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Sat Apr 05, 2003 11:48 am

anyone know how to change the light bulb in a new beetle dash for the temperature controls? the one in my 2001 one nb just went out for the third time! i've been having the dealership do it when i have my car serviced, but it would be easier if i could just swap the bulb out myself. thanks!

Lee

Mon Apr 07, 2003 2:22 pm

you are hella gay thats your problem. Take the thingy off the thingamagig and put the bulb in there! j/k had to screw with you!
Morgan

Tue Apr 08, 2003 1:24 am

don't get all cocky now that you finally have a running car.....punk!

Lee

Tue Apr 08, 2003 1:33 pm

So, how many times in less than 3 years does it have to go out before the dealership realizes there may be a problem?

Tue Apr 08, 2003 10:21 pm

this is vwoa we're talking about so probably about 15 or so. to be honest i trust my 59 and my wife's 56 electrical systems more than the nb. i've had about 4 seperate electrical problems with it already. anybody else experience the same?

Wed Apr 09, 2003 6:12 am

Well, that blows. I've heard nothing but bad things about the NB and the support at the dealership. While I can't offer you any help on changing your bulb, I can offer one bit of advice.

While it's still under warranty, take it back for ANYTHING that goes wrong with it. Bulb replacement included, and document it. 4 electrical problems and 3 blown bulbs in a couple of years is unacceptable. I'd be willing to bet VWOA would love to hear you say you tried to change your own bulb, voiding any warranty work on your electrical system, pinning the blame on you.

And it's really a shame. I like the looks of the NB, but would NEVER/EVER buy one, or ANY new VW car, because of all the horror stories I hear from the stealerships.

Wed Apr 09, 2003 10:44 pm

it's really unfortunate that their new cars are of such poor quality. i hear pretty much the same types of things from everyone i know who drives newer vw's. vwoa should worry less about going after air-cooled related businesses and drivers and worry more about putting a quality automobile on the road that lives up to the companys rich heritage. besides that, they should also realize that vintage enthusiasts and people who "had a vw back when" also make up a large part of the people who buy their new cars. i believe they have their priorities a bit mixed up.

Wed Apr 16, 2003 6:36 pm

Take a pair of pliers and a rag, wrap the end of the pliers with the rag, pull out the center heater control button. Use a small peice of rubber tubing (I use a small vacuum hose) and insert it in the hole, you will come out with the blown bulb. installation is the reverse of removal. While I agree that the Mexican built VW's do have their problems now and then, can VW really be blamed for a BULB BLOWING? Bulbs blow in my '95 Civic, my '93 Sunbird, and my '79 Bus, they are in frequent use and therefore they blow, whaddya gonna do?

Thu Apr 17, 2003 7:55 am

Yeah, it's absolutely normal for a 2 year old car to have gone through three interior bulbs so far. 4 Seperate electrical problems within warranty is normal too. I guess normal for New Beetle, that is.

Whaddya gonna do? Get all the warranty work done and sell it, while you still can.

Thu Apr 17, 2003 2:18 pm

The bulb blowing could be technician error, if it gets touched with greasy fingers or something gets on the bulb, even though it isn't a headlamp bulb, it still builds up heat and that can shorten the life of it greatly. I replace them every now and then, but it isn't so common that its an everyday thing, I don't even do one a week and we service around 50-75 cars a day at our dealership.

What are the 4 separate electrical problems you have had? I'm not saying VW is pefect and I have to agree the VW cars that are currently made in Mexico (which includes all NB) we have had some electrical problems with. It seems to be only certain cars, either they have problems from day one or have no problems ever...I have one NB I serviced last week, a '99 with over 130K on it! That guy couldn't be happier with it. But then there are the people who have repeat problems and they of course are pissed....I am simply saying not to put an entire vehicle line down becuase of a few bad cars....

Fri Apr 18, 2003 7:43 pm

That makes sense, VWLoverz, I respect your opinion. And, since you work for VW, I'm sure your probably more knowledgable about this subject than 95% of the people here.

Maybe I'm just biased, because of the stink VWOA has made over their aircooled brethren. I don't read watercooled VW forums, so more than likely half the people I hear from that have problems with their NB's are upset aircooled owners also.

So, around the shop, how do your co-workers view the aircooled beetle and their owners? Is it talked about?

Do you guys take pride in your work? Value your customers?

These are all serious questions, not meant to flame you or anything. My late father was a VW Mechanic for many years. I don't know anyone that works in the trenches at VW.

Fri Apr 18, 2003 8:05 pm

i have a turbo, which means i have the spoiler that comes up at 90mph. we put on a beetle cup wing. of course, before we could do that, we had to disable the spoiler. i know old bugs, but when it comes to new cars i don't know shit, nor do i really care to. so i called a few dealerships, and they had no clue how to do this. there are only 2 places i know of that even tell you it's unsafe to have a wing/ stock spoiler combo, and they both said to disconnect the fuse. nobody could tell me which one, and w/ everything being computerized, i didn't want to mess it up. so i finally figured out to disconnect the motor that powers the spoiler (ding ding!) but wouldn't you think that the service peole could tell you? and as far as salespeople go, i know more about the NBs than they do, and i don't even like the fukn things! no offence to you VWLowerz, i know there are some good ones out there, it's just the majority i have met have been very rude and unhelpful.

Sat Apr 19, 2003 4:23 am

I think VWOA's stance with the aircooled folks is total bullsh*t. I've been into VW's since I got my first Bug at 15 and I always thought working for them would be awesome. While I love my job, like the people I work with, it hasn't always been the fabulous time I thought it would be. The cars are so full of electronics thast its inevitable that something is going to break, be difficult to diagnose and fix, and ultimately piss people off and turn their core group of owners (us aircooled folks) away from their new offerings because the cars simply can not be worked on by the home mechanic. The new W8 Passat has over 40 control modules in it..40!!! Do I need my glove box air conditioned? Absolutely not. Will I be pissed when I go to use it and it doesn't work? You bet. They have gotten so far away from where they started its ridiculous. Coming soon...a $70K VW Phaeton...WTF are they thinking? We actually have to take classes on how to handle "the upscale customer" before we will get any of the cars when they are available. I could go on for days but beleive me I agree with everyone here when it comes to their quality and customer service.

I try to take care of my customers whenever I can...I had a lady this winter in a NB whose window clips broke, window fell inside the door. Fairly simple fix, but we were out of stock on the kit to repair the regulator. My service advisor's fix? Tape a plastic bag over the open window and send her on her way back out into the 12 degree day with an opaque bag covering her driver's window. I overnighted the parts and fought with the guy until he got her a rental. VW's shi*ty design isn't her fault..why should she have to freeze and be put in harms way because she can't see out her driver's window? We kept her car overnight and got it back to her the next day. I always think of the horror stories I hear about VWOA's customer service when I am dealing with our customers. I see it almost happen at our dealership then I step in and become a huge pain in the a$$ until they do the right thing. I could go on forever...

Anyway, as far as aircooled goes...there is still one tech at my store who had worked for VW since the 60's....when I first started and he heard I had a Bus..."Oh Geezus...he's got a Bus" What a warm welcome...I work on my Bus at the shop all the time, in fact I did the engine swap there over the winter. Everyone is intrigued by my Bus, a '79 Westy poptop, they love to get in it, ask me about sleeping in it, and so on. I go on a lot of campouts and shows with it so I spend a good part of the summer in it, and people are amazed. Being that I live in Central NEw York, the snow and salty road capital of the world, aircooled VW's are hard to come by, but there isn't any animosity towards their owners or anything.

I do of course take great pride in my work, I try to do the best job I can for my customers and the other techs I work with do also. We also have the challenge of taking manuals that were written by German engineers and making them make sense to us.....its all in english already, but its sometimes hard to follow. I don't want to seem like I'm making excuses because if I got some of the treatment I have heard about from others with VWOA dealers, I would be outside the place with a shotgun demanding my car back....and I guess I do take it personally sometimes when people complain about current VWOA and their product, although it isn't a direct comment to me, I am also out here everyday trying to fix some of these things, and sometimes it can really really suck to be a VW tech. This is turning into a world record long post....not to bore everyone, just alook from the other side.

I do apologize for everyone who has been mistreated by VWOA and their current offerings. They are getting their quality back where it should be, and new product is coming out faster than you can think. I do feel as though they have lost sight of who built their company, who made them who they are today, and thats us, the people who bought, and still enjoy their aircooled cars. I personally wouldn't buy anything new from VW, I like my Westy just fine thanks. I only hope that VW wakes up and figures out that they are ostracizing the people who made them, and turning them away in droves.....

Sun Apr 20, 2003 7:37 am

Wow, that sure is good to hear. At least someone out there at VWOA cares.

A 'class' on how to deal with 'upscale customers'? WTF? Man, wonder how much that costs the company?

Sun Apr 20, 2003 6:12 pm

whenever i used to go to any vw dealership, i'd always ask if they had anything aircooled related-like old pics, posters, brochures, whatever. they never have anything. then the ones around here are getting remodeled, and all of a sudden, they have the old aircooled ads up. it's awesome to see some that i haven't seen before, but it pissed me off cuz they really don't seem to care about how vw became vw. all they seem to care about is $$$$.

vwlover, i wish you were near me. you're about the only one i'd trust with my car.