Cybertoad's Blog

I haven’t posted about Betty the Blue Beetle in a while but that is not because I have been trouble free. Quite the contrary… Here is an updated list of recent issues, some VW’s fault, others just normal wear & tear (as a reminder, it’s a 2000 turbo with 30,000 miles)…

Low on coolant – the coolant light came on red and dinged every morning for a few days so I called and they told me to check coolant level. Sure enough it was low and despite all the warnings in the owner’s manual about only using the approved VW anti-freeze, I went ahead and used the generic will-fit-in-any-car-guaranteed anti-free from Preston. So far, the engine hasn’t exploded and the light went off and has stayed off for a couple of months now! I will check again soon and make sure the coolant level stays stable to ensure I don’t have a leak somewhere.

Leaky tire – I had a slow leak on the driver’s front tire and when I hit a curb one day and gouged it a bit I decided to take it to Discount Tire to avoid a potential flat tire in the morning. They found a nail in it and patched it for me for free.

Tire rotation and balance - I still need to go do this. Probably due to uneven wear I now notice a slight pull to the right after getting the tire fixed.

New battery – When I returned to pick up my car during its last oil change, I noticed the mechanics pushing the car out of the bay. I thought this was odd and found out it was because my battery had died and they had not been able to re-start it after I had dropped it off. Good thing it happened there and not while I was out. They checked the alternator and it was good so they replaced the battery and $50 bucks later I was good to go.

Driver’s side double window switch – This thing kind of sunk in and the auto-up feature stopped working. It steadily got worse and more lopsided and soon thereafter one of the toggle switches broke off and fell out. Upon further inspection, my auto-up & down features were still working but the toggle switch had not been able to click it on the right spot because it was slowly disintegrating and breaking into pieces. It is a double switch – driver’s and passenger’s side in one bevel. At the dealership each switch sells for $50. I got 2 switches + bezel for a total of $40 (shipping included) on eBay. Kenny replaced it for me – surprisingly it was as easy as popping out the old switch and popping in the new one. The passenger side switch also has some broken plastic and is sitting in there funny but I am going to wait a little longer before buying its replacement.

Driver’s side fog-light – The glass over my fog lamp has been cracked for a long time but the other day a bad pothole finally knocked a large piece of glass out. Since the bulb is no longer protected I need to replace the assembly. The dealership wants $102, eBay came through once again at $50. I have not bought it yet (tight budget right now) but will do so as soon as possible.

And the Bug saga continues…