Power Train. Review the 134 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Air Bags. Review the 60 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Visibility. Review the 55 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

7 crash reports7 fire reports5 injury reports

Unknown Or Other complaints

6 reports

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22,977 miles · May 4, 2018

Unknown Or Other

ONBOARDCOMPUTERSYSTEM READINESS STATUS DURING CAR INSPECTION EMISSION RESULTS READINESS FAIL MONITOR EVAP-NOT READY MONITOR SECONDARY AIR NOT READY

NHTSA ODI #11091926

Mileage unknown · Mar 9, 2018

Unknown Or Other

HAVING MAJOR TRANSMISSION ISSUES AFTER TRYING TO FIX AND REPLACE EVERYTHING LIKE FLUID AND FILTERS. HAS A HARD TIME CHANGING GEARS. ENGINE WILL REV WHILE CHANGING GEARS SOMETIMES. HICCUPS AND JOLTS A LOT ESPECIALLY WHEN GOING FROM 2ND TO 3 THEN TO 4TH. AND WHEN GOING DOWN IN GEARS

NHTSA ODI #11078283

69,000 miles · Dec 13, 2017

Unknown Or Other

THE REAR WINDOW OF THE CONVERTIBLE TOP HAS COME UNGLUED. AFTER CHECKING ONLINE SOURCES, I HAVE FOUND THIS HAS HAPPENED ON OTHER CARS. IT CAN CAUSE THE ENTIRE REAR WINDOW BLOW OUT IF ALL OF THE ADHESIVE GIVES WAY.

NHTSA ODI #11054489

Mileage unknown · Jul 12, 2017

Unknown Or Other

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MY CAR HAS A VERY,VERY STONG CRAYON-CHEMICAL SMELL..THAT PERMEATES THE ENTIRE INTERIOR OF THE CAR. NO ONE, I REPEAT, NO ONE WILL RIDE WITH ME IN MY CAR UNLESS I DRIVE WITH THE WINDOWS DOWN. I COMPLAINED ABOUT TO THE VW DEALERSHIP (LEITH VW/CAPITOL BLVD. RALEIGH,NC)- AND WAS TOLD BY A TECHNICIAN THAT THEY HAVE HAD THIS COMPLAINT BEFORE AND THE PROBLEM SEEMED TO BE THE THE GLUE USED TO HOLD DOWN THE PADDING/CARPET . I HAVE VERY BAD SENSE OF SMELL AND DO NOT NOTICE AS BAD AS EVERYONE ELSE..BUT HAVE LATELY DEVELOPED A CHRONIC HACKING COUGH THAT HAS LINGERED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS NOW (W/O PROPER DIAGNOSIS..). I WOULD LOVE TO BE INCLUDED IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST VW OF AMERICA TO INCLUDE ALL OF THE OTHER VW OWNERS WHO SHARE THIS VERY,VERY STRONG CRAYON-CHEMICAL SMELL..AND HAVE BEEN GETTING NO HELP FROM THE VW CORPORATION. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING THIS CAR FOR OVER 4 YEARS NOW..PUTTING @ 110,000 MILES ON IT IN THAT TIME PERIOD..AND I ALWAYS DRIVE WITH THE WINDOWS UP (EITHER HEAT OR A/C ON).

NHTSA ODI #11004977

Mileage unknown · Jul 4, 2016

Unknown Or Other

ITS A RECALL OF THE WATER PUMP AND I'M HAVING ISSUES WITH MY COOLING ,MY CAR IS RUNNING HOT HAVE HAD EVERYTHING DONE EXCEPT THE WATER PUMP AND STILL RUNNING HOT JUST FOUND OUT THAT ITS A RECALL ON THE WATER PUMP IF THERE IS OTHER RECALL CAN IT BE DONE ALSO

