Driver's side seat belt wiring has failed thus illuminating the air bag light. The seat belt wiring is of minute diameter with little shielding and poor conduit. Because the seat belt must flex when moving the seat forward, the strain on the wiring in the seat belt rips the wiring from it's soldered joint. This causes the air bag light to illuminate and causes the air bag system to revert to a backup algorithm that puts the driver in a dangerous environment. This "backup" algorithm will not monitor vehicle speed and will automatically deploy the airbag at a default amount of force regardless of impact force. This means that a minor fender bender that reaches the airbag force threshold could deploy the airbag at a force too great and conversely a high speed impact may deploy the airbag with insufficient force. This is an extremely common problem on this model year vehicle. A quick internet search will alert you as to how common this problem is. After calling my local dealership, they told me "we replace a ton of those seatbelts." volkswagen should acknowledge this egregious manufacturing defect and recall this defective part before fatal consequences further prove this is a deadly and extremely common problem.
2004 Volkswagen Beetle airbags complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 73, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Airbag service light on dash came on. This means the airbags were disabled. Dealership identified the seat belt clasp on the driver seat as the problem. The electronics in the clasp were not communicating correctly causing the airbag to be disabled. The seatbelt as a safety mechanism itself was not compromised. The dealership representative indicated that this was a known and common issue with this vehicle make and model and that the fix was to replace the seatbelt clasp at a cost of about $300.00. The cause of the seatbelt clasp to fail was the motion of moving the seat backwards and forwards. To access the rear seats of the car the seat must be moved backwards and forwards as it is a two door car. Overtime, this activity wore out some electronics in the clasp causing the airbag to be disabled. This is not a normal wear and tear item that is customarily replaced such as tires, brake pads or wiper blades. The manufacture should recognize this critical safety issue and offer to voluntarily recall the vehicles and/or offer to pay for a fix in our case.
My air bag warning light came on yet again. This has happened in the past and was fixed by a vw dealer by changing the infrequently used passenger side seat belt buckle. The cost of this repair was $360. The warning light came on again less than one year later. It was brought back to the dealer and scanned and found to be a defective air bag control module. The estimate for the fix was about $800 with the advisory that it might not be fixed with that part replacement. The service report reads, "airbag crash sensors may need to be replaced as well if software is different from new module." it sounds like the vw technicians themselves are guessing about the repair. There is reportedly a vw recall on the 2003-2005 beetle airbag control module but the vw dealer as well as vw customer service (800‑374‑8389) both tell me that it does not apply to my vehicle. The internet vw beetle forums are replete with reports of airbag system problems. I am submitting this complaint to add to the current list of such complaints with the hopes that vw will take responsibility for what appears to be a serious safety related defect in their design and/or manufacturing process of the 2004 vw beetle.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen beetle. The contact stated that the air bag warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the air bag warning lamp illuminated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 59,000. The current mileage was 79,000. Updated 05/28/14*lj updated 8/17/17
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen beetle. The contact stated that the air bag sensor light was illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified advised that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number 08v178000 (air bags). The failure mileage was 75,000.
Air bag module lite stays on. Took to dealer and was told it would cost 800 to replace module. This vehicle at this has only 71802 miles as of june 26,2013. I feel this is a major safety and should be replaced by a vw dealership free of charge.
Car wouldn't excel while driving suddenly 1 mile from town suddenly traffic slowed from snow storm in town,the vehicle smell was funny black smoked slowly leaked inside the car windows up heard a misfire engine light went on blinked then I heard loud blast like I thought it was a plow trucks muffler loudness realized ir was my vehicle stopped immediately less 1/3 mile at bank. Shut off motor m now seeing smoke slowly entered in the middle of the 2 front seatsand console. Feeling hot under belly of floors. Orange glow through electrical outlet in back of console appeared to be hotwith plastic casing in and under floors hot sizzling crackling under center casing/I try to call 911 misused the cell wouldn't operate effectively flagged down a man n woman at the corner light of bank they declined to help so I went to car put snow on compartment and wet it down and aired out smoke with passenger door open .I went in bank for assistance .this vehicle was recalled for safety issues by manufacturer in the past .were said to be corrected by repairman also said seatbelt harness was a issue heated seats were a issue and airbags tranny also recalled for electrical issues and or transmission and air bags on some 2004 vw vehicle beetles recalls so far occurred to this vw were airbag sensors/ also the seatbelt harness cases were breaking repeatedly once purchased due to putting the seats up and back to get in the vehicle. Now this mysterious fire and headlamp issue..
