There are 2 stored owner reports matching the brakes leading-label group for the 2007 Volkswagen Beetle in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 2 of 2 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)TRAVELING ON THE DC CAPITAL BELTWAY, TRAFFIC SLOWED DUE TO A CAR PULLED OVER. I ENGAGED THE BRAKES AND HAD A HARD PEDAL WITH NO BRAKING ACTION AT ALL. I POPPED THE TRANSMISSION INTO NEUTRAL AND WAS UNABLE TO GET ANY BRAKING ACTION. I SWERVED TO MISS THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME AND CLIPPED THE REAR OF THE CAR TO MY RIGHT. I FIRMLY HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE THE ENTIRE TIME AND NEVER FELT ANY SENSATION OF ANY BRAKING FORCE. I WENT ON SOME NEW BEETLE FORUMS AFTER THE ACCIDENT AND WAS ABLE TO FIND SEVERAL STRINGS DESCRIBING EXACTLY WHAT HAPPEN. IT APPEARS THAT WHEN A SPLIT OCCURS IN THE VACUUM HOSE TO THE POWER BRAKE BOOSTER, IF THE BRAKE IS ENGAGED IN NORMAL SERVICE, THERE IS NO ISSUE HOWEVER IF YOU JAB THE BRAKES SUCH AS IN A PANIC STOP ONE GETS A HARD PEDAL AND NO STOPPING POWER. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION DUE TO THE BRAKES FAILING AT THE MOST EXACT TIME WHEN THEY ARE NEEDED WITH NO PREWARNING. *TR
BRAKES HAVE FAILED THREE SEPARATE TIMES ON MY VW NEW BEETLE. THE BRAKE BOOSTER HAS BEEN REPLACED THREE TIMES AND THE MASTER CYLINDER ONCE! THE CAR IS EXACTLY 23 MONTHS OLD AND HAS A TOTAL OF 8,300 MILES. FIRST FAILURE AT 2201MILES 2ND FAILURE AT 3800MILES AND 3RD FAILURE AT 8,200 MILES. ITS A DEATH MACHINE!! *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.