2004 Volkswagen Beetle: seat belt won't latch or retract

Filed Oct 9, 2014 · Airbags, Seat belts · 85,000 miles · OH

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.

Filed May 20, 2014 · Airbags, Seat belts · WI

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.

Filed May 4, 2014 · Airbags · 60,000 miles · MA

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.

Filed Mar 25, 2011 · Seat belts · 14,000 miles · NJ

Vehicle is a 2004 vw new beetle - problem is airbag lights are on due to a broken wire in the wiring that leads into the driver's side seat belt latch. I had the code diagnosed by a mechanic and I visually inspected the 4 wires under the seat belt buckle and the yellow wire is broken. An obvious manufacturing flaw as this part gets a tremendous amount of movement due to the seatback moving forward and backward when putting the seat up to get into the back seat. My car only has 14,000 miles on it so it has not been driven very much in the 7 years we have had it. I contacted the dealer where I purchased the vehicle and their response was - we sell alot of those driver's side seat belt latch assemblies due to the same problem. They would not repair for free as there is no recall and no bulletin on the issue. Read numerous sites and entries all over the web and it appears many owners of these cars (many different model years) are all having the same problem. Called vw america to see if they would at least provide me with a free part as I would do the replacement myself. They checked and denied my request. As the airbags will not work when the airbag light is on, this is a dangerous situation. A recall should be placed on the seatbelt latches as the wiring used and the design are not at all industrial enough to hold up over time.

Filed Feb 2, 2011 · Airbags, Body · 34,000 miles · FL

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.

Filed Jan 31, 2011 · Airbags, Seat belts · 34,000 miles · FL

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.

Filed Aug 25, 2010 · Brakes, Electrical · 48,000 miles · OK

I have a 2004 vw bug with 51,000 miles . The car started jerking so hard its almost caused several accidents to me and others ! Vw says it needs a new 7000 dollar transmission! They wont admit the problem is of epic proportions with this model . It's all over the internet. My car has also had the window motor go out and many parts just fall off such as seatbelt latch cover. These cars should be recalled for safety!please help me get vw to fix this problem! [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Apr 5, 2010 · Airbags, Seat belts · 89,177 miles · GA

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?

Filed Jan 29, 2010 · Airbags · IL

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.

Filed Feb 24, 2008 · Airbags, Seat belts · 8,000 miles · PA

The airbag light, among other things, in our 2004 new beetle has come on approximately 10 times in three years. Each time, the vehicle was taken back to the dealer and supposedly fixed, but without fail, the light came back on each time. The seatbelt buckle was changed, connections were secured, they said it was shorted (guided fault findings, bumper cover removed, seat removed), and others. I have all copies of service records. After all these service visits, the airbag light is still on and we are very concerned that the airbag system is not working correctly and could cause serious damage and may not deploy correctly during an accident. I heard there was an investigation being conduct on the 2004 new beetles and wanted to let you know of our experience. *tr crash sensor.pco