RoadVitals

1985 Volkswagen Cabriolet Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
6
Latest Apr 8, 1999
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jul 4, 1995

What this page shows

Our database holds 6 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1985 Volkswagen Cabriolet. 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.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–6 of 6

Steering
Filed Apr 8, 1999

POWER STEERING BELT LOCATED TOO CLOSE TO WHEELS, ALLOWING WATER TO SPLASH ONTO BELT FROM WHEELS, CAUSING BELT TO FAIL/STEERING TO LOCK. THE STEERING HAS LOCKED SEVERAL TIMES WHEN DRIVING THROUGH WATER DUE TO THIS PROBLEM, ONCE RESULTING IN AN ACCIDENT.

NHTSA ID
544880
Incident
Jul 1, 1998
Electrical
Filed Aug 22, 1997

ELECTRIC CABLES BETWEEN ALTERNATOR/BATTERY WERE CONNECTED TO HOT WATER PIPES GOING TO WATER RADIATOR. DUE TO EXTREME EXTERNAL SUMMER TEMPERATURE IN SOUTHERN SWITZERLAND, ELECTRIC CABLE CARBONIZE, CAUSING VEHICLE TO MALFUNCTION. *AK

NHTSA ID
518375
Incident
Jan 1, 1995
Electrical
Filed Apr 2, 1997

THE ELECTRIC CABLES SITUATED BETWEEN ALTERNATOR AND BATTERY WHERE THEY ARE CLAMPT TO HOT WATER PIPES CARBONIZE, RESULTING IN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURE AND STALLING. *AK

NHTSA ID
516019
Incident
Jan 1, 1995
Electrical
Filed Sep 25, 1995

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILS TO OPERATE WHEN FIRST STARTING VEHICLE, CAUSING HEADLIGHTS/DASH LIGHTS TO DIM UNTIL REACHING SPEEDS GREATER THAN 5 MPH.

NHTSA ID
488787
Incident
Jan 1, 1995
Suspension
Filed Jul 30, 1995

PREMATURE METAL FATIGUE OF FRONT END. *SKD

NHTSA ID
484639
Incident
Jan 1, 1993
Body & structure
Filed Jul 4, 1995

FRONT END METAL FATIGUE. *SD

NHTSA ID
484006
Incident
Dec 1, 1994

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 sources

Data on this page last refreshed .