VW speedo problem

[racer12306]

My fiances beetle has developed a speedo problem. After driving for approx 20 min at highway speeds, it start bouncing around and is inaccurate. We took it to VW and they said that the speedo gear in the trans was bad and that it required a new trans for the measly price of $5000. With that option out of the question, I am wondering if anyone else here had this problem on their VW and what was done about it if anything.

We are looking into GPS speedometers so that she doesnt have to judge her speed by her rpm's, although I can say I am quite proud of her ability to do so, I didnt expect that out of her. Anyone also have any suggestions about a reasonably priced GPS setup that is accurate.

 

[Brikhead]

What year/engine/trans.type in the Beetle?

Is she experiencing any other transmission-related problems? Both the speedo drive gear & pinion guide are available as separate components(manual or automatic). What did the dealer see that warranted the quote for a complete trans.?

 

[johnd]

Usually the speedometer gear is on the end of the cable and is nylon. It is the more likely gear to fail. For starters, why don't you just take it out and have a look at it-this could be a $.90 fix. It is usually held on by a clip and diesn't require anything special to remove/replace it. An opinion by an independent shop wouldn't be a bad idea either. Dealers usually try to throw as much of your money at a problem as they can.

 

[FowVay]

This may be unrelated but Volkswagen has issued two service bulletins relating to erratic instrument cluster activity and also to the transmission speed sensor being faulty.

The erratic instrument cluster was related to coolant migrating into the wiring harness from a leaking coolant reservoir that has a two pronged harness attachment.

The speed sensor is self explanatory.

The speed sensor will trip a diagnostic trouble code (DTC) 00297.

 

[racer12306]

Opps, forgot the car info. 1998 New Beetle, 2.0L gas, auto trans.

The dealer said they checked the speed sensor and it was good. There are no other trans problems except sometimes it takes a little while to shift, but it has done that for most of the time that she owned it, got it at 35000 or 40000 miles, it now hase 75000 miles on it. Im a little nervous about working on this. I searched a little on a new beetle forum and someone had the gear go bad under warrenty. they fixed the gear and then the trans blew up and the whole trans had to be replaced. Fortunatly for the guy it was all under warrenty. There are no trouble codes.

I appreciate the responses but I have found that VW's are of a different breed. Things that would be normally be a simple fix on most cars are severely complicated by VW. If anyone has VW specific experience that would be great. Dont get me wrong I appreciate you guys taking your time to answer my question.

 

[brianl703]

Does this car actually have a speedometer cable? (If it does you will be able to see it coming out of the firewall and going into the transmission).

Or is the speedometer an electronic unit driven off of the speed sensor? (As I would expect for a 1998 model car)?

All else fails, if the speed sensor really does still work, you can get a Scangauge and use that as a speedometer. http://www.scangauge.com

Why would a faulty gear take 20 minutes at highway speeds to show up? If it started slipping enough to cause the speedometer to become erratic, I would expect the nylon teeth to be permanently damaged and it would never work right again. But, apparently, this gear heals itself and starts working again later on?

Wierd.

 

[moribundman]

Is this how VW gets that rep for building unreliable, overly complicated cars? Bwahahahaha! I guess VW really can tell people to buy a new tranny if a $15 part has gone bad, or tell them to buy a new gauge cluster when a dash light bulb breaks. Good luck!

 

[wavinwayne]

Farfrumgruven! VW

I don't know if this will help you, but if the VW in question is a 4-speed auto, the speedometer gear/vehicle speed sensor is the one inside the blue circle in this picture.

It will probably be covered by a silverish-colored protective cover. Good luck.