[PetersGirlJ9]

I have a 2004 New Beetle 1.8L Turbo automatic transmission. Everything was working well, then I was at a stop sign and the car would not move. I would press on the gas and it would just rev up, but not move. I put the car in park and it made a grinding noise. I tried putting the car back into drive, but it still will not go. The shifter moves and the light says it is in drive, but nothing happens. If anyone has any thoughts I would appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[jfoj]

Be very careful here. Do not put the car back in park until shutting the engine and waiting about 30 seconds for all the guts of the transmission to stop turning. Also note that you cannot rely on the transmission to keep the car from moving by putting it in park if I am correct about what your problem is.

Most likely you have an axle that popped out. Has there been any work on the front end or has the car been up in the air lately?

The passenger side axle is the problematic side, but it could be either side.

The axles snap in the transaxle and this would be the 4th or 5th car lately that this has happened to.

There should be less than 1/4" between the transaxle case and back of the inner CV joint.

 

[PetersGirlJ9]

I think you are on to something

I had the air bag control module fixed last week. I am not sure if they put it up in the air to fix that. When the car was put back in park after I got it out of the road, I had to put the emergency brake on to keep it from rolling, even when it was in park. So, I think you are right. Will I have to replace the axle or have it put back in place? Any idea how much it should cost me? Thank you for your help.

 

[jfoj]

The axle can be snapped back in, BUT money is if the axle is original it probably has leaking CV boots. The cars are not worth trying to just replace the CV boots, I tried that route first, but there are WAY too many axle combinations for these cars.

If the CV boot(s) are torn., you could put the axle back in and deal with a replacement later. The dealers have quality re-manufactured axles, DO NOT buy the cheap $100 axles from the local auto parts store. If you can get the dealer parts department to discount the reman axles, they are about $325 as I recall.

Also be careful that you do no already have a cheap $100 parts store axle in the car now. See picture below of the passenger side axle assembly, notice how thick the axle tube is, many of the cheap axles have tiny axle tubes, this is the first give away.
You may be able to snap is back in, but you may have issues again.

Axle is easy to snap back in, just need to get under the car and align and push firmly into transaxle once the splines are lined up, 15 minute job max. There should only be about 1/4" between the trans housing and the face of the inner CV joint.

BTW, why was the Airbag module fixed? I have never heard of problems with the airbag modules, I have heard of PLENTY of problems with the seat belt buckles and VW had a recall
on many of the front airbag crash sensors.

See pictures of a dealer reman axle that I purchased below.

See the comparison of the cheap parts store axle compared to a OE axle side by side.

 

[Smileybug]

I would definitely get it checked out. And it may not be the axle. We picked up a Jetta TDI with similar symptoms and the axle was just fine. We suspect it was the transmission itself (we never took it apart to find out...we just did a manual swap).

 

[PetersGirlJ9]

Air Bag Module

The air bag light was on, so I took it to the local VW dealer and they said the code was for an airbag module error. It had to be replaced. I got that done and the air bag light has been off since then. Thank godness.

How much are the CV Boots? Do you have any idea about what labor would cost to do a job like this? Thank you.

 

[jfoj]

Forget about trying to replace the CV boots if they are torn, replace the axle with a VW reman unit. About $325 at a discounted price, you may be able to purchase them online for around this, but usually you can ask the dealer to discount the price and if the parts guys are decent they will.

But in the short term, just get the axle snapped back in, again, 15 minute job. If the face of the CV joint is more than about 1/4"-3/8" away from the transaxle housing it slipped out.

Rotate the axle to line the splines up and snap back in.

Labor rate @ $100, a 15 minute job should be $25, if they charged you $50, so be it. All you have to do is get under the car, check each side axle for how far it is out, the one that is out further is the problem side, line the splines up and push wiggle and put hard, axle should drop in about 1" after that and be close to the transaxle housing. I could do it in 2 minutes if the car was in the air high enough to get under it. Even Rhino ramps would be high enough to get the job done.

As for replacing the axle, it is about 1.5-2 hours, so probably closer to $200 labor.

 

[PetersGirlJ9]

Need Photo

I am not sure where the axle and CV joints are under the car. Need help locating them, so I can see if the axle popped out. Is there a photo or drawing that could help me with this? Thank for your help and time.

 

[jfoj]

Pretty easy to located.

Just crawl under the car, find the axle shafts that look like what I have in the picture, they have the big rubber boots on them and are probably leaking grease!

Toward the center of the car, under the engine and you will find them.

Check the distance between the inside of the CV joint and the transaxle housing, you should not be able to put a finger between them.

The are not quite the same side to side, as I recall the driver side is about 1/2 the distance to the transaxle housing than the passenger side.

Remember, the axles connect directly in the center of the wheel hub on each side in the front.

Take a picture if you have any questions and post it here for review.

This may help? - http://volksweb.relitech.com/cvjoints.htm

Doubt you have the hex socket bolts on the inner CV flange if you have a 6 speed automatic.

 

[PetersGirlJ9]

Ending to the Story

I wanted to thank everyone who helped me with this issue. The axle on the passenger side did have to be replaced. I had it fixed and everything is fine now. Thanks everyone and have a lovely holiday.

 

[jfoj]

Thanks for the update, the passenger side axle is the one that that has the inner CV boot break first anyway.

Hope it is running well for you now.