2000 Volkswagen Golf Airbags Problems

I OWN A 2000 VW GOLF WHICH I PURCHASED BRAND NEW FROM A VW DEALER. IN JANUARY OF 2007 I HAD TO REPLACE THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT AIRBAG AND WIRING HARNESS FOR A COST A LITTLE OVER $600. ON 7/14/2008 MY AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. I NEED TO HAVE THE MAIN DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG AND WIRING HARNESS REPLACED. MY CAR HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT, YET THIS IS THE SECOND AIRBAG I'VE REPLACED. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP, IF I DO NOT REPLACE THE AIRBAG, IT MAY NOT DEPLOY IF I AM IN AN ACCIDENT, OR IT COULD DEPLOY WHEN I AM JUST DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. I FEEL AS THOUGH AN AIRBAG SHOULD LAST THE LIFETIME OF THE VEHICLE, OR ONLY NEED TO BE REPLACED WHEN IT IS ACTUALLY DEPLOYED. *TR

NHTSA ID

10234408

Incident

Jul 14, 2008

Mileage

100,900 mi

2000 VW GOLF GLS. AIRBAG LIGHT ON DASH DIAGNOSED BY VW AS AN OPEN CIRCUIT - PASSENGER SIDE. AIR BAGS NEVER DEPLOYED, NEVER CRASHED. VW WANTED $500 FOR REPAIRS. NUMEROUS SIMILAR INCIDENTS REPORTED BY VW OWNERS INVOLVING RANGE OF AIR BAG SYSTEM FAILURES, SPURIOUS DEPLOYMENTS, ETC. VW CHARGED ME $45 FOR THE DIAGNOSIS.*AK

NHTSA ID

10186120

Incident

Apr 26, 2006

Mileage

61,654 mi

2000 VW GOLF. THE AIRBAG LIGHT IS STUCK ON. THERE IS NO WAY FOR ME TO KNOW IF THE BAG WILL DEPLOY OR NOT. IN ORDER FOR THE DEALER TO LOOK AT IT IT WOULD COST ME $100 FOR THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND BETWEEN $500 AND $700 TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THEY ALSO TOLD ME THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THEY WILL FIX THE PROBLEM. SO AFTER I PAY $500 OR $600 THEY STILL WONT GUARANTEE THE BAGS ARE SAFE. HOW DO I GO ABOUT FIGURING THIS OUT. IT SEEMS LIKE A VERY BIG SAFETY ISSUE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF VOLKSWAGENS AND TO PUT ME AND MY FAMILY IN DANGER IS UNACCEPTABLE. DO I PAY THE MONEY AND JUST HOPE IT IS FIXED? NO ACCIDENTS YET BUT WHAT IF. I NO LONGER TRUST THE ABILITY OF THE CARS SAFETY. THIS IS MY COMPLAINT. I FEEL I WAS SOLD A CAR AND NOW THE SAFETY FEATURES OF THE CAR HAVE BECOME COMPROMISED. HELP! *NM

NHTSA ID

10183346

Incident

Jan 26, 2007

Mileage

99,000 mi

AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON SO I TOOK THE CAR IN FOR SERVICE AT 38247 MILES. THE NOTES ON THE VOLKSWAGEN SERVICE INVOICE STATED: "TESTED MODULE RESPONSE AND WIRING. ALL OK PERFORMED GUIDED FAULT FINDING. DETERMINED THAT THE AIRBAG IN THE DRIVERS SEAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ESTIMATE $443.43". I ASKED THEM TO EXPLAIN WHY THE AIRBAG HAD TO BE REPLACED. RESPONSE: "A WIRE GOT TO HOT AND FRIED A COMPONENT IN THE AIR BAG." THEN I ASKED HOW A "HOT WIRE" WAS NOT A MANUFACTURE DEFECT AND WHY IT WASN'T COVERED BY THE WARRANTY. RESPONSE: "IT JUST ISN'T COVERED AND IT'S NOT OUR FAULT". THE END RESULT WAS THEY DIDN'T WANT TO FIX THE PROBLEM WITH OUT CHARGING ME THE FULL PRICE, THE BEST THEY COULD DO WAS CHARGE ME HALF PRICE ON THE LABOR TO FIND THE PROBLEM. *JB

