Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.
A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.
Exact model-level NHTSA results for 1990 VOLKSWAGEN CABRIOLET. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.
01
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 1992-04-14
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
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.
Consequence
INTERFERENCE WITH THE FREE MOVEMENT OF THE ACCELERATORLINKAGE COULD RESULT IN UNWANTED ACCELERATION WHICH MAY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.
Remedy
INSTALL REINFORCEMENT BRACKET TO SECURE SEPARATOR PANEL.
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.
Consequence
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.
A CRACK CAN DEVELOP IN THE FUEL TANK ADJACENT TO A SEAM WELD IN THE REAR OF THE TANK.
Consequence
FUEL CAN LEAK FROM THE CRACKED FUEL TANK WHICH COULDCATCH FIRE IN THE PRESENCE OF A SOURCE OF IGNITION.
Remedy
CHECK VEHICLE WITH A SPECIALLY DESIGNED TOOL FOR THE PRESENCE OF A FUEL TANK CRACK, AND REPLACE FUEL TANK IF DEFECT IS FOUND.
02 · Owner allegations
10 NHTSA complaints
Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.
Crash mentions
0
Fire mentions
0
Injuries reported
0
Most-reported component labels
AIR BAGS6
FUEL SYSTEM3
GASOLINE3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING1
EQUIPMENT1
Complaints across nearby Volkswagen CABRIOLET model years
Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.
An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM · Associated recall campaign 92V050000.
04 · EPA configurations
Fuel economy & specifications
FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.
EPA configurations
2
Combined economy
23–25 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
21–22 / 26–29 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
1.8 L
Cylinders
4
Fuel type
Regular
Drive
Front-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Minicompact Cars
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$2600–2800
05 · Evidence strength
Exact identity. Explicit limits.
No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.
exact match
Recall campaigns
4 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.
exact match
Complaints
10 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.
exact match
ODI investigations
1 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.
canonical only
Model aliases
Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.
not published
Manufacturer ownership
No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.
PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT
Identity, freshness and provenance.
The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.
Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.
06 · Research paths
Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.
These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.
6 complaint labels
AIR BAGS
Check recalls and diagnostic information before replacing anything.
Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.