Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL - SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE | ||||||||||||||||
| 08V178000 | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC | from 07/30/2002 to 10/31/2004 | V (Vehicle) | 76900 | 07/31/2008 | ODI | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC | 04/17/2008 | 04/18/2008 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | Volkswagen is recalling 76,900 my 2004-2005 new beetle and my 2003-2005 new beetle convertibles equipped with an advanced (dual-stage) air bag system. this system may have air bag frontal crash sensors that contain a solder joint on the circuit board that may crack under certain high temperature conditions. if this occurs, the air bag indicator light will illuminate and the fallback algorithm will ensure that the front air bags always deploy in a frontal crash in which the vehicle's deceleration is high enough to activate the frontal air bags. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | In low-severity frontal impacts, the front air bags may deploy more forcefully than designed, increasing the possibility of injury to out-of-position front seat occupants. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will inspect each vehicle to determine that the specific defect crash sensor is present on one or both sides of the vehicle. all of the defect crash sensors will be replaced free of charge. the recall is expected to begin on or before july 31, 2008. owners may contact volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Volkswagen recall no. r6.customers may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov. | |||||||||||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | |||
| 10/26/2007 | 55000 | ||
| Three years ago when the car had only 55000 miles on it, the air bag light came on. there was never any deployment of the air bags and i take good care of my car. vw said it was a defective air bag, but refused to stand behind it. they want $750 to fix it. in the past four years i have had to replace each window motor. they cost $400 to replace. the driver side motor needs to be replaced for the second time. that means the first replacement lasted less than four years. the car has only 77,000 miles on it. this is outrageous. | |||
| 07/01/2009 | 75347 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen new beetle convertible. the vehicle would jerk while changing gears. the failure progressed over time so the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where she was informed the transmission was faulty and experienced an internal failure. the transmission was replaced. the failure has not recurred. she also stated both front window regulator motors failed and were repaired at an independent repair shop. the window modules on both front doors were also replaced. the door lock actuators on both doors also failed and were repaired by either an authorized dealer or independent mechanic. the air bag light began to illuminate on the dashboard so the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where she was informed the air bag sensor failed. the vehicle was in the process of being repaired. she also stated the rear windshield was beginning to detach from the structure of the vehicle. the failure mileage was 75,347 and the current mileage was 93,800. sm. | |||
| 06/16/2007 | 73000 | 1 | |
| The airbag light has been on since i purchased my used 2003 volkswagen new beetle convertible 1.8t in june '07. we have taken it do the dealer several times, and they have quoted outrageous prices for replacing the front airbag sensors, upwards of $700. last year there was a recall for the front airbag sensors, which we had replaced. but the light still remains on, and now they say it is the driver's side seatbelt switch, and quoted $300 for repairs. a quick web search shows this seatbelt switch issue is widespread, and is usually caused by broken wires under the seat. apparently these wires are too short and/or exposed, and can easily be broken by moving the seat too far forward or by items pushed under the seat. i think this is yet another poorly designed system that creates a real hazard for people unwilling or unable to pay for the dealer to poke around until they find and fix the problems. *tr | |||
| 12/09/2008 | 86273 | 1 | |
| Car bough used from vs dealership on 7/31/2006. been in for check engine light 4times, airbag light 3 times, a/c broke once, windows would not roll up once, needed new rotors once, rattling under hood once, battery died two days after i bought it and i had to tow it back to vw. car jerks when going out of first gear-i told vw this repeatedly and they only tried to fix it after the warranty was up. they told me it would be $700 to fix. on 12/9/2008 my car would not go out of first gear while i was driving it. it had to be towed to my house and has not been driven since. i have had nothing but problems out of this car. i can not put anymore money into it. when the warranty went up, all of the sudden everything started going wrong. i requested prior information from the vw dealership about the other owner before me. i feel that this car was doctored so that i would buy it and then it started falling apart. *tr | |||
| 10/14/2008 | 48000 | 1 | |
| Air bag light is on. the left front seat belt buckle is the cause of the light being on. apparently the sensor in the buckle is defective. *tr | |||
| 10/01/2007 | 43000 | 1 | |
| The vehicle has less than 47,000 miles on it and the airbag sensor light came on. this airbag has never been used or deployed. it is not damaged and the vehicle has been maintained properly. i was informed by the dealer that it is a defective airbag and i would have to pay over $700 for a new airbag. i believe the dealer should be responsible for the replacement if they equipped the vehicle with a defective airbag. *tr | |||
| 05/16/2008 | 32000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen new beetle convertible. the contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel, which indicated that the air bag system was inoperative. she took her vehicle to the dealer and a technician reset the air bag sensors. immediately after the repair, the failure recurred. the dealer stated that the sensors needed to be replaced at the discounted price of $250. the manufacturer stated that because the recall for nhtsa campaign id number 08v178000 (air bags:frontal:sensor/control module) does not begin until july 31, 2008, the contact would have to pay for the repairs. the current and failure mileages were 32,000. | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL | |||
| 10/22/2010 | 93000 | ||
| Turned on my car and the air bag light will not turn off on the dash board panel | |||
| 04/13/2009 | 65000 | ||
| The plastic window is separating from the cloth top of my convertible vw. also, the headlights are constantly blowing bulbs and the sensor light of the passenger side airbag stays on. after fixing the light one time, the dealership mechanics said it was the seatbelt connector problem. they just want money, money , money and i am stuck with a volkswagen that is not functional for daily use. | |||
| 07/22/2003 | 5694 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen new beetle convertible. the contact stated that the air bag light in his vehicle would illuminate while driving various speeds. the dealer replaced the passenger side air bag due to resistance in the warning light; however, the failure recurred. he took the vehicle back to the dealer a total of eight times. the most recent time the vehicle was taken to the dealer was in december of 2006 and the light turned off. in july of 2008, the light illuminated again. the contact consulted the manufacturer about nhtsa campaign id number 08v178000 (air bags:frontal:sensor/control module), but they claimed to have no knowledge of the recall. the recall was scheduled to begin on approximately july 31, 2008. the contact is currently waiting for someone from volkswagen to call back. the current mileage was approximately 65,000 and failure mileage was 5,694. | |||
| 04/28/2007 | 25000 | 1 | |
| Frontal air bag crash sensor is bad barley out of warranty . i have read about this problem alot on the internet and believe this should be a recall by volkswagen's it is a safety issue. *tr | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL - SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE | |||
| 04/03/2008 | 27680 | 2 | 06/23/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen new beetle convertible. while driving at an unknown speed, the air bag warning light illuminated, which instructed the contact to stop the vehicle. he called the dealer and was advised to bring the vehicle in for repair. at 27,680 miles, the dealer identified the failure with the air bag crash sensor. they replaced the front passenger side crash sensor and two windows. the failure recurred at 27,680 miles and the manufacturer stated that his vin was not included in nhtsa campaign id number 08v178000 (air bags:frontal:sensor/control module). the contact would be responsible for the repair costs. the failure mileage was 40,000 and current mileage was 41,297. updated 07/08/08. *bf updated 07/03/08. *jb | |||