NHTSA Complaint #10445020 — 2012 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

DROVE THE VEHICLE HOME FROM WORK FRIDAY 1/13, WEATHER WAS BELOW FREEZING CAUSING ICE BUILD UP. PARKED THE VEHICLE IN MY GARAGE ~45 DEGREES. ICE BEGAN MELT, AND WHEN TRYING TO START THE VEHICLE SATURDAY AFTERNOON IT TURNED 1/4 TURN AND THE ENGINE STOPPED. MY ASSUMPTION IS THAT THE ENGINE INHALED WATER CAUSING A HYDRO-LOCK, I CONTINUED TO TRY TO START THE VEHICLE A TOTAL 5 TIMES (IT TURNED OVER ONCE AND RAN EXTREMELY ROUGH AND DIED ONCE). THE LAST TIME TRYING TO START THE VEHICLE I SMELLED SMOKE, I POPPED THE HOOD TO FIND THE STARTER AND WIRING ON FIRE. I WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE RELATIVELY QUICKLY, CONSIDERING THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN MY GARAGE ATTACHED TO MY HOUSE THIS COULD HAVE EXTREMELY CATASTROPHIC IF I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET THE FIRE OUT. *** THIS IS THE SECOND TIME FOR THE HARD / NO START PROBLEM, THIS ONE HOWEVER RESULTED IN THE FIRE. VOLKSWAGEN WILL NOT FOLLOW THE BELOW TSB SINCE THE VEHICLE STARTED AFTER WIRING AND STARTER REPLACEMENT. ISSUE MIRRORS TSB # 21 11 06 / 2025464, WHICH INCLUDES ENGINE WILL NOT TURN OVER, "DEAD BATTERY" STARTER ACTION (DUE TO HYDRAULIC RESISTANCE IN CYLINDER), AND STARTER/ELECTRICAL FIRES (DUE TO STARTER OVERHEATING DURING ATTEMPTS TO START LOCKED ENGINE). *TR