Front Air Bag Sensor Control Problems of Volkswagen New Beetle

Sensor lights come on intermittently. Not consistent and go days between repeat issue. Abs/brake/esp: comes on and when car is restart will not duplicate. Dealer replaced module and it came on again. Seat belt alarm: will alarm even when seat belt is fastened. Airbag sensor: came on then, when car was restart it would not duplicate. Happened 3 time in a week. Headlights replaced: both replaced twice in one year. Locks: will lock/unlock while driving when they already had been locked.

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Drivers side seat belt latch sensor failure causes airbag error light on the dash to come on. Dealer states that when the light is on the airbags are disabled. Seems like an unnecessary sensor. . . When the car is in use wouldn't that mean that someone is in the drivers seat? $500 to fix.

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Failed airbag wiring - dealer says its related to a seat sensor - light on dash came on at 62,000 miles has 108,000 currently.

Air bag light is on at all times. Please refer to complain odi 10279199. Called vw recall center 800. 822. 8987, there is a recall #08v178000 for exact same issue. Vw said my car has never been recalled for that issue. Asked if they would take my car for inspection, request denied unless I paid for the inspection. My concern is that airbag may deploy unexpectedly and cause an accident to my family, besides the actual issue of not deploying properly. Even if my vehicle has no dual stage airbag, the issue of an airbag light on may be caused by the same quality/poor design root cause. Below is the actual recall description and remedy: "Volkswagen is recalling 76,900 my 2004-2005 New Beetle and my 2003-2005 New Beetle convertibles equipped with an advanced (dual-stage) air bag system. This system may have air bag frontal crash sensors that contain a solder joint on the circuit board that may crack under certain high temperature conditions. If this occurs, the air bag indicator light will illuminate and the fallback algorithm will ensure that the front air bags always deploy in a frontal crash in which the vehicle's deceleration is high enough to activate the frontal air bags. Consequence: in low-severity frontal impacts, the front air bags may deploy more forcefully than designed, increasing the possibility of injury to out-of-position front seat occupants. Remedy: dealers will inspect each vehicle to determine that the specific defect crash sensor is present on one or both sides of the vehicle. All of the defect crash sensors will be replaced free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on or before July 31, 2008. Owners may contact Volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987".

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2004 vw New Beetle airbag sensor light remains on. Sensor was replaced in Nov. 2004, sept. 2006 and March 2007. Vw says the vehicle is not under the recall # 08v178000. Dealership says they won't do anything until vw approves it and dealership wants us to pay for *another* evaluation. Light has been on for 1 year, had it evaluated July 2009. Current mileage is 80,000. Mileage when light came on was 71,000.

The contact owns a 2005 Volkswagen New Beetle. The contact received a safety recall notice for NHTSA campaign id number 08v178000 (air bags:frontal:sensor/control module), and called Volkswagen to schedule a repair appointment. He had two scheduled appointments that were cancelled because the parts were unavailable. He was informed that Volkswagen was only allotting ten parts per week to the dealers for the repair. The failure mileage was 49,000. Updated 08/29/08. Updated 09/03/08.

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Air bag warning light comes on. Repaired twice under warranty, right front crash side sensor replaced on 11 Sep 2007, don't know about the first incident. Now out of warranty and air bag light is on again. Crash sensor. Pco.

The contact owns a 2002 Volkswagen beetle. The driver's side air bag light has remained illuminated in the vehicle for over 1 1/2 years. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer numerous times and they stated that the driver's side seat belt and sensor caused the failure. Through research, the contact discovered that a newer model might have a recall for this same issue. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 95,000 and current mileage was 107,000. Updated 09/11/09 updated 09/14/09.

2004 vw New Beetle air bag sensor light on. Crash sensor. Pco.

The contact owns a 2003 Volkswagen New Beetle. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel. He took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that the air bags:frontal:sensor/control module failed and needed to be replaced. One year prior to the failure, the contact replaced the frontal air bag sensor. The vehicle was repaired, but a formal complaint was not made with the manufacturer. The contact is in possession of the failed component. The failure mileage was 44,500 and current mileage was 45,439. Crash sensor. Pco.

