While assisting a stranded motorist, I parked my Beetle on the roadside and put the hazard lights on, after about 15 minutes, the relay - which is part of the switch, not a plug in module - fried, cooked, burned up and the hazards stopped working. The only solution to this is to replace the switch assembly. Simple replacement, though the wiring is a bit short and can be a challenge to reattach. The part is kind of pricey. VW knew/knows of this problem and have had similar failures in many models using this switch but to the best of my knowlege have not redesigned the part (newer models, perhaps, but not for the 1999). Not a huge problem but could be seriously dangerous if you are unfortunate enough to be broken down on the side of a busy, dark highway for any length of time - might want to pick up a supply of road flares.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
While assisting a stranded motorist, I parked my Beetle on the roadside and put the hazard lights on, after about 15 minutes, the relay - which is part of the switch, not a plug in module - fried, cooked, burned up and the hazards stopped working. The only solution to this is to replace the switch assembly. Simple replacement, though the wiring is a bit short and can be a challenge to reattach. The part is kind of pricey. VW knew/knows of this problem and have had similar failures in many models using this switch but to the best of my knowlege have not redesigned the part (newer models, perhaps, but not for the 1999). Not a huge problem but could be seriously dangerous if you are unfortunate enough to be broken down on the side of a busy, dark highway for any length of time - might want to pick up a supply of road flares.
- edgct, Thompson, CT, US