1993 Volkswagen Passat

WHILE DRIVING AT ROUGHLY 25 MPH, HEATER CORE FAILED. INTERIOR OF VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY BEGAN FILLING WITH FOUL SMELLING DENSE SMOKE, AND WINDOWS BECAME COATED WITH A FILM. DRIVER QUICKLY PULLED OFF THE ROAD, WHICH FORTUNATELY WAS EASY AS WE WERE IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD. DRIVER AND PASSENGERS BELIEVED THE ENGINE WAS ON FIRE, AS THE TRUE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT IMMEDIATELY KNOWN. WE QUICKLY EVACUATED ALL 4 PASSENGERS, INCLUDING A 5 YEAR OLD CHILD WHO WAS STRAPPED IN A CAR SEAT. THIS WAS A TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE. WE HAD EXITED A BUSY FREEWAY LESS THAN 1 MINUTE BEFORE. IF THIS FAILURE HAD OCCURRED WHILE WE WERE STILL ON THE FREEWAY, WE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PULL OFF THE ROAD SAFELY PRIOR TO THE DRIVER'S VISION BEING COMPLETELY IMPAIRED. THIS COULD HAVE PROVED DISASTROUS. AFTER THE ISSUE WAS IDENTIFIED, AND WE BEGAN TO DO SOME RESEARCH, WE WERE VERY UPSET TO FIND THAT THIS APPEARS TO BE A RECURRING PROBLEM WITH OUR VEHICLE. WE WERE ALSO STUNNED TO READ THE COMPLAINT SUMMARIES ON THE NHTSA SITE WHICH NOTED THAT SOME DRIVERS/PASSENGERS WERE INJURED BY HOT STEAM/COOLANT LEAKING INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. IT IS AMAZING THAT A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN OR RECALL HAS NOT YET BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS PROBLEM. AS OF THE TIME THIS COMPLAINT IS BEING FILED, WE ARE ALSO DRAFTING A LETTER TO VOLKSWAGEN TO URGE THEM TO ADDRESS THIS FAILURE. A FAILURE THAT CAN CAUSE TOTAL LOSS OF VISIBILITY IN A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME, AND THEREFORE LOSS OF CONTROL OF A VEHICLE, SHOULD BE CONSIDERED EXTREMELY SERIOUS. WE STRONGLY URGE THE NHTSA TO TAKE APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO ENSURE THAT THIS FAILURE IS ADDRESSED.*AK

AFTER DRIVING FROM CT TO WASH, D.C., I WAS PARKING MY 1993 VW PASSAT. I HEARD A "POP" SOUND, AND IN < 5 SECONDS, THE CAR FILLED WITH ANTIFREEZE STEAM & SCALDING ANTIFREEZE POURED INTO THE DRIVER SIDE COMPARTMENT. AS THE CAR WAS NEARLY PARKED, WE WERE ABLE TO JUMP OUT OF THE CAR. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE WHEATON SERVICE CENTER IN WHEATON, MD. VIA PHONE, THE MECHANICS IMMEDIATELY SUSPECTED THE HEATER CORE. IRONICALLY, THERE WAS ANOTHER 1993 PASSAT GETTING FIXED FOR THE SAME PROBLEM WHEN I GOT THERE. ONCE INVESTIGATED, MY HEATER CORE HAD CRACKED. THEY NOTED THAT THIS WAS A RECURRING PROBLEM IN VWS. I CALLED THE VW CONSUMER CARE LINE. AFTER LENGTHY NEGOTIATION, VW AGREED TO REIMBURSE ME FOR THE $788 REPAIR, IF I BROUGHT THE BROKEN PART AND THE NEW PART'S PACKAGING TO THE CAR'S HOME DEALERSHIP, RIVERSIDE MOTORS, IN CT. I WAS REIMBURSED SEVERAL MONTHS LATER, AFTER WEEKLY FOLLOW UP PHONE CALLS TO "REMIND" VW OF THEIR REIMBURSEMENT COMMITTMENT. I AM UPSET AND CONCERNED ABOUT THIS MATTER FOR SEVERAL REASONS: 1) I BOUGHT THE CAR USED IN 1998. THE ONLY ISSUE WITH THE CAR WAS THAT THE WINDOWS TENDED TO "FOG UP", PARTICULARLY WHEN THE A/C OR HEAT WAS ON, WHICH HAD BEEN LOGGED AT SERVICE VISITS. AT NO TIME WAS THE HEATER CORE LOOKED AT. BUT, THERE ARE NUMEROUS HEATER CORE AND "DEFOGGING" CONSUMER COMPLAINTS. FURTHER, I BEGAN THE REVIEW OF COMPLAINTS AFTER LISTENING TO A RECENT NPR CAR TALK SHOW, B/C THEY REFERENCED THE PROBLEM WITH VW HEATER CORES. WHAT IS CONSPICUOUSLY MISSING IS A SAFTEY BULLETIN FOR THIS KNOWN PROBLEM. 2) AS MANY OF THE COMPLAINTS NOTED, (SEE OID ID 755858 FOR EXAMPLE), THEY COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED OR SERIOUSLY INJURED, AS WAS THE CASE FOR ME. 30 MINUTES EARLIER & I WOULD HAVE BEEN DRIVING 65MPH ON THE HIGHWAY. WHILE I UNDERSTAND THAT EVERY COMPLAINT CANNONT BE INVESTIGATED, THIS IS A FAILURE THAT CAN RESULT IN A LIFE-OR-DEATH SITUATION. I EXPECT THAT YOU WILL INVESTIGATE THIS PROBLEM FURTHER, AND AT MINIMUM ISSUE A SAFETY BULLETIN.

THE POWER WINDOWS OPERATE BY THEMSELVES-NEED TO PULL FUSE TO STOP THIS, BUT THEN THEY ARE NOT OPERABLE AT ALL--THIS COULD BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS IN TERMS OF ESCAPE FROM VEHICLE, AND IS VERY INCONVENIENT FROM A VENTILATION STAND POINT. THE ENGINE STALLS WHEN CORNERING AND BRAKING, CREATING VERY DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. *JB ***DIMSII IVOQ ENTRY POSTED AFTER 12/12/02 CUT-OVER TO ARTEMIS****760759

THE HEATER COIL BLEW AND CAUSED THE CAR TO RAPIDLY FILL UP WITH STEAM TO THE POINT THAT DRIVER WAS UNABLE TO SEE OUT ANY WINDOWS. DRIVER WAS TRAVELING IN THE FAST LANE OF INERSTATE 285 IN THE ATLANTA AREA AND AMAZINGLY WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND JUMP OUT WITHOUT BEING KILLED. THIS FAILURE OF THE HEATER COIL AND SUBSEQUENT RELEASE OF STEAM INTO THE VEHICLE IS CERTAINLY A SAFETY HAZARD THAT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN THE DEATH OF THE DRIVER.

WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, STEAM AND HOT ENGINE COOLANT FLUIDS STARTED COMING OUT OF VENTILATION SYSTEM, BURNING DRIVERS FEET AND LEGS, AND REDUCING VISIBILITY OUT OF VEHICLE. DEALERSHIP EXAMINED VEHICLE AND MADE REPAIRS TO HEATER CORE. THEN ON AUGUST 2, 2001, AIR CONDITIONING STARTED MAKING A STRANGE NOISE, AND STARTED PRODUCING STEAM AND HOT FLUIDS FROM THE VENTILATION AGAIN. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/ATTACHMENTS.*AK