1999 Volkswagen Cabrio: Reliability Data

66
Total Complaints
42,100mi
Median Mileage
Electrical System
Top Issue
6
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

33,000 25th Percentile
42,100 Median Mileage
80,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Electrical System
5
Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
3
Vehicle Speed Control
3
Door
2
Power Window Devices And Controls
2
Air Bags
2
Structure
2
Radio/Tape Deck/Cd Etc.
2
Engine
2
Cruise Control
2

Severity Assessment

6
Crashes
2
Fires
4
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CRUISE CONTROL, ACCORDING TO THE OWNER'S MANUAL, READS THAT THE VEHICLE IS SURPOSE TO HAVE 4 FUNCTIONS; SET THE SPEED, /O RESUME THE SPEED/ TO ACCELERATE, AND TO SLOW DOWN. WHEN HOLDING THE SET BUTTON IN, IT'S SUPPOSE TO SLOW DOWN, BUT INSTEAD, IT ACCELERATES. THIS CAUSES THE CONSUMER TO ALMOST ..."
"I HAD OWNED THE VEHICLE FOR EXACTLY ONE MONTH WHEN THE A/C BEGAN TO NOT WORK. I SENT IT IN TO BE FIXED AND EXACTLY 1 WEEK LATER IT WAS BACK B/C THE A/C WAS NOT WORKING AGAIN. I ALSO HAD THE VEHICLE IN THE SHOP TWICE B/C OF THE BRAKES. THERE WERE OTHER SMALL PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR IN BETWEEN THOSE ..."
"I HAD OWNED THE VEHICLE FOR EXACTLY ONE MONTH WHEN THE A/C BEGAN TO NOT WORK. I SENT IT IN TO BE FIXED AND EXACTLY 1 WEEK LATER IT WAS BACK B/C THE A/C WAS NOT WORKING AGAIN. I ALSO HAD THE VEHICLE IN THE SHOP TWICE B/C OF THE BRAKES. THERE WERE OTHER SMALL PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR IN BETWEEN THOSE ..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Electrical System 5 complaints
25th: 27,100 mi Median: 39,050 mi 75th: 51,575 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CT: 14 MA: 11 FL: 8 VA: 6 PA: 6 NC: 5 CA: 3 AZ: 3 MI: 2 KY: 2

Who Files Complaints?

42.4%
Original Owners
57.6%
Second+ Owners

Volkswagen Cabrio — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1997200
19983713
2001587
2002394

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28