Brakes Failed Problems of Volkswagen Beetle

Brake failure resulted in crash and total loss of vehicle. Traveling on flat straight four lane road with raised median approximately 45mph. Vehicles to the right and median to the left. Brakes did not slow the vehicle. Vehicle crashed into another stopped vehicle.

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Traveling on the DC capital beltway, traffic slowed due to a car pulled over. I engaged the brakes and had a hard pedal with no braking action at all. I popped the transmission into neutral and was unable to get any braking action. I swerved to miss the car in front of me and clipped the rear of the car to my right. I firmly had my foot on the brake the entire time and never felt any sensation of any braking force. I went on some new Beetle forums after the accident and was able to find several strings describing exactly what happen. It appears that when a split occurs in the vacuum hose to the power brake booster, if the brake is engaged in normal service, there is no issue however if you jab the brakes such as in a panic stop one gets a hard pedal and no stopping power. This is a very dangerous condition due to the brakes failing at the most exact time when they are needed with no prewarning.

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The contact owns a 1998 Volkswagen Beetle. The contact was not the driver at the time of the incident. While driving approximately 55 mph on a snow covered road, the driver noticed an 18-wheeler heading towards the vehicle. The driver applied pressure to the brakes in order to avoid a crash. The brakes failed and the driver rear ended the preceding vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a body shop and an insurance agent informed the owner that the vehicle was destroyed. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were 100,000.

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Total brake failure and ejection of engine upon impact. I was going the 55 mph speed limit and went to put on my brakes to turn right onto another road. I had no brakes. It was like pushing on air. I went through an intersection across 4 lanes. Hit the back of a semi and 4 other cars were involved. I had absolutely no brakes at all to even slow down let alone stop. Upon impact my engine was thrown 150 ft. Away from the car and into another car. This was a 2005 Volkswagen Beetle.

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The contact owns a 1998 Volkswagen Beetle. The plastic tube that extends from the vacuum pump to the vacuum brake booster is cracked and defective. The contact stated that without this piece, brake failure is likely to occur. As a result, he would have to depress the brake pedal very hard in order for them to work. The vehicle has not been driven since the failure occurred. The current and failure mileages were 89,957. The consumer stated plastic line replaced with 3/8" vacuum line. Updated 07/26/07.

Vehicle caught on fire, possible engine failure, while driving the vehicles brake system failed and the driver had to use the emergency brake to stop vehicle. The head light malfunctioned and the vehicles is flling apart after one month of ownership. The dealer refused to fix it.