2009 VOLKSWAGEN RABBIT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 62 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (16 complaints · 25.8%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 6
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 2
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2008 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SERVICE BRAKES appears in 16 of 62 owner complaints (25.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 16 complaints, 25.8% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 16 · 25.8% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 9 complaints, 14.5% of reports STEERING 9 · 14.5% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 6.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 · 6.5% POWER TRAIN: 4 complaints, 6.5% of reports POWER TRAIN 4 · 6.5% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 3 complaints, 4.8% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 · 4.8% AIR BAGS: 2 complaints, 3.2% of reports AIR BAGS 2 · 3.2% · 2 crash reports ENGINE: 2 complaints, 3.2% of reports ENGINE 2 · 3.2% · 1 crash reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 1 complaints, 1.6% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 · 1.6% · 1 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 1.6% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 1 · 1.6% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 23 complaints, 37.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 23 · 37.1% · 3 crash reports 1 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SERVICE BRAKES 16 25.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 9 14.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 6.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 4 6.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 2 3.2% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 2 3.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 1 1.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 23 37.1% 3 crashes · 1 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2009; the first recall shown was reported in Dec 2010. 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2016-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2017-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2017-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2009 Jan 2025 Recall campaign 10V621000 ◆ Recall campaign 10V621000 Recall campaign 16V913000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V913000
  • Campaign 10V621000 was reported 274 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 2
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 3
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 6
2016-Q4 Owner reports 6
2017-Q1 Owner reports 6
2017-Q2 Owner reports 3
2017-Q3 Owner reports 4
2017-Q4 Owner reports 3
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 2
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 2
2019-Q2 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q4 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 2
2021-Q1 Owner reports 3
2022-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q4 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 2
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 10V621000
Recall campaign 1 16V913000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 10V621000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    IF CHAFING OCCURS, THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A FUEL LEAK TO DEVELOP. FUEL LEAKAGE, IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND IF NECESSARY REPLACE THE UNDERHOOD FUEL LINE. ADDITIONALLY, DEPENDING ON THE VEHICLE MODEL, DEALERS WILL EITHER REMOVE THE PLASTIC TAB FROM THE WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID RESERVOIR, OR INSPECT THE POSITION OF THE FASTENING CLAMP AND ADJUST THE RELATED FASTENING CLAMP INTO THE CORRECT POSITION. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 31, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VOLKSWAGEN AT 1-800-822-8987.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V913000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    A loss of vehicle control can increase the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the ABS control module software to improve the module's self-testing abilities. Any module that fails the new diagnostic test will be replaced. These repairs will be made free of charge. The recall began February 2017. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 62 complaints · page 1 of 3

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources