2010 Volkswagen Routan

I AM WRITING TO ADDRESS A SAFETY ISSUE I HAVE WITH MY VEHICLE, A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN ROUTAN. MY HUSBAND AND I PURCHASED THIS CAR LAST YEAR AND SHORTLY AFTER ITS PURCHASE STARTED TO EXPERIENCE ELECTRICAL ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE. THESE ISSUES INCLUDED WARNING LIGHTS ON THE DASH ILLUMINATING, POWER FAILURES OF THE DASH BOARD GAUGES (SPECIFICALLY THE SPEED GAUGE) AND RADIO, AND MOST ALARMINGLY THE CAR WOULD COMPLETELY STALL AND LOSE POWER. THIS ISSUE OF LOSING POWER TO THE ENTIRE CAR HAS HAPPENED BOTH WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION AND WHILE IT HAS BEEN STOPPED AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS, AS WELL AS AT HIGH AND LOW SPEEDS. WE TOOK THE CAR TO A LOCAL VW DEALERSHIP HOPING THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE ISSUE AND FIX IT. AFTER NEARLY 3 WEEKS OF HAVING DIFFERENT PARTS REPLACED, BEING TOLD THE ISSUE WAS SOLVED IT WAS NOT. WHEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE WITH ONLY THE KEY IN THE IGNITION IT PERFORMS BETTER, ALTHOUGH STILL DIES OCCASIONALLY, BUT WITH ANYTHING ON THE KEYRING IT WILL DIE ALMOST INSTANTLY. IT WASN'T UNTIL AFTER REMOVING OUR CAR FROM THIS DEALERSHIP THAT WE LEARNED ABOUT A RECALL ON THE VW ROUTANS THAT SEEMED VERY SIMILAR TO THE ISSUES WE WERE EXPERIENCING. UPON RESEARCH WE DISCOVERED THAT OUR VEHICLE WAS PRODUCED WITHIN THE SAME MONTH OF THE RECALLED VEHICLES BUT APPARENTLY NOT BEFORE THE ENDING DATE OF THAT RECALL. SO OTHER VW DEALERSHIPS WOULD BE HAPPY TO REPLACE THE MALFUNCTIONING PART BUT AT AN OUT OF POCKET COST FOR US, WHICH WE SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE BILL WE ARE STILL WORKING TO PAY FOR OTHER UNNECESSARY WORK. AS A CONSUMER IT IS VERY FRUSTRATING TO HAVE A VEHICLE THAT IS CLEARLY DEMONSTRATING THE SAME ISSUES AS PREVIOUSLY RECALLED VEHICLES BUT DOES NOT FALL UNDER THAT RECALL. WE HAVE REDUCED TO ONLY DRIVING THIS VEHICLE AS NECESSARY AND NO LONGER USE IT TO TRANSPORT OUR TWO YOUNG CHILDREN AS WE FEAR GREATLY FOR THEIR SAFETY.

WHILE DRIVING IN LOW GEARS (2ND, 3RD) CAR WILL STALL OUT. POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES NO LONGER FUNCTIONING, MAKING THE CARE VERY DIFFICULT TO MANUEVER. THIS IS ESPECIALLY SCARY WHILE DRIVING IN SNOW/ICE. MAKING WITH EVEN MORE DANGEROUS IS STALLING WHILE ON BACK ROADS OR CURVES, IF I'M STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, ANOTHER CAR MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO STOP AND RUN INTO ME. JERKING MOVEMENTS ARE ALSO OCCURING WHEN DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS WHEN NOT ACCELERATING, LIKE CAR IS GOING TO STALL. VIN IS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL, BUT IT IS THE SAME PROBLEM THAT WAS RECALLED ON OTHER 2010 ROUTANS.

MY VEHICLE IS EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM AS OTHER VEHICLES OF THE SAME YEAR THAT RECEIVED A RECALL. THE CAR JUST SHUTS OFF, LOSES POWER AND ALL STEERING, BRAKING AND SO ON. IT MAKES THE VEHICLE VERY DANGEROUS. THE OTHER VEHICLES IN THIS YEAR ALL HAD BAD IGNITION SWITCHES BUT VW REFUSES TO INCLUDE MY VEHICLE AND OTHERS LIKE IT OF THE SAME MODEL YEAR THAT HAVE THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. I BELIEVE THAT THEY NEED TO EXPAND THIS RECALL TO INCLUDE MORE VEHICLES OF THE 2010 MODEL. THE VEHICLE IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE AND IS SCARY WHEN IT JUST CUTS OUT ON YOU WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING 30-40 MPH PLUS.

