purpose.

Sorry to the OP for hijacking the thread but I thought this needed to be explained...to me it isnt fair that the beetles auto trans is getting so much slack when ALL automatics are prone to the same issues...

[Serens_00]

Yes, I'm a woman.

Yes, it's standard shift. lol gotta love forum politics. I don't pay attention in automatics and drive terribly. Standards force me to listen to what my car is telling me.

No opinion on the reliability of automatics. I know some feel that vw ATs are not as good. Personally, I am BRUTAL on automatic transmissions (I broke a camry lol) so I am not the best judge.

[Serens_00]

Originally Posted by IndyTom

Welcome to the ORG

Newbie Welcome Kit!

WOW, you got pulled over 16 times for speeding and never gotten a ticket??? You must a girl since that would never ever happen to a guy

Congrats on your Beetle. Treat it right and make sure you keep up with the maintenance. Especially the timing belt/water pump service which is needed around 75K miles or 6 years whatever comes first.

Good Luck!

Hehe, she's a 2000, and has got 138k miles on her. So yeah, she's had a belt or two replaced .

Currently the one piece of maintenance I need to put on the mouse (hehe, I have dubbed the car "mouse" because the silver ones look like a computer mouse. I swear there's a big cursor in the sky that follows my movements!) I need to fix the air injection thing. Typical problem, worn out bolts. I just needed to wait for winter to pass so that I wouldn't freeze myself trying to fix it. Spring is here and my baby will be happy soon .