I recently purchased a vw beetle in may of 2010, for my birthday from hollywood auto brokers in los angeles, ca. The car ran smooth for about a course of five to six months, I had to return to the dealership early on because my head lights were out when I first bought the car. As I continued to drive the car, a jerking and extremely weird deceleration of the car would begin, but it would "pop back to normal" after a while, maybe three to ten seconds. This had gone on and has been going on since five months after I brought it. I finally made it back into the dealership and he rode with me on a test drive around the corner and of course it didn't repeat the previous show of defects. He assured me the car is just being broken in. A year goes by and I decided I want to trade in my car for another car, so I head to nissan. I test drive a car and love it and then go in for the paper work. The guy runs my VIN to see my car value and come backs and tell me my car title is salvaged. To my disbelief and disgust, I immediately called my financial company, al financial of glendale, ca that I am leasing the car from. They give me the run around and assure me that the title is clean and not a salvage. I continue on my investigation and come to a carfax website to get the real facts on my defected vehicle. The information reveals that not only is the title salvage but it had bodily damage and had been totaled out from the insurance company from it's previous owner. The car had been brought back from mexico and registered in the states again as a new car I believe. I would really love to get to the bottom of this situation asap and get some closure on a recurring problem that is messing with my income as I am a travel nurse for hospice patients. Recently the water pump has gone out and I'm not sure yet if I need to replace the head gaskets. I hope I can hear an response in a good enough amount of time so I can work out an reimbursement of some kind with payment on either behalf.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen new beetle convertible. The contact stated that the airbag light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who performed a diagnostic test and stated that the failure was located at the airbag control module. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 27,000 and the current mileage was 32,631.
Airbag light came on and stay on(concerned about not working properly in event of accident) taken into dealership for code read: airbag module shorted. Front passenger seat and carpet need to be removed for replacement of airbag because wire under the seat is too short that it torn when the seat was moved forward to allow access to rear seat. This should be a manufactured fault.
This vehicle was subject to a recall for the air bag sensors. We had previously had the sensors replaced (the vehicle was just out of warranty based on time). Vw refused ultimately reimbursed us for the repairs and replacement of the sensors. In january of 2011 the air bag light came on. The dealer charged a fee to do a diagnostic test. They determined that the light was due to the failure of the driver side seat belt buckle, and the fact that the battery was discharged and needed to be repaired. They wanted approximately $480 to replace the seat belt buckle, and $245 to replace the battery. I called vw customer service and they agreed to replace the buckle for no charge, but would do nothing about the battery. Vw opened a case # 110006836 and regional manager lisa was the contact. We had aaa come to do a test on the battery. The battery and charging system both passed the test. They recommended that a trickle charge would bring the battery to a full charge. In addition, vw agreed to do a one time courtesy replacement of the convertible roof since the fabric had separated from the rear window. A clip recall had already been performed, but the headliner was hanging down and had separated from the rear window. We feared that the window could separate from the roof at highway speeds. Statement indicates that vw performed 61.07-02 tech bulletin to perform modifications to the rear window.
The air bag warning light came on. This was the subject of an earlier recall due to sensors. We were told that this was due to a faulty seat belt buckle and not due to sensors. We were also originally told it was due to a faulty battery. However, the battery was checked by aaa and was not faulty. Eventually vw agreed to replace the seat belt buckle on the drivers side.
2004 new beetle conv turbo . Always in shop. Always had problems. In the shop more than at home. Elec issues,windows not working, air bag lights flashing, top staying down wont go up one repair after another. Now the transmission is gone. What a piece of [xxx]. Just hope some one reads this and talks their daughter or wife out of making a 20,000 dollar mistake. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
2004 vw convertible beetle needs the valve body replaced. Car only has 61,900 miles on it. Rear windows both have broken air bag switch needs to be replaced.
Air bag light continuously on since car was new despite numerous repairs
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.
Vw beetle, air bag light continues to malfunction for my 2004 model. I've taken the car for repair for at least 4-times in the past 4-years. I believe the initial recall # 03v3s6000 was never corrected and company is not concerned in fixing it ever.
