AutoStatsIQ
Data through Oct 2026
Model line

Volkswagen Beetle

Every Volkswagen Beetle model year on file, 2015 to 2019. Pick a year for its recalls, investigations, service bulletins and the full text of owner complaints.

Owner complaints, all model years1775 involved a crash, fire, injury or death
Model years52015 to 2019
Recall campaigns9Distinct campaigns listing it
Service bulletins3,143Summed across model years
By model year

The 2015 model year drew the most complaints, 83, 47% of the model's total

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA, all years filed, by model year.

02550751002015832016201720182019
Source: NHTSA ODI. Complaints are not verified by NHTSA, and NHTSA publishes no sales volumes, so counts are not rates.
Components

Airbags leads the Volkswagen Beetle complaint record

Owner complaints across all model years, by component.

Airbags
90
Electrical system
34
Brakes
11
Engine and cooling
11
Powertrain
8
Visibility and wipers
6
Steering
6
Wheels
5
Suspension
5
Structure
5
Source: NHTSA ODI complaints file.
Model years

The record for each Volkswagen Beetle model year

Peer index compares complaints with the median vehicle of the same model year and body class (100 is the median). It corrects for age, not for how many were sold.

Volkswagen Beetle by model year
YearBodyComplaintsSeverity indexPeer indexRecallsInvestigationsBulletins
2019Coupe147.146740421
2018Convertible170.056740517
2017Coupe150.037540551
2016Coupe484.21,60040691
2015Hatchback832.448860963
Source: NHTSA ODI. Body class from NHTSA's VIN decoder where decoded.
Latest recalls

Recent campaigns covering the Volkswagen Beetle

  • 24V-834 Oct 30, 2024
    Driver's side frontal air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity,…
    Airbags · 248k vehicles
  • 22V-945 Dec 21, 2022
    Driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high…
    Airbags · 38k vehicles
  • 20E-064 Sep 23, 2020
    Fluid seal crimp on the master cylinder may be insufficient, causing brake fluid to leak or the cylinder to come apart
    Brakes · 38 vehicles
  • 19V-615 Aug 22, 2019
    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…
    Electrical system · 679k vehicles
  • 19V-094 Feb 13, 2019
    Instrument cluster may not provide a visual warning when a brake system failure is detected
    Electrical system · 4,064 vehicles
  • 18V-369 Jun 1, 2018
    Brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have insufficient coating, potentially reducing the brake performance
    Brakes · 10k vehicles
  • 17V-136 Mar 2, 2017
    Affected vehicles have incorrect information on the tire information label, possibly causing the operator to overload the vehicle
    Equipment · 797 vehicles
  • 15V-705 Oct 26, 2015
    In the affected vehicles, the camshaft lobe that drives the brake vacuum pump may shear off, resulting in a loss of brake assist
    Engine and cooling · 92k vehicles
  • 15V-028 Jan 23, 2015
    Sealing cap at the fuel rail may fail, allowing fuel to leak into the engine compartment
    Fuel system · 45k vehicles
Source: NHTSA ODI recalls file.