NHTSA Complaint #10056641 — 1993 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT

WHILE DRIVING AT ROUGHLY 25 MPH, HEATER CORE FAILED. INTERIOR OF VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY BEGAN FILLING WITH FOUL SMELLING DENSE SMOKE, AND WINDOWS BECAME COATED WITH A FILM. DRIVER QUICKLY PULLED OFF THE ROAD, WHICH FORTUNATELY WAS EASY AS WE WERE IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD. DRIVER AND PASSENGERS BELIEVED THE ENGINE WAS ON FIRE, AS THE TRUE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT IMMEDIATELY KNOWN. WE QUICKLY EVACUATED ALL 4 PASSENGERS, INCLUDING A 5 YEAR OLD CHILD WHO WAS STRAPPED IN A CAR SEAT. THIS WAS A TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE. WE HAD EXITED A BUSY FREEWAY LESS THAN 1 MINUTE BEFORE. IF THIS FAILURE HAD OCCURRED WHILE WE WERE STILL ON THE FREEWAY, WE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PULL OFF THE ROAD SAFELY PRIOR TO THE DRIVER'S VISION BEING COMPLETELY IMPAIRED. THIS COULD HAVE PROVED DISASTROUS. AFTER THE ISSUE WAS IDENTIFIED, AND WE BEGAN TO DO SOME RESEARCH, WE WERE VERY UPSET TO FIND THAT THIS APPEARS TO BE A RECURRING PROBLEM WITH OUR VEHICLE. WE WERE ALSO STUNNED TO READ THE COMPLAINT SUMMARIES ON THE NHTSA SITE WHICH NOTED THAT SOME DRIVERS/PASSENGERS WERE INJURED BY HOT STEAM/COOLANT LEAKING INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. IT IS AMAZING THAT A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN OR RECALL HAS NOT YET BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS PROBLEM. AS OF THE TIME THIS COMPLAINT IS BEING FILED, WE ARE ALSO DRAFTING A LETTER TO VOLKSWAGEN TO URGE THEM TO ADDRESS THIS FAILURE. A FAILURE THAT CAN CAUSE TOTAL LOSS OF VISIBILITY IN A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME, AND THEREFORE LOSS OF CONTROL OF A VEHICLE, SHOULD BE CONSIDERED EXTREMELY SERIOUS. WE STRONGLY URGE THE NHTSA TO TAKE APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO ENSURE THAT THIS FAILURE IS ADDRESSED.*AK