Owner-reported complaints naming the seat belt system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2001 Volkswagen Beetle submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 12 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON. CAR SHOP SAID THE SEAT BELT SWITCH ASSEMBLY FAILED, AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. IF THERE WAS A CRASH, THE SEAT BELT WOULD NOT LOCK AND THE DRIVER WOULD BE THROWN INTO THE AIR BAG.
I'M THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 2001 BEETLE WITH 11,8450 MILES. ON AUG 27, 2014, THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT SUDDENLY LOSS TENSION AND WENT LIMP WHILE I WAS DRIVING! THE SEAT BELT CAN NOT BE RETRACTED. THE VW SERVICE THE WAY THE SEAT BELT BECAME LOOSE IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD, AND IT SHOULD BE ON OFFICIAL RECORD. VW DENIED RESPONSIBILITY AND MY REQUEST FOR THE REPAIR COST. *TR
CONTINUE OVER HEATING BLOWING HEAD TWICE ENGINE LIGHT STAY ON BRAKE LIGHTS ON LEFT SIDE DON'T WORK ALARM WONT LOCK LEFT SIDE DOESN'T WORK AND BACK SEAT IS TOTALLY UNSAFE FOR KIDS. FRONT IS VARY UNSTABLE IT FEEL LIKE IT GOING TO FALL OFF TO LOW TO THE GROUND , ETC......IT GOES ON AND ON. *TR
THE STATE OF VIRGINIA REQUIRES VEHICLE INSPECTIONS, ONE ITEM REQUIRES THAT DASH WARNING LIGHTS FOR SEAT BELT AND AIRBAGS OPERATE CORRECTLY. OUR 2001 VW BEETLE HAS AN AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT THAT WOULD NOT GO OUT. THE VW DEALER CHARGED $100 TO DIAGNOSE THE FACT THAT THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT (MICRO CHIP) WAS THE CULPRIT AND FOR ANOTHER $500 THE PROBLEM COULD BE CORRECTED. FEELING THIS DEALER WAS TRYING TO "RIP ME OFF" I SEARCHED THE INTERNET FOR INFORMATION ON THIS PROBLEM. THERE ARE LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF COMMENTS FROM OWNERS OF VW CARS WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT. I CONTACTED VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, CUSTOMER CARE ADVOCATE, FOR INFORMATION ON THIS SAFETY ITEM AND INQUIRED WHY THE EXCESSIVE CHARGE FROM THEIR DEALERS. A SIMPLE REPLY WAS RETURNED SAYING THEY DID NOT SEE A NEED FOR A RECALL TO CORRECT A RECURRING PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM IS THAT IF THE SENSOR DOES NOT BELIEVE THE SEAT BELT IS FASTENED, THE AIRBAG WILL NOT DEPLOY IN A CRASH. I WISH TO ADD MY VOICE TO THE MANY COMPLAINTS I FOUND IN THE NHTSA WEB SITE REGARDING VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA'S DISREGARD FOR THE LIVES OF THEIR CUSTOMERS, SO THEIR DEALERS CAN MAKE MONEY FROM A REPEATED CORRECTION TO THIS PROBLEM. AT YOUR REQUEST I WILL PROVIDE FACTS, DOCUMENTS, AND EVIDENCE CONCERNING MY COMPLAINT. *TR
WHY DON'T YOU HAVE A CATALYTIC CONVERTER PROBLEM FOR THE 2001 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE. THE COMPANY IS REPLACING THEM. I JUST HAD ONE INSTALLED AFTER HAVING THE ENGINE LIGHT INDICATE I HAD A PROBLEM. *TR
I WAS REMOVING MY SEAT BELT AND IT SLIPPED FROM MY HAND. AFTER THAT THE AIR BAG DEFAULT LIGHT CAME ON AND HAS STAYED ON. TWO DEALERSHIPS HAVE TOLD ME THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE SEAT BELT LATCH, BUT THAT THE AIR BAGS WILL STILL DEPLOY. THE DEALERS ARE AUTOBARN VW IN EVANSTON, IL AND JENNIGS VW IN GLENVIEW, IL. HOWEVER CITY VW TELLS ME THE AIR BAGS WON'T DEPLOY DUE TO THE FAILURE LIGHT BEING ON AND THAT THE BUCKLE HAS TO BE REPLACED. I HEARD OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS ON THE VW BLOGS ON THE WEB. *TR
WIRE BROKEN ON SEAT BELT LIGHT AND AIR BAG. *AK
CONSUMER FELT THAT THE AIRBAGS AND SEAT BELTS SHOULD NOT BE HOOKED UP TOGETHER. BOTH AIRBAGS AND SEAT BELTS WERE INOPERABLE. *AK
DEALERSHIP/MECHANIC INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT THE ADVANCED AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATION WAS DUE TO DRIVER'S SEAT BELT LATCH FAILURE. DEALERSHIPS MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK
THE DRIVERS SEAT BELT IS FRAYING, THE CAR HAS 38000 MILES. I HAVE NEVER SEEN FRAYED SEAT BELTS ON ANY CAR NO MATTER THE AGE OR MILES. IS THIS A SAFETY ISSUE? THE DEALER WAS NO HELP.*JB
THE CONSUMER STATES THAT THE HEADRESTS ARE DESIGNED TOO HIGH, OBSTRUCTING THE VIEW OUT OF THE REAR WINDSHIELD WHEN BACKING. MR THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED AND THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THAT THE NEW HEADRESTS(WHICH BETTERED VISIBILITY) WOULDN'T FIT THIS MODEL, AND IS WAITING ON A REPLY FROM DEALER/MANUFACTURER. SCC
REAR SEATBELTED PASSENGERS HIT THEIR HEADS ON NON-CUSHIONED REAR PILLARS DURING NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS. ON A BUMPY ROAD, BOTH REAR PASSENGERS CAN GET PAINFUL BUMPS ON THEIR HEADS. AT THE VERY LEAST THE PILLARS SHOULD BE CUSHIONED. I SPOKE TO THE DEALER, BUT THEY UNFORTUNATELY COULD NOT RECOMMEND A SOLUTION. THIS REMINDS ME OF THE OBSOLETE HARD/RIGID DASHBOARDS ON OLD CARS.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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