1989 Volkswagen Cabriolet Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1989 Volkswagen Cabriolet, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Fuel system9100.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Fuel system
Reports naming fuel storage or delivery — tanks, pumps, lines, injectors and fuel leaks.
From owner reports, verbatim
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1989 VOLKSWAGEN CABRIOLET. THE CONTACT SMELLED GASOLINE WHILE SITTING IN THE VEHICLE. SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A VOLKSWAGEN REPAIR SHOP. THE CONTACT FOUND A RECALL FOR HER YEAR, MAKE, AND MODEL VEHICLE, BUT WAS INFORMED THAT THE RECALL DID NOT APPLY TO HER VIN. THE CONTACT BELIEVES THAT HER VEHICLE SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE RECALL BECAUSE SHE IS EXPERIENCING THE SAME DEFECT. THE TRANSMISSION TYPE, RECALL NUMBER, AND MILEAGES WERE UNAVAILABLE. UPDATED 04/11/08 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED AFTER REPAIR IS PERFORMED BY VW IS PLAINLY OBVIOUS THE RECALL IS ON THE SAME YEAR BUT DIFFERENT VIN NUMBER. UPDATED 04/11/08 *TR
VOLKSWAGEN SAYS RECALL DOESN'T APPEAR IN THEIR SYSTEM, VIN [XXX] FALLS INTO THE CATEGORY AND NO LOCAL DEALERS HAVE DONE THIS RECALL ON THIS VEHICLE... GAS TANK IS LEAKING FROM SAID AREA PROFUSELY , WHICH RUNS THE RISK OF AN EXPLOSION. *NM UPDATED 07/16/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
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.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .