Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM | ||||||
| EA98012 | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC | 05/27/1998 | 11/20/1998 | HEATER CORE REPTURE | 98V295000 | |
| Heater core allegedly ruptures and releases hot coolant into the vehicle interior, resulting in impaired visibility and potential burn injuries to occupants. | ||||||
| PE98006 | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC | 02/05/1998 | 05/27/1998 | HEATER CORE RUPTURE | ||
| Heater core allegedly ruptures and releases hot coolant into the vehicle interior, resulting in impaired visibility and potential burn injuries to occupants. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM | |||
| 04/04/2000 | 1 | 04/01/2000 | |
| While driving at 30mph steam came out thru vents (no visivility) and hot coolant came in from behind the dashboard burning me and my wife's feet, impairing vehicle control, almost causing an accident due to hot water and lack of visibility. according to vw a recall was performed to prevent this from happening on july 30, 1999 and the vehicle had 63,376 miles on it at the time. now the vehicle has 68,505 miles. *ak | |||
| 03/23/1999 | 1 | 08/01/1997 | |
| No summary listed for this vehicle. *ak | |||
| 07/01/1998 | 1 | 11/01/1997 | |
| Heater core failed while car was in motion; driver and passenger received severe burns to feet and legs, and an accident was narrowly avoided. | |||
| VISIBILITY - DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM - WINDSHIELD - HEATER CORE | |||
| 04/07/2003 | 1 | ||
| The temperature gauge flashed. the consumer heard a noise, and at that point the vehicle's cabin became filled with steam and hot radiator fluid was on the floor board. it was determined the heater core failed. *nlm | |||
| 09/13/2002 | |||
| Heater core recall repairs done. 1 year later it broke, causing radiator fluid to leak and front windshield to steam up.*ak | |||
| 06/01/2000 | 1 | 09/01/2094 | |
| Recall work performed and failure immediately occurred. ruptured heater core repaired, but car is unsafe to drive due to coolant fumes. dealer refuses to fix recall 98v295000. *ak | |||
| 06/15/2002 | 1 | 03/01/2096 | |
| My heater core failed spilling radiator fluid into the passenger compartment and vapor through the hvac system.. i have been told this is a part that consistantly failed in my type of vehicle and am hoping that the manufacturer of the vehicle will be responsable and replace the part as a recall issue.*ak | |||
| 08/24/2001 | 1 | ||
| Heater core located behind ventilation system blew up, hot coolant hit vent and white smoke and coolant entered into vehicle, chemicals were very strong. took vehicle to dealer ,and they will replace heater core, consumer indicated that he could have been injuried, because liquid was hot,consumer was temporarily blinded by white smoke.*ak consumer stated the dealer finally replaced the heater core after numerous complaints.*slc | |||
| 12/15/1996 | 2 | 06/01/1995 | |
| Ignition switch and the heater were repair with used parts and still failed. *ak | |||
| Heater core has malfunctioned, causing hot fluids to enter into passenger's compartment from vent which caused windows to steam up. also, consumer mentioned recall 98v295000. consumer not sure if this vehicle was subject to recall. please provide any further details. *ak | |||
| 11/23/1998 | 1 | 12/04/1993 | |
| Heater core failed causing steam to enter vents of vehicle. | |||
| 10/25/1999 | 0 | 03/01/1993 | |
| Heater core leaked into passenger's compartment and steamed up the interior of the car. this caused the consumer to nearly be burned even after recall repairs were done. took to dealer in response to a recall letter to install coolant pressure throttle unit, and did a check on coolant system. this was suppose to prevent the problem from happening. *ak | |||
| 04/06/1998 | 1 | 07/15/1996 | |
| Heater core failed, causing windows to fog up, affecting driver's visibility. | |||
| 08/28/1998 | 1 | 07/28/1998 | |
| Vehicle overheated due to a heater core failure and released a large amount of steam, water and coolant into the occupant compartment of the vehicle. | |||
| 08/05/1998 | |||
| Heating core failed. | |||
| 06/30/1998 | 1 | 08/01/1992 | |
| While driving in the city, under normal conditions, on an 80 degree sunny day, with normal engine temperature the heater core ruptured, spilling scalding coolant onto driver's feet and causing steam to poor from vents. | |||
| 01/01/1997 | 6 | 02/01/1994 | |
| Heater core already replaced once. car on third water pump, also second of coolant hoses after they blew up.coolant being forced from expansion tank every day. vehicle does not appear to be overheating, just too much pressure in cooling system. numerous attempts to fix problem at various vw dealerships has got nowhere with problem. voa says there is no recall that they know of, even after i provided them with nhtsa campaign number 98v295000. please help! *ak | |||
| 07/01/1997 | 1 | 06/01/1992 | |
| Heater core failed causing steam to come through the vent into the passenger compartment. | |||
| 03/13/1997 | 1 | 02/01/1992 | |
| Heater core failed causing fumes to enter vehicle. | |||
| 06/01/1998 | 1 | 07/01/1997 | |
| When the heater core malfunctioned during driving hot coolant and smoke came in through vents and underneath the dashboard near feet. also coolant was spilling underneath hood. all meters including digital mileage meter were wet. impossible to drive afterwards due to heavy overheating. | |||
| 1 | |||
| Heater core failed. | |||
| 05/31/1997 | 1 | 01/31/1996 | |
| While driving a large quantity of smoke came out from dashboard, defroster and vent openings causing severe visual problems, due to failure of the heater core. | |||
| 05/31/1997 | 05/15/1997 | ||
| Front heater core failed. | |||
| 07/03/1998 | 09/15/1997 | ||
| Heater core failed, causing hot coolant to spray into engine compartment on driver's feet. | |||
| 06/01/1993 | |||
| No summary | |||
| 05/21/1998 | 1 | 06/01/1993 | |
| Heater core failed and the vehicle filled with steam and hot water poured into the interior. | |||
| 01/01/1998 | 1 | 08/01/1993 | |
| Heater core ruptured. | |||
| 02/02/1998 | 1 | 10/13/1997 | |
| Heater core failed causing hot scalding coolant to shoot out of vents causing loss of control of vehicle. | |||
| 12/14/1997 | 1 | 07/24/1997 | |
| Heater core failed, causing hot engine coolant to spill over onto driver's feet. | |||
| 12/10/1997 | 12/11/1992 | ||
| Heater core brokke off, causing very hot steam to come out of all vents. all wiindows were fogged up while driving in rusj hour traffic, impairing visibility. *ak | |||
| 05/30/1997 | 01/29/1996 | ||
| Heater core malfunctioned, causing steam to pour out of the dashboard vents, obstructing visibility. *ak | |||
| VISIBILITY - REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES - EXTERIOR | |||
| 06/01/2001 | 1 | 03/01/1997 | |
| Fog lights overheat. vwoa has refused hella oem fog light replacement design. heated outside rear view mirror delaminates.*ak | |||
| 05/31/1996 | 1 | ||
| Side view mirrors have accumulated condensation on inside, causing poor visibility. | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD | |||
| 1) imperfection on front windshield, making drivers vision blurry. 2) headlights don't provide enough illumination. please describe details. *ak | |||