1973 Volkswagen Beetle Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 1973 Volkswagen Beetle has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 10,651 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 1 complaint with NHTSA, most often about the vehicle speed control. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Recall campaigns

SEAT BELTS 73V133000 1973-06-12 7,630 affected
Defect

BEETLE AND SUPERBEETLE.POSSIBILITY THAT THE MOUNTING BRACKET OF THE SEAT BELTRETRACTOR MAY DEVELOP CRACKS AND THE BOLTS HOLDING THE MOUNTING BRACKET MAY NOTHAVE BEEN TIGHTENED TO SPECIFICATIONS.ALSO THE CONTACT IN THE SEAT BELTBUCKLE DESIGNED TO ACTIVATE THE WARNING SYSTEM MAY BE DEFECTIVE.(CORRECT BYINSPECTING AND…

STRUCTURE 73V006000 1973-01-09 3,000 affected
Defect

VOLKSWAGEN CAMPAIGN NO T-8/73.SUPER BEETLE MODEL 133.POSSIBILITY THAT THEREINFORCEMENT ELEMENT FOR FRONT BUMPER WAS OMITTED IN PRODUCTION.ALSO, THEMATERIAL THICKNESS OF THE REAR BUMPER WAS INADEQUATE.(CORRECTBY INSPECTINGAND REPLACE WITH PROPER BUMPERS.)

EQUIPMENT 72V257000 1972-10-26 21 affected
Defect

VOLKSWAGEN CAMPAIGN NO BJ.SUPER BEETLE.INCORRECT CERTIFICATION LABELS WEREAFFIXED WITH INCORRECT CHASSIS NUMBERS.(CORRECT BY INSTALLING CORRECTNUMBERED LABELS).

Complaints by component

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
1
Total complaints1

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“The accelerator cable breaks repeataly at the pedle. There is nothing rubbing against it to weaken the cable to break.”

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL · reported 1998-12-14
Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1973 Volkswagen Beetle as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.