Front Air Bag Sensor Control problems of the 2006 Volkswagen Beetle

There is a sensor that is connected to my airbag in my car that has gone out 4 times and counting. This "sensor" makes the airbag useless. Within a year to 16 months of fixing the problem, it has reoccured each time. Volkswagen refuses to pay for the parts or warranty them past a year. The part is clearly faulty and endangers peoples lives. This is not a part that should be subject to wear and tear replacement on a yearly basis. Especially with a pricetag of around $650 per fix. With the number of complaints about the same problem online, this should clearly be a recall. I don't understand how it isn't.

The contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen Beetle. The air bag warning light illuminated and the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer. The dealer advised that there was a sensor within the seat belt receptor that would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure continued to recur. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 43,000.

My 2006 Volkswagen Beetle has had 4 failures of the air bag system. According to Volkswagen certified dealerships, the part that keeps failing is a sensor in the seatbelt. When this sensor malfunctions the entire airbag system is rendered useless. It goes off randomly, with no trauma or incident to the vehicle. The part costs more than $600 to fix. I have had it repaired in 2008, 2010, 2013 and now the same part has failed again. Each time it went out it was within a year of the previous failure, although until recently I did not realize that the airbag system was disabled - I waited to take it in because of the inconvenience. The light also randomly turns off one out of every 10-15 drives. The Volkswagen regional case manager informed me that - despite the fact that the part is clearly faulty and has continuously failed due to no fault of my own or any factors I could control - they will not replace it and expect me to pay the cost for the yearly/bi-yearly failure because my car has 102,000 miles on it. The failure has nothing to do with milage and the same problem was fixed multiple times when the car had lower milage. (plus, I purchased the extended warranty to 100,000) this part clearly needs to be recalled. I have seen hundreds of postings from other people online suffering from the same issue and Volkswagen is sticking the consumer with the bill for their shoddy workmanship. When I asked "if I pay to fix it now, will you be covering the rest of the replacements it will obviously need down the line?" the answer was a "no. " it is a serious safety issue that needs to be handled by some body with authority over this company. The vehicle is not meeting basic safety standards. I maintain the parts of my vehicle each year that I am required to - Volkswagen needs to do their part to make their vehicles work properly.