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2008 VOLKSWAGEN RABBIT — EXTERIOR LIGHTING

fire · 750992 · 2010-01-04

Vehicle

Make
VOLKSWAGEN
Model
RABBIT
Year
2008
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Component
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Miles at failure
50,000

Severity

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

Narrative

I OWN A 2008 VOLKSWAGEN RABBIT, 2 DOOR MODEL. THIS VEHICLE HAS AN AUXILIARY POWER PLUG (12V CIGARETTE LIGHTER TYPE) INSIDE THE TRUNK. IN ORDER TO OPERATE THE POWER PLUG, THE IGNITION SWITCH MUST BE IN THE "ON" POSITION (WITH THE CAR ENGINE OFF). I REVERSED INTO A PARKING LOT OPENING THE HATCH AND PROCEEDED TO USE THE AUXILIARY POWER PLUG IN THE TRUNK WITH THE HATCH OPEN (REVERSE LIGHTS ARE IN THE HATCH). ONCE I GOT HOME, I NOTICED THAT BOTH REVERSE LIGHTS HAD MELTED AND WERE DESTROYED, IT WOULD APPEAR HAS IF A FIRE TOOK PLACE INSIDE THE LIGHT HOUSING, ALTHOUGH I CANNOT ATTEST TO THAT SINCE I DID NOT NOTICED WHEN THE LIGHTS MELTED. OBVIOUSLY VOLKSWAGEN HAS CHOSEN A POOR MATERIAL FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE REVERSE TAIL LAMPS. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY REFUSED TO SEE THIS AS AN ISSUE, I ALSO CONTACTED VW REGIONAL SUPERVISOR AND ALSO THE VW NORTH AMERICA CUSTOMER SERVICE HOTLINE AND THEIR RESPONSE WAS THAT I SHOULD NOT LET THE LIGHTS RUN SO LONG ("?!") I HAD TO PURCHASE BOTH SETS OF LIGHTS AND REPLACE THEM. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10297987
Machine
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