This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The fuzebox in this car is unprotected from water and can cause a fire and any time water may leak into car. I parked my car and when I went to her back in it a hour later it wouldn't crank that's when we discovered the fuze box was melted from getting too hot due to it leaking thru the antenna O to the relays filling them with water and then cause a drip to come from relays onto fuze and burn out the fuze slit for the fuel pump which caused my car not to crank at all. This a common occurrence and could potentially be a huge problem
My car's electrical system started to fail two weeks ago. The directionals, interior lights, all exterior lights and heater did not work. I was told by a VW dealership in MA that the car alarm system malfunctioned and has caused the switching gear and other various electrical components in my car to malfunction. After informing that the cost to repair this problem would be around $1,000 I decided to look into these issues only to be surprised to find that my VW 1999 Cabrio is notorious along with all of the other makes of the VW line to have faulty and problematic electrical systems. My car is under warranty, but was told, "sorry this is not a covered item" there are various resources out there to learn that over and over again, this happens to the consumer of their cars. When you pay $35000 for a car you expect it to not have any problems like this before 50K miles.
About three months after the purchase of a new 1999 Volkswagen Cabrio the entire cruise control system had to be replaced because it quit working. In July 2001 the emergency brake cable went bad. Three years later, the cable has gone bad again. In October of 2001 a computer chip went bad and the car wouldn't start. In January 2003 the front exhaust pipe had to be replaced. In addition to those problems, there are a number of other problems such as the "check engine" light coming on and staying on but no one can find anything wrong with the car. Buttons, like the lock button, fall off the car. My taillights frequently go out and come back on by themselves but no one can find a loose wire. The car was in an accident in January 2004. The auto shop ordered parts and they didn't fit. It turns out even though the car is a 1999, there are some 2000 parts on it.
The check engine light keeps coming on & stays on, as does the ABS light, the drivers seat heater shorted out, the cars battery exploaded, the drivers power window malfunctions, the volume control on the radio has a malfunction, the hydrolic pump for automatic top malfunctioned & needed to be replaced as well as some other more minor problems.
Convertible top accumulating some kind of black substance that hardens and cannot be removed. At the three year mark, the car just began to deteriorate very quickly. Timing belt, convertible stopped working, ABS brakes kick in when not supposed to, exhaust system had to be replaced at 40K miles. Key lock button fell out, cannot get it to stay in. Seat belt assembly fell apart. Interior door handles not made well, loosened and feel as if they may fall off. Cd changer has never worked properly.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Florence, MS, USA