NHTSA Complaint #10899389 — 2010 VOLKSWAGEN ROUTAN

I AM WRITING TO ADDRESS A SAFETY ISSUE I HAVE WITH MY VEHICLE, A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN ROUTAN. MY HUSBAND AND I PURCHASED THIS CAR LAST YEAR AND SHORTLY AFTER ITS PURCHASE STARTED TO EXPERIENCE ELECTRICAL ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE. THESE ISSUES INCLUDED WARNING LIGHTS ON THE DASH ILLUMINATING, POWER FAILURES OF THE DASH BOARD GAUGES (SPECIFICALLY THE SPEED GAUGE) AND RADIO, AND MOST ALARMINGLY THE CAR WOULD COMPLETELY STALL AND LOSE POWER. THIS ISSUE OF LOSING POWER TO THE ENTIRE CAR HAS HAPPENED BOTH WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION AND WHILE IT HAS BEEN STOPPED AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS, AS WELL AS AT HIGH AND LOW SPEEDS. WE TOOK THE CAR TO A LOCAL VW DEALERSHIP HOPING THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE ISSUE AND FIX IT. AFTER NEARLY 3 WEEKS OF HAVING DIFFERENT PARTS REPLACED, BEING TOLD THE ISSUE WAS SOLVED IT WAS NOT. WHEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE WITH ONLY THE KEY IN THE IGNITION IT PERFORMS BETTER, ALTHOUGH STILL DIES OCCASIONALLY, BUT WITH ANYTHING ON THE KEYRING IT WILL DIE ALMOST INSTANTLY. IT WASN'T UNTIL AFTER REMOVING OUR CAR FROM THIS DEALERSHIP THAT WE LEARNED ABOUT A RECALL ON THE VW ROUTANS THAT SEEMED VERY SIMILAR TO THE ISSUES WE WERE EXPERIENCING. UPON RESEARCH WE DISCOVERED THAT OUR VEHICLE WAS PRODUCED WITHIN THE SAME MONTH OF THE RECALLED VEHICLES BUT APPARENTLY NOT BEFORE THE ENDING DATE OF THAT RECALL. SO OTHER VW DEALERSHIPS WOULD BE HAPPY TO REPLACE THE MALFUNCTIONING PART BUT AT AN OUT OF POCKET COST FOR US, WHICH WE SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE BILL WE ARE STILL WORKING TO PAY FOR OTHER UNNECESSARY WORK. AS A CONSUMER IT IS VERY FRUSTRATING TO HAVE A VEHICLE THAT IS CLEARLY DEMONSTRATING THE SAME ISSUES AS PREVIOUSLY RECALLED VEHICLES BUT DOES NOT FALL UNDER THAT RECALL. WE HAVE REDUCED TO ONLY DRIVING THIS VEHICLE AS NECESSARY AND NO LONGER USE IT TO TRANSPORT OUR TWO YOUNG CHILDREN AS WE FEAR GREATLY FOR THEIR SAFETY.