Volkswagen / Beetle / 2008
2008 Volkswagen Beetle problems
Owners have filed 109 complaints about the 2008 Volkswagen Beetle with NHTSA. Electrical system accounts for 18.3% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of exterior lighting at 13.8%.
Complaints109
Crashes9
Fires12
Injuries0
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Electrical system 18.3% · 20
Exterior lighting 13.8% · 15
Structure 10.1% · 11
Power train 8.3% · 9
Unknown or other 7.3% · 8
Air bags 6.4% · 7
Visibility 4.6% · 5
Seats 3.7% · 4
Severity
Of those complaints, 9 describe a crash and 12 describe a fire.
Reading the numbers
Across the 12 model years of the Volkswagen Beetle in this data, 2008 draws comparatively few complaints; 2004 is the outlier year.
Filings have fallen off, 6 in the last three years against 13 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 41,524 miles.
In owners' own words
Faulty ignition coils, car will stall during driving in the middle of the road. When the weather is hot and after one -two hours driving stop and go the engine will stall or misfire. Vw dealer identifies the problems by misfire of coil but replaces only one coil. The problem comes back within 2 month with different coil. Vw should replace all 5 coils in order to avoid damage or accidents. Electrical system · reported at 41,048 miles
Love my vw Beetle convertible but this is the 4th window that has stopped working and with the prices to fix them well over 300 I have about had enough. After looking on the internet this seems to be a common problem that has been happening for awhile. Is there a recall on these window regulators? If not there should be!!! Electrical system
I was driving with my child sitting in the passenger seat and we had the heated seats turned on the setting of 2. After a few minutes she yelled out âMy butt is on fire!â She sat up off the seat to reveal a large black charred burnt hole in the leather seat! Electrical system
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…