This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I own a 2000 VW Golf which I purchased brand new from a VW dealer. In January of 2007 I had to replace the driver side seat airbag and wiring harness for a cost a little over $600. On 7/14/2008 my airbag light came on again. I need to have the main driver side air bag and wiring harness replaced. My car has never been in an accident, yet this is the second airbag I've replaced. I was told by the dealership, if I do not replace the airbag, it may not deploy if I am in an accident, or it could deploy when I am just driving down the road. I feel as though an airbag should last the lifetime of the vehicle, or only need to be replaced when it is actually deployed.
Airbag warning light stays illuminated. Dealer stated that car was out warranty and I must pay $102 to have it looked at and maybe more to have it fixed. Dealer stated there was a new policