NHTSA lists 263 complaints for the 2000 Volkswagen Beetle, 8 of them mention a crash and 21 mention a fire. 10 complaints mention an injury, with 15 injuries and 1 deaths reported.
Data build 2026-10-08.
NHTSA lists this vehicle as VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE.
At a glance
Complaints
263
With crash
8
With fire
21
With injury (complaints)
10
Injuries
15
Deaths
1
Recalls
1
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
646,246
Investigations
3
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
188
Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.
Where the complaints are
Top systems
System
Complaints
Share of this vehicle's complaints
AIR BAGS
64
24.3%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
58
22.1%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
56
21.3%
POWER TRAIN
23
8.7%
VISIBILITY
21
8.0%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
19
7.2%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
16
6.1%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
14
5.3%
STRUCTURE
9
3.4%
ENGINE
6
2.3%
Top subsystems
System
Subsystem
Complaints
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
ENGINE
29
AIR BAGS
FRONTAL
20
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
WIRING
13
POWER TRAIN
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
10
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
COOLING SYSTEM
8
VISIBILITY
POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
8
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
IGNITION
7
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
EXHAUST SYSTEM
7
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
BRAKE LIGHTS
7
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
7
One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.
Model-generated complaint tags: This model year has not been tagged.
Defect: ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AUTOMATIC OR MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS AND CRUISE CONTROLS, A BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH ON THESE VEHICLES MAY MALFUNCTION IF IT WAS INSTALLED INCORRECTLY DURING SAFETY RECALLS 03V-265 OR 04V-096. (excerpt)
Consequence: THE BRAKE LIGHTS COULD BECOME INOPERATIVE, OR REMAIN ON. FAILURE TO PROVIDE THE PROPER SIGNAL WHEN BRAKING COULD LEAD TO A CRASH WITHOUT WARNING. (excerpt)
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL THE NEWLY DESIGNED BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 27, 2006. VEHICLES WITHIN THE MAKE, MODEL, AND MODEL YEAR OF THIS POPULATION MAY BE INVOLVED IN EITHER THIS RECALL OR 06V-183, BUT NOT BOTH. THE REMEDY IS THE SAME FOR EACH RECALL. VOLKSWAGEN DEALERS WILL APPLY THE REMEDY BASED ON THE VIN NUMBER OF THE VEHICLE. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VW AT 1-80 (excerpt)
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Investigations
3 investigations; 0 open.
RQ06004
Opened: 2006-02-28. Closed: 2006-08-07.
BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH FAILURE
BY LETTERS DATED MAY 24, 2006 AND AUGUST 4, 2006, VOLKSWAGEN (VW) NOTIFIED THE AGENCY THAT IT IS CONDUCTING A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NO 06V-183) INVOLVING MODEL YEAR (MY) 1998-2002 VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE AND 1999-2002 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH CRUISE CONTROL.VOLKSWAGEN?S RECALL COVERS 646,246 VEHICLES.PREVIOUSLY, VW RECALLED THESE VEHICLES TO REPLACE A DEFECTIVE BRAKE LIGHT SWITC
THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH USED IN CRUISE CONTROL EQUIPPED MY 1998-1999 AND ALL MY 2000 AND LATER MODELS HAS UNDERGONE MULTIPLE REVISIONS.ANALYSIS OF WARRANTY AND COMPLAINT DATA INDICATES HIGH REPLACEMENT RATES OCCURRED IN VEHICLES BUILT WITH BRAKE SWITCH PART NUMBERS 1J0 945 511A AND 1J0 945 511B, THE ORIGINAL AND FIRST REVISION LEVELS, RESPECTIVELY.THE FAILURE OF THE SWITCH COULD RESULT IN FAILURE O
THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH USED IN NEW BEETLE IS ALSO SPECIFIED IN GOLF AND JETTA MODELS.ONE TYPE OF SWITCH IS USED ON CRUISE EQUIPPED MODELS, A SECOND TYPE IS USED ON NON-CRUISE MODELS.VW REPORTS 86 CONSUMER COMPLAINTS AND 2575 WARRANTY CLAIMS OF INOPERATIVE BRAKE LIGHTS, THE MAJORITY OF WHICH ARE RELATED TO THE BRAKE SWITCH.TWO OF THE VW COMPLAINTS INVOLVE FAILURES THAT WERE ALSO REPORTED TO ODI.ADD
Systems: EXTERIOR LIGHTING.
Linked campaign numbers: None listed.
Manufacturer communications
188 manufacturer communications.
Communications by system
System
Count
EQUIPMENT
75
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
43
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
37
VISIBILITY
19
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
15
ENGINE
14
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
12
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
8
10249138
Date: 2024-01-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
Airbag / Pyrotechnic Safety Belt Deployment Inquiries, update to contact information due to retirement.
10241177
Date: 2023-08-21. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.
Update to Volkswagen engine oil standards
10237427
Date: 2023-05-30. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.
Volkswagen Engine oil quality standards, update to attachments.
10235138
Date: 2023-04-24. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.
Engine oil quality standards, update to attachments.
10228180
Date: 2022-12-12. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
Update model year applicability to include 2023.
10228178
Date: 2022-12-06. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
Battery testing and charging using special tools VAS6161 & GRX3000VAS Charger. Updated to include additional model year applicability.
10193577
Date: 2021-05-11. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.
Update engine oil quality standard lists (attachments)
10175799
Date: 2020-05-12. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
Tool number added to table. Removal of Behr Flush Kit. VAS 6337/1A
10174476
Date: 2020-04-21. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
Updated to include additional models and model year applicability.
10164181
Date: 2019-08-21. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
Quick Reference Update Guide.
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.