NHTSA recall 20V785000
A recall listed here may apply to a vehicle of this year, make and model. Only the manufacturer can say whether it applies to one vehicle: check the VIN with the official lookups.
| Published by | NHTSA (United States) |
|---|---|
| Campaign number | 20V785000 |
| Manufacturer's number | 69BC |
| Manufacturer | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| Reported | 2020-12-16 |
| Owners notified | 2021-03-19 |
| Component | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL |
| Units potentially affected | 105652 |
| Report | Annual report 3, for 2025 quarter 1 to 2025 quarter 4 |
|---|---|
| Filed with NHTSA | 2026-01-23 |
| Vehicles in the campaign | 105652 |
| Reported remedied | 84753 (80%) |
| Reported unreachable | 0 |
| Reported removed | 10859 |
These are the manufacturer's totals for the whole campaign at the end of 2025 quarter 4, as filed with NHTSA. They do not say whether one vehicle has been remedied: check the VIN with the official lookups. The reports are from data as of 2026-10-19.
What is wrong
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2014 Volkswagen Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
What can happen
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag, free of charge. The recall began March 19, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69BC.
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.
| 2012 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE | |
|---|---|
| 2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE | |
| 2014 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE | |
| 2012 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE CONVERTIBLE | Listed as a series or trim of this model. |
| 2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE CONVERTIBLE | Listed as a series or trim of this model. |
| 2014 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE CONVERTIBLE | Listed as a series or trim of this model. |
A vehicle with no link is not in this site's catalog, which covers cars, multipurpose vehicles and trucks by model year. The campaign is from data as of 2026-10-19.
Investigated as EA15001
This recall followed 1 NHTSA investigation. An investigation is NHTSA looking into a possible defect. It is not a finding that a defect exists, and it does not say that any one vehicle is affected.
| EA15001 | Engineering analysis, opened 2015-02-24. Air Bag Inflator Rupture. AIR BAGS:FRONTAL; AIR BAGS. |
|---|
From NHTSA's investigation file, as of 2026-10-19. The JSON has NHTSA's summary of each.
Bulletins for the same vehicles and component
| V6919012010479_17 | 2026-07-07. Service bulletin. Inquiries |
|---|---|
| DC_VW_CF_Airbag | 2026-04-06. Other. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued an urgent warning regarding counterfeit replacement airbag inflators that are being installed in used vehicles. |
| SM 02 2025 | 2025-03-05. Other. This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided. |
| TT691302 | 2023-07-31. Service bulletin. If Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) basic settings will not complete after module replacement, start by checking coax connector for fleece mat at module. Ensure coax cable is completely seated in connector housing and connector is properly seated in module. |
| TT691301 | 2023-07-31. Service bulletin. If airbag faults B10B300 OR 03551 are stored, DO NOT replace airbag components for these faults, refer to TT45-11-01?. |
| Rental | 2023-07-17. Service bulletin. Upcoming Voluntary Safety Recall 69i9 |
| V691901201047915 | 2023-03-06. Service bulletin. VW contact when reporting a Airbag or Pyrotechnic safety belt deployment. Update to model year applicability. |
| Airbag | 2022-06-13. Service bulletin. Airbag Issues. |
| TT171301 | 2022-05-31. Service bulletin. oil pressure at idle or oil pressure light on. |
| VIN4APIN20211215 | 2022-01-06. Service bulletin. Customer states MIL-on with P0087 P053F in the ECM Customer states MIL-on with any combination of P0300, P0301, P0302, P0303, P0304, P1D74 and/or P1D75 in the ECM Customer states rattle noise from the underbody heat shields Customer states Electrical System not Working Correctly Message with P0CFF and/or P2B28 in HV Battery Customer states noise from front suspension Customer states airbag light on Any TDI within the vehicle/MY range |
A bulletin is the manufacturer's note to its dealers. It is not part of this recall.