Vehicle Data Hub

2003 Volkswagen Beetle wipers, windshield & visibility problems

59 complaints about wipers, windshield & visibility have been filed for the 2003 Volkswagen Beetle, which is 15% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the 3rd most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
59 15% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
50,000 miles 42 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
0 and 0
Injuries and deaths
0 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When wipers, windshield & visibility problems show up

Wipers, windshield & visibility complaints by mileage, 2003 Volkswagen Beetle Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 50,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 3 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 8 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 14 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 11 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 3 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 0 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 2 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 1 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 50,000 miles
Based on 42 complaints that include mileage. 60% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles3
20k to 40k miles8
40k to 60k miles14
60k to 80k miles11
80k to 100k miles3
100k to 120k miles0
120k to 140k miles2
140k to 160k miles1
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Of the 42 wipers, windshield & visibility complaints that report mileage, the median is about 50,000 miles, and 60% were reported before 60,000 miles.

None of the wipers, windshield & visibility complaints mention a crash, fire, injury or death.

What owners wrote

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen beetle convertible. The contact's vehicle is equipped with windows that roll down slightly when the door is ajar and roll back up when the door is closed. However, when the vehicle was purchased, this feature failed to work properly. The contact had the driver side window motor replaced, but a few weeks later, the failure recurred. Oftentimes, the contact would hear wind noise while driving or water would enter into the vehicle.

Reported at 44,000 miles, May 2007

The passenger side rear window went down 1/2 way then stopped. I tried to role it back up and it dropped down and would not come up or down. Then the top would not go down and the right wing flap froze open. I was told that it would cost 300.00 to go in and the part would cost 3-5 hundred for the part. I was told that this happened quit often on the 2003 VW conv. If that is the case, if this is such a wide spread and inherent problem, why has VW not been forced to recall and fix this problem.

Reported at 36,000 miles, October 2008

Other problems reported for the 2003 Volkswagen Beetle

Wipers, windshield & visibility problems in other years

Wipers, windshield & visibility problems across all Volkswagen models