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2000 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE — VISIBILITY:GLASS, SIDE/REAR

1 injured · 385141 · 2002-12-05

Vehicle

Make
VOLKSWAGEN
Model
BEETLE
Year
2000
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Component
VISIBILITY:GLASS, SIDE/REAR

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

MY HUSBAND WAS INSTALLING THE BABY SEAT INTO THE BACK SEAT OF OUR CAR IN PREPARATION FOR BRINGING OUR NEWBORN SON FROM THE HOSPITAL ON A COLD RAINY EVENING. WHEN HE TURNED THE REAR-WINDOW DEFOGGER ON. THE REAR WINDOW OF THE CAR EXPLODED INTO SMALL FRAGMENTS OF FLYING SHRAPNEL WHICH SPATTERED ALL OVER THE BACK SEAT AND BABY SEAT. MY HUSBAND SUSTAINED MINOR CUTS ON HIS HANDS AND HEAD. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED THE NEXT DAY, WHEN WE WERE TO BRING MY SON HOME. HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN BLINDED AND BADLY LACERATED OR MUCH WORSE. THE ENTIRE BACK OF THE CAR WAS SOAKED DUE TO THE DRIVING RAIN. BEFORE MY HUSBAND GOT THE CAR INTO A GARAGE, SIGNIFICANT WATER DAMAGE WAS DONE TO THE ENTIRE BACK PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. I CONTACTED VW TO PAY FOR OUR DEDUCTIBLE AND REIMBURSE US FOR THE WATER DAMAGE, AND THEIR ONLY ANSWER WAS THAT THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTEE AND THAT THEY WILL NOT HELP US. I MENTIONED THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE INJURIES WHICH COULD HAVE HAPPENED HAD MY SON BEEN IN HIS REAR FACING BABY SEAT WHEN THE GLASS SHATTERED. THEY WEREN'T EVEN INTERESTED IN TAKING THE INFORMATION DOWN. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENT, A MR. BRANDON CURTIS, SEEMED WILLING TO HELP, BUT IT SEEMS HIS SUPERVISOR OVERRULED HIM. I HOPE WE CAN FIND A WAY TO GET VW TO PAY FOR OUR EXPENSES, BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT IS VITAL TO MAKE SURE THIS NEVER HAPPENS TO ANYONE WHILE THERE IS A CHILD OR INFANT ON THAT BACK SEAT. DT

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
770494
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown