The NHTSA announces that while the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle is quite a great car, there is a problem with some safety aspects on it.
While they don’t mind the retro aspect and the all the hippie/hipster halo around it, the American authority drew the line at airbag issues.
On the models which are listed as being affected by the recall, the problem is, unusually, only present on the leather seat equipped ones.
I’m not a big fan of the leather seats so this gave me a bit of a smile. The NHTSA is saying that those seats could end up disabling the airbags underneath.
In order for the conditions to happen the demands aren’t completely unusual. If the seat is wet, the airbag may not be able to detect the presence of a child.
The two do tend to happen, especially with small children and moisture is notorious for its short circuit and oxidizing potential among computers.
Since that’s precisely what the airbag module is, its disabling could lead to an airbag malfunction. It could lead to an increased risk of injury for the children.
Models affected by this problem are Volkswagen Beetles under the 2012 as well as the 2013 model year with a total number of 2.471 units being recalled.
Even though the newest version of the Volkswagen Beetle is still a new car this is its second recall, as earlier in the year 83 units had a recall due to its tires.
An official date for the recall wasn’t given out yet but we’re certain it’s going to happen this side of new year.
