Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Beetle and Beetle Convertibles vehicles. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Safety risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Manufacturer remedy
Dealers will replace the driver's side air bag, free of charge. Owners notification letters were mailed October 26, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69EM.
Electrical system: ignition: anti-theft: control module
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
679,027
Reported to NHTSA
2019-08-22
Owners notified
2019-11-19
Defect description
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2019 GTI, 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 Golf, 2012-2019 Beetle and Beetle Convertible, 2017-2019 Golf SportWagen and 2011-2018 Jetta vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission, manual handbrake and keyless entry. A build-up of silicate on the shift lever micro switch contacts may enable the key to be removed from the ignition when the transmission shift lever is not in "Park."
Safety risk
Removing the key while the shift lever is in a position other than "Park" increases the risk of an unintended vehicle rollaway that may result in personal injury or a crash.
Manufacturer remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional switch and circuit board, free of charge. The recall began November 19, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 37M2.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Jetta, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Passat, Golf and Golf SportWagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the camshaft lobe that drives the brake vacuum pump may shear off, resulting in a loss of brake assist.
Safety risk
If the camshaft lobe shears off there would be a loss of brake assist, lengthening the distance needed to stop the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.
Manufacturer remedy
Volkswagen dealer will update the engine control module (ECM) software. The recall began March 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 23R1.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Jetta vehicles manufactured March 28, 2014, to November 24, 2014, 2014-2015 Passat vehicles manufactured April 7, 2014, to November 18, 2014, 2015 Golf and GTI vehicles manufactured July 1, 2014, to November 20, 2014, and 2014-2015 Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles manufactured March 31, 2014, to November 27, 2014. A sealing cap at the fuel rail may fail, allowing fuel to leak into the engine compartment.
Safety risk
A fuel leak, in the presence of an ignition source, can result in a vehicle fire.
Manufacturer remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel rails with new parts, free of charge. The recall began February 6, 2015. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24BL. Note: This recall expands and supersedes recall 14V-809 (Volkswagen recall number 24Bi) and only affects vehicles not previously repaired under that campaign.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Beetle vehicles manufactured June 13, 2013, to July 3, 2014. The glass sunroofs in the affected vehicles may break when the vehicles are operated over a hard road surface or strike a pothole.
Safety risk
Vehicle occupants could be injured by falling glass. A sunroof break during vehicle operation also increases the risk of driver distraction and a resulting vehicle crash.
Manufacturer remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the sunroof, free of charge. The recall began on December 15, 2015. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 60B9.
Owner complaints
A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.
Component
Complaints
Median mileage
Air bags
45
—
Electrical system
16
35,600 mi
Unknown or other
14
25 mi
Service brakes
8
13,000 mi
Engine
7
100 mi
Power train
6
37,423 mi
Steering
5
15,000 mi
Structure: body
4
35,600 mi
Visibility/wiper
3
50 mi
Electronic stability control (ESC)
2
65 mi
Exterior lighting
2
—
Equipment adaptive/mobility
1
—
Vehicle speed control
1
—
Visibility
1
35,600 mi
Visibility: sun/moon roof assembly
1
44,130 mi
Wheels
1
15,000 mi
The 2014 model has about 1.5 times as many complaints as this one. The 2016 model has about 1.5 times as many complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.
Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.