2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE Complaints and Recall Information
The 2013 Volkswagen Beetle has 7 complaints and 8 recalls filed with NHTSA. Owners most frequently report issues with the Takata airbag inflators deploying unexpectedly, causing injury and property damage. Other common complaints include the vehicle stalling randomly and problems with the steering lock mechanism and ignition system.
Common Issues- Airbag deployment failure. The Takata airbag inflators have deployed on their own without warning, injuring occupants and causing significant damage. Some owners report that recall parts are on backorder with no clear availability date.
- Recall notification problems. Some owners state they never received recall notices for the Takata airbag defect despite owning the vehicle during the recall period.
- Engine stalling. The car stalls suddenly when accelerating from a stop or pulling onto the highway, sometimes accompanied by jerking. Dealerships have failed to find error codes or fully resolve the issue.
- Steering lock malfunction. The steering lock mechanism has caused the key to get stuck and prevented shutting off the vehicle.
- Ignition and anti-theft control concerns. Some defects relate to potential rollaway risk from key removal when the transmission is not in park, linked to silicate buildup on switches.
There are 8 recalls affecting various systems including airbags, suspension, sunroof assembly, ignition, and braking components. These recalls address safety-related defects that increase risks of injury, vehicle control loss, or crashes.
Recalls- Airbag sensor module. NHTSA recall 12V540000 affects 2,471 vehicles with leather sport seats. Wetting of the right front passenger seat can prevent child seat detection, causing airbags to deploy improperly. Volkswagen will replace control modules free of charge.
- Rear suspension trailing arms. NHTSA recall 14V656000 covers over 442,000 vehicles produced through 2013. Deformed rear trailing arms may fracture suddenly, increasing crash risk. Dealers will install a reinforcement inlay to prevent failure.
- Sunroof glass breakage. Recall 14V658000 affects about 7,000 vehicles with glass sunroofs prone to breaking over rough roads, risking occupant injury and distraction. Volkswagen will replace the sunroof free of charge.
- Regulatory compliance defect. Recall 19V679000 includes 113 vehicles from various model years including 2013 Beetle. Modifications during internal evaluation may cause noncompliance with regulations, raising risks of crash or fire. Volkswagen will notify owners and repurchase affected vehicles.
- Ignition control module and anti-theft steering lock. Recalls 19V615000 and 19V615000 (same campno) impact nearly 680,000 vehicles including the 2013 Beetle. Silicate buildup on shift lever contacts may allow key removal when not in park, risking unintended rollaway. Dealers will install additional switches and circuit boards.
- Brake master cylinder seal. Recall 20E064000 affects 38 vehicles with aftermarket master cylinders that may leak brake fluid or disassemble. This compromises braking performance and increases crash risk. Defective parts will be replaced free of charge.
- Driver frontal air bag inflator. Recall 20V785000 involves over 105,000 vehicles including the 2013 Beetle. Inflator propellant degradation can cause the inflator to explode, sending metal fragments into the vehicle cabin resulting in serious injury or death. Volkswagen will replace air bags at no cost.
Owners facing repeated repairs or unresolved safety defects, especially related to the Takata airbag recall and engine stalling, may have rights under their state lemon laws. Consulting a legal professional familiar with consumer vehicle protections is advisable.
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE Summary
2013
Model Year
7
Total Complaints
7
Total Recalls
1236429
Vehicles Affected
Recalls
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
38 vehicles affected
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDER
Tenneco Automotive (Tenneco) is recalling certain Beck/Arnley Master Cylinders, part number 072-9831, sold as aftermarket or replacement parts for 2004-2018 Volkswagen Jetta, and 2012-2019 Volkswagen Beetle vehicles. The fluid seal crimp on the master cylinder may be insufficient, causing brake fluid to leak or the cylinder to come apart.
Risk: If there is a brake fluid leak, it can reduce braking ability, increasing the risk of a crash.
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
105652 vehicles affected
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2014 Volkswagen Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
679027 vehicles affected
STEERING:COLUMN LOCKING:ANTI-THEFT DEVICE
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 shift lever micro switch contacts may enable the key to be removed from the ignition when the transmission shift lever is not in "Park."
Risk: 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.
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
113 vehicles affected
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Volkswagen Passat, 2018 Tiguan LWB, 2007-2009 Jetta Sedan, 2011-2013, 2015 and 2019 Jetta, 2013 Jetta Hybrid, 2008-2009 Jetta Sportwagen, 2015 Golf Sportwagen, 2013 Golf, 2008-2010 and 2012-2013 Beetle and Beetle Convertible, 2008-2010 Beetle, and Beetle Convertible vehicles. Modifications made while the vehicles were in an internal evaluation period may cause the affected vehicles to not comply with all of the applicable regulatory requirements.
Risk: If the vehicles do not meet all regulatory requirements, there could be an increased risk of a crash, fire, or injury.
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
7062 vehicles affected
VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Beetle vehicles manufactured June 13, 2013, to July 3, 2014. The glass sunroofs in the affected vehicles may break when the vehicles are operated over a hard road surface or strike a pothole.
Risk: Vehicle occupants could be injured by falling glass. A sunroof break during vehicle operation also increases the risk of driver distraction and a resulting vehicle crash.
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
442066 vehicles affected
SUSPENSION:REAR
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Jetta vehicles manufactured March 1, 2010, to November 30, 2012, and 2012-2013 Beetle vehicles manufactured March 1, 2011, to July 31, 2013. The durability of the rear trailing arms may be reduced in vehicles whose rear trailing arms have been previously deformed, such as a result of a rear or side-rear impact crash.
