Volkswagen Cabrio

Owners filed 186 complaints across 11 model years of the Volkswagen Cabrio. The 2001 drew the most (38).

Model years11
Complaints186
Recalls7
Fires13
Deaths0

Which Volkswagen Cabrio years should you avoid?

Not enough of the record to single a year out. Fewer than 4 Volkswagen Cabrio model years have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to judge, so any ranking would be noise. The table below has every year as filed.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →

Every Volkswagen Cabrio model year compared

Complaints per year
YearComplaintsRelative volumeRecallsFiresCrashesMost reportedStatus
200223
033Electrical SystemRoutine
200138
136Visibility › Power Window Devices and ControlsRoutine
200016
1—1Power Train › Manual TransmissionRoutine
199929
024Electrical SystemRoutine
199821
1—4Structure › Body › Roof and PillarsRoutine
199714
02—Electrical System › Alternator/Generator/RegulatorRoutine
19966
0—2Engine and Engine Cooling › EngineRoutine
199515
0——Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › GasolineRoutine
19938
011Service Brakes, HydraulicRoutine
19929
12—Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Disc › RotorRoutine
19917
3——Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank AssemblyRoutine

Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.