NHTSA Complaint #10016494 — 2000 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE

VEHICLE: 2000 VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE. INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FAILED RESULTING IN A LACK OF ABILITY TO PROPERLY GAUGE SPEED. ALSO, LOST THE ABILITY TO DETERMINE WHETHER FUEL LEVEL WAS LOW. VW DEALER'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT ADVISED THE CLUSTER NEEDED REPLACEMENT. THE VEHICLE IS 3 YEARS AND 1 MONTH OLD. THE WARRANTY PERIOD WAS 24 MONTHS OR 24,000 MILES. THE VEHICLE HAS 16,000 MILES. I CONTACTED VW "CUSTOMER ADVOCATE" (THEIR NAME, NOT MINE) DEPARTMENT AND REQUESTED THEIR HELP. I REFERENCED SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER 0103; "SOME VEHICLES MAY EXPERIENCE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER NONFUNCTIONAL". AFTER REVIEW THE "ADVOCATE" SAID THEY WOULD NOT DO ANYTHING IN REGARDS TO 'GOODWILL' BASED ON AGE (1 YEAR OUT OF WARRANTY) AND MILEAGE. WHEN I ASKED ABOUT THEIR APPLICATION OF MILEAGE (THE VEHICLE ONLY HAS 16,000 WHILE WARRANTY IS 24,000) THE ADVOCATE RESTATED THE REASON FOR DECLINE, BUT WITHOUT MILEAGE. FURTHER, THE ADVOCATE STATED THAT SINCE I WAS NOT THE ORIGINAL OWNER, THEY WOULD NOT APPLY GOODWILL. WHEN I ASKED WHAT THE BASIS WAS FOR OWNERSHIP DISCRIMINATION, SHE INDICATED THE LACK OF SERVICE RECORDS. WHEN I, AGAIN, INDICATED THAT I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE FROM THE ORIGINAL OWNER THREE MONTHS AGO AND COULD PROVIDE THE PRIOR SERVICE RECORDS, SHE SAID BASICALLY "TOO BAD", I COULD SEND THEM A COPY, BUT UPON REVIEW VW CUSTOMER ADVOCATE WOULD NOT LIKELY REVISE THEIR DECISION. *JB