The Used Car Index

2016 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible problems

NHTSA lists 11 complaints for the 2016 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, 0 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-09.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE CONVERTIBLE.

At a glance

Complaints
11
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
2
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
679,027
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
603

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
AIR BAGS11100.0%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
restraint or airbag11100.0%0.88
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
low11100.0%0.71

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 11 tagged complaints of 11 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

2 recalls.

22V945000

Date: 2022-12-21. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Beetle and Beetle Convertibles vehicles. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver's side air bag, free of charge. Owners notification letters were mailed October 26, 2023. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69EM.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

19V615000

Date: 2019-08-22. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2019 GTI, 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 Golf, 2012-2019 Beetle and Beetle Convertible, 2017-2019 Golf SportWagen and 2011-2018 Jetta vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission, manual handbrake and keyless entry. A build-up of silicate on the shift lever micro switch contacts may enable the key to be removed from the ignitio (excerpt)

Consequence: Removing the key while the shift lever is in a position other than "Park" increases the risk of an unintended vehicle rollaway that may result in personal injury or a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional switch and circuit board, free of charge. The recall began November 19, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 37M2. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

603 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT268
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM127
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING93
ENGINE75
UNKNOWN OR OTHER35
POWER TRAIN33
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY24
STRUCTURE24

11038146

Date: 2026-09-17. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Suggested fuel additive

11038143

Date: 2026-09-09. Type: Other. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.

11036868

Date: 2026-08-06. Type: Other. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Permission to change Daily Order upgraded to RED Order

11036870

Date: 2026-08-04. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Differences between a leak and seepage

11035772

Date: 2026-07-15. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A software fix is needed to correct the issue: DA 0019 - Hotfix 12-V battery test(s) a No battery diagnosis - Inconclusive test result.

11035762

Date: 2026-07-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Oil Consumption Measurement and Electronic Oil Consumption Measurement

11034613

Date: 2026-06-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Lubricating engine components before reassembly.

11034614

Date: 2026-06-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Instruction, how to lubicate engine before initial start.

11034621

Date: 2026-06-11. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Inquiries

11034617

Date: 2026-06-04. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Volkswagen Engine Oil Standards

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
BEETLE CONVERTIBLE11

Same model, other years

All model years | All Volkswagen models

Other Volkswagen models, 2016

Sources

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