We have classified the 2 complaints from 1999 Volkswagen Cabrio about ELECTRICAL SYSTEM into the following categories.
My car's electrical system started to fail two weeks ago. the directionals, interior lights, all exterior lights and heater did not work. i was told by a vw dealership in ma that the car alarm system malfunctioned and has caused the switching gear and other various electrical components in my car to malfunction. after informing that the cost to repair this problem would be around $1,000.00 i decided to look into these issues only to be surprised to find that my vw 1999 cabrio is notorious along with all of the other makes of the vw line to have faulty and problematic electrical systems. my car is under warranty, but was told, "sorry this is not a covered item" there are various resources out there to learn that over and over again, this happens to the consumer of their cars. when you pay $35000 for a car you expect it to not have any problems like this before 50k miles. *ak
Battery literally exploded upon turning the ignition key. *la
Convertible top accumulating some kind of black substance that hardens and cannot be removed. at the three year mark, the car just began to deteriorate very quickly. timing belt, convertible stopped working, abs brakes kick in when not supposed to, exhaust system had to be replaced at 40k miles. key lock button fell out, cannot get it to stay in. seat belt assembly fell apart. interior door handles not made well, loosened and feel as if they may fall off. cd changer has never worked properly. *nlm
99 vw cabrio caught fire next to the firewall. vw will not investigate the cause of the fire due to the expense. this is a lease vehicle only 2000 miles out of warrenty and volkswagen will not stand behind their product. volkswagen said if you smoke a cigarette with the windows down and use the ashtray, ashes can blow into the dash and cause fire. the firemen said they had never seen insulation burn like it did on this volkswagen. this car left us stranded 1000 miles from home on a freeway while on vacation. my daughter's life was put in great danger as the car came close to blowing up. volkswagen will not stand behind their product in this case. *ak
Vehicle continues to shut down in moving traffic. it's been at the dealer 6 times, for up to 7 days at a time and they have been unable to duplicate concern or diagnose problem. i feel it's a real safety issue when the car shuts down in moving traffic with no warning. car starts up after completely stopping, putting it in park turning the ignition off and restarting it. there are no warning signs. the problem appears to be in the electrical because the car looses all power. no lights on the dash, no power steering etc. what is a reasonable lenght of time for this to be corrected?*ak
1) due to vandalism, the convertible top was replaced by a reputable shop. i used the power top once after the replacement, then following that winter, the power top failed. it was beyond warranty according to dealer when i discovered the failure. dealer wants $1200 for replacement. 2) the 6 cd changer stopped working just after warranty expired. dealer wants $600 for replacement. 3) cruise control became intermittent after a throttle body replacement in march 2003. dealer wants $800 for replacement. 4) the speedometer and tachometer became intermittent in sept 2003. it has been removed and the contacts cleaned. it only works on extremely cold mornings, only on the first start. all other gauges work on the module. dealer wants $600 for replacement. 5) the radio suddenly stopped working (no power) after hitting a pothole in jan 2004. dealer wants $600 for replacement. 6) the smog pump failed dec 2005, and charred the harness wiring. it was replaced with a salvaged smog pump by reputable repair shop. dealer wanted $1000 for replacement. *nm