Volkswagen New Beetle 1998

• Recall 63014 [USA]: If this happens, the brake lamps could become inoperative; or the lamps could come on and stay on, even though the vehicle is parked.
  On certain passenger vehicles, the brake lamp switch may malfunction.
  dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the brake lamp switches. Owner notification began september 26, 2003. Owners should contact vwoa at 1-800-822-8987.
  vw recall no. Wt.Customers can also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236).

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To ensure accuracy and for your safety, it is recommended to do a free VIN recall check here or here [USA] - UK - Canada.

Bulletins are notices put out by manufacturers in conjunction with the NHTSA to notify the public of manufacturing issues or changes.

Some type of 'control module' needs to be replaced, without it the air-bag system doesn't work. This is a safety feature which helped in the decision to buy the car, and after 5 years it fails rendering the system useless and requiring over $700 to replace. This is wrong!

Today, july 27,2004, the output connection on my fuel pump came apart (disconnected) and when i tried to start my car dumped about a quart of gasoline on the ground under the right side of the car. I was in a crowded post office parking lot and it was a potentially dangerous situation. The fire dept came and reconnected the line and i was able to proceed to the vw dealorship and have it checked and certified safe to continue operating. The car is vw new beetle, 1998 year of manufacturing. The dealorship vw mechanic said he had heard of this happening spontaneously on one other ocassion.*ak

Passenger side power window and driver side power window malfunctioned and driver side plastic switch broke off.*ak

Headlights constantly go out while driving, have been pulled over by the police many times due to no lights or having to drive with high beams on. This past time had to park the car and have someone take us home, could not drive car until the next morning. Repair bills are becoming rediculous.*ak

1998 volkswagen new beetle severely overheated, checking out cause found the fuse box on top of the battery housing had melted. This could have caused a major fire in the engine compartment! Vwoa refuses to acknowledge there is a problem althought internet surveys show 26% failure in new beetles. Placement of the fuse box on the battery housing does not sound like a very safe idea!*ak

Driver-side side airbag deployed on my 1998 vw beetle for no apparent reason causing loss of vehicle control and accident. *la

Trunk latch does not close properly when temperature goes below 31 degrees.*ak

Driver side window "fell out". I was driving the car, trying to put the window up when it became stuck. Once stopped, i again tried to put the window up when there was a cracking sound and the whole window just fell into the door. When i called the dealer the secretary was very familiar with this type of problem and was even able to tell me that the original clips to hold the window were plastic and they replace them with metal ones. If this problem is that common that the secretary knows exactly what the problem is and what the remedy is, volkswagen needs to take care of this problem. *jb

Left headlamp bulb burned-out. I had to replace the driver's side headlamp at least 5 times over the life of the vehicle. The passenger side headlamp bulb has only needed replacement once over the same time period. *jb

Common OBD-II Error Codes

• P0410 [1] Secondary Air Injection System Malfunction
• P0411 [1] Secondary Air Injection System Incorrect Flow Detected
• P1423 [1] Split Air #1 Circuit Malfunction