- Vehicles
- 4,064
- Built between
- Aug 2018 – Jan 2019
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 18 March 2019
- Repaired
- 95%
- Unrepaired
- 220
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between August 2018 and January 2019. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2019 Volkswagen BeetleBuilt August 2018 to January 2019
Repair progress
220 of 4,064 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2020.
95% repaired — 3,844 of 4,064 reported
Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.
What the defect is
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles. The instrument cluster may not provide a visual warning when a brake system failure is detected. As a result, the vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135, "Light vehicle brake systems" and number 101, "Controls and displays."
What could happen
If the driver is not alerted when there is a problem with brakes, the driver may lose control of the vehicle while attempting to brake, increasing the risk of crash.
What gets fixed
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. The recall began March 7, 2019.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtAugust 2018 to January 2019
- Recall reported to NHTSA13 February 2019
- Owners notified18 March 2019
- Latest repair reportQ2 2020 — 95% repaired
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 13 February 2019.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 90L8.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 90L8
- Recalling manufacturer
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
- Safety standard
- FMVSS 135
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.