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Car Safety DB

NHTSA Campaign Number

08V178000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE-INACTIVE

Reported to NHTSA: April 17, 2008

Key Takeaways

  • Recall 08V178000 currently maps to 3 tracked vehicle-year pages across 1 make.
  • This page summarizes the official defect description, safety consequence, and remedy text published by NHTSA for this campaign.
  • This is a campaign-level lookup, not a VIN-level clearance result. Use a VIN lookup before assuming your specific vehicle is still open.

Useful Next Steps

Check a VIN for an open recallRead what to do after a recall noticeBrowse more air bags recallsOpen an affected vehicle page

Defect Description

VOLKSWAGEN IS RECALLING 76,900 MY 2004-2005 NEW BEETLE AND MY 2003-2005 NEW BEETLE CONVERTIBLES EQUIPPED WITH AN ADVANCED (DUAL-STAGE) AIR BAG SYSTEM. THIS SYSTEM MAY HAVE AIR BAG FRONTAL CRASH SENSORS THAT CONTAIN A SOLDER JOINT ON THE CIRCUIT BOARD THAT MAY CRACK UNDER CERTAIN HIGH TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS. IF THIS OCCURS, THE AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT WILL ILLUMINATE AND THE FALLBACK ALGORITHM WILL ENSURE THAT THE FRONT AIR BAGS ALWAYS DEPLOY IN A FRONTAL CRASH IN WHICH THE VEHICLE'S DECELERATION IS HIGH ENOUGH TO ACTIVATE THE FRONTAL AIR BAGS.

Safety Consequence

IN LOW-SEVERITY FRONTAL IMPACTS, THE FRONT AIR BAGS MAY DEPLOY MORE FORCEFULLY THAN DESIGNED, INCREASING THE POSSIBILITY OF INJURY TO OUT-OF-POSITION FRONT SEAT OCCUPANTS.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL INSPECT EACH VEHICLE TO DETERMINE THAT THE SPECIFIC DEFECT CRASH SENSOR IS PRESENT ON ONE OR BOTH SIDES OF THE VEHICLE. ALL OF THE DEFECT CRASH SENSORS WILL BE REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE JULY 31, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VOLKSWAGEN AT 1-800-822-8987.

What This Recall Page Shows

This page summarizes a single NHTSA recall campaign, including the defect description, safety consequence, and manufacturer's remedy. The affected vehicles listed below are the make/model/year combinations tracked in our database — this is not a VIN-specific result. To check whether your individual vehicle is covered by this recall, enter your 17-digit VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Click any vehicle below to view its full safety profile.

VIN recall lookup guideWhat to do after a recallMore air bags recalls

Affected Vehicles (3)

YearMakeModel
2003VolkswagenBeetle
2004VolkswagenBeetle
2005VolkswagenBeetle

Browse Affected Vehicles

Affected Models

Volkswagen Beetle

Affected Make + Year Views

2005 Volkswagen2004 Volkswagen2003 Volkswagen

Affected Years

200520042003

Related Air Bags Campaigns

These campaigns share the same broad recall component family, so they are useful if you want to compare how similar issue types appeared across other vehicles and time periods.

26V254000AIR BAGSHyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Elantra N, 2026 Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), and Elantra vehicles. The B-pillar impact se…2 tracked vehicle pages · Apr 21, 202626V230000AIR BAGSNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2009-2010 Cube vehicles. The driver’s air bag inflator may detach from the steering wheel during air bag deployment.2 tracked vehicle pages · Apr 10, 202626V227000AIR BAGSHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Odyssey vehicles. A software programming error can cause the side and side curtain air bags to deploy unexpectedly.5 tracked vehicle pages · Apr 9, 202626V201000AIR BAGSFord Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Bronco Sport and Maverick vehicles. The Occupant Classification Sensor (OCS) unit may fail to correctly detect the presence…4 tracked vehicle pages · Mar 31, 2026

This recall information is from NHTSA campaign 08V178000. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA. Contact your dealer or call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 for more information.

Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026