2002 Volkswagen Cabrio problems
Owners have filed 39 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Volkswagen Cabrio. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 26% of complaints. After that come lighting (15%) and air bags (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 39 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 26% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 51,000 miles 19 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 | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 10 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 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
Among the 19 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 51,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 3 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 93% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 4 model years of the Volkswagen Cabrio with enough data (22 complaints in that window).
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.
I was driving home from a weekend away, I was on I95 north near mile marker 120.00 traveling about 15-20MPH when traffic came to a complete stop, I made a complete stop and the car behind me hit me goin gabout 15MPH and pushed me into the SUV in front of me the first impact pushed my passenger and myself forward and then the second impact of us hitting the SUV in front of us pushed us back...both of our seats gave way and we were in lying postions.
Vehicle hit rear of a trailer at 20-30 MPH. Upon impact, neither air bag deployed. Vehicle bursted into flames several minutes after impact. Please describe details.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen cabrio convertible. The contact was driving approximately 35 MPH and attempting a turn when the vehicle stalled with the intermittent illumination of the ABS warning light. Smoke began pouring from under the hood and the vehicle was towed to the nearest dealer. The technicians replaced the starter and the fuel filter yet the failure continued after the repairs. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where the ignition was replaced.
Multiple problems with rear tail lights. Check engine light keeps coming on but dealer could not find anything wrong.