NHTSA Complaint #10509679 — 2002 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE

THE IGNITION COILS ON MY 2.0L AZG ENGINE CRUMBLED DURING A TUNE UP,WHICH RESULTED IN A $647.00 REPAIR BILL. NEW VW IGNITION COIL, SPARK PLUG WIRES AND OEM SPARK PLUGS WERE INSTALLED. TODAY, 4/26/2013, IGNITION COIL CRUMBLES AGAIN DURING TUNE UP. VW CLAIMS THEIR WARRANTY ON PARTS IS 12 MONTHS. VW RECALLED A TON OF IGNITION COILS FOR 1.8L ENGINES IN THE 2001-2003 TIME PERIOD CLAIMING HIGHER THAN NORMAL FAILURE RATES. I WOULD SAY THAT ONE IGNITION COIL EVERY 4 YEARS IS A HIGH FAILURE RATE AS WELL, CONSIDERING OF THE THREE CARS I HAVE CURRENTLY OWN (ONE FOR 15 YEARS), I HAVE NEVER HAD A COIL FAIL EXCEPT FOR TWICE FOR THIS BEETLE. A SEARCH OF VW OWNER WEBSITES AND YOU TUBE VIDEO SITES SHOW A PLETHORA OF FAILED IGNITION COILS AND HOW-TO'S FOR REPLACEMENT OF THE COIL. IF THIS ISN'T A PREVALENT PROBLEM, WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE CLAIMING IT HAPPENS? IT SEEMS THAT VW IS LIMITING THEIR LOSSES BY IGNORING THESE FAILURES. *TR