Total Complaints
12 filings
VOLKSWAGEN CABRIOLET · model year
12 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1987VOLKSWAGENCABRIOLET carries 12 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1987 CABRIOLET is fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly with 8 filings, followed by visibility:windshield wiper/washer (1) and structure:frame and members (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 37 investigation files overlapping the 1987 CABRIOLET, and 2 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
12 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY | 8 |
| VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER | 1 |
| STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS | 1 |
| VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM:HEATER CORE | 1 |
| STEERING | 1 |
1 NORMAL DRIVING 2 LOWER BEARING OF THE STEERING COLUMN FALLS FROM BEARING RACE, CREATES HAZARDOUS STEERING 3 A PLASTIC BEARING RETAINER IS THE FACTORY REPLACEMENT AND THIS BRAKES CAUSING THE FAILURE. REPLACEMENT DOES NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. *TR
VEHICLE EXPERIENCED THE SAME DEFECT WITH ITS FUEL TANK AS STATED IN RECALL # 94V065000; BUT, THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL DUE TO VIN. *AK
Mileage: 170,000
WHILE DRIVING AND WITH NO WARNING FUEL TANK CRACKED, CAUSING FLUID TO LEAK. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK *JB
I HAVE HEARD THAT THE FUEL TANKS ON THESE VEHICLES HAD A RECALL. *AK
THE HEATER CORE EXPLODED ONTO THE CONSUMERS LEGS, THE CONSUMER SUSTAINED BURNS TO BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT CALVES, DUE TO THE PAIN OF THE HOT STEAM THE CONSUMER WAS FORCED OUT OF THE VEHICLE WHILE IT WAS STILL MOVING AS A RESULT THE VEHICLE HIT A CONCRETE EMBANKMENT (ATTORNEY FOR CLIENT). NLM
CONSUMER HAD FOUND A CRACK ON FUEL TANK AFTER SMELLING FUEL, AND FUEL WAS LEAKING FROM TANK. TANK HAD TO BE REPAIRED. CURRENTLY, CONSUMER HAD FOUND OUT ABOUT RECALL 94V065000 WHICH DEALT WITH THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM. *AK
UNABLE TO DRIVE AUTOMOBILE BECAUSE GAS RAN OUT OF THE VEHICLE, AND SPILLED ALL OVER THE MANIFOLD. *AK
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). I WOULD NOT BE QUESTIONING VW OF AMERICA ON THIS BUT I PROBABLY WENT THROUGH 6 PEOPLE BEFORE I FOUND ONE INDIVIDUAL WHO AGREED THAT THIS SHOULD BE FIXED UNDER A RECALL NOTICE ON THE FUEL TANK. IT SEEMS I NEED TO REACH A CERTAIN LEVEL OF PERSONNEL BEFORE ANY ACTION THAT IS SATISFACTORY IS DONE. THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY ASSISTANCE.....
THE FRONT A ARM HAS TENDENCY TO BECOME WEAKENED AND DEVELOP A CRACK ON A POOR WELD SEAM UNDERNEATH THE CAR
THE FRONT A ARM HAS TENDENCY TO BECOME WEAKENED AND DEVELOP A CRACK ON A POOR WELD SEAM UNDERNEATH THE CAR
THE FUEL TANK HAS BEEN REPAIRED TWICE BECAUSE OF LEAKAGE. ONCE IN APRIL OF 97 AND ONCE IN AUGUST OF 97. THE FUEL TANK IS BEING REPLACED AGAIN BECAUSE OF SAME PROBLEM. *AK
RECALL REPAIRS FOR FUEL TANK LEAKAGE REFUSED SINCE VEHICLE WA SPREVIOUSLY INSPECTED AND NO DEFECTS WERE FOUND 41/2 YEARS AGO (94V-065). *AK
Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
Inadvertent Door Opening
Fuel Leak due to Suction Jet Pump Failure within Fuel Tank (Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 16V647)
Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
LGES High Voltage Battery Failures
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.