Risk: The reduced durability of the trailing arm may result in its sudden fracture, possibly causing loss of vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
2471 vehicles affected
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE-INACTIVE
Volkswagen is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Beetle vehicles, manufactured from February 2012, through August 2012, and equipped with leather sport seats. If the right front passenger seat gets wet, the occupant control module may not properly detect the presence of a child restraint installed in the seat.
Risk: If the control module does not detect a child seat installed, the airbag will not turn off. If the airbag does not turn off, in the event of a crash necessitating front airbag deployment, a child secured in the child seat may be at an increased risk for serious injury.
Complaints
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
ID: 2116813AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Beetle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V785000(Air Bags). The contact stated that the dealer was contacted and advised the contact that the parts were unavailable. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
ID: 2110199UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Key is getting stuck in the vechile. Wont let me shut the vechile off and took it to the vechile and the said it was the steering lock mechanism
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
ID: 2103655ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My car will randomly die after sitting at a light or pulling onto the highway or just pulling out of my garage. The car starts up and sounds fine, when I put it in reverse to pull out of the garage, it will die while moving backwards. Sitting at a red light, the car if running fine. When I accelerate after turning green, it dies. After driving for 12 minutes or so I stop at McDonald and go through the drive thru. After getting my food, I pull onto the highway and the car dies. There was a gas station right next to the McDonalds, so I was able to coast into the gas station. When the car dies, it immediately starts up again and will drive fine after that. I've also been having issues with it jerking. I've taken it to the VW dealership numerous times. They hook it up to see if there are any error codes and there are none. They try to find something to fix, but each time the car might work for a couple of weeks, but the jerking and dying continues. With the randomness of this, the car just doesn't feel safe to drive. I have to be very cautious not to pull out in front of any vehicle that is close for the potential of it dying. I'm calling again today to see if I can get them to fix the crank sensor as I have found others to have the same issue and that seems to fix it. I've spent several thousand dollars to try to get it fixed, but since it doesn't throw any error codes and the randomness of this issue, it's hard to replicate.
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
ID: 2089140SUSPENSION
The airbags deployed on their own on 7-4-2023 in my daughter’s 2013 VW Beetle. My daughter and her friend were both injured (physically/mentally) as a result of both front airbags (steering wheel and dashboard airbags) deploying on their own causing over $10,000 USD damage to the beetle and injury to my daughter and her friend who was a passenger in the front seat. Volkswagen never sent out a recall notice to us even though we have owned the car since 9-13-2019 and the airbag recall notice was determined on 12-16-2020 by NHTSA and announced on that date. I only became aware of this recall through investigation, after the accident happened and during repairing of the car. The vehicle was not inspected by the manufacturer, or police, or insurance even though Progressive Insurance paid out over $20,000 in damages to the parked cars that were struck after the airbags deployed causing the vw beetle to crash into two parked cars in a residential neighborhood. There was a sparse accident report that was filed by Colorado State police. There were not any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the Tatanka airbag failure and recall.
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
ID: 2089139STRUCTURE:BODY
The airbags deployed on their own on 7-4-2023 in my daughter’s 2013 VW Beetle. My daughter and her friend were both injured (physically/mentally) as a result of both front airbags (steering wheel and dashboard airbags) deploying on their own causing over $10,000 USD damage to the beetle and injury to my daughter and her friend who was a passenger in the front seat. Volkswagen never sent out a recall notice to us even though we have owned the car since 9-13-2019 and the airbag recall notice was determined on 12-16-2020 by NHTSA and announced on that date. I only became aware of this recall through investigation, after the accident happened and during repairing of the car. The vehicle was not inspected by the manufacturer, or police, or insurance even though Progressive Insurance paid out over $20,000 in damages to the parked cars that were struck after the airbags deployed causing the vw beetle to crash into two parked cars in a residential neighborhood. There was a sparse accident report that was filed by Colorado State police. There were not any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the Tatanka airbag failure and recall.
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
ID: 2089138AIR BAGS
The airbags deployed on their own on 7-4-2023 in my daughter’s 2013 VW Beetle. My daughter and her friend were both injured (physically/mentally) as a result of both front airbags (steering wheel and dashboard airbags) deploying on their own causing over $10,000 USD damage to the beetle and injury to my daughter and her friend who was a passenger in the front seat. Volkswagen never sent out a recall notice to us even though we have owned the car since 9-13-2019 and the airbag recall notice was determined on 12-16-2020 by NHTSA and announced on that date. I only became aware of this recall through investigation, after the accident happened and during repairing of the car. The vehicle was not inspected by the manufacturer, or police, or insurance even though Progressive Insurance paid out over $20,000 in damages to the parked cars that were struck after the airbags deployed causing the vw beetle to crash into two parked cars in a residential neighborhood. There was a sparse accident report that was filed by Colorado State police. There were not any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the Tatanka airbag failure and recall.
2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
ID: 2079516AIR BAGS
I’m filing this complaint regarding the Takata airbag recall on my 2013 Volkswagen Beetle. I took my vehicle to the dealership, but they informed me that the replacement part is on national backorder with no clear timeframe for availability. I called Volkswagen Customer CARE on April 3, 2025 and spoke with a representative named Dawn (Case #[XXX]). I was told that no loaner vehicles or rental assistance are being provided to customers, and that I should continue driving my vehicle despite the recall. While the representative did not explicitly say the car is unsafe to drive, I expressed concern about the risk, and was told the recommendation is to drive it anyway. I feel this response is inadequate and potentially dangerous, especially considering the known severity of Takata airbag failures. I am unable to afford a rental on my own, and I believe Volkswagen should offer temporary transportation or accommodations to affected owners until parts are available. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)