Problems · by component
2000 Volkswagen New Beetle engine and engine cooling problems
65 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2000 Volkswagen New Beetle cite engine and engine cooling, 21% of all 315 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
65
21% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
3
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine and engine cooling
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I PURCHASED MY VW BEETLE IN 2005 WITH THE CARFAX - NO ACCIDENTS OR MAJOR REPAIRS. WITHIN MONTHS, THE ENGINE LIGHT AND AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON. THE WINDOWS STOPPED WORKING. I'VE PROBABLY SPENT MORE THAN WHAT I PAID FOR IT. I JUST SPENT OVER $1800 AT VW SPRINGFIELD IN VIRGINIA AND THE ENGINE LIGHT IS BACK ON AGAIN AFTER ONLY A FEW MONTHS. IN ADDITION, THE TRANSMISSION CODES WERE DISCOVERED BY OTHER REPAIR SHOPS, BUT THEY TOLD ME I HAD TO GO TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR THE REPAIR. NEITHER VW SPRINGFIELD OR VW WOODBRIDGE EVER CHECKED THE TRANSMISSION. IN FACT, WOODBRIDGE TOLD ME TO TRADE IT IN AND PURCHASE A NEW ONE FROM THEM.SOME KIND OF LIGHT OR PROBLEM OCCURS IN MY CAR EVERY TIME I'VE TAKEN MY CAR TO THIS DEALERSHIP AND VW WOODBRIDGE IN VIRGINIA. THEY CONTINUE TO CLAIM THAT IT IS A DIFFERENT PROBLEM EVERY TIME WITH THE SAME COMPONENTS. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE FOR DIAGNOSTICS? EVERY TIME I TAKE MY CAR TO ANY OF THE VW DEALERSHIP, I WILL HAVE TO BRING THE CAR IN MULTIPLE TIMES WITHIN MONTHS. SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SAME ISSUES, AND NO ONE IS INVESTIGATING THIS. IT APPEARS THAT VW IS BEING PROTECTED FROM SELLING US POORLY MADE…”
“WE OWN A 2000 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE...IN 2008 THE WATER PUMP WENT IN IT...HAD THAT REPLACED AND 4 WEEKS LATER HAD TO HAVE IT REPLACED AGAIN THEN THE FOLLOWING YEAR 2009 THE WINDOW MOTORS IN BOTH WINDOWS WENT..HAD TO HAVE THOSE REPLACED... THE HEADLIGHTS AND TAIL LIGHTS ARE FALLING OUT HAVE TO CONSTANTLY PUSH THEM BACK IN....NOW 2011 THE WATER PUMP WENT IN IT AGAIN..NOW THE CAR IS SITTING IN THE DRIVE WAY ACTING AS A PAPER WEIGHT..HAD I KNOW THAT THERE WERE SO MANY ISSUES WITH THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE I WOULD HAVE NEVER BOUGHT ONE..I HOPE THAT VOLKSWAGEN IS HAPPY RAKING PEOPLE OVER THE COALS BY SELLING THEM NOTHING BUT JUNK AND GOD FORBID IF YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT TO A DEALER THEY WANT EVERYTHING UP TO AND INCLUDING YOUR FIRST BORN CHILD... *TR”
“ODBI CAME ON WAS TESTED INDICATING CYLINDER MISFIRE TOOK IT FOR REPAIR WAS INFORMED TWO WIRES WERE BROKEN AND SPARK PLUG WAS SEVERELY FOULED NOW THERE'S A COMPRESSION PROBLEM WHICH REQUIRES THE ENGINE TO BE TORN APART. COST OF REPAIRS EXCEEDS AMOUNT VEHICLE'S VALUE AND PURCHASE PRICE I HAVE HAD THIS VEHICLE FOR FIVE MONTHS WHEN VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED IT HAD A LITTLE OVER 51000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER RAN GREAT AND THE VEHICLE BODY IS IN EXCELLENT SHAPE. *TR”
“2.0 AEG MOTOR USES EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF OIL AND EXHIBITS PISTON SLAP ON COLD START. ENGINE USES A QUART OF OIL EVERY 500 MILES. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THE PISTON RINGS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED UPSIDE DOWN AT THE FACTORY, WHICH IS THE REASONING BEHIND THE POOR OIL CONTROL. VW IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. CAR HAS BEEN IN THE FAMILY FOR TWO OUT OF THE LAST THREE OWNERS. *TR”
“MY SON WAS DRIVING OUR 2000 VW BEETLE ON THE WESTBANK EXPRESSWAY IN NEW ORLEANS, HE HEARD A LOUD POP, AND THE CAR STARTED TO FILL WITH "WHITE SMOKE", HE PULLED OVER IMMEDIATELY, AND TURNED THE ENGINE OFF. WITHIN MINUTES, THE CAR WAS ON FIRE. THIS CAME WITHOUT WARNING, WE DID NOT HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH THE CAR PRIOR TO YESTERDAY, 7-17-10. *TR”
“VW CATALYTIC CONVERTER WARRANTY EXTENSION. WAS 8 YEARS/80K MILES. EXTENDED TO 10 YEARS/120K MILES. I HAVE A 2000 VW NEW BEETLE GLS, WHICH I PURCHASED NEW IN 1999. MY MODEL IS CURRENTLY COVERED UNDER THIS EXTENDED WARRANTY. MY CAR IS NOT PASSING SMOG - GROSS POLLUTER STATUS. ONLY HAS 73,000 MILES ON IT. THE ISSUE: BECAUSE THE CAT CONVERTER IS NOT FORMALLY LISTED AS A "RECALL" BY VW AMERICA, THE DEALERSHIP WANTS TO RUN A DIAGNOSTIC (EVEN THOUGH I'M PROVIDING THE DETAILED PAPERWORK FROM MY SMOG STATION), AND WHEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, THEY WANT ME TO REPAIR ANY AND ALL ISSUES THAT ARISE AT A COST TO ME, BEFORE THEY WILL REPLACE MY CATALYTIC CONVERTER UNDER WARRANTY. THE PROBLEM WITH THIS IS, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COVERS NUMEROUS ISSUES THE CAR MAY BE HAVING, INCLUDING SOME THAT MAY NOT BE RELATED TO THE CAR NOT PASSING SMOG. AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ALWAYS ON. DEALERSHIP TURNS IT OFF - COMES RIGHT BACK ON WITHIN DAYS. I WANT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER REPLACED FIRST, THEN SEE IF IT PASSES SMOG, THEN I WILL REPAIR ANY OTHER PROBLEMS. I DON'T WANT TO PUT MONEY INTO PROBLEMS POSSIBLY UNRELATED TO SMOG, IF THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER WON'T FIX THE ISSUE. BUT…”
Showing 6 of 65 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.