NHTSA campaign 22V945000 · Part 573 safety recall report

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.: Air Bags › Frontal › Driver Side › Inflator Module

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. reported this defect to federal regulators on Dec 21, 2022 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 37,558. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.

The defect

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.

The risk

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

The 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.

4 model years covered

Newest first

Vehicle	Complaints	Recalls	Crashes
2016 Volkswagen Beetle	48	4	2
2016 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible	11	2	0
2015 Volkswagen Beetle	83	6	2
2015 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible	16	2	0

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 22V945000.

Full record for the 2016 Volkswagen Beetle → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →