Brake light switch

An NHTSA Recall Query into Volkswagen vehicles. Closed 1 March 2004.

Investigation
RQ03010
Type
Recall Query
Opened
17 December 2003
Closed
1 March 2004

What NHTSA investigated

The number of duplicates between odi and manufacturer failure reports cannot be determined due to missing and or inaccurate information.the injury noted above was minor.on february 26, 2004, volkswagen of america, inc. (vw) submitted a defect notification (per 49CFR573) to the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) advising that certain model year (my) 1999 - 2002 volkswagen jetta vehicles manufacutured with the same brake light switch as recalled under 03V-265 (my 1998-2002 new beetle) are affected by a safety defect.specifically, if the brake light switch malfunctions, the brake lights could fail to illuminate when the brakes are applied, or could stay illuminated continually even when the brakes are not applied.either condition results in the inability of the brake lights to notify other motorists of vehicle braking, thus increasing the risk of a rear end collision and occupant injury.accordingly, volkswagen is recalling jetta vehicles manufactured from may 1998 to november 2001 to inspect and replace free of charge any affected brake light switches.the recall program, vw code wx, will commence in april 2004.

The recall that followed

  1. Volkswagen — Exterior Lighting: Switch04V09600020 February 2004377,130 vehicles

Vehicles covered

MakeModelModel years
VolkswagenJETTA1999–2002

Source

From NHTSA’s investigation file, rebuilt daily. To report a problem with your own vehicle, go to nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem. All open investigations.