There are 3 owner-reported speed control & cruise complaints for the 2002 Volkswagen Beetlein NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I was driving down the road an the car started accelerating all by it's self so I pulled over but every time I let off the break it acted like I had the gas to the floor. The O2 sensor wire's shorted and burnt up the ECM making the CPU light to come on.
MY FIANCEE AND I PURCHASED THIS BEETLE IN NOVEMBER OF 2010 AND HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS WITH IT. IT HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP A NUMBER OF TIME (5-7) AND WE HAVE SPENT HUNDREDS IN TRYING TO FIX IT. YET NO LUCK. IT IS A DANGER TO MY FIANCEE AND NEW BORN BABY. ON DAY IT WILL RUN FINE BUT THEN AFTER DRIVING FOR TEN MINUTES THE EPC LIGHT COME ON AND THE BRAKES BARELY WORK IF AT ALL, AND IT WONT SPEED UP EVEN IF SHE HAS HER FOOT TO THE FLOOR. SO NOW WE HAVE A $6000 DOLLAR CAR THAT NOT EVEN THE VW DEALERSHIP CAN FIX. IT SITS ON OUR ROAD. I HAVE SEEN SO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AND I BELIEVE ITS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE SOME ONE GETS SERIOUSLY INJURED OR EVEN WORSE. PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS MONSTROSITY THAT VW REFUSES TO ADMIT. *TR
CONSUMER STATES THAT THE VEHICLE WILL INTERMITTENLY LOSE POWER AT A CERTAIN SPEED AND STAY THERE FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS THE CONSUMER HAS TRIED TO STEP ON THE GAS PEDAL BUT THE VEHICLE WILL STILL DRIVE AT THE SAME SPEED. CONTACTED DEALER AND THE DEALER IS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING.*JB *YH
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026