1998 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE Visibilitypower Window Devices And Controls Problems

DRIVER SIDE POWER WINDOW STUCK IN DOWN POSITION. PRESSING THE WINDOW UP TOGGLE RESULTS IN GRINDING NOISE AND BURNT/ELECTRICAL SMELL. *TR

SINCE I PURCHASED MY BEETLE IN 2001, IT HAS BEEN AN ONGOING MONEY DRAIN. IN 6 YRS. I HAVE REPLACED THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION TWICE, HAD THE BRAKES WORKED ON A NUMBER OF TIMES, BEEN UNABLE TO OPEN THE GAS "DOOR" ON THE CAR W/ THE GAS CAP LATCH, HAD TO REPLACE THE HOOD OPENING LATCH, HAD REPEATED ELECTRICAL FAILURES, PROBLEMS W/ FRONT & REAR LIGHT WIRING, HAD DOOR LOCKS/ALARM FAIL & SUBSEQUENTLY HAD MY LAPTOP STOLEN FROM THE CAR, THE RADIO HAS NOT WORKED FOR 1+ YEAR, & IT'S COVER PANEL IS LOOSE & FALLING BACK INTO THE DASH, THE REAR-VIEW MIRROR SWITCHES HAVE FAILED, THE POWER WINDOW SWITCHES HAVE HAD TO BE REPLACED, THE DRIVERS SIDE DOOR FELL OFF (!) OF ITS TOP HINGE WHEN THE HINGE BROKE WHILE OPENING THE DOOR NORMALLY AT A GAS STATION, THE AIR COMPRESSOR HAS FAILED MANY TIMES, THE A/C IS CURRENTLY NOT...

I OWN A 1998 VW BEETLE AND TWO YEARS AGO THE DRIVER WINDOW WOULD NOT GO UP OR DOWN SO I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC AND HE THEN NOTIFIED ME OF A RECALL ON THE WINDOWS SO HE TRANSPORTED IT TO THE NEAREST VW DEALER THEY REPAIRED IT THEY ALSO SCRATCHED THE WINDOW DURING THE REPAIR AND AFTER THAT REPAIR TOOK PLACE I STILL HAD PROBLEMS WITH IT I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP THAT SUPPOSEDLY REPAIRED IT AND LEFT MESSAGE FOR GM TO CALL ME WELL I NEVER GOT A RETURN CALL AND THE PROBLEM WITH THE WINDOW STILL WAS THERE THE SERVICE MANAGER AT THIS DEALERSHIP LOCATED IN COLERAIN TWP CINCINNATI OHIO NORTHGATE VOLKSWAGON WAS VERY RUDE TO ME AND NEVER DID THE GENERAL MANAGER RETURN MY CALL WELL LONG STORY SHORT I HAD TO HAVE THIS WINDOW PROBLEM REPAIRED NOW ORIGINALLY THIS WAS COVERED UNDER A RECALL ISSUED...

I"VE HAD MULTIPLE FAILURES WITH MY 1998 BEETLE. THE CAR WAS OVERHEATING--FOUND OUT THAT THE ENGINE FUSES WERE MELTED OVER THE BATTERY TERMINAL. MY REVERSE LIGHTS STOPPED WORKING--NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO CORRECT THAT YET, MY DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS DON'T USUALLY WORK, BUT SOMETIMES WILL COME ON ALL BY THEMSELVES. GOT LOCKED IN MY CAR TWICE. THE ALARM SOMETIMES GOES OFF FOR NO REASON. THE CAR PERIODICALLY DOESN'T START. HAD IT TOWED TO VW TWICE FOR THIS. THEY COULD FIND NO PROBLEMS. ALSO, SOMETHING IN THE CAR'S ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS IS DROWNING THE BATTERY--HAVE TO BUY A NEW BATTERY EVERY SIX MONTHS. I HAVE REPLACED BOTH WINDOWS ONCE . I HAD THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH REPLACED THREE TIMES AND WAS REAR -ENDED ONCE BEFORE VW FINALLY DID A RECALL ON THAT PART. I'M SURE I HAVE LEFT SOMETHING OUT--THERE IS SO MUCH IT'S HARD TO REMEMBER. BOTTOM LINE--THIS CAR IS...

