NHTSA Complaint #10544805 — 2011 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN

MULTIPLE ELECTRICAL ITEMS WERE REPORTED AS FAILING BY THE VEHICLE INFORMATION CENTER (LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT, BACKUP LIGHT, SIDE MARKER LIGHT, FOG LIGHT, THIRD BRAKE LIGHT, ETC.) AND CONFIRMED BY PERFORMING A WALK AROUND OF THE VEHICLE. AN ONLINE SEARCH PROVIDED INFORMATION RELATING TO SIMILAR ISSUES FOR OTHER VW OWNERS. THE ISSUE WAS A FUSE, LOCATED IN A FUSE BLOCK UNDER THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE, THAT HAD MELTED ON ONE SIDE OF THE FUSE ENOUGH TO TEAR THE FUSE LINK FROM THE FUSE BLADE. THE FUSE WAS REMOVED, HOWEVER, ENOUGH DAMAGE HAS BEEN SUFFERED BY THE FUSE SOCKET THAT A NEW FUSE CANNOT BE INSERTED. A NEW FUSE BLOCK ASSEMBLY WILL BE REQUIRED TO REPAIR THIS ISSUE. THERE IS CLEARLY AN UNDERLYING ISSUE WITH THE FUSE BLOCK DESIGN. OVERHEATING OF THE FUSE BLADE, CAUSED BY A POOR CONNECTION, IS DESTROYING THE FUSE BODY AND SOCKET. THIS ISSUE CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS IF THE LIGHTING COMPONENTS ARE RENDERED USELESS WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT.