Volkswagen / Beetle / 1998
1998 Volkswagen Beetle problems
Owners have filed 289 complaints about the 1998 Volkswagen Beetle with NHTSA. Electrical system accounts for 21.8% of them — the clear leader, ahead of visibility at 13.5%.
Complaints289
Crashes25
Fires27
Injuries10
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Electrical system 21.8% · 63
Visibility 13.5% · 39
Engine and engine cooling 12.1% · 35
Exterior lighting 9.7% · 28
Structure 5.9% · 17
Air bags 5.2% · 15
Equipment 4.8% · 14
Seats 4.2% · 12
Severity
Of those complaints, 25 describe a crash, 27 describe a fire and 10 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 12 model years of the Volkswagen Beetle in this data, 1998 sits 6th by complaint volume. 2004 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 4 in the last three years against 9 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 55,665 miles.
In owners' own words
Owner was driving vehicle and attempted to turn on a/c. When a/c would not work properly, she pulled off roadway and stopped. Smoke and burning odor came out of vents, with fire eventually showing from climate control panel. Interior of vehicle was fully involved in fire when fd arrived. Engine compartment not involved. Radio operating properly prior to incident. No prior issues with vehicle. Electrical system
Bad wiring, alarm goes off in the middle og the night, rear hatch light comes on and off, wiring is bad in cold weather, front headlights keep burining out, excessive oil consumption, at about 2000 miles engine will be bone dry, excessive road nosie, radio no longer works, in general the car is in bad shape after two years of use and it seesm to be all factory related type of problems. Electrical system
When jump starting or replacing the battery vehicle would run approximately three miles or less before it stalls completely out. Vehicle had to be towed to a dealer shop to reset all of electrical components to get vehicle to run again . If this occurs in a town or city that does not have a Volkswagen dealer shop, what can one do? Asking nhtsa to look into this matter. *Ak Electrical system
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…