NHTSA Complaint #10585581 — 2011 VOLKSWAGEN ROUTAN

MY 2011 ROUTAN SUDDENLY LOST POWER WHILE I, WITH MY KID ON BOARD, WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY IN MARCH 2014. CAN YOU IMAGINE A VEHICLE STOPPING IN A FLOW OF VEHICLES AT 70+ MPH? ALL LIGHTS WERE ON. I MANAGED TO RESTART THE ENGINE AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE BUT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS STILL ON. THE DEALERSHIP FROM WHOM I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE "REPAIRED" IT AND TOLD ME THAT "EVERYTHING IS FINE" BY HAVING A BRAND-NEW SET OF WIRING. A MONTH LATER, THE SAME LIFE-THREATENING ISSUE HAPPENED AGAIN WHILE I WAS DRIVING. THIS TIME, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND I COULD NOT ROTATE THE STEERING WHEEL AT ALL. NOW THE VEHICLE IS AGAIN WITH THE DEALERSHIP FOR DIAGNOSIS. AS A MATTER OF FACT, ABOUT HALF A YEAR AGO BEFORE THESE LOSSES OF POWER HAPPENED, I EXPERIENCED ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE. THE ACCELERATION WAS NOT VERY RESPONSIVE. THAT IS, WHEN I HIT THE GAS PEDAL, THE VEHICLE INITIALLY DID NOT ACCELERATE AT ALL AND AFTER 2-3 SECONDS, IT SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. THIS REALLY FRIGHTENED ME AS I TRIED TO CHANGE LANES. NOW I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE WITH THIS VEHICLE AT ALL. I AM DEEPLY WORRIED THAT EVEN IF THE VEHICLE IS "REPAIRED" THIS TIME, I AND MY FAMILY COULD GET INJURED OR KILLED BY HAVING A CAR THAT RANDOMLY SHUTS OFF IN THE MIDST A STREAM OF FAST-MOVING VEHICLES. THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE SHOULD BE BANNED FROM THE ROAD FOR THE SAFETY OF INNOCENT PEOPLE. *JS