2001 Volkswagen Beetle Tires & Wheels Problems

SUDDEN LOSS OF AIR PRESSURE IN TIRE(S) ON 2001 NEW BEETLE WITH 17 INCH ALUMINUM WHEELS. CAUSED BY CORROSION ON THE BEAD AREA OF THE RIM. CAUSED SEVERE DAMAGE TO TIRE, HAD TO REPLACE ONE EXPENSIVE TIRE BECAUSE OF DAMAGE TO SIDEWALL. 3 TOTAL OCCURRENCES ON 2 DIFFERENT RIMS. TIRE DEALER "CLEANED UP" THE BEAD AREA AND REMOUNTED THE TIRE. LUCKILY ALL FAILURES EITHER OCCURRED AT LOW SPEEDS OR NOTICED WITH CAR PARKED. COULD NOT REINFLATE TIRE AS RIM WOULD NOT RESEAL WITHOUT REMOUNTING. *TR

MY GIRL FRIEND HAD A LOW TIRE (KUMHO ECSTA AST 225/R17 94HXL). I WAS PUTTING AIR IN THE TIRE WHICH IS RATED FOR 50PSI MAX. I WANTED 32PSI AND OVER INFLATED TO 40PSI. AS I WAS LETTING AIR OUT THE TIRE RUPTURED IN MY FACE CAUSING LOTS OF FACIAL ABRASIONS, EYE DAMAGE (TEMPORARY I HOPE) AND HEARING LOSS (ALSO TEMPORARY I HOPE). I DO NOT OVERINFLATE TIRE AS AFTER ACCIDENT THE AAA TECH CHECKED THE OTHER TIRES AND ONE WAS AT 45 PSI. *TR

2001 NEW BEETLE GL PROBLEM: DURING HEAVY SNOW FALLS GREATER THAN 6 INCHES, SNOW WILL ACCUMULATE ON THE INSIDE OF THE WHEELS (STEEL APPLICATION ONLY, NO COMMENT ON ALUMINUM WHEELS). WHEN THIS HAPPENS, THE TIRES BECOME UNBALANCED WHICH CAUSES THE ENTIRE VEHICLE TO SHAKE WITH TREMENDOUS FORCE. MY LATEST EXPERIENCE WAS 2/14/06. THE VEHICLE SHAKE WAS SO BAD I COULD NOT DRIVE SAFELY OVER 40 MPH. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO THE DEALER. ALL HE DID WAS PUT THE VEHICLE IN A HEATED GARAGE TO MELT THE ICE AND SNOW. APPARENTLY THIS WAS HAPPENING TO NUMEROUS NEW BEETLE OWNERS. THIS SITUATION WILL LEAD TO A LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THUS A SAFETY ISSUE. PLS DO SOMETHING BEFORE SOMEONE IS HURT. *JB

VIOLENT SHAKING OF 2001 NEW BEETLE GL (HIGHWAY SPEEDS) AFTER SNOW STORM. 1/14/04 SNOW STORM HITS DETROIT METRO AREA. THE NEXT MORNING 1/15/04 WHILE GOING TO WORK MY VEHICLE STARTED TO SHAKE/VIBRATE, STARTING AT 45 MPH. I DID NOT TAKE THE BUG ABOVE 55 MPH BECAUSE THE SHAKING WAS GETTING WORSE. AFTER WORK, I DROVE TO THE VW DEALER AND LEARNED THAT 16 OTHER NEW BEETLE OWNERS BROUGHT THEIR CAR IN FOR THE SAME PROBLEM (THIS WAS A QUOTE BY THE SERVICE REP. STEVE)AND NUMEROUS OWNERS CALLED IN FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. APPARENTLY THE DESIGN OF THE WHEEL RIMS ALLOW SNOW TO ACCUMULATE CAUSING AN IMBALANCE WITH THE WHEELS. THIS CAUSES THE VIOLENT SHAKING WHILE RUNNING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS (45 MPH AND ABOVE). THE ONLY REMEDY IS TO REMOVE THE SNOW BY HAND OR MELT IT AWAY. (DEALER IS CHARGING ABOUT 72 DOLLARS FOR MELTING IT). I NEVER HAD A VEHICLE DO THIS AFTER ANY SNOW STORM IN MICHIGAN. BUT SINCE I WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE INVOLVED, I FELT YOU SHOULD BE NOTIFIED OF THIS ISSUE. I LOVE MY BUG, BUT THIS IS NOT SAFE. WHILE AT THE DEALERSHIP (VYLETEL BUICK & VW, STERLING HEIGHTS MICHIGAN) I LEFT THE VEHICLE THERE OVERNIGHT FOR 30K MAINTENANCE. I FIGURED, WHILE THEY DO THE MAINTENANCE, THE SNOW WOULD MELT OFF THE WHEELS. GIVEN THE SHAKING OF THE VEHICLE CAUSED BY THE IMBALANCE OF THE WHEELS, I AM CONCERNED THE TIRES WILL HAVE PREMATURE WEAR OR FLAT SPOTS ON THE SURFACE. HOPEFULLY, THIS IS NOT THE CASE, SINCE I ACTED ON THE SAME DAY OF THE INCIDENT. *CB

