Volkswagen of America, Inc: Air Bags › Frontal › Sensor/Control Module-inactive
Volkswagen of America, Inc reported this defect to federal regulators on Apr 17, 2008 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 76,900. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
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.
The risk
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.
The 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.
3 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 Volkswagen Beetle | 261 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| 2004 Volkswagen Beetle | 349 | 6 | 13 | 7 |
| 2003 Volkswagen Beetle | 314 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 08V178000.
Full record for the 2005 Volkswagen Beetle → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →