2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible Problems

The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V785000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Takata recall. The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V785000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer had been notified about the recall; however, the contact was informed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

PURCHASED AS A CPO VEHICLE IN SEPT '17. STARTED STALLING MONTH LATER. CAR STALLED GOING 50 MPH, STALLED IN A PARKING LOT AND STALLED ON HIGHWAY! VERY DANGEROUS! BROUGHT THE CAR IN TO VW 3 TIMES TO BE FIXED - FINALLY THEY REPLACED FUEL PUMP AND ISSUE SEEMED TO BE RESOLVED. FAST FORWARD 18 MONTHS AND IT IS HAPPENING AGAIN! FIRST IN A PARKING LOT THEN TRAVELLING 40 MPH AND WAS ALMOST RAMMED FROM BEHIND BY A TRUCK. BROUGHT TO VW AGAIN AND THEY CLAIM A SENSOR MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED? I ASKED IF THIS WAS DEFINITELY THE FIX FOR THIS AND THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T GUARANTEE IT. IT LOOKS LIKE THEY RECALLED JETTAS AND CC FOR STALLING ISSUES BUT NOT BEETLES. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE SERIOUSLY INVESTIGATED!

INCIDENT 1 SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, I PULLED UP TO A STOP LIGHT. AS THE VEHICLE NEARED A COMPLETE STOP, THE ENGINE STALLED. I WAS UNABLE TO RE-START THE VEHICLE FOR 20 MINUTES. (THE ENGINE WOULD CRANK BUT NEVER START.) INCIDENTS 2 THROUGH 4 THERE WERE PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE RESTARTING ON HOT DAYS, BUT I DON'T HAVE DETAILED INFORMATION BECAUSE I WAS NOT THE DRIVER. INCIDENTS 5 THROUGH 16 I DROVE THE VEHICLE AND SHUT IT OFF. I RETURNED WITHIN ABOUT 15 MINUTES. THE ENGINE WOULD CRANK BUT NOT START. ONLY AFTER WAITING 20-25 MINUTES WITHOUT ATTEMPTING TO START DID THE VEHICLE START. THIS HAPPENED 12 TIMES IN ONE DAY. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE DAY WAS ABOUT 85 DEGREES. I CONTACTED MY MECHANIC ABOUT THE PROBLEM. HE SAID IT SOUNDED LIKE A FAULTY FUEL-PUMP CONTROL MODULE, AND THAT I SHOULD SPEAK TO VW ABOUT THE RECALL. VW DEALER SAID NO RECALLS ARE PRESENT FOR MY CAR. AFTER SPEAKING WITH A PARTS SPECIALIST AND A MANAGER, THEY DETERMINE THAT, THOUGH MY VEHICLE IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL, IT USES THE SAME DEFECTIVE PART AS THE PASSAT AND CC. THEY TOLD ME TO CALL VW AND ASK FOR AN EXCEPTION TO THE RECALL. I CALLED VW CORPORATE AND EXPLAINED THE ISSUE. THE AGENT WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE PASSAT AND CC RECALL AND CONFIRMED THAT NO RECALLS WERE PRESENT FOR MY VEHICLE. AFTER REQUESTING INFORMATION ON THE SITUATION, THE REP TOLD ME THE FOLLOWING: "YES, THE PART IS DEFECTIVE. NO, VW WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT UNLESS THE RECALL IS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE YOUR VEHICLE. YOU CAN PAY US TO INSTALL A REPLACEMENT PART AND THAT REPLACEMENT PART WILL ALSO BE DEFECTIVE BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T YET RELEASED AN IMPROVED PART." THE REP EXPLAINED THAT RECALLS ARE GOVERNMENT-MANDATED, AND VW DOES NOT CREATE THEM. I DON'T THINK THIS IS 100% ACCURATE, BUT IT WAS AN "EXCUSE" SHE GAVE. I WAS HORRIFIED BY VW'S ATTITUDE, ADMITTING A DEFECT BUT REFUSING TO FIX. CAN YOU PROVIDE ANY HELP?

The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at a stop sign and removing the foot from the brake pedal, the contact became aware that the hill holder hill assist feature, designed to make hill starts easier by preventing the vehicle from rolling backward was taking longer to release the brakes. The contact stated that the time to release the brakes had gradually increased to 10 seconds. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the brakes were inspected and no failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. The VIN was not available.