2017 Volkswagen Beetle: owner complaints and recalls

Owners have filed 15 complaints about the 2017 Volkswagen Beetle and NHTSA has issued 4 recall campaigns. The most-reported system is air bags, named in 6 of them.

15
Complaints
4
Recalls
0
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
0
Injuries
0.0
Severity index

Severity index 0.0 - Low. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 0.0p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2017 Volkswagen Beetle sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

What actually fails

Air BagsAir Bags: 6 complaints (40.0%)6 40%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 5 complaints (33.3%)5 33%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 2 complaints (13.3%)2 13%Lane DepartureLane Departure: 1 complaints (6.7%)1 7%Back Over PreventionBack Over Prevention: 1 complaints (6.7%)1 7%Latches/Locks/LinkagesLatches/Locks/Linkages: 1 complaints (6.7%)1 7%SteeringSteering: 1 complaints (6.7%)1 7%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 1 complaints (6.7%)1 7%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
AIR BAGS640.0%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER533.3%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM213.3%
LANE DEPARTURE16.7%
BACK OVER PREVENTION16.7%
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES16.7%
STEERING16.7%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL16.7%

Complaints filed per year

0362018: 22019: 22020: 22024: 22025: 62026: 1 (partial year)1819202425626
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20182
20192
20202
20242
20256
2026 (year to date)1
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 2.5x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
19V61500022/08/2019ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:ANTI-THEFT:CONTROL MODULEVolkswagen 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 e
17V13600002/03/2017EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELSVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Beetle and Jetta GLI vehicles. The affected vehicles have incorrect information on the tire information label, possibly causing the operator to overload the vehicle. As such, these vehicles fail to comply
20E06400023/09/2020SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDERTenneco 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 insufficien
24V83400030/10/2024AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULEVolkswagen 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 afte
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.