2002 Volkswagen Beetle from North America - Comments

I have had the 2002 Beetle now for 5 years. I haven't experienced any problems until this past year. In late January, the airbag light came on. The manual said to take it to the dealership. I didn't do so until June. When I took it in they said that a switch in the driver side seat belt buckle needed to be fixed. I didn't have a problem with this because I use my seat belt every time I get into the car. In August, the airbag light came on again. A couple days after my the brake pad light came on. I, again, took into the dealership. I thought that the dealership may not have fixed the problem properly causing the airbag light to go on again. The dealership said that I the light came on this time because the passenger side airbag was defective and needed to be replaced. I called the number on the VW website and complained about having to pay for the airbag & labor due to the airbag never been deployed or tampered with. I argued that his was an assembly problem or a product defect. They told me that they couldn't do anything for me because my vehicle was out of warranty. I ended up talking to a supervisor and they offered to pay 100% for the airbag and I pay 100% for the labor. The airbag costs $300 and the labor costs $250.00. I am still aggravated that I still have to pay for the labor due to the airbag had never been tampered with.

Other than the problems that I have recently experienced I don't have never had a problem with the car however the problems that I am now experiencing it disheartens me that the dealership and VW are not working with me to make me a happy customer.

While I can understand your aggravation, I don't see how you be heard to complain about VW or the dealership not paying for these items. When you purchased you Beetle, you did so with the understanding that the warranty was limited by time and mileage. Now that those limits are exceeded, VW no longer has any obligations with respect to repairing defects or problems with the vehicle. Following your logic, VW would be indefinitely liable for problems with its vehicle, notwithstanding a limited warranty.

That being said, perhaps there is an argument that a malfunctioning airbag ought to be addressed as a potentially dangerous defect regardless of the warranty.

Finally, $250 in unscheduled repair costs over five years of ownership is really quite good (especially for VW's of this era, which according to this site seem to be problematic).

I have the same problem with my air bag. The light came on about a year ago and when I took it in they told me it was no longer under warranty and would cost $500 to fix. Makes me think there is a general problem with VW Beetle air bags or air bag sensors in general. But I am not planning on getting it fixed... or if I ever do, I'm sure not taking it to the dealer.

I love the look of the car. Not a lot of problems with the engine and how it runs, but my 2002 beetle is literally falling apart inside. The side panel is peeling off, everything that can be glued on is coming unglued, the latch on my middle console broke, and the dashboard is peeling off. All my children are grown and I am the only one who drives it. It only has 30,000 miles on it. I only drive to work an back and I am very disappointed that I am going to have to put all this money into fixing the inside when the outside looks so good. Don't have the money right now, so it will have to wait.

I love my car - bought the VW Beetle in 2002 new, colour black, and with only 45,000 miles. I had these problem since I bought the car - first time the EPC light comes on, I read the manual, which says switch the engine and wait for a few minutes. I did that, and it went off. Since then it comes every other month. I take it to the dealer; they say they fixed it, but it comes back.

Now the EPC light comes on, and after a few minutes, the engine check light comes on. It is giving me a headache, and costing me money and time. Last week I took it to a dealer; they said it is fixed, but yesterday it came back - has anyone solved the problem? If so, please let me know.

What I suggest is all of us who have had this problem, should get together and write to VW - what do you think???

MBM.