Problems with transmission/shifting problems. Everytime the car shifts into a gear, its very rough and infact will jerk very hard. This started every once in a while and began happening more regular as a month or so went on. Now it will stick in 3rd gear and just stay there. We can stop at a redlight, and it will remain in 3rd gear, then drive from the redlight with the car starting in 3rd gear! This is a safety issue, because the car will stick when shifting almost everytime and you could push the gas but only the rpms will go up..nothing else. This could cause me to be rear ended or hit from the side when turning left. I have had many close calls due to this issue! I have children, and the car is not safe to drive anymore. I have priced what would fix this, and its not only that I can not afford it, but the solution to the problem is only temporary! I have seen many, many people have the same issues with the same car, and they have spent countless dollars on a problem that still persists. This past saturday my family was driving and the car stuck in gear going 45 MPH, which caused the car to descend in speed, giving the people behind us hardly no time to realize what was happening. We were very very close to an accident. To add to this problem I have had an airbag sensor come on the dash about 2 months ago and will not go off. I had this looked at because it was a safety recall, but the vw dealer told me that my car was no one of the vins, but looked as if it had the same problem! This is serious! They said they could fix it, for a very high amount, but if it was defective that I could be bringing it back in for repair! This is not acceptable!!! We are talking about life or death in a crash!
Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) 2004 volkswagen new beetle [xxx] air bag light has came on twice and volkswagen service department advises anytime the air bag light comes on it is a safety hazard. I have had to replace the drive & passenger seat belt latch to make the air bag light go off at a cost of $600.32. If this is a safety issue, why is there not a recall?
My 2004 vw beetle showed an air bag warning light. I took it to vw under a recall and they fixed the problem for free. 3 months later the light came on again. Vw said the car had a bad drivers seat belt buckle. Cost would be $ 331.07 plus tax. I still have the air bag warning light on. It stays on constantly. I was under the impression that a bad seat belt was a safety issue and the responsibility of the car company.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen beetle. Whenever he started his vehicle the air bag warning light comes on and off and then remains illuminated. The dealer informed the contact that there were no related recalls and he would be responsible for the repair cost. The air bag light has been on for a month and a half. The failure mileage was 13,000.
Vw beetle convertible '04 (approx. 80k miles) - slipping and banging transmission. Slams and bangs hard with each downshift (automatic) after about 15 miles or driving. Slips or will not move when accelerating after slamming and banging begins. Cannot drive car in traffic for fear or being rear ended or broadsided, therefore, cannot safely or dependably drive the car. Expected thousands to repair if a mechanic who understands the problem can be found. Many of the know issues with car have also occurred; broken plastic water pump, rear window seal broken, passenger side window will not go all the way down, passenger side seat belt light malfunction, headlights uneven brightness, short in dash, heated seat too hot to use (fear of fire) and incredible door rattles.
2004 volkswagen beetle convertible turbo...2.0 liter engine...the transmission jerks when shifting down or up....feels like someone has rearened it in the back....have taken it to dealership and couple of other transmission places...they said they couldn't find any thing wrong while it was still under warranty...now that it has 94000 miles and is out of warranty they decide it needs a new transmission.....we have had it serviced just like we should...it doesn't matter...we don't have 6000.00 to get it fixed...something should be done...I've talked with many, many volkswagen owners experiencing the same problem..how many does it take before you guys do a recall?
Air bag light wont go off. Was told the seatbelt sensor came loose and needs to be replaced costing $350.
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".
Air bag light is on, does not turn off.
2004 vw beetle 27,660 miles vw dealer - kelly motor, scranton, pa air bag light went on and I took car to vw. Passenger seat occupied control module defective. Told part will take 8 weeks to arrive. Car side airbag now does not work. 2nd time airbag light has lighted and been in shop, this on top of recent recall for another airbag sensor fixed earlier this year. I am very concerned about being without an airbag for 8 weeks; vw has no reason for the delay. I called their headquarters in california with no success. Second concern is general reliability for this airbag system due to repairs plus recall. Vw won't respond in getting this part in earlier, can you help get this part to my vw dealer so they can make this car safe? Thank you
The airbag warning light is on without apparent reasons. No collision or bumps.
Air bag light remains on (concerned about not working properly in event of accident) possible wire that is too short under the seat breaking when it is moved forward to allow access to rear seat.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen new beetle. When the contact started the vehicle, he noticed that the air bag indicator was illuminating on the instrument panel. The indicator did not dim once the vehicle was in motion. The vehicle was driven to the dealer and they stated that the driver's side seat latch for the seat belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed a failed wire by the latch of the seat belt on the driver's side. The manufacturer was notified and stated that they were not liable for the repairs. The current mileage was 27,888 and failure mileage was 27,858.
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