DT: THE CONSUMER STATED THAT 1998 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE INTERMITTENTLY STALLED WHILE DRIVING. THE SPEED WAS NOT A FACTOR. THE WHOLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILED WHEN THE CAR STALLED. THIS STARTED HAPPENING IN JANUARY OF 2005. THE CONSUMER TO THE CAR TOOK THE DEALERSHIP, AND THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT FIND THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. THE CONSUMER DID NOT CALL THE MANUFACTURER. DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WAS DONE WITH NO RESULTS. *AK THE CONSUMER STATED THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN RECTIFIED. THE WINDOW SWITCH WAS REPLACED. *JB

THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD A SERIES OF PROBLEMS SINCE I HAVE OWNED IT. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A VOLKSWAGEN ENTHUSIAST. SO WHEN I SAW THE NEW BEETLES I WAS NATURALLY EXCITED AND COULDN'T WAIT TO OWN ONE. WHAT I EXPECTED WAS VOLKSWAGENS USUAL EXCELLENT QUALITY AND VALUE FOR MONEY. WHAT I GOT WAS A VEHICLE THAT NOT ONLY IS AN INCONVENIENCE TO DRIVE, BUT IS ALSO A SAFETY CONCERN. THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD AT LEAST 8 MAJOR DEFECTS. I CALL THEM DEFECTS BECAUSE SO MANY OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR ISSUES WITH THEIR NEW BEETLES. KEEP IN MIND THE VEHICLE IS REGULARLY MAINTAINED, AND IS ONLY AT 97,000 MILES. 1. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON AND VEHICLE STALLS OR CUTS OUT ON A REGULAR BASIS. 2. THE LOW BEAMS ON MY HEADLIGHTS ALWAYS BURN OUT. I CHANGE THE LIGHTS AND THEY JUST BURN OUT AGAIN. I ALWAYS HAVE TO DRIVE INSTEAD...

THE ELECTRIC WINDOW WOULD NOT MOVE IN THE CONSUMERS VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURED ISSUED A RECALL FOR THE SAME PROBLEM , HOWEVER THEY REFUSED TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS ORIGINALLY REGISTERED IN CANADA. THE (THE OWNER BOUGHT THE PARTS AND REPAIRED THE VEHICLE. *JB

THE POWER WINDOWS ROLLED DOWN BY THEMSELVES WITHOUT WARNING. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *JB

1998 VW BEETLE, PASSENGER POWER WINDOW SWITCH DEFECTIVE. THE DRIVER SIDE BROKE FOR THE SAME REASON LAST YR. AND WAS REPORTED TO NHTSA ON THIS WEB SITE. I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY VW PART THAT THESE BREAK ALL THE TIME. *NLM

POWER WINDOW REGULATOR FAILED. PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW NOW STUCK IN DOWN POSITION. SAME FAILURE HAPPENED ON DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW ONE YEAR AGO. OBVIOUSLY OUTSIDE OF 24,000 MILE WARRANTY. MR

POWER WINDOW SWITCH ON PASSENGER'S SIDE IS BROKEN. CAN'T GET WINDOW DOWN. DEALER CONTACTED. *AK

THIS CAR DRINKS OIL, THE ENGINE KNOCKS, VW HAS DONE NOTHING TO EVEN AKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM. THE WINDOW REGULATORS ARE DEFECTIVE AND ONE BROKE COMPLETELY WITH THE WINDOW FALLING OUT. THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR CAN NOT BE OPEND WITH A KEY AND HAS BEEN CORODE

THE VW IS NOT AS RELIABLE AS THE OLD ONES. NOSAFETY DEFECT. *AK

DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW SWITCHES REPLACED TWICE, WINDOW REGULATOR FAILED AS WELL. *AK

THERE IS AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM, SUCH AS THE HEADLIGHTS AND THE POWER WINDOWS MALFUNCTIONING. *AK

VEHICLE HAS AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM, HEADLIGHTS AND POWER WINDOWS DO NOT WORK. *AK

JUNE 19, 2000 - DRIVING AT 40 MPH AND HEARD A LOUD NOISE THAT SOUNDED LIKE A ROCK HAD HIT THE PASSENGER SIDE. NO DAMAGE FOUND UPON INSPECTION. SHORTLY AFTER, PUT PASSENGER WINDOW DOWN AND IT SOUNDED BAD, POWER WINDOW FAILED TO CLOSE. *AK

POWER WINDOW SWITCHES FAILED. *MJS

DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW SWITCH IS STICKING DUE TO WINDOW REGULATOR SWITCH FAILURE. YH

POWER WINDOW SWITCH NOT OPERABLE. YH

REAR LEFT WINDOW WILL NOT GO DOWN. YH

POWER WINDOW SWITCH FAILED. *YC

DRIVER SIDE WINDOW SWITCH OUT OF ORDER. YH

CONSUMER ROLLED DOWN THE PASSENGER'S POWER WINDOW FOR THE FIRST TIME AND THE INSIDE MECHANISM FOR THE WINDOW BROKE, CAUSING THE WINDOW TO BE INOPERATIVE.THE CABLE AND REGULATOR FOR THE POWER WINDOW IS ON BACKORDER. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE WHEN PART WILL BE AVAILABLE. *AK