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VW New Beetle owners will have to find a new way to make Volkswagen address defective automatic transmissions in the vehicles since a federal judge dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit over the matter.
Arkansas federal judge P.K. Holmes dismissed the VW New Beetle defective transmission class action lawsuit (White v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc.) in February after finding the lead plaintiff failed to adequately plead any of her claims.
Plaintiff Shirley White sued Volkswagen in December 2011, alleging that model year 2003 to 2007 VW New Beetles have defective Tiptronic automatic transmissions that cause them to malfunction and wear out, eventually costing owners thousands of dollars in replacement costs.
White said Volkswagen had been aware of the transmission defect but refused to deal with it until a barrage of customer complaints forced it take action. The automaker eventually offered a useless warranty extension that only covered the valve body of the transmission, not the damage caused by the defective valve body, White says in the class action lawsuit.
“In effect, Volkswagen’s offer to extend the warranty but to limit that extended coverage only to the transmission’s valve body while washing its hands of any liability for the resultant damage to the transmission itself, is tantamount to relying on the proverbial ‘finger in the dike’ approach to dealing (or refusing to deal) with the defects prevalent in VW’s transmission,” the class action lawsuit stated.
Judge Holmes granted Volkswagen’s motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit, ruling that White purchased her car well after the expiration of its initial warranty. Holmes also said White hadn’t presented convincing evidence that Volkswagen had pre-sale knowledge of the defect and crafted its warranty to limit customers from seeking redress under the warranty.
Despite dismissing White’s claims from the proposed class action lawsuit, Judge Holmes said the other co-plaintiffs in the case could pursue their claims in California or Louisiana, where they reside.
White’s attorney did not return a request for comment. We will update our readers as soon as we learn if a new class action lawsuit will be filed.
The Volkswagen New Beetle Defective Transmission Class Action Lawsuit case is White v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc., Case No. 11-cv-02243, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
White is represented by Roy Arie Katriel of the Katriel Law Firm.
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21 thoughts onJudge Tosses VW New Beetle Transmission Defect Class Action Lawsuit
I also have a 2003 VOLKSWAGEN CONVERTIBLE TURBO! It is also having the 4th gear slipping problem at only 85000 miles. Both rear window regulators going bad and over heating problems. I would like to file a lawsuit against Volkswagen for the problems . If they don’t settle I will gladly tell the world what a piece of crap they are.
I wasted $7,000 on a 2005 Jetta in purchase and other repairs, only to find out transmission was going out at 200k miles AND no replacement transmissions available, new or used. Rebuild was way to expensive. Had to junk the car. VM should be required to produce replacement transmissions.
I have a 2005 vw beetle with 70,000 miles on it. It started shifting funny between 2nd and 3rd gears on a automatic transmission, I took it to a german auto specialist and he put it on a scanner and said that the computer module was bad and needed to be replaced. He replaced it and charged me $900 to fix it. I did not drive the car more than 5 miles to my home and the car has not been driven since. I drove it down to the car wash and back and it started shifting like it did before I had the module replaced. I went back to the mechanic the day after Thanksgiving but he was closed. Will try next week after Monday, 30th. Will take it back and see what he says now.
I took my car a 2005 New Beetle Bug to Perrysburg Auto Mall in Perrysburg,Ohio I was told there was nothing wrong with my car. I explained to the mechanic that there definitely was something wrong. The mechanic said nothing was showing up on the codes and would continue to test drive. I received a third call from VW Perrysburg Auto Mall again saying nothing wrong with the vehicle. I was getting upset and said I will come up there and take a test drive with you. At first I though well maybe it was the gas or it was just sitting to long in storage, because it was doing anything driving smoothe. Ooh my bite my tongue I told the supervisor welp here we go this is what it’s been doing jumping out of gear jerking. Okay so back to the drawing board…welp get the call need a transmission. But don’t make these transmission anymore and can’t get a used on … I need to find someone to rebuild it. Are you kidding me… I’m pissed I put money into this vehicle over the yrs. not one time, did I get a notice about the transmission have issues or anything related to the transmission….I think we need to flood facebook about the issues so they are held accountable going to start a group let’s spread to news. I’m a pissed owner of a 2005 New Beetle Bug…. So my alternative is to junk my vecicle.
This Transmission problem need to be a dress by Volkswagen This is so very dangerous driving this defective car Driving this car is worse Worse than driving a horse-and-buggy. . . Control of the horse but no control of the car
2006 convertible vw beetle at 13,000 vw had to replace transmission fast forward with 70,000 on new transmission without any warning ⚠️ it just blew up and dumped all transmission fluid on freeway at 75 MPH. Now I was told it needs a new transmission which will be #3. Original transmission $4500 2nd one $4500 now 3rd one $7200 so transmission cost $16,200 car cost $23,000. Total waste of money $39,200 all to VW. They sure got their money’s worth and I got a piece of crap. I could have been killed on the freeway in California.
I had a 1999 VW New Beetle and really liked it. I bought a used 2006 VW New Beetle. The transmission is now messed-up requiring over $3000 worth or repairs. Needless to say with all the dishonesty coming out of German auto manufacturers, I will not be buying another vehicle from them.
I have a 2005 VW Convertible Beetle that I really love. My transmission has also started jerking and having problems. I thought it was low on transmission fluid, but after seeing all these posts, I know that the problem is a defective transmission. This is absolutely ridiculous! If Volkswagen has known about these faulty transmissions, then they should be an upstanding automotive company like Ford, and Chevy, and fix these damn problems with these cars.
QUALITY of the products that one sells, and CUSTOMER SERVICE should be “TOP PRIORITY!’ I am about LOYALTY to my products that I buy, but in the same breath, VW needs to be about LOYALTY TO ITS CUSTOMERS!!!!!!!! I am thoroughly aggravated by my transmission slipping and VW knowing that this IS the norm with its cars. Corrective action NEEDS to be taken by VW, and we, the owners of the cars should be able to have our cars RECALLED, and to have them FIXED FREE OF COST! Please tell me what I can do to get this situation resolved. I love my VW Convertible, but I do NOT have $5,000 to spend on a new transmission.
my wife loved her 2003 beetle also, it started clunking around 85,000 miles and i sold it and bought her a 2004 convertible and darn if it didn~t start doing the same thing, so i sold it and bought her a 2003 convertible with a stick shift. I`m a gm guy and between the sticky interior you can`t clean and the rear window regulator`s breaking, volkswagen ought to have their pants sued off …Its a over engineered piece of junk!
Sad, as we speak my 2005 New Beetle Bug convertible is at Perrysburg Auto Mall in Perrysburg, Ohio I got the call from Perrysburg Auto Mall my car needs a transmission. But guess what??? “They cannot fix my vehicle.” they no longer make these transmission or can they get a used one. I was told to find someone to rebuild it. Are you kidding me. What is up with VW we need to share this on Facebook blow this up all over Facebook. Stand outside the dealership. Come-on this is not right.