The 2019 Volkswagen Beetle has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 931,421 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 16 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS24V8340002024-10-30248,330 affected
Defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Beetle, Beetle Convertible, 2012-2014 Passat, 2017 Passat Wagon, and 2006-2007 Passat Sedan vehicles. The driver's side frontal air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute…
Consequence
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the driver's side front air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 4, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69EG, 69GQ, and 69E6.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2019 GTI, 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 Golf, 2012-2019 Beetle and Beetle Convertible, 2017-2019 Golf SportWagen and 2011-2018 Jetta vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission, manual handbrake and keyless entry. A build-up of silicate on the…
Consequence
Removing the key while the shift lever is in a position other than "Park" increases the risk of an unintended vehicle rollaway that may result in personal injury or a crash.
Remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional switch and circuit board, free of charge. The recall began November 19, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 37M2.
SERVICE BRAKES19V0940002019-02-134,064 affected
Defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles. The instrument cluster may not provide a visual warning when a brake system failure is detected. As a result, the vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135,…
Consequence
If the driver is not alerted when there is a problem with brakes, the driver may lose control of the vehicle while attempting to brake, increasing the risk of crash.
Remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. The recall began March 7, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 90L8.
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
3
ENGINE
2
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
2
SERVICE BRAKES
2
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:INTERLOCK/LOCKOUT
1
1crashes
POWER TRAIN
1
SUSPENSION
1
VISIBILITY/WIPER
1
WHEELS
1
Total complaints16
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The 2019 volkswagen final edition se beetle’s rear trunk latch/lock will fail and not open from the outside with the car unlocked and using the key fob due to it being jammed closed. In an emergency situation, there’s no manual way to open the rear hatch, and there are no visible markings…”
“Hello, we have owned this vehicle since new. Today it has 28,945 miles. We started hearing a clunking sound from the front left side. We subsequently stopped and verified the suspension and discovered the broken front right suspension spring. Very disappointing to know that a suspension spring…”
“A message is continually (every few seconds) displayed on the dashboard stating that the "coolant temperature is 195 degrees" as if it is a warning. It does not seem plausible that the coolant would have reached 195 degrees when the vehicle was just started.”
“On sept. 21, 2023, I was in my 2019 beetle and pulled into a parking place at a store. When parked, I pressed the electric start button to shut off the vehicle. When the vehicle was shut off, I got out of the car to go into the store. Luckily, I turned my head in the direction of my vehicle and…”
“The key in the key cylinder or tear lock would not remove. The automobile would not shut down. I looked in youtube tube and found out that since 2010 this incident has been occurring in volkswagen beetles I had to extract the fuel pump fuse to stop the engine. And then disconnect the battery. It…”
“My vw beetle has pushbutton start. The ignition can turn off when not in park. This was called a rollaway problem in keyed ignition models, but not pushbutton. I took it to dealer and they said not covered by warranty and no recall. This is as dangerous as in the keyed ignition model. I saw a…”
“My vw beetle has pushbutton start. The ignition can turn off when not in park. This was called a rollaway problem in keyed ignition models, but not pushbutton. I took it to dealer and they said not covered by warranty and no recall. This is as dangerous as in the keyed ignition model. I saw a…”
“2019 volkswagen beetle. Consumer writes in regards to defective brakes. The consumer stated while driving the vehicle, on 3 different occasions, the brakes went out. The consumer requested that the vehicle be bought back or replaced. *js”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2019 Volkswagen Beetle as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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