Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||||
| 004 | 11/09/2004 | 10011567 | Engine coolant temperature (ect) sensor. *tc | 01/26/2005 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - RADIATOR ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 0402 | 04/15/2004 | 10007297 | Radiator fan damaged caused by improperly supporting the radiator assembly when repairs require the radiator to be pivoted forward. *tt | 06/09/2004 | |
| VJ | 04/01/2004 | 10007004 | The radiator fans can be damaged if the proper tool is not used to hold the radiator assembly in the service position. service action to alert service personnel by affixing a radiator fan service position warning label in the engine compar | 05/21/2004 | |
| 0401 | 02/06/2004 | 10006055 | Radiator fan damaged caused by improperly supporting the radiator assembly when repairs require the radiator to be tipped forward. *tt | 04/13/2004 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| 0409 | 05/10/2004 | 10007711 | Evaluating fuel mixture diagnostic trouble codes- how to perform effective diagnosis related to fuel system adaptation - system too rich/too lean. volkswagen. *mj | 07/08/2004 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM | |||||
| 2015831 | 08/28/2008 | 10026848 | Volkswagen: exhaust heat shield, replacement guidelines. heat shields are to be inspected after completion o any type of repair to the underbody (exhaust system transmission, etc.), and if damaged, replaced. *pe | 12/29/2008 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - FAN | ||||||
| EA08002 | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC | 01/04/2008 | 03/14/2008 | ENGINE COOLING FAN BLADE FRACTURE | ||
| The subject vehicles are built on a volkswagen eurovan chassis and are class c motor homes. on september 5, 2007, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened this investigation as rq 07-002 after receiving four consumer reports of fan blade failure on model year 2002 winnebago rialta and vista vehicles.as a result of additional information received from volkswagen in response to rq 07-002, the investigation was upgraded to engineering analysis (ea) 08-002.the scope of the ea investigation was also expanded to cover model years 2001 through 2004 rialta and vista, 2002 through 2004 sunstar, and 2001 through 2003 eurovan.all of these vehicles utilize the same engine cooling fan.however, the winnebago vehicles are larger and heavier than the eurovan.as a consequence, the cooling fan would operate more frequently in the winnebago vehicles compared to the eurovan for the same on-road operating conditions.analysis of the available data concerning the problem experience indicates that it predominately affects the my 2002 winnebago models.winnebago accounts for 79% of all the reports, but represents only 23% of the total subject vehicle population.the majority of the winnebago reports are for the model year 2002 (64%).the data show a declining report trend, particularly for the 2002 winnebago.reports on the 2002 winnebago reached a high of 11 reports in calendar year 2005, dropping to three reports in 2006,two reports in 2007, and one report in 2008.an existing safety related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. | ||||||
| RQ07002 | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC | 09/05/2007 | 01/04/2008 | ENGINE COOLING FAN BLADE FRACTURE | ||
| The office of defects investigation (odi) opened this investigation based on four reportsalleging failure of an engine cooling fan in the subject vehicles.three of the complainants alleged the fan disintegrated and two of the three alleged the radiator was damaged as a result.the fourth complainant alleged that his vehicle experienced violent shaking and overheating.when the vehicle was inspected, it was noted that pieces of the fan were missing.all four vehicles were class c motor homes built on a volkswagen eurovan chassis.two of the vehicles are rialta models and two are vista models.based onadditional information received from volkswagen odi is upgrading this investigation toengineering analysis ea 08-002 for further study. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 07/28/2009 | 61000 | 1 | |
| I traveling approximately 25 mph, the steering wheel and engine compartment of my 2002 vw eurovan began to shake violently. an inspection revealed that a piece of one of the of the two radiator fans was missing. the missing piece did not go through the radiator. *tr | |||
| 01/03/2008 | 1 | 04/03/2002 | |
