Volkswagen New Beetle by model year

262 owner complaints are on file with NHTSA for the Volkswagen New Beetle across 13 model years. Choose a year for problems, recalls, fuel economy and crash ratings in one place.

See the best and worst years for the Volkswagen New Beetle

Complaints by model year

Older model years have had longer to collect complaints, so a taller bar on an older year is not necessarily a worse year. The best and worst years page corrects for this.

View the numbers

Model year	Complaints
1998	37
1999	40
2000	45
2001	56
2002	35
2003	30
2004	18
2006	1

All model years

Model year	Complaints	Most reported	Recalls	MPG
2010				23
2009				23
2008				23
2007				22 to 23
2006	1			22 to 34
2005				22 to 35
2004	18		2	22 to 36
2003	30	Transmission (20%)		22 to 38
2002	35	Lighting (20%)	1	23 to 38
2001	56	Electrical system (25%)	3	22 to 38
2000	45	Electrical system (31%)	2	22 to 38
1999	40	Electrical system (18%)	1	22 to 38
1998	37	Lighting (27%)	1	21 to 38