Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEAT BELTS | |||
| 03/30/2011 | 136300 | ||
| When the engine was started, the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument panel and stays illuminated until the engine is turned off. the seat belt light goes off after the car is started even when no seatbelts are put on. the vin was not included in recall 08v178000, although the failure symptoms seem similar. | |||
| 12/07/2010 | 43000 | ||
| I own a 2003 vw beetle, the seat belt buckle has wires connected to it, this wires snapped on their own. my airbag light turned on, for approximately 4 months i had this light on in my car. throught research in the internet, i found out that the seat belt was the problem. it seems that there was a defect with the seat belt buckle, lots of beetle ownwers had this problem. i contacted vw and they refused to take any responsibility. information provided indicates that when the airbag light is on the airbags will not deploy in an accident. please look in to this matter. thank you. | |||
| 12/05/2007 | 65056 | 1 | 08/16/2006 |
| I was involved in a crash while driving my 2003 vw beetle convertible. i was unable to brake and avoid a semi-truck that was in directly in front of me. i was traveling at a speed between 30-40 mph but did lose conscience so am not sure if remember exactly how fast i was going. my airbag did not deploy and my seat belt did not lock causing my face to slam directly into the steering wheel. the passenger side airbag which contained no passengers nor items did deploy. i suffered facial fractures and a broken nose. my fractures have healed but my nose needs to be reconstructed. my car was serviced at a collision center and then sent to the autobarn in countryside, il where the car was bought used in august of 2006. the car was returned to me on dec 27 but no explanation was given for the airbag not deploying. the transmission was also not working properly so i returned the car for additional service a few days later. the car was finally returned to me 2 weeks later with a new transmission but still no explanation for the airbag. upon leaving the autobarn on january 17 with my car, the air bag light turned on and stayed on while i drove about 10 miles. i returned the car the next day and the service department stated the light did not go on for them and offered again no explanation. *tr | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - BUCKLE ASSEMBLY | |||
| 04/22/2004 | 26000 | 1 | |
| While driving at 20 mph consumer's vehicle crashed into the rear end of another vehicle. consumer was wearing a seat belt that did not lock up. also, passenger's side airbag deployed, but driver's side air bag did not. consumer sustained minor bruises to the chest and head.*ak | |||