Two problems related to warning light on have been reported for the 2001 Volkswagen New Beetle. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2001 Volkswagen New Beetle based on all problems reported for the 2001 New Beetle.
I purchased a 2001 vw beetle new and I have had to take it to the shop 4 times due to seat belt warning light. This seems to be an on-going problem even after vw made a recall and supposedly "fix" the seat belt problem. This very first time this happened the car had less 1500 miles on it.
Air bag warning light - the light went on immediately after I adjusted my seat. I do not know if I have functioning air bags or an idiot light malfunction. I own 2001 vw New Beetle. As I understand it, this issue happens a lot with vw jettas and New Beetles 2000- 2004. There is a forum named freds tdi where you will note several complaints and issues. Apparently you cannot just clear the faulty code. Vw should make sure these devices are not malfunctioning. If the code was erroneously cleared the driver/passengers would be unaware if air bag is operational.