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The air bag warning light is illuminated. I had it checked out and the dealer said the sensor was broken and needed repair. They said the air bag would not activate with the switch inoperable. I paid big$$$ ($391)to have this repair performed. Crash sensor. Pco.

The contact owns a 2001 Volkswagen New Beetle. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated. The dealer stated that the air bag switch was connected to the seat belt, which caused the light to illuminate. The air bag was not covered under the warranty. The repair costs were over $500. The powertrain was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 88,540. * updated 12/12/07 updated 12/12/07.

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The contact owns a 2002 Volkswagen beetle. The contact stated that the air bag light remained illuminated. She took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that the scan dtc found that the driver's buckle resistance was set too high. The first time the failure occurred and was repaired was on April 6, 2005. The current and failure mileages were 52,000.

Air bag fault lights has been coming on and going off for over a year,,, everytime I get time to go by and get it fixed, it goes off, hooked the computer up and it shows no fault. . . Now it is on all the time, I was told that it needs to be repaired but at great expense to me,,, however it was not really hurting anything. . I was told that it does not affect the air bag deploying, but I wonder. . . The only way to find out is have an accident and I do not want to do that, so we , the owners are at the mercy of the vw corporation.

See all problems of the 2000 Volkswagen New Beetle 🔎.

I own a 2003 Volkswagen New Beetle convertible. It had multiple failures while still under warranty that were never particularly corrected. Would go out and car would not start - completely dead. Batteries were replaced, alternator was replaced, something with the stereo system was replaced, etc. This happened many times over the course of two years, from approximately 2005 to 2007. I could provide specifics if necessary since I have all receipts. It sometimes happened within a week of getting the car back from the previous "repair. " needless to say it has been very frustrating, and we will never purchase another vw. The reason I am just now writing is because my local newspaper had a small paragraph mentioning that the NHTSA is investigating a possible crash sensor malfunction in the airbag system. I have had to replace both of the sensors at my own expense since the car is no longer under warranty. The airbag indicator light first came on in June 2007 and the driver's side front crash sensor was replaced. Just a short time later, September 2007, the airbag indicator light came on again. This time they told me it was the passenger side crash sensor that need to be replaced. These repairs cost me roughly $1000 out of pocket. I think the NHTSA would like to be aware of this as part of the investigation. Thank you very much. While listing "failures" below I will stick with just the two airbag failures and only provide info on other electrical problems if requested to do so. Crash sensor. Pco.

I got in my car one day and the air bag light was on for no apparent reason. No consequences other than it is probably the sensor rather than the air bag that is damaged. It has to be repaired or replaced. Not sure if that means the sensor or the air bag as well to be on the safe side. I am driving with the light on.

Airbag light came on +/- 52,000 miles and is a constant light (original car warranty expired 50,000 miles) I was informed by new country Volkswagen of greenwich CT (vw service) and fidelity warranty services that my extended warranty won't cover repair or diagnostic costs (estimated at $750 plus tax). Tech found "passenger front air bag crash sensor no signal. " this car is barely 3 years old and has not been in any accidents at all. Vw customer care did not provide assistance despite the fact that on the NHTSA website it appears that air bag lights are a noted issue on the 2004 Volkswagen New Beetle and there have been recalls, just not my VIN number yet. Vw should contact me and pay for this repair. Srs. Pco.

The contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen beetle. The contact stated that the passenger's side air bag indicator constantly illuminated. Also, the seat belt indicator illuminated intermittently even when the vehicle was unoccupied. In addition, the daytime running lamps would shut off, but the dealer replaced the bulbs. The contact had an appointment to have the air bag indicator diagnosed. The current and failure mileage were 35851.

The airbag warning light came on for no apparent reason. Diagnosed as bad passenger side airbag crash sensor. Had to be replaced at expense to me.

Air bag light will not go off--forum says may air bags may not work with light on. It seems to be a major problem with vw bugs for years. Should be a recall.

