Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
Data refreshed
Our database holds 14 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1997 Volkswagen Cabrio. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Showing 1–14 of 14
IGNITION SWITCH FAILS TO RETURN FROM STARTER POSITION -- BURNING OUT STARTER. THIS IS A KNOW PROBLEM WITH 1997 A4 BUT WAS NEVER REPORTED/CARRIED OVER TO THE 1997 CABRIOLET. ALSO, KEY-IN-IGNITION-STATUS MAINTAINED EVEN AFTER KEY REMOVED FROM IGNITION CAUSING BATTERY TO RUN DOWN. *TR
WHILE DRIVING MY VW CABRIO HOME LAST NIGHT THE HIGHLIGHTS, DASH LIGHTS, HEATER FAN AND RADIO ALL SUDDENLY WENT OFF AND THE ABS FAILURE LIGHT CAME ON. I PULLED THE CAR OFF THE ROAD AND THE LIGHTS SUDDENLY CAME BACK ON AND I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE LAST FEW MILES HOME. I SPOKE TO A SERVICE MANAGER AT VW TODAY ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND IT TURNS OUT IT IS AN ELECTRICAL PART ASSOCIATED WITH THE CARS IGNITION SWITCH AND THAT IT IS WELL KNOWN AND COMMON FAILURE WITH THIS CAR. I CALLED VW HEAD QUARTERS AND SPOKE TO A CUSTOMER ADVOCATE ABOUT THIS AND THEY TOLD ME THERE WAS NO RECALL AND THAT VW HAD NOT CONSIDERED THIS TO BE A SAFETY PROBLEM THAT WARRANTED A RECALL. *TR
CAR: 1997 VW CABRIO: AT 92.890 MILES, THE AIRBAG LIGHT WENT ON. VW DETERMINED, THIS WAS DUE TO A DEFECTIVE CLOCKSPRING (RESISTANCE TOO HIGH). AIRBAG IS NOT FUNCTIONING WITHOUT CLOCKSPRING. *NM
1-2) I FOUND THE FOLLOWING RECALL FOR THE VW JETTA. THE DEFECTIVE HAZARD AND TURNSIGNAL PORTION OF THE RECALL HAS HAPPENED TO MY 1997 VW CABRIO HIGHLINE SINCE 2001 GETTING WORSE EACH YEAR. SEE BELOW, RECALL DATED DECEMBER 24, 2004. I HAVE NOT HAD A CONSEQUENCE DUE TO THIS, BUT I WOULD IMAGINE THAT MY CAR COULD BE HIT FROM BEHIND WITHOUT HAZARDS OR TURNSIGNALS. 3) I TOOK MY CABRIO IN TO THE DEALERSHIP IN 2003 TO REQUEST HELP WITH DEFECTIVE HAZARD AND TURNSIGNALS AND THEY CHARGED ME FOR LABOR TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. IT WAS NOT IDENTIFIED AND THEY SAID IT WOULD BE EXTEREMLY EXPENSIVE TO IDENTIFY AND FIX. SO I DON'T KNOW THE CORRECTION. NOTE: I WAS UNABLE TO SEARCH FOR VW, CABRIO RECALLS ON YOUR WEBSITE. THE SITE LIMITS ME TO SEARCHING FOR THE JETTA ONLY. DECEMBER 24, 2004 VOLKSWAGEN IS RECALLING 369,284 CARS FOR VARIOUS DEFECTS, INCLUDING LEAKING FUEL PUMPS AND DEFECTIVE HAZARD LIGHT SWITCHES, THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION AGENCY (NHTSA) SAID. VW IS RECALLING 300,000 GOLF, GTI AND JETTA CARS FROM 2000-2002 MODEL YEARS BECAUSE THE HAZARD SWITCH AND FLASHER SYSTEM FUNCTION MAY DEGRADE OVER TIME DUE TO HIGH ELECTRICAL CURRENT LOAD FROM TURN-SIGNAL BULBS, ACCORDING OT NHTSA. VW, EUROPE'S BIGGEST AUTOMAKER, IS ALSO RECALLING 19,284 GOLF, JETTA, BEETLE AND PASSAT CARS FROM 2004-2005 MODEL YEARS BECAUSE A LEAKING DIESEL FUEL PUMP COULD LEAD TO A FIRE. THE HIGH PRESSURE DIESEL PUMPS WERE PRODUCED WITH AN IMPROPER FASTENER, WHICH COULD ALLOW DIESEL FUEL TO ESCAPE FROM THE PUMP. ALSO, VOLKSWAGEN SAID IT IS CHECKING AS MANY AS 447,000 CARS MADE BETWEEN 2001 AND 2003, INCLUDING THE GOLF, GTI AND JETTA MODELS, FOR POSSIBLE AIRBAG PROBLEMS AFTER OFFICIALS CAME UP WITH 107 CASES IN WHICH SIDE-DOOR AIRBAGS MAY HAVE DEPLOYED IMPROPERLY.
THE CONVERTIBLE TOP RIPPED OPEN ON THE SEAM WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. *LA
CONSUMER STATED THE GAS TANK CRACKED. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK. WHEN THE CONSUMER STARTED THE VEHICLE AND BACKED OUT OF THE GARAGE, GASOLINE SPILLED ONTO THE GARAGE FLOOR. THE CONSUMER PUSHED THE VEHICLE TO THE END OF THE DRIVEWAY FOR SAFETY. *PH *JB
EXTREME EXHAUST INTRUSION INTO PASSANGER COMPARTMENT, INTO DEALER AND INDEPENDENT SHOPS MANY TIMES WITH NO RESULTS. *AK
WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 65 MPH TOOK FOOT OFF ACCELERATOR PEDAL, BUT THE ENGINE DID NOT DECELERATE. HAD TO APPLY EMERGENCY BRAKES TO CONTROL VEHICLE. THEN, TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER. BUT, THEY COULD NOT FIND OUT WHAT HAD CAUSED THE SITUATION.*AK THE FLOOR MAT WAS CAUGHT UNDER THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE NOT TO DECELERATE, THIS WAS ACCORDING TO 2 OTHER DEALERS.*YD
THE ABS SENSOR LIGHT COMES ON, IT WAS SAID TO BE A BAD SENSOR ON THE LEFT REAR WHEEL AND WAS REPLACED. SHORTLY AFTER THAT THE LIGHT BEGAN COMING ON AGAIN INTERMITTENTLY. THE WARRENTY HAD EXPIRED AND I HAVE NOT TAKEN CARE OF THE PROBLEM AS YET.
MY VEHICLES ACCELERATOR CLIMBED FROM 55 MPH TO 95 MPH AND I COULD NOT STOP THE CAR FOR 15 MINUTES.IT COST ME APPROX $200 TO GET MY CAR "FIXED" AND I WANT THE DEALER TO REIMBURSE ME. *AK
I'M NOT SURE IF THIS FALLS WITHIN YOUR AREA OR RESPONSIBILITY. I AM REPORTING THIS BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE A TWO YEAR OLD VEHICLE PURCHASED BRAND-NEW, SHOULD HAVE BOTH THE ALTERNATOR AND RADIATOR FAN MOTOR FAIL SO SOON. I THOUGHT THIS MAY BE A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT. THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY INFORMATION YOU CAN *AK
ELECTRICAL FIRE IN ENGINE - APPARENT SHORT IN STARTER WIRING
AIR CONDITIONER FAILED, NEW UNIT SMELLS OF MILDEW. YH
RIGHT REAR TIRE WALL BLEW OUT. DRIVER DID NOT HIT AN OBJECT. TIRE CUT GASH IN GASOLINE TANK AND CUT BRAKE LINE. FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDED TO SCENE. NO FIRE RESULTED. VW DISCLAIMS ALL RESPONSIBILITY, BUT IT SEEMS OBVIOUS THAT A GAS TANK THAT CAN BE CUT THROUGH BY A BLOWN TIRE IS INADEQUATELY PROTECTED, TOO THIN OR OTHERWIDE DEFECTIVE. VW DENIES A DESIGN DEFECT. ALTHOUGH NOBODY WAS HURT, THE RESULTS WOULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPIC IF A SPARK HAD IGNITED TE SPILLING GASOLINE. PLEASE CONTACT OWNER AT ABOVE TEL. NUMBER OR AT HOME 818-360-5485 OR HER HUSBAND KENNETH HELD AT 909-596-1848 OR SAME HOME TEL.
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.
Data on this page last refreshed .