I AM WRITING TO EXPRESS MY CONCERN OVER THE SAFETY AND POTENTIAL DEFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH 2001 MODEL VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE TURBO, ALONG WITH ITS MICHELIN TIRES. LAST WEEK, MY OWN LIFE WAS SERIOUSLY ENDANGERED WHILE DRIVING ON THE MASSACHUSETTS TURNPIKE. TRAVELING IN THE LEFT LANE AT NORMAL HIGHWAY SPEEDS, MY CAR INSTANTLY LOST CONTROL AND BEGAN SKIDDING VICIOUSLY. UNABLE TO SLOW THE CAR IN TIME, I HIT THE MEDIAN, CAUSING IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO THE CAR. UPON EXITING THE VEHICLE, I NOTICED A LARGE, GAPING HOLE CUT THROUGH MY RIGHT REAR TIRE. THIS HOLE, COUPLE WITH THE EXTENSIVE CHARRING AND GRATING TO THE METAL WHEEL, WAS CORROBORATED BY MECHANICS AND VW DEALERS AS THE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT. I AM GREATLY CONCERNED THAT THE VEHICLE, AND OR TIRES, MAY CONTAIN A DEFECT THAT HEIGHTENED THE CHANCES OF AN ACCIDENT SUCH AS MINE. THE CAR WAS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION, AND HAD BEEN DRIVEN FOR ONLY 27,000 MILES. AS SUCH, IT SEEMS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT A TIRE RUPTURE WOULD BE A NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR OCCURRENCE. I DO NOT WISH FOR SUCH AN ACCIDENT TO REOCCUR IN THE FUTURE (EITHER TO MYSELF, OR OTHER CONSUMERS), AND THUS WOULD URGE THE AUTO AND TIRE MANUFACTURERS, ALONG WITH THE NHTSA TO STUDY THE MATTER IN EXPEDITIOUS FASHION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME VIA PHONE AT [XXX], OR BY EMAIL AT [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

VEHICLE LOSS CONTROL AND BEGAN SKIDDING ON HIGHWAY. *MR THIS OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING AT NORMAL HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THE CONSUMER NOTICED A LARGE GAPING HOLE CUT THROUGH THE RIGHT TIRE WITH EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE METAL WHEEL. THIS WAS SAID TO BE THE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT. *SCC *JB

I'M REPORTING THIS TO NHTSA AS I BELIEVE THIS FAILURE CONSTITUTES A SAFETY ISSUE. THIS IS THE 4TH, OR 5TH, REAR WHEEL BEARING FAILURE THAT HAS OCCURRED ON THIS 1 YEAR OLD CAR. THIS TIME THE BEARING FAILED SUDDENLY BECOMING VERY NOISY. I HAD ENOUGH TIME TO DRIVE THE CAR DIRECTLY TO THE DEALERSHIP, APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES. BY THE TIME I ARRIVED AT FITZGERALD VW IN FREDERICK, MD THE REPAIR FACILITY WAS CLOSED. I WAS UNWILLING TO TAKE A CHANCE ON DRIVING THE CAR HOME AND BACK AGAIN ON MONDAY (AN ADDITIONAL 50 MILES) AS I'M CERTAIN IT WOULD NOT HAVE MADE THE TRIP. WHILE I REALIZE THAT ANY MECHANICAL THING CAN BREAK, I FIND IT UNREASONABLE THAT THIS VEHICLE WOULD HAVE 4 FAILURES IN THE SPACE OF LESS THAN ONE YEAR AND IN ONLY 26,000 MILES. PREVIOUS FAILURES HAVE OCCURED SLOWLY AND SHOWED UP AS A NOISY BEARING. TODAY'S FAILURE HAPPENED SUDDENLY AND WITHIN THE SPACE OF 30 MINUTES AND 20 MILES OF DRIVING THE NOISE IN INSIDE THE CAR WAS SO LOUD YOU COULD NOT HEAR THE RADIO. ALSO, THE CAR DEVELOPED AN INCREASINGLY BAD VIBRATION IN THE RIGHT REAR. AFTER CHECKING THE DEALER, I CALLED THE VW CUSTOMER CARE CENTER, RECORDED THE PROBLEM AND LEFT THE CAR AT FITZGERALD VW IN FREDERICK, MARYLAND AS I WAS AFRAID TO DRIVE IT FARTHER. IT WAS, IN FACT, UNDRIVEABLE IN MY OPINION AS THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL HAD A SLGHT TILT INWARD AT THE TOP WHEN COMPARED WITH THE LEFT. BETTER SAFE THAN LOSE THE WHOLE WHEEL ON I-70! AGAIN, I WOULD NOT BE WRITING UNLESS I FELT THIS WAS OF SAFETY SIGNIFICANCE. SINCE IT HAS HAPPENED 4 TIMES IN ONE YEAR, I BELIEVE THERE COULD BE ONE OR MORE REASONS FOR THE FAILURE: IMPROPER OR NO LUBRICANT; BAD METALURGY; IMPROPER ASSEMBLY, OR IMPROPER ASSEMBLY DURING REPAIR. NOTES: THE CAR HAS THE ORIGINAL WHEELS AND RIMS; THE CAR IS NOT RACED OR THRASHED; IT HAS NOT BEEN HEAVILY LOADED; ITS NEVER BEEN WRECKED OR PRANGED; BEARING FAILURES HAVE PREVIOUSLY OCCURED ON BOTH THE LEFT (2X) AND RIGHT SIDES (1X) OF THE REAR AXLE. DT

WHILE DRIVING, RIGHT FRONT TIRE EXPERIENCED A BLOWOUT, THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG THEN DEPLOYED, THERE WAS A SCRATCH ON THE WHEEL, NO SPECIFIC TIRE INFORMATION GIVEN, CLAIM 53-C850-661. *SLC