2007 Volkswagen Beetle problems
Owners have filed 79 complaints with NHTSA about the 2007 Volkswagen Beetle. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 19% of complaints. Next are drivetrain & axles (15%) and seat belts (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 79 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 19% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 2 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 44,000 miles 70 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 17 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 11 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 15 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 10 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 11 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 70 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 44,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 49,000 miles (11 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 3 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2007 ranks 15th most-complained-about out of 18 model years of the Volkswagen Beetle with enough data (31 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Cranked the car to move it and the drivers side airbag deployed with a massive amount of force. Did not move the car. As soon as in cranked I heard and felt the explosion of the airbag. Sent pieces of plastic and airbag towards me and shoved me into the door. I have a bruised wrist and my ears are ringing. This a concern from now on. I no longer want to cranked the car as more airbags may be faulty.
Traveling on the dc capital beltway, traffic slowed due to a car pulled over. I engaged the brakes and had a hard pedal with no braking action at all. I popped the transmission into neutral and was unable to get any braking action. I swerved to miss the car in front of me and clipped the rear of the car to my right. I firmly had my foot on the brake the entire time and never felt any sensation of any braking force.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 volkswagen beetle convertible. The contact stated that when driving the vehicle, unknown fumes would enter the vehicle and cause her to become ill. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times and they are unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and they stated that they would be further inspecting the vehicle to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 22,412.
The ignition key/tumbler and steering column will become locked if the steering wheel is not perfectly straight. Car must be aligned perfectly before parking to not have an issue. Car has been towed to the dealer for repairs but nothing has been fixed. Key and tumbler will actually spin in the column when turned while column is locked up. Dealer said to pull on key/tumbler while turning and it will "catch" its position again. Wife has been trapped in various locations because of steering column lock-up.
When vehicle is shifting from 1st to 2nd and from 2nd to 3rd there is a pause between gears and then it bangs when it finally catches. It seems this is an ongoing problem with VW. I'm picking my car up tomorrow after the replacement of the automatic transmission valve body. I don't understand how this problem has not been recalled with so many complaints including a class action law suit the VW agreed to extend the warranty to replace the valve body.