[LindsayLoo]

alright, so here's the deal. i bought a 2005 vw beetle convertible about 2 years ago and I have not had the best experience. just one thing after another.
this is my first car, and it is my baby, i've dreamed of this car since i was a teenager and i couldnt pass it up.
when i bought her, the air didnt work (the heat does though) but since its a convertible, i really didnt care. since buying her, i've had wire issues (resulting in a shaking and jerking anytime it rained or was damp out) which was an easy fix - but then this last january the motor blew (something along the lines of the timing belt being worn and a piston smashing the living crap out of the valves) but that was pretty cheap to fix as well seeing as i have a very saavy boyfriend and best friend that found a 50k rebuilt motor for 300$ (with spare parts to boot) and swapped it themselves.
BUT - now my heart is just broken. about two months ago i was driving home with all 4 windows down (top was up though) and i made a stop at my mothers, and all windows went up for me but the one rear window - no biggie, i tried it again and it went up. after my visit, i put all of the windows back down (it gets bloody hot with no AC) and drove home.
once i got home however, that rear passenger window would not go back up, it would get half way and go back down. we have isolated this to a regulator problem (seems pretty common) and now have to buy the kit to fix that (we had it all taken apart in my driveway as well so we know how to do it)
AND THEN! my top stopped working. on canada day (2months ago) i decided to put the top down and just leave all the windows up so it wouldnt look funny (well, not one window kind of funny) and it stopped as well. wouldnt go all the way down. then i tried to put it up, and it wouldnt do anything.
so after crying in my driveway for awhile, my boyfriend and i found how to do it manually on this forum - and its been like that since.
i tried the reset thing with all 4 windows, but with one not working, im afraid that is why it wouldnt work?
in your experience - could the one window be a reason for the top bugging out on me? and if we fix that, could it be possible to reset the top doing that all window up and down thingie?
after putting the top up manually, can you start putting the top up and down again on your own or is it 100% necessary to go to a vw dealer to have that fixed?
i know thats a lot of questions - i just hope that we can get to the bottom of this as im struggling to keep up with bills and my house payments as it is! (driving home with the top down was just about the only happy part of my day lol)

any help or feedback from personal experience? i've read just about every thread on here, but i figure that as time passes there are always people that find new tips and tricks!

 

[dnyed]

I wish I could help you. First thing, call your local VW dealer, and ask if there are any recalls or service bulletins.

Then, find a good local VW shop. Word of mouth is usually their advertising.

In my opinion, 2005 was a good year for the New Beetle. Best of luck to you!

 

[billymade]

Hey, one thing that could really help your diagnosis of the top and windows;would be a Vw compatible scanner, so you can read the Vw trouble codes. While these cars are sophisticated; the Vw diagnostic trouble codes can really make the troubleshooting process allot easier. On the low end ; you can get a basic Vw compatible scanner for$50 on Amazon.com check out the Vgate vs450 or the factory level scan tool VCDS by Ross tech.
Once you get the trouble codes; that will narrow down your troubleshooting process, many here have had specific switches in the top fail and cause malfunctions in the system. Get a Vw scanner; scan for trouble codes, post them up here and we will go from there. Based on the sophistication of the computerized systems on these cars that controls everything; you really need a scanner to troubleshoot problems, otherwise you are essentially flying blind.


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[JST10]

Billy, i have a Toptak TP180CAN OBDII SCAN TOOL. Would this be of any help to her? I ask because im not sure i about these things or does it have to be specific for vw? If this would be of any help, she could have it cheap. Im not using it.

 

[billymade]

To access trouble codes for the factory comfort controller and many other computers on the car; you need a vw specific scanner/code reader like the Vgate vs450 or preferably the Ross tech vcds system.


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[Jeff2]

To access trouble codes for the factory comfort controller and many other computers on the car; you need a vw specific scanner/code reader like the Vgate vs450 or preferably the Ross tech vcds system.


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This. I'd recommend taking it to a repair shop that has the proper VAG specific scan tool and have them diagnose the problem.

While it's possible to do this without a shop, I'd personally be a bit intimidated just because this is such an important part of the car. But, YMMV depending on your confidence and your willingness to invest in a VAG scanner and the repair manuals necessary to actually do something useful with the information scanned from the car.