MY MINI-VAN SHUT OFF/ STALLED WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON THE ROAD. EVERY TIME IT STALLED I WAS DRIVING SLOWLY THROUGH CONSTRUCTION ZONE OR IN FRONT OF A LIGHT WHERE I HAD TO PRESSED THE BRAKE TO STOP THE CAR FOR OVER 30 SECONDS. I SEND IT TO VW SERVICE FOR REPAIR BUT NO PROBLEM WAS FOUND. I AM TOO SCARED TO DRIVE THE CAR BECAUSE I NEVER KNOW WHEN ITS THE NEXT TIME IT WILL STALL AGAIN WHILE I AM DRIVING ON THE ROAD.

ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS STARTING IN MARCH 2015, MY 2010 VW ROUTAN (MANUFACTURED IN JULY 2010 BY CHRYSLER) SIMPLY SHUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE. WHEN THIS OCCURS, I HAVE NO ENGINE POWER, NO POWER STEERING AND NO POWER BRAKES AND AM CONCERNED ABOUT PERSONAL SAFETY. I BOUGHT THE VAN NEW IN SEPTEMBER 2010 FOR MY WIFE, BUT NO LONGER ALLOW HER TO DRIVE IT AS I AM AFRAID IT WILL SHUT DOWN ON HER (IT REQUIRES A BIT OF ARM STRENGTH TO PULL THE VEHICLE OVER AND HOPEFULLY I AM NOT REAR-ENDED BEFORE BEING ABLE TO DO SO). I UNDERSTAND THERE IS NOW A RECALL ON THE IGNITION FOR 2010 ROUTANS, BUT MY VIN DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WITHIN THE WINDOW INDICATED FOR THE RECALL EVEN THOUGH THE DATE OF MANUFACTURE IS WITHIN THE WINDOW. I AM NOT SURE IF THE IGNITION SWITCH IS THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM, BUT THE SYMPTOMS SOUND SIMILAR. ALSO, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I TURN THE IGNITION KEY TO START THE MOTOR BUT IT WILL NOT ACTUALLY ENGAGE THE STARTER. THE RADIO WILL COME ON, BUT THERE IS NO IMPACT ON THE STARTER. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS WHILE SITTING THERE, I CAN GET THE SWITCH TO ACTUALLY WORK. I LOVE THE VAN, BUT HAVE BECOME SCARED OF THESE ISSUES. IF THE VAN EVER SHUTS DOWN WHEN I AM ON THE HIGHWAY, THE SPEEDS WILL BE TREACHEROUS. I HAVE SEARCHED THE INTERNET AND FOUND OTHERS WITH SIMILAR COMPLAINTS. I VERY MUCH SEE THIS AS A SAFETY CONCERN AND WANT YOU TO BE AWARE OF THESE ISSUES. I SINCERELY APPRECIATE ANY ASSISTANCE YOU CAN PROVIDE. *TR

I JUST ENTERED THE EXPRESSWAY. THE ENGINE STARTED REVVING BETWEEN 5-6 RPMS, AND THE CAR WAS GOING 40. I NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE BACK OF THE CAR, SO I WENT TO THE NEXT EXIT (2 BLOCKS) AND GOT OFF THE EXPRESSWAY. THE CAR WAS SMOKING. A PASSERBY TOLD ME TO GET OUT OF THE CAR BECAUSE OF THE SMOKE AND LIQUID POURING OUT OF THE CAR. I THEN HAD TO CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT BECAUSE VW'S ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE WOULDN'T COME UNTIL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CLEARED THE CAR TO BE TOWED. FINALLY, IT WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY DETERMINED THAT IT WAS BROKEN HEATER HOSES AND WATER PIPES. HAD I BEEN IN THE FAST LANE WHEN THIS HAPPENED, A SERIOUS CRASH COULD HAVE OCCURRED, AS THE SMOKE AND REVVING BEGAN SO SUDDENLY, AS DID THE SLOW CAR SPEED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN ROUTON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE ENGINE WOULD SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS EXHIBITING THE SAME FAILURES AS MENTIONED IN RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 11V151000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). HOWEVER, THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 77,000.

WHILE DRIVING MY CAR, ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS NOW, THE ENGINE HAS SHUT OFF. THE CAR REMAINS ON BUT THE GAS AND STEERING DO NOT WORK. THE MOST RECENT TIME I HAD TO QUICKLY PULL TO THE SIDE AS I WAS DRIVING 35MPH. I SEE THAT THERE WAS A RECALL FOR OUR MAKE AND MODEL BUT WHEN WE'RE CALLING VW, THEY ARE SAYING IT DID NOT EFFECT MY SPECIFIC VEHICLE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN ROUTAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE STARTED VIBRATING AND THE SPEED FLUCTUATED INDEPENDENTLY. ALSO, THE VEHICLE STARTED TO JERK AND THE CONTACT LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A FAULTY SENSOR. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.