NHTSA ID

10166687

Incident

Mar 24, 2004

Mileage

38,247 mi

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 30MPH THE VEHICLE REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE AND THE AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. INJURIES WERE SUSTAINED BY THE OCCUPANTS OF BOTH VEHICLES. THE CONTACT WAS WEARING A SEATBELT. THE AIRBAG INDICATOR LIGHTS WERE NOT ILLUMINATED PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT. THERE WAS A POLICE REPORT FILED AT THE SCENE. THE VEHICLE WAS DETERMINED TOTALED BY THE INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP.

NHTSA ID

10157019

Incident

May 8, 2006

Mileage

101,500 mi

AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT STAYS ILLUMINATED. DEALER STATED THAT CAR WAS OUT WARRANTY AND I MUST PAY $102.00 TO HAVE IT LOOKED AT AND MAYBE MORE TO HAVE IT FIXED. DEALER STATED THERE WAS A NEW POLICY AGAINST FIXING EVEN SAFETY DEFECTS OUT OF WARRENTY UNLESS CUSTOMER PAYS. CAR HAS 36.000 MILES ON IT. NEVER IN AN ACCIDENT. DEALER WARNED IT MUST BE FIXED OR AIRBAG WILL NOT DEPLOY. *NM

NHTSA ID

10156196

Incident

Apr 23, 2006

Mileage

36,675 mi

LOOSE AIRBAG IGNITER CONNECTION UNDER THE STEERING WHEEL, CAUSING THE AIRBAG SYSTEM TO DEACTIVATE. THIS INCIDENT IS FREQUENT AS REPORTED BY MANY OWNERS ON VARIOUS ONLINE FORUMS (AUDIWORLD, VWVORTEX, USENET NEWSGROUPS, ETC). AN INTERNET SEARCH ON "AIRBAG IGNITER: DRIVER SIDE RESISTANCE TOO HIGH" ON GOOGLE RETURNED NUMEROUS REPORTING ON THIS ISSUE. IN MY PARTICULAR INSTANCE, THIS HAS HAPPENED ON BOTH A 1999 VW PASSAT 1.8T/20V AND A 2000 VW GOLF 1.9L TDI. *NM

NHTSA ID

10145477

Incident

Oct 8, 2005

DRIVER'S SEAT SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT WHEN FAULT CODES ARE SCANNED AND CLEARED. VW APPARENTLY KNOWS ABOUT PROBLEM WITH AIRBAG CONTROL MODULE. TECHNICIAN INJURED WHEN AIRBAG FORCED HIS ARM INTO STEERING WHEEL.

NHTSA ID

10096100

Incident

Oct 20, 2004

Mileage

58,080 mi

THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON. WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP I WAS TOLD IT WAS BECAUSE MY OWNERS MANUAL WAS UNDER THE PASSENGER SEAT. THIS CAUSED THE CONNECTORS TO BREAK. PERHAPS PEOPLE SHOULD BE TOLD NOT TO PUT ANYTHING UNDER THE SEAT. THERE IS NOTHING IN THE OWNERS MANUAL THAT STATES THAT. IT COST ME $300 TO HAVE THIS FIXED. I FEEL VOLKSWAGEN SHOULD COVER THE COST OF THIS REPAIR. I HAVE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY AND WAS STILL TOLD SINCE IT WAS AN OUTSIDE SOURCE (THE OWNERS MANUAL) WHICH CAUSED THE BREAKAGE, IT WAS NOT COVERED.*AK

NHTSA ID

10073067

Incident

May 23, 2004

Mileage

34,250 mi

TOOK CAR TO DEALER BECAUSE AIRBAG LIGHT INDICATOR ON DASHBOARD WAS LIT- WAS TOLD BY TECHNICIAN THE AIRBAG IGNITOR WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED FOR $300. DESPITE THE EXPIRATION OF THE WARRANTY, THIS COST OF THE REPAIR SHOULD BE COVERED BY MANUFACTURER/DEALER SINCE THIS IS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT. *JB