NHTSA ODI #10882430

73,525 miles · May 26, 2011

Unknown Or Other

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ON APRIL 25, 2008 WE TOOK OUR 2003 VW BEETLE CONVERTIBLE TO OUR VW DEALER FOR SERVICE AND A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTING HARD OR CLUNKING AT TIMES. THEY SAID THE NOISE WAS THE EXHAUST AND ADJUSTED IT AND SIGNED OFF. THAT WAS NOT THE PROBLEM. THE HARD SHIFTING CONTINUED OCCASIONALLY FOR SOME TIME. THEN IT STARTED TO HAPPEN MORE OFTEN AND BE MORE SEVERE. ON OCTOBER 23, 2009, WE RETURNED TO OUR DEALER FOR SERVICE AND TOLD THEM AGAIN ABOUT OUR CONCERNS ABOUT THE HARD SHIFTING AS WE HAD ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS IN THE PAST. AT THIS TIME THEY RAN A DIAGNOSTIC ($90.00) ON THE TRANSMISSION. THEY HAD TO ORDER A PART AND WE RETURNED ON NOVEMBER 5, 2009 TO HAVE THE CABLE INSTALLED. ($1406.36) THE PROBLEM GOT WORSE AND WE RETURNED NOVEMBER, 10, 2009 FOR ANOTHER DIAGNOSTIC AND ANOTHER CABLE INSTALL.($179.78) STILL NOT FIXED THE CAR GOES INTO LIMP MODE WHEN YOU TRY TO DRIVE IT. WE LEFT THE CAR WITH OUR DEALER FOR THEM TO TRY TO FIND A USED TRANSMISSION. NO LUCK. ON DECEMBER 2, 2009 WE DECIDED TO CONTACT A TRANSMISSION SHOP A FRIEND TOLD US ABOUT. I CALLED A TRANSMISSION SHOP TO PICK UP THE CAR AT OUR DEALER AND TAKE IT TO THEIR SHOP TO LOOK INTO REBUILDING THE TRANSMISSION. ALL TO NO AVAIL THEY COULD NOT GET PARTS FOR THAT TRANSMISSION. THE NEXT STEP WAS TO LOOK FOR A USED ONE AGAIN. STILL UNABLE TO LOCATE A USED TRANSMISSION WE DECIDED TO HAVE A VW REBUILT TRANSMISSION INSTALLED. ($5469.60) THIS WAS DONE AND THE CAR WAS PICKED UP ON JANUARY 7, 2010. NOW ON DECEMBER 14, 2010 WE RECEIVE A LETTER THAT DESCRIBES OUR ORIGINAL COMPLAINT ABOUT THE HARD SHIFTING. THE LETTER WAS EXTENDING THE WARRANTY ON THE TRANSMISSION. I THEN SENT A CLAIM TO VW TO ASK FOR REIMBURSEMENT. THAT CLAIM WAS NOT ACCEPTED.

NHTSA ODI #10403531

Official recalls

08V178000 · Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE

Apr 17, 2008

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 & remedy

Consequence: 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.

Remedy: 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.

07V063000 · Exterior Lighting:brake Lights:switch

Feb 20, 2007

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER, WAGON, AND CONVERTIBLE VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH OR WITHOUT CRUISE CONTROL, A BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH MAY MALFUNCTION IF IT WAS INSTALLED INCORRECTLY.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: THE BRAKE LIGHTS COULD BECOME INOPERATIVE, OR REMAIN ON. FAILURE TO PROVIDE THE PROPER SIGNAL WHEN BRAKING COULD LEAD TO A CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL THE NEWLY DESIGNED BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 27, 2007, AND WILL BE CONDUCTED IN SEVERAL STAGGERED MAILINGS THROUGH SEPTEMBER 21, 2007. VEHICLES WITHIN THE MAKE, MODEL, AND MODEL YEAR OF THIS POPULATION MAY BE INVOLVED IN EITHER THIS RECALL OR 06V-183, BUT NOT BOTH. THE REMEDY IS THE SAME FOR EACH RECALL. VOLKSWAGEN DEALERS WILL APPLY THE REMEDY BASED ON THE VIN NUMBER OF THE VEHICLE. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VW AT 1-800-822-8987.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

PE08012 · Front Air Bag Crash Sensor Failure

Opened Feb 15, 2008 · Closed Apr 24, 2008

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE

CERTAIN SUBJECT VEHICLES, MODEL YEAR (MY) 2003 CONVERTIBLE AND MY 2004 SEDAN AND CONVERTIBLE VEHICLES ARE EQUIPPED WITH AN ADVANCED DUAL-STAGE AIR BAG SYSTEM.THE AIR BAG CRASH SENSORS (#1F0 909 606) 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 CONTROL MODULE WILL ENABLE A FALLBACK ALGORITHM THAT WILL ENSURE THAT THE FRONT AIR BAG ALWAYS DEPLOYS IN A FRONTAL CRASH IN WHICH THE VEHICLE'S DECELERATION IS HIGH ENOUGH TO ACTIVATE THE FRONTAL AIR BAGS.HOWEVER, 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.VOLKSWAGEN WILL INSPECT FOR THE DEFECTIVE CRASH SENSOR AND REPLACE WITH AN UPDATED DESIGN.IN ADDITION, 16,177 EARLY-MY 2005 NEW BEETLE SEDAN AND CONVERTIBLE VEHICLES (BUILT THROUGH OCT 31, 2004) ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THE RECALL CAMPAIGN.THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION IS CLOSED (SEE RECALL 08V-178)