NHTSA campaign 08V178000 · Volkswagen campaign R6

Volkswagen Recall 08V-178: AIR BAG FRONTAL CRASH SENSOR FAILURE (DUAL-STAGE)

Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

NHTSA recall 08V178000 (Volkswagen campaign R6) was reported by VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC on April 17, 2008, with 76,900 vehicles potentially affected (per NHTSA). NHTSA's record lists the Volkswagen Beetle for model years 2003–2005. Owners were notified on July 31, 2008, per NHTSA.

Updated daily from NHTSA's recall files

Is my vehicle included?

This page lists, by model year, the vehicles NHTSA's recall record names for campaign 08V178000 in the model years try.vin imports (1995 and later); NHTSA's own record can list more. A model year on the list doesn't mean every vehicle of that year is included, and some may already have been repaired.

To see whether a specific vehicle is included and still needs the repair, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Volkswagen VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.

Key facts

NHTSA campaign: 08V178000 (also written 08V-178 or 08V178)
Filed by: VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC
Volkswagen campaign number: R6
Report received: April 17, 2008
Potentially affected: 76,900 vehicles (per NHTSA)
Component: Air Bags — Frontal — Sensor/Control Module-Inactive
Owners notified: July 31, 2008
NHTSA investigation: Preliminary Evaluation PE08-012 (per NHTSA's investigations file)

Vehicles listed for this recall

NHTSA's recall record lists these vehicles for recall 08V178000. try.vin imports model years 1995 and later, so NHTSA's own list can be longer. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to it. Build dates are NHTSA's range for a model year (per NHTSA); a vehicle built in that range is not necessarily included.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen Beetle
- 2003, 2004, 2005 · Vehicles built July 30, 2002 – October 31, 2004 (per NHTSA)

All Volkswagen recalls

NHTSA's recall notice

As NHTSA's recall record states it for campaign 08V178000.

Defect description

VOLKSWAGEN IS RECALLING 76,900 MY 2004-2005 NEW BEETLE AND MY 2003-2005 NEW BEETLE CONVERTIBLES EQUIPPED WITH AN ADVANCED (DUAL-STAGE) AIR BAG SYSTEM. THIS SYSTEM MAY HAVE AIR BAG FRONTAL CRASH SENSORS THAT CONTAIN A SOLDER JOINT ON THE CIRCUIT BOARD THAT MAY CRACK UNDER CERTAIN HIGH TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS. IF THIS OCCURS, THE AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT WILL ILLUMINATE AND THE FALLBACK ALGORITHM WILL ENSURE THAT THE FRONT AIR BAGS ALWAYS DEPLOY IN A FRONTAL CRASH IN WHICH THE VEHICLE'S DECELERATION IS HIGH ENOUGH TO ACTIVATE THE FRONTAL AIR BAGS.

Safety consequence

IN LOW-SEVERITY FRONTAL IMPACTS, THE FRONT AIR BAGS MAY DEPLOY MORE FORCEFULLY THAN DESIGNED, INCREASING THE POSSIBILITY OF INJURY TO OUT-OF-POSITION FRONT SEAT OCCUPANTS.

Manufacturer remedy

DEALERS WILL INSPECT EACH VEHICLE TO DETERMINE THAT THE SPECIFIC DEFECT CRASH SENSOR IS PRESENT ON ONE OR BOTH SIDES OF THE VEHICLE. ALL OF THE DEFECT CRASH SENSORS WILL BE REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE JULY 31, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VOLKSWAGEN AT 1-800-822-8987.

Notes

VOLKSWAGEN RECALL NO. R6.CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

Sources

Official NHTSA notice for recall 08V178000

Campaign details come from NHTSA's recall files, which try.vin imports once a day. The plain-language subject and the completion rate come from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Recalls Data dataset. How try.vin reads recall data.