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.
Owner complaints
A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.
Component
Complaints
Median mileage
Air bags
38
—
Electrical system
6
—
Unknown or other
5
20,000 mi
Vehicle speed control
4
—
Service brakes
3
54,000 mi
Suspension
3
20,620 mi
Wheels
3
—
Power train
2
—
Steering
2
29,597 mi
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
54,000 mi
Engine
1
—
Structure: body
1
8 mi
Tires
1
—
Tires: pressure monitoring and regulating systems
1
60,000 mi
The 2015 model has about half as many complaints as this one. The 2017 model has 3 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.