Front Air Bag Sensor Control problems of the 2004 Volkswagen Beetle

Vw check engine light on, obd sensor port not reading, battery light came on, and abs light came on, now radio is going on and off. Started yesterday morning,while driving to work the abs started after work on the way home.

Car wouldn't excel while driving suddenly 1 mile from town suddenly traffic slowed from snow storm in town,the vehicle smell was funny black smoked slowly leaked inside the car windows up heard a misfire engine light went on blinked then I heard loud blast like I thought it was a plow trucks muffler loudness realized ir was my vehicle stopped immediately less 1/3 mile at bank. Shut off motor m now seeing smoke slowly entered in the middle of the 2 front seatsand console. Feeling hot under belly of floors. Orange glow through electrical outlet in back of console appeared to be hotwith plastic casing in and under floors hot sizzling crackling under center casing/I try to call 911 misused the cell wouldn't operate effectively flagged down a man n woman at the corner light of bank they declined to help so I went to car put snow on compartment and wet it down and aired out smoke with passenger door open . I went in bank for assistance . This vehicle was recalled for safety issues by manufacturer in the past . Were said to be corrected by repairman also said seatbelt harness was a issue heated seats were a issue and airbags tranny also recalled for electrical issues and or transmission and air bags on some 2004 vw vehicle Beetles recalls so far occurred to this vw were airbag sensors/ also the seatbelt harness cases were breaking repeatedly once purchased due to putting the seats up and back to get in the vehicle. Now this mysterious fire and headlamp issue. .

The contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen Beetle. The contact stated that the air bag sensor light was illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified advised that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number 08v178000 (air bags). The failure mileage was 75,000.

My 2004 vw Beetle showed an air bag warning light. I took it to vw under a recall and they fixed the problem for free. 3 months later the light came on again. Vw said the car had a bad drivers seat belt buckle. Cost would be $ 331. 07 plus tax. I still have the air bag warning light on. It stays on constantly. I was under the impression that a bad seat belt was a safety issue and the responsibility of the car company.

Air bag sensor on my 2004 vw Beetle diagnosed as defective by vw dealer. Defect identified only 20 days past the expiration of new car warranty. Dealer and vw - America declined to repair vehicle under warranty. I advised vw America that the NHTSA website informs that a safety recall for this issue begins on 7/31/08. They still refused to offset or partially offset the cost of the repair.

Our air bag light came on. Upon taking the vehicle to the dealership it was discovered that the front crash sensors were not operational. There was no damage to either sensor. They both had just failed. There is a concern that the bags would not have deployed in an accident. The vehicle has only 22,925 original miles. It seems odd that both sensors would fail at the same time. Srs. Pco.

The contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen Beetle. Ever since the vehicle was purchased, it has been taken to the dealer several times for the air bag indicator illuminating. The dealer replaced the frontal air bag crash sensor and reprogrammed the air bag system; however, the failure was not corrected. The dealer stated that if the indicator illuminated again, the air bag module will need to be replaced. The vehicle has not been repaired. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id numbers 08v178000 (air bags: frontal: sensor/control module or recall) and 03v3560000 (air bags). The failure mileage was 33,000 and current mileage was 36,000. Updated 06/23/09. A diagnostic indicated failure of the drier seat buckle which had to be replaced. Updated 06/24/09.

Purchased the car new on Jan 2, 2004. The air bag light 1st came on in sept 2004 and was repaired. Since that point, the air bag light has illuminated nearly every 6 months, and repaired. Every, time, the car has been in the shop, it has been a crash sensor or seat module replacement. The car has been at vw seven times for this problem. In November 2007, our car was at 54,000 miles, the warranty had expired at 50,000 miles, the light once again illuminated. After a protracted battle with the dealer and vw regional, they agreed to replace the control module. And again, we were told by the dealer, "this should do it". Just this past week, the air bag light has illuminated. Only this time, the dealer closed their dealership at the start of the year and we're staring at a $1200 repair bill. Certainly, to drive around without an air bag isn't exactly a Smart thing to do, but I don't have a lot of confidence this won't come back on 6 months after the repair, based on the history above. In my eyes, there is a systemic defect in the systems that control the air bag. Crash sensor.

The contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen Beetle. The contact stated that the air bag warning light has remained illuminated since the vehicle was purchased. The contact has taken the vehicle to the dealer several times. Repairs were made, but the failure still persists. The contact called the manufacturer and they advised her to schedule an appointment with the dealer to have the vehicle diagnosed. The manufacturer also informed her to call them back after the diagnosis was performed. The contact has all of the repair orders for each time the vehicle was serviced. The current and failure mileages were 41,000.

Both frontal crash sensors failed in a six month period. Several months later, one of the replaced sensors failed. There was no accident involved. The diagnosis was alerted by air bag light indicating problem. Srs. Pco.

I have two crash sensors that have failed within 6 months on my 2004 vw Beetle. This a major safety device that vw us has failed to acknowledge that is a manufactue defect. Srs. Pco.