| I was driving my 2002 vw eurovan over a causeway going approximately 55 mph. a warning light flashed several times then went off. i believe it was a coolant light. then a strange thump, thump, thump noise came from under the hood followed by smoke. smelled like burning rubber and sounded like a belt breaking. i pulled off as soon as possible (another minute or 2) and car died as i coasted off the ramp. i opened the hood, but couldn't see past the black plastic engine cover and didn't know how to remove it. after several phone calls, about 10 - 15 minutes later, smoke started billowing from under hood. my children and i dashed away from vehicle and stood by and watched it burn. car was in good repair. i have no idea what happened. but it is toasted like a marshmallow. *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - FAN | |||
| 01/14/2010 | 73300 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen euro van. whenever the contact drove the vehicle at 35 mph the engine overheated. the vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact was informed that the engine fan blades broke. the current and failure mileages were 73300. | |||
| 08/15/2007 | 112000 | 1 | 03/01/2002 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen eurovan. the contact noticed vibration in the steering wheel and heard a noise coming from the engine compartment. the failures would occur only when the engine was running. the cooling fan failed, but the vehicle did not overheat. the speed was unknown. the current and failure mileages were 112,000. | |||
| 07/12/2007 | 21000 | 1 | 07/26/2002 |
| While traveling on a uphill paved road grade around 11 am going at a slow speed, approximately 25 mph and the blade on the cooling fan on the 2002 volkswagen eurovan broke off. fan was unbalanced and began to violently shake. engine was turned off and the fan still continued to run violently shaking the van, finally stopped and in about 5 minutes the fan turned on again violently shaking the van. rialta has a recall for the same volkswagen problem with fan blades separating from cooling fan. nhtsa recall. 04v107000/volkswagen recall no. wb nhtsa case number pe0315 opened on april 2003 and closed august 2003. what was the final out come of the investigation? this is a on going safety issue, there are other cases posted on yahoo web site. volkswagen issue fan warning labels (label was issued a few years ago, when i asked for date of issue vw did not have any date on record! i received this label a few years ago.) to be affixed to the engine compartment warning of fan blade hazards. label states do not prop anything against radiator fan, push against them in any other way. a damaged radiator fan could break when turning at high speed and cuase seroius personal injury. see repair manual . contacted vw corporate ,, case number has been filed) and dan wilder port angles was where van was purchased. van was still under power train warrantly 5 yrs and 60,000 miles. neither would tell me if fan was covered by warranty. fan has not been repaired yet. *ak | |||
| 05/24/2007 | 15500 | 1 | 10/30/2002 |
| Radiator fan blade exploded/partially disintegrated without warning. vin wv3ab47022h042859 had only 16000 miles on it, and no work has been done to the engine to disturb the fan blade. *tr | |||
| 01/16/2004 | 15000 | 12 | 04/24/2002 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen eurovan. while driving at 30 mph the vehicle stalled. the contact stated that this failure occurred on several occasions. also, the contact stated that the generator and battery indicators remained illuminated on the instrument panel. on february 23, 2006, the engine fan was repaired on the vehicle and cost the contact $977. the dealer stated that the contact needed to pay an additional $92 for the diagnostics of the generator. the contact was issued case # 60034264 by the manufacturer. the current mileage is 37,000 and failure mileage was 15,000.*ak | |||
| 08/15/2005 | 45000 | 1 | 08/15/2002 |
| Radiator cooling fan disintegrated and destroyed radiator. *jb | |||
| 07/03/2006 | 64300 | 1 | 05/16/2002 |
| Radiator fans disintegrated while driving and made a hole in radiator. this is a vw eurovan 2002, and there was a recall on this for model years 1998-2000. vw has refused to include mine in the recall. the repair cost $2060. *nm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 07/11/2007 | 52000 | 1 | 06/15/2001 |
| We just experienced a expensive ($4500) problem with the volkswagen eurovan/winnebago rialta. actually the problem was relatively minor but became major because of the vw engineering. a sprocket that part of the camshaft chain drive assembly was worn to the point that it was almost completely rounded. this caused the timing chain to jump. the warranty is 50,000 miles. the problem started at 52, 000 miles. i had it repaired at 55,000 miles. a little research on the web shows it to be a known problem. the sprocket apparently was not properly hardened on a few of the vr-6 engines. the abnormal wear started from the day the engine was assembled but took 52,000 miles to show-up. a description of the problem with photos can be viewed on my web page at: http://www.reesphotos.com/vw/vw.htm *jb | |||