Two problems related to air bag have been reported for the 2003 Volkswagen Golf. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2003 Volkswagen Golf based on all problems reported for the 2003 Golf.
My son was parking his car at a state park and driving less than 2 miles a hour when the passenger airbags deployed. Several people heard the loud sound and ran over to see if anyone was hurt. His girlfriend's arm became red, with a rash and swollen. The seat and headliner are now damaged, and it would cost more to replace the airbags, seat and headliner than the car is worth. The insurance CO will not cover the cost because there was no accident. Now, he will need to purchase another vehicle. There have been at least 107 reported complaints regarding airbags for 2001-2003 vw Golf and jetta. If my son had been driving on a main road or highway, this incident could have caused an accident. There should be a recall on the airbags before someone gets seriously hurt, if that hasn't already occurred.
Driving late at night, hit pothole that badly dented right front rim, caused passenger side curtain airbags to deploy, filling car with smoke and cutting off ignition. Contacted vw of America to advise them of incident. Will contact insurance, local vw dealer and collision shop for analysis this week.