Skip to main content
Car Safety DB

NHTSA Campaign Number

12V540000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE-INACTIVE

Reported to NHTSA: November 15, 2012

Key Takeaways

  • Recall 12V540000 currently maps to 2 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 certain model year 2012-2013 Beetle vehicles, manufactured from February 2012, through August 2012, and equipped with leather sport seats. If the right front passenger seat gets wet, the occupant control module may not properly detect the presence of a child restraint installed in the seat.

Safety Consequence

If the control module does not detect a child seat installed, the airbag will not turn off. If the airbag does not turn off, in the event of a crash necessitating front airbag deployment, a child secured in the child seat may be at an increased risk for serious injury.

Remedy

Volkswagen will notify owners, and replace the control modules, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during January 2013. 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 (2)

YearMakeModel
2012VolkswagenBeetle
2013VolkswagenBeetle

Browse Affected Vehicles

Affected Models

Volkswagen Beetle

Affected Make + Year Views

2013 Volkswagen2012 Volkswagen

Affected Years

20132012

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 12V540000. 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