NHTSA ID

10010718

Incident

Oct 30, 2002

Mileage

42,600 mi

1. PASSENGER FRONT WINDOW DROPS DOWN IN DOOR. HAS HAPPENED TWICE. THERE WERE FOUR OTHER PEOPLE AT THE DEALER FOR THE SAME PROBLEM AT THE SAME TIME I WAS THERE. I WAS TOLD IT WAS AN "ARIZONA" PROBLEM AND THAT THE PART THAT HOLDS THE WINDOW UP MELTS AND BREAKS. I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY WHEN MY WINDOW FELL DOWN CAUSING ME TO BECOME DISTRACTED BY THE INCIDENT AND NEARLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. 2. AIR BAG LIGHT WENT ON FOR NO REASON. COST TOM ME WAS $618 TO REPLACE A FAULTY AIRBAG AND WIRING HARNESS. I BELIEVE THAT SHOULD BE COVERED EVEN OUT OF WARRANTY SINCE THERE IS NOTHING I COULD HAVE POSSIBLY DONE TO CAUSE THE AIRBAG TO BECOME DEFECTIVE. 3. CRUISE CONTROL DISENGAGES WHEN THE RIGHT TURN SIGNAL IS APPLIED. THIS HAPPENED FOR MONTHS UNTI THE CRUISE CONTROL WENT OUT COMPLETELY. I HAVE HEARD THIS FAILURE IS DUE TO A RIBBON CABLE WHICH GETS BROKEN IN THE STEERING COLUMN. MY FIRST ONE BROKE JUST BEFORE THE 24K WARRANTY EXPIRED. THE SECOND ONE BROKE ON SCHEDULE AT ABOUT 50K. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS SINCE IF YOU PAS SOMEONE WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ON AND THEN USE YOUR TURN SIGNAL TO GET BACK OVER THE CRUISE IS DEACTIVATED CAUSING THE CAR TO ABRUPTLY SLOW DOWN IN FRONT OF THE CAR YOU WERE TRYING TO PASS.*AK

NHTSA ID

764627

Incident

Jan 15, 2002

PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAG HAS SANK DEEP INTO PANEL AND DENTED AIR BAG COVER. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK THE PASSENGER REAR DOME LIGHT WAS NOT WORKING. THE REAR VIEW MIRROR FELL OFF. THE CONSUMER INSTALLED CD IN THE CD CARTRIDGE AND A CD ERROR CAME ON THE SCREEN OF THE RADIO. *YH

NHTSA ID

8002761

Incident

Jan 16, 2002

AIR BAG LIGHT HAS COME ON 4 TIMES IN LAST 10 MONTHS; DEALERS HAVE TRIED FIXING 3 TIMES!. *AK

NHTSA ID

748992

Incident

Jul 23, 2001

DRIVERS SEAT AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT IS ON WITHOUT CAUSE. CHARGE TO REPAIR THIS IS UNREASONABLE $700.00 AND UNJUSTIFIED. THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT, AND THE OWNER CANNOT AFFORD TO REPAIR IT. THIS MEANS NOW THAT THIS RELATIVELY NEW VEHICLE WILL BE OPERATED WITH A POTENTIAL SERIOUS DEFECT. IS THIS A COMMON PROBLEM, PERHAPS A TREND?*AK

NHTSA ID

746783

Incident

Jun 11, 2001

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID

739586

Incident

Jan 17, 2001

CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING 5-10MPH. ANOTHER VEHICLE RAN A RED LIGHT & THE CONSUMER FRONT END HIT THE OTHER VEHICLE'S PASSENGER SIDE. NONE OF THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. LEFT SIDE OF THE CONSUMERS VEHICLE WAS SEVERLY DAMAGED. DEALER HAS TO INSPECT VEHICLE FOR REASON.*AK

NHTSA ID

870958

Incident

Sep 19, 2000