Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power windows, windshield, wipers, mirrors, sunroof).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Volkswagen Beetle owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
1. Air bag: the air bag indicator light is illuminating. 2. Sunroof drain system clogged: there is leakage through the sunroof of the passenger side. All rain water is coming in from the passenger door. After about 2 weeks of thunder storms the car has water all over the inside and the ceiling and smells bad. (as soon as I found out the sunroof leakage problem of this car, I found that he U.S. Court of appeals for the third circuit has approved a $69 million settlement stemming from a class-action lawsuit that started in 2007 over leaking sunroofs. Http://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2014/Volkswagen-settles-lawsuit-leaking-sunroofs.shtml)
The windows on the driver side will not roll up. They have been repaired on the passenger side. This leads me to believe that this is a Volkswagen problem. I have not repaired the window side as of this date. If there is a recall, please advise. I need this fixed as soon as possible. I was told it was the window regulator.
Left rear window is stuck in down position. The component part is unavailable in the united states and has to be ordered from the factory in Mexico. It will take 2-3 weeks for it to arrive. Cost of repair is $800 for one side. Complaints to manufacturer who will not stand behind their product as there are no recalls filed even though this is an on-going problem with many of their vehicles. Additionally, the vehicle is a convertible. The hydraulic top has malfunctioned since the date it was purchased. It finally snapped off portions of the hydraulic mechanisms and portions of the interior flaps which are now all over the back seat. The top had to be manually raised and secured and does not function at all. Although they repaired it previously, manufacturer will not repair because vehicle is no longer under warranty. …
I have a 2004 vw Beetle convertible. The driver's side window does not drop down in order to clear the canvas top. I was told this was a regulator issue. Now my back passenger window is frozen in half down position. It can not be pulled up or pushed down. There have been numerous complaints regarding the window on these models. I have also had the glass in the canvas top to become detached. My insurance will not cover this as during their investigation they found that it is so common with this model of vehicle that they can deem it "normal wear and tear." this is not right! My car is garage kept and should not be having these problems! I am not able to replace any parts at this time because of income. The consumer is made to pay the bill for vw's faulty manufactoring.
About 6 months ago my driver side window front window shattered as I was driving in my 2004 vw Beetle convertible. Luckily I only received a few small puncture wounds from the glass falling on me. A few weeks ago my rear window quit working. Then a couple of days ago my passenger side front window shattered. My car was just sitting in the parking lot with no other cars around. When are they going to recall these windows? I feel very lucky that there was no one in the car when the window shattered the second time, but really? How common is it for a car to have 2 windows shatter and another broken regulator in 6 months? This is obviously a problem vw needs to address.
Vw 2004 new Beetle convertible rear window inoperable. The rear window regulator fails and vw will not repair under the extended 7 year window warranty. I had both door windows replaced under the extended warranty. The driver rear window regulator was replaced under warranty. But the passenger rear window didn't fail under the car's warranty. However, vw has an extended 7 year warranty that they implemented only for the front regulators (why were the rear window regulators excluded? It is clear they fail just like the front ones do). The extended warranty should cover all window regulators as all of them have failed on my car and many others.
The passenger side rear window will not go up. The dealership charged me $100 to diagnose the problem and determined that the regulator needs to be replaced. I purchased the premium vw extended warranty, but the dealership didn't repair the window (they claimed they didn't know if the extended warranty would pay for the repair - they wanted me to pay approximately $450 and then see if the extended warranty would cover it!) I had already had the passenger door window regulator replaced a few years ago - that was under the first warranty. If this is an ongoing problem, the regulators should be recalled and replaced for free!
My daughter has a 2004 vw Beetle convertible, and last summer she went to put the convertible down and the rear window motors stopped working. We called the dealership and since the car had 52,000 miles they told my daughter that it would cost her $1500.00 to fix the motors. We have two more friends and their daughters vw beetles convertible windows stopped working too. I really don't feel that this is right. Electric motors should not break after 50,000 miles. Volkswagen should have a recall on this problem. "how do I go about getting them to fix this problem with their car.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen Beetle. The contact stated that the front window motors failed and were replaced at her expense. The seat belts latches had also failed. In addition, the transmission would intermittently jerk violently when attempting to up shift from second to third gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the transmission would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer did not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 48,000 and the current mileage was 51,000.
Right rear window regulator failed, vw paid for regulator but charged $389.00 labor to fix (window up and down less then 20 times up to this point. Left rear window regulator failed June 2011, labor charge $403.05 vw paid for regulator. Left driver window regulator failed aug 2011. Vw will not cover regulator, or labor of $375.00 to repair. Vw knew these parts would fail and had issued a tech bulletin to this effect with no notice to owner! Failed parts are known by vw as failure parts, cost to customer for known bad parts is extreme.
Window & Wiper complaints in other Beetle years
Frequently asked questions
How common are window & wiper problems on the 2004 Volkswagen Beetle?
NHTSA has 65 complaints about the windows, wipers & sunroof of the 2004 Volkswagen Beetle, 19% of the model year's 349 complaints. The component named most often is power window devices and controls (43 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Volkswagen Beetle window & wiper problems?
No. NHTSA lists no windows, wipers & sunroof recall for the 2004 Volkswagen Beetle, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2004 Volkswagen Beetle window & wiper problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 55,000 miles, and 5% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.