Volkswagen Cabriolet Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 40 consumer complaints across the 5 model years of the Volkswagen Cabriolet (1985–1990) that have at least 5 complaints. 1987 has the most, with 11. Across all years, the part named most often is fuel system (24 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All Cabriolet model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 8 | — | 4 | 1 | — | Not enough data |
| 1989 | 9 | 125,000 | 2 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1988 | 6 | — | 2 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1987 | 11 | 170,000 | 3 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1985 | 6 | — | 1 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Fuel system24 55%
- Air bags5 11%
- Body and structure3 6.8%
- Engine cooling3 6.8%
- Electrical system3 6.8%
- Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)2 4.5%
- Suspension2 4.5%
- Steering2 4.5%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
1989: “Vehicle had a wet substance on the ground. Consumer took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, and the leak was determined to be gas. There was a crack in the gas tank. Contact was made with the manufacturer to determine if the vehicle was serviced on a recall. Manufacturer told consumer to take the vehicle to the dealer to determine if repairs will be at consumer's expense.”
NHTSA complaint #10115379, filed 2005-03, 125,000 miles1988: “In dec. 1999 the frame of my wife lanette parks Cabriolet was cracking and splitting without any accident or abnormal driving event to cause it. The frame shop informed me that they see this quite often on vw rabbits, golfs and cabriolets due to a design flaw in the frame. Apparently they added a metal support bar between the two front wheels that vw includes on the sporty gti models, but eliminates on the Cabriolet. Why this is done is beyond me, the only reason I can think of is to save money on materials and manufacturing.”
NHTSA complaint #718623, filed 2000-021987: “I brought this car to the dealer for work on a leaking fuel tank and after much talking with the dealer and vw of america was able to convince the dealer that the work should be done under a recall (your campaign number either 91v201000 or 94v065000) the dealer also found that the internal fuel pump was bad and it was replaced at my cost. I contacted vw of america and they say that this does not fall under a recall yet I have a campaign number for this very thing that covers a more far reaching number of vehicles (87v053000). …”
NHTSA complaint #713289, filed 1999-10Other Volkswagen models
10,011 complaintsVolkswagen Passat
7,707 complaintsVolkswagen Beetle
2,588 complaintsVolkswagen Tiguan
2,332 complaintsVolkswagen Atlas
2,022 complaintsVolkswagen Golf
1,428 complaintsVolkswagen GTI
1,394 complaintsVolkswagen ID.4
1,023 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology