NHTSA Complaint #10559681 — 2010 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN

MY 2010 TIGUAN HAS EXPERIENCED A COUPLE OF SIGNIFICANT ISSUES DUE TO DESIGN - ONE A BURNED FUSE BOX AND TWO A MAJOR WATER LEAK INSIDE THE RIGHT FRONT PASSENGER FLOORBOARD. BOTH ISSUES STEM FROM DESIGN AND NOT WEAR AND TEAR. BOTH REPAIRS WERE COSTLY - $561 AND $753. I HAVE RECEIVED A SAFETY RECALL 97Z9 FROM VW FOR A FUSE ISSUE AND WILL BE WAITING ON A RESPONSE. I'VE ALSO SUBMITTED AN INQUIRY TO VW ASKING ABOUT PLANS TO REVIEW THE DRAIN HOSE ISSUE. HAD I NOT INVESTIGATED THE STRONG DAMP SMELL IN THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE I WOULD NOT HAVE FOUND THE SATURATED FLOORBOARD AND I DO MEAN SOAKING WET. BOTH DRAIN HOSES WERE FOUND TO HAVE SMALL LEAKS AND THE ROUTE OF THE HOSES DUMPS RIGHT INTO THE CABIN - AGAIN THIS IS NOT A WEAR AND TEAR ISSUE - IT'S A DESIGN/PRODUCT ISSUE. AS A PRECAUTION THE DEALER RECOMMENDED THAT I HAVE ALL OF THE HOSES REPLACED TO PREVENT FUTURE WATER DAMAGE. I'VE SEEN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER VW OWNERS ABOUT THE DRAIN HOSES BEING DEFECTIVE SO THIS APPEARS TO BE A LARGER ISSUE THAN JUST A FEW VEHICLES. THANK YOU. *TR