The airbag light on my 2002 Volkswagen New Beetle is on. The car has 52,000 miles on it. The dealer wants to charge me $400. 00 to repair. It cost $150. 00 to find out that it is the airbag pigtail-1j0971584j and spiral reel-1j0959653c.

I turn on my car and suddenly the airbag sensor turn on without reason.

I test drove several vw new bettles prior to purchasing one. In many of them the air bag light indicator remained on. Is this a problem that you are aware of? have there been recall on this?.

2nd major electrical problem since car purchase. Safety issue regarding seat occupied light module and airbag light on/malfunctioned. Left brake light burnt out.

The air bag light stayed on. The car has been taken back for this problem on 5 separate occasions. On one occasion we never even left the dealership. The last time we picked it up the vehicle they told us it was a software issue, and the solution should be in two weeks, and it was safe to drive. It has been almost five months and still no solution as of yet. They were still saying two weeks.

Some type of 'control module' needs to be replaced, without it the air-bag system doesn't work. This is a safety feature which helped in the decision to buy the car, and after 5 years it fails rendering the system useless and requiring over $700 to replace. This is wrong!.

See all problems of the 1998 Volkswagen New Beetle 🔎.

Transmission replaced three times, still not working properly, lunges into forward and reverse, and will drop into and out of high and low gear when driving. Sunroof leaked because the drainage tubing was not connected at factory causing water damage to leather seats and now mold is growing inside of vehicle, making it difficult to be inside and have had one sinus infection already.

Whenever the passenger/driver seats are moved within 10 seconds of starting the car airbag light comes on in the console and does not turn off until done so manually by a mechanic. The "pod" device is then disabled. If light is on, then airbag might not deploy in an accident, injuries or death may occur. On 2 separate occasions, one in August and one in October the light was reset by a mechanic and took 3 days each time. I have been advised to have the computer in the car reprogrammed, but the dealership's mechanics have not done so, assuming that is why the light keeps appearing.

While driving srs light appeared on the dashboard and remained on. The consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection. The mechanic determined that the air bag sensor needed to be reset, and reset it six times. However, the problem recurred. The seat latch was broken and the rear console was falling apart.

Seatbelt air bag sensor- air bag malfunction light came on 11/8/03 took the car to the dealership they ordered the part. Both headlights were not working by the time I got to the dealer, they replaced those, turn signals were going on and off along with the hazard lights, was told these needed to be ordered. Called in 2 weeks and was told the parts were on manufacture backorder and they would call me when they came in. I called every 2 weeks they part were not in. 3/3/04 smog test done to register my car- failed smog, took car to dealer cat converter out, they had to order part said they would reorder the sensor, 3/12/04 took car back in parts not in yet, called every day parts not in now my registration was late. Cat converter came in on 4/2/04 it was installed dealer was refusing to smog test for free the finally did but would not pay the fees for my registration being late. Called again every 2 weeks parts did not come in. 6/30/04 went in other parts on the car were braking off, emergency brake handle broken, display lights not working, cup holder broken, again they had to order parts, and they never came in. 8/18/04 air conditioning stoped blowing cold air, made appt online for 8/23/04 took car in, none of the parts ordered are in again. Service stated my air conditioning is not covered because of a hole in the condensor even though my warranty states it is covered they refused to fix it and tried to charge me $95. 00 for finding the hole, I refused to pay after all I have been waiting since November for several parts including a saftey issue, the dealer service has been the worst I dealt with in 25 years of driving. I have sent emails, phone calls and faxes to the dealer regarding all my complaints and have not received a response.

The air bag warning light came on and stayed on. The dealership indicated the instrument cluster was bad and needed to be replaced.

At various speeds vehicle will stall out and die without warning. Dealer has repaired electrical system, and fuel tank. But, problem still exists vehicle experiences oil leaks. Air bag light is on, dealer secured loose connector clear codes. Passenger seat would not move up or down. Trunk very hard to close, dealer adjusted upper and lower trunk lock assembly.

See all problems of the 1999 Volkswagen New Beetle 🔎.