Three problems related to dash wiring have been reported for the 1999 Volkswagen Beetle. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Failure of dashboard (airconditioning) controls caused car to catch on fire. Car was completely destroyed. Failure to address this defect could cause injury or death.
Vehicle caught fire on inside of ignition switch box. There was a bad connection in the ignition switch. Fire meleted wires inside the box which caused shutdown in dashboard ie/ headlights/ windshield wipers, and etc. Dealer's remedy was to tighten the wires in ignition box, but the electrical portion of dashboard would periodically go down.
Electrical harness behind the dashboard failed resulting in vehicle fire.