The defect
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.
The risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag, free of charge. The recall began March 19, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69BC.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Volkswagen Beetle | 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Volkswagen Beetle Convertible | 2012, 2013, 2014 |
Components: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Beetle | 2012 | 65 | 6 |
| Volkswagen Beetle | 2013 | 93 | 6 |
| Volkswagen Beetle | 2014 | 50 | 5 |
| Volkswagen Beetle Convertible | 2012 | 0 | 3 |
| Volkswagen Beetle Convertible | 2013 | 8 | 3 |
| Volkswagen Beetle Convertible | 2014 | 4 | 2 |
Other air bags recalls in 2020
45 of the 782 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2020 concerned the air bags; Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. filed 321 campaigns in all.
| 20V791000 17 Dec 2020 | Ford Motor Company |
| 20V749000 2 Dec 2020 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 20V747000 1 Dec 2020 | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| 20V736000 25 Nov 2020 | General Motors LLC |
| 20V734000 25 Nov 2020 | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing |
| 20V681000 4 Nov 2020 | Volvo Car USA LLC |
| 20V628000 9 Oct 2020 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 20V604000 2 Oct 2020 | Aston Martin The Americas |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2020