2018 Volkswagen Beetle: Reliability Data

21
Total Complaints
38,000mi
Median Mileage
AIR BAGS
Top Issue
0
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

9,000 25th Percentile
38,000 Median Mileage
78,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS
7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
5
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
4
ENGINE
1
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
1
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
1
SEATS
1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
1

Severity Assessment

0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"SINCE PURCHASING MORE THAN 7 MONTHS AGO, VEHICLE'S BLIND SPOT MONITORING SYSTEM FAILS TO RECOGNIZE APPROACHING VEHICLES AND DOES NOT HAVE AN AUDIBLE ALERT INSIDE THE VEHICLE MAKING IT NEARLY UNUSABLE AND UNSAFE. REAR-CROSS TRAFFIC ALERT SYSTEM GOES CRAZY (INCESSANT BEEPING) AND UNEXPECTEDLY WHEN VEH..."
"THE WINDOW KEEPS SHUTTERING UP & DOWN AFTER GETTING IN THE CAR AND SHUTTING THE DOOR WITH IGNITION ON.. THE WINDOW DOESN'T CLOSE ALL THE WAY, AND THE AUTO DOOR LOCK DOESN'T WORK. THE WINDOW SHUTTERS UP & DOWN ALL ON ITS OWN. BROUGHT CAR TO DEALERSHIP THEY REPLACED THE DOOR LOCK. THIS STILL DID NOT F..."
"THE WINDOW KEEPS SHUTTERING UP & DOWN AFTER GETTING IN THE CAR AND SHUTTING THE DOOR WITH IGNITION ON.. THE WINDOW DOESN'T CLOSE ALL THE WAY, AND THE AUTO DOOR LOCK DOESN'T WORK. THE WINDOW SHUTTERS UP & DOWN ALL ON ITS OWN. BROUGHT CAR TO DEALERSHIP THEY REPLACED THE DOOR LOCK. THIS STILL DID NOT F..."

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.

AIR BAGS 7 complaints
Median: 80,000 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 complaints
Median: 9,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 6 FL: 4 CO: 3 TX: 2 IA: 1 MD: 1 OR: 1 IL: 1 GA: 1 NC: 1

Volkswagen Beetle — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
199828925
199928019
200037312
200129113
200223118
200340513
200446912
200533015
20061617
2007792
20081099
2009392
2010420
2012885
20131257
2014713
20151084
2016604

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