general problems of the 2002 Volkswagen New Beetle

Air bag light intermittent. 3rd time for service to air bag system. 1st event was in warranty - replace clock spring, 2nd and 3rd events were not covered - over 50k miles and extended warranty claims they do not cover safety related systems including air bag systems. 2nd issue, was too short in length of wiring harness leading to clock spring. 3rd issue was due to seat belt switch, now light is again on. Have not taken car back to dealer yet.

The contact owns a 2002 Volkswagen New Beetle. When the vehicle is turned on the air bag indicator light illuminated on the instrument control panel. The dealer stated that the air bag was deactivated and the seat belt latch system needed to be repaired in order for the air bag system to function properly. The contact would have to pay for the repair because air bag was not covered under warranty. The vehicle needs to be repaired. The failure mileage was 51,000 and current mileage was 52,000. Updated 02/14/08. The brake light bulb and right rear tail light was inoperative. Updated.

I'm in the process of replacing my second driver's side seat belt latch (the female end that the belt attaches to) on my 2002 vw New Beetle. This failure triggers the air bag light on the instrument panel. The first seat belt latch was replaced in April of 2007; now, three years later, the air bag light is on again and the error code indicates the same issue, so I'm forced to replace the same part again. From my reading vw New Beetle forums, this is a chronic problem for this model year. At the very least you'd think vw would re-design the part to eliminate the issue so it only has to be replaced one time.

Rear collision accident in 2004, now seatbelt latch mechanism not working, struts and wheel bearings damaged and need replacement along with subframe and emergency brake system.