← NHTSA complaints

1996 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA — VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM:HEATER CORE

1 injured · 575862 · 2006-03-15

Vehicle

Make
VOLKSWAGEN
Model
JETTA
Year
1996
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Component
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM:HEATER CORE
Miles at failure
114,500
Speed
65 mph

Severity

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

Narrative

ON JANUARY 12, 2006, AS I WAS DRIVING MY CAR AT 65 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY AN OPAQUE WHITE GAS WAS QUICKLY RELEASED FROM MY HEATER VENTS AND WITHIN SECONDS EFFECTIVELY TURNED THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT OF MY CAR INTO A GAS CHAMBER. THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE INCREASED AFTER I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY REMOVE THE VEHICLE OF THE HIGHWAY. MY CAR WAS SOLD WITH A PERMANENT MAINTENANCE FREE PINK VW ANTIFREEZE. THE DOCUMENTATION THAT CAME WITH THE CAR INDICATED THAT OTHER THAN TOPPING OFF THE ANTIFREEZE PERIODICALLY THAT NO MAINTENANCE WAS NECESSARY. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT MY HEATER CORE FAILED; THE DEALER SAYS IT FAILED BECAUSE OF LACK OF MAINTENANCE. IF THE SYSTEM IS MAINTENANCE FREE THEN HOW CAN A COMPONENT FAIL BECAUSE OF LACK OF MAINTENANCE? I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN VANDALIZED, BUT THE DEALER DIFFERED. I WAS UNABLE TO FIND ANY WARNINGS OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THIS OCCURRING IN SERVICE BULLETINS OR ANY OTHER VW LITERATURE. IF THE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF A HEATER CORE IS POSSIBLE DOESN'T THE MANUFACTURE HAVE A DUTY TO WARN THE PURCHASERS OF ITS PRODUCTS? *NM

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10152770
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown