2000 Volkswagen Beetle: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 373 complaints
373
Total Complaints
68,000mi
Median Mileage
AIR BAGS
Top Issue
12
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

40,800 25th Percentile
68,000 Median Mileage
100,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS
43
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
33
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
17
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
14
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
12
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
12
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
9
STRUCTURE:BODY
8
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
8
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
8

Severity Assessment

12
Crashes
24
Fires
21
Injuries
1
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"HED REST IS 6 INCHES TOO HIGH TO FIT DRIVER'S HEAD PROPERLY. THIS CAUSES POOR VISIBILITY FOR DRIVER OUT OF REAR WINDOW. HAD CONTACTED MANUFACTURER. HAS NO PLANS TO CONVERT HEADREST. *AK"
"AFTER DISCOVERING THAT FUEL WAS LEAKING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE VEHICLE. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP, WHERE THE FUEL TANK WAS FOUND TO BE BUSTED. THE FUEL TANK WAS REPLACED AT OWNER'S EXPENSE. DRIVER NEVER RAN OVER ANYTHING THAT COULD HAVE DAMAGED THE FUEL TANK. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAI..."
"NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK"

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

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