The 1990 Volkswagen Cabriolet has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 428,800 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 11 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
THE FUEL HOSE ATTACHED TO THE FUEL DISTRIBUTION RAIL ON THE ENGINE MAY SHRINK BEYOND THE CLAMP FORCE OF THE FUEL HOSE CLAMPS, ALLOWING FUEL TO LEAK.
FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT CAN CAUSE AN UNDERHOOD FIRE IF THE FUEL COMES IN CONTACT WITH A SOURCE OF IGNITION.
REPLACE THE FUEL HOSE ATTACHED TO THE FUEL RAIL AND INSTALL A NEW SPRING TYPE SELF-TIGHTENING CLAMP.
THE AIRBAG HARNESS WIRE MAY HAVE BEEN IMPROPERLY ROUTED THROUGH AN OPENING IN THE DASHBOARD CROSSMEMBER AND COULD BE PINCHED AND CHAFED BETWEEN TWO PANELS EVENTUALLY RESULTING IN DAMAGE TO THE WIRE.
IF THE AIRBAG HARNESS WIRE IS DAMAGED, THE PASSIVERESTRAINT SYSTEM WILL BECOME INOPERATIVE. THE DASHBOARD WARNING LIGHT WILLILLUMINATE, BUT THE PASSIVE RESTRAINT WILL NOT FUNCTION UNTIL THE WIRE ISREPAIRED.
SECURE WIRE TO THE CROSSMEMBER WITH A CLIP.
A CRACK CAN DEVELOP IN THE FUEL TANK ADJACENT TO A SEAM WELD IN THE REAR OF THE TANK.
FUEL CAN LEAK FROM THE CRACKED FUEL TANK WHICH COULDCATCH FIRE IN THE PRESENCE OF A SOURCE OF IGNITION.
CHECK VEHICLE WITH A SPECIALLY DESIGNED TOOL FOR THE PRESENCE OF A FUEL TANK CRACK, AND REPLACE FUEL TANK IF DEFECT IS FOUND.
THE CENTER OF THE WATER SEPARATOR PANEL LOCATED IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT BETWEEN ENGINE AND FIREWALL COULD BEND IN THE EVENT SOMEONE LEANS ON IT DURING ENGINE MAINTENANCE, REPAIRS OR CHECKING OF FLUID LEVELS. A BENT PANEL COULD INTERFERE WITH THE FREE MOVEMENT OF THE ACCELERATOR LINKAGE.
INTERFERENCE WITH THE FREE MOVEMENT OF THE ACCELERATORLINKAGE COULD RESULT IN UNWANTED ACCELERATION WHICH MAY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.
INSTALL REINFORCEMENT BRACKET TO SECURE SEPARATOR PANEL.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“After a turn, aribarg warnings lights turned on and wont turn off. *ak”
“Consumer received recall 91v201000 for fuel tank assembly. The vehicle is leaking gasoline. Dealership inspected vehicle, and problem wasn't solved. Dealership is aware of problem.*ak”
“Vapors appear when consumer fills up vehicle. Also, consumer can only get a half tank of gas when filling up vehicle due to a shortage within the tank.”
“Vapors appear when consumer fills up vehicle. Also, consumer can only get a half tank of gas when filling up vehicle due to a shortage within the tank.”
“Radio locked up. Mjs”
“Gas tank failed prior to recall notice, resulting in leakage. (92v-058). Mjs”
“Defective air bag.”
“Air bag indicator light came on, airbag central control unit is defective and needs to be replaced. Tt”
There is no summary currently available
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1990 Volkswagen Cabriolet as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.