← NHTSA complaints

1998 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:INTERIOR/UNDER DASH

fire · 529852 · 2005-04-06

Vehicle

Make
VOLKSWAGEN
Model
BEETLE
Year
1998
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:INTERIOR/UNDER DASH
Miles at failure
58,650
Speed
60 mph

Severity

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

Narrative

I OWN A 1998 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE. ABOUT A YEAR AGO THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED AND I WAS LOCKED IN MY CAR. FORTUNATELY I WAS ABLE TO GET OUT USING A NEW REMOTE I HAD JUST PURCHASED.*AK SECONDLY, TWO DAYS AGO I WAS DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE, IT WAS WARM, AND I TURNED ON THE FAN. IT IMMEDIATELY STARTED BLOWING 'HIGH' AND WOULDN'T TURN OFF. WITHIN A MINUTE THE DASHBOARD BEGAN SMOKING AND THERE WAS A DISTINCT ELETRICAL SMELL. I STOPPED, RAISED THE HOOD AND THERE WAS NO FIRE. THE FAN STUCK IN THE 'HIGH' POSITION AND CAUSED A FIRE WHICH 'TOTALLED' THE CAR. THE DASH AND SEATS MELTED AND THE FRONT WINDSHIELD BROKE OUT FROM THE FLAMES.

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10116492
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown