Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data
Data refreshed
Our database contains 20 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2003 Volkswagen New Beetle, most frequently naming the transmission, visibility and engine categories. 14 manufacturer communications are on file.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
When owners filed reports about this model year
| Month | Complaints filed | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 2003 | 1 | 1 |
| Jun 2003 | 1 | 2 |
| Aug 2003 | 2 | 4 |
| Sep 2003 | 3 | 7 |
| Oct 2003 | 1 | 8 |
| Dec 2003 | 1 | 9 |
| Jan 2004 | 1 | 10 |
| Feb 2004 | 2 | 12 |
| Mar 2004 | 1 | 13 |
| Apr 2004 | 1 | 14 |
| May 2004 | 2 | 16 |
| Jun 2004 | 1 | 17 |
| Sep 2004 | 1 | 18 |
| Nov 2004 | 2 | 20 |
Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
No recalls in our database for this model year
That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.
Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words
THE CAR SLAMS INTO GEAR WHEN STARTING FROM A COLD START. IT WAS IN THE SHOP OVER A MONTH, AND IT WAS GIVEN BACK TO ME WITH "WE CAN FIND NOTHING MECHANICALLY WRONG WITH IT, IT MAY BUCK A BIT, BUT THERE ARE NO SAFETY HAZARDS." LIVE WITH IT BASICALLY. VW THEMSELVES HAVE BEEN OF NO HELP WHATSOEVER IN RESOLVING THIS ISSUE. *NM
WINDSHIELD WIPER FAILED TO COME ON. ON TWELVE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS, UNDER VARYING BUT RAINY WEATHER CONDITIONS, WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING OPERATED BY MYSELF OR MY WIFE, THE WIPERS FAILED TO COME ON WHEN SWITCHED ON. ON FOUR OF THESE OCCASIONS THE RAIN BEGAN TO FALL QUICKLY WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT HIGHWAY SPEED WHICH CAUSED A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. ON ALL OCCASIONS, WE HAD TO PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE ROADWAY, AND ONLY AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF REPEATEDLY TURNING THE WIPER SWITCH ON AND OFF AND/OR DOING NOTHING BUT WAITING, THE WIPERS WOULD SUDDENLY COME ON BY THEMSELVES. WE HAVE RETURN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER ON TWO OCCASIONS (THE THIRD BEING NEXT WEEK) WITH THIS COMPLAINT. THE DEALER REPLACED A RELAY, BUT THIS HAS NOT CORRECTED THE PROBLEM. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM AS SUDDEN RAIN AT 70 MPH LEAVES YOU COMPLETELY BLIND. THE INCIDENT DATE IS TODAY'S DATE AS TODAY IS THE MOST RECENT OCCURRENCE. *JB
WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT THE EPC LIGHT CAME ON. I WANTED TO PULL OVER SINCE THE CAR IS FAIRLY NEW AND HAD NEVER SEEN THAT LIGHT ON WHILE DRIVING. I PULLED THE CAR OFF THE ROAD TO CHECK THE MANUAL AND SEE WHAT THE LIGHT MEANT. THE CAR WAS IN PARK. I COULD NOT GET THE CAR TO SHIFT OUT OF PARK. AFTER CALLING ROAD SIDE ASSISTANCE...I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THING IS, ROAD SIDE ASSISTANCE HAD HEARD ABOUT THIS BEFORE. THEY HAD ME DO A "PROCEDURE" TO GET THE CAR TO SHIFT OUT OF PARK AND BE ABLE TO DRIVE HOME. ONCE HOME THE CAR GOT STUCK INTO NEUTRAL. I THEN HAD IT TOWED. *AK
POWERTRAIN PROBLEMS-- VEHICLE HAS TIPTRONIC. INTERMITTENT FAILURE SHIFTING FROM AUTOMATIC TO TIPTRONIC MANUAL FUNCTIONALITY. IN ADDITION, PASSENGER FRONTAL AIRBAG FAILED WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK OF PURCHASE OF THE VEHICLE. MULTIPLE SERVICE RELATED COMPLAINTS.*AK
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
REFER TO # 10051120 MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS WOULD OPERATE NORMALLY AND THEN JUST STOP IN MID-SWIPE, RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE, WHILE I WAS DRIVING. THEN AFTER CLICKING THE SWITCH BACK AND FORTH, I COULD FINALLY GET THEM TO WORK. THE DEALER INDICATED THAT IT COULD BE THE INTERMITTENT WIPER RELAY , BUT IT WOULD HAVE TO BE ORDERED. I SHOULD DRIVE THE CAR UNTIL THEN, UNLESS IT BECAME A PROBLEM WELL, DUH! WHEN WOULD IT NOT BE A PROBLEM TO DRIVE IN THE RAIN/SNOW WITH NON-OPERABLE WIPERS? TOOK MY CAR BACK IN, GOT A LOANER AND THE INTERMITTENT WIPER RELAY WAS REPLACED.*AK
WHILE DRIVING AT 20 MPH CONSUMER'S VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE REAR END OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. CONSUMER WAS WEARING A SEAT BELT THAT DID NOT LOCK UP. ALSO, PASSENGER'S SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED, BUT DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG DID NOT. CONSUMER SUSTAINED MINOR BRUISES TO THE CHEST AND HEAD.*AK
HARD SHIFTING BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD GEARS OF AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION OF 2003 VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE
A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.
STRUCTURE:BODY
VOLKSWAGEN HAS FOUND THAT THE WINDOW CLAMP BOLTS ON SOME 2003 MODEL YEAR NEW BEETLE CONVERTIBLE VEHICLES MAY BECOME LOOSE. ADDITIONALLY, THE PRESS BUTTON FOR THE CONVERTIBLE TOP AND THE HEADLINING CABLES ON THE CONVERTIBLE TOP OF THESE VEHICLES REQUIRE REPLACEMENT AND THE LEFT AND RIGHT FLAP OPENING MECHANISM STOPS MUST BE SWITCHED. *MJ
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LIGHT (MIL) ON, DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTCS) STORED IN DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE (DTC) MEMORY. *MJ
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
EVALUATING FUEL MIXTURE DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES- HOW TO PERFORM EFFECTIVE DIAGNOSIS RELATED TO FUEL SYSTEM ADAPTATION - SYSTEM TOO RICH/TOO LEAN. VOLKSWAGEN. *MJ
STRUCTURE:BODY
WINDOW CLAMP BOLTS ON CERTAIN CONVERTIBLE VEHICLES MAY BECOME LOOSE. *TT
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
REPLACEMENT OF THE IGNITION COILS. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT IF ONE OF THE VEHICLE'S IGNITION COIL FAILS, ROUGH IDLING OR REDUCED DRIVING POWER COULD OCCUR IN ADDITION TO ILLUMINATION OF THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP LIGHT. *TT *MJ
STRUCTURE:BODY
WINDOW CLAMP BOLTS MAY BECOME LOOSE ON CERTAIN CONVERTIBLE VEHICLES. ADDITIONALLY, THE PRESS BUTTON ON THE CONVERTIBLE TOP REQUIRES REPLACEMENT. *TT
Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.
Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model
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. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.