The Used Car Index

2019 Volkswagen Beetle problems

NHTSA lists 14 complaints for the 2019 Volkswagen Beetle, 1 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.

At a glance

Complaints
14
With crash
1
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
3
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
679,027
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
422

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
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM428.6%
ENGINE214.3%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING214.3%
SERVICE BRAKES214.3%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER214.3%
POWER TRAIN17.1%
SUSPENSION17.1%
VISIBILITY/WIPER17.1%
WHEELS17.1%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMIGNITION1

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
loss of control642.9%0.88
mechanical failure428.6%0.95
visibility or lighting214.3%0.77
electrical electronic17.1%1.00
structural or corrosion17.1%0.65
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate1178.6%0.83
low214.3%0.49
high17.1%0.99

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 14 tagged complaints of 14 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.

3 recalls.

24V834000

Date: 2024-10-30. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Beetle, Beetle Convertible, 2012-2014 Passat, 2017 Passat Wagon, and 2006-2007 Passat Sedan vehicles. The driver's side frontal 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 front air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 4, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69EG, 69GQ, and 69E6.

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.

19V094000

Date: 2019-02-13. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SERVICE BRAKES.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles. The instrument cluster may not provide a visual warning when a brake system failure is detected. As a result, the vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135, "Light vehicle brake systems" and number 101, "Controls and displays."

Consequence: If the driver is not alerted when there is a problem with brakes, the driver may lose control of the vehicle while attempting to brake, increasing the risk of crash.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. The recall began March 7, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 90L8.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

422 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT173
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM80
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING71
ENGINE56
UNKNOWN OR OTHER34
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY26
AIR BAGS19
VISIBILITY19

11038146

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

Suggested fuel additive

11036878

Date: 2026-08-27. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES.

Repair or Replace Information

11036874

Date: 2026-08-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

Replacement instruction

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

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
BEETLE14

Same model, other years

All model years | All Volkswagen models

Other Volkswagen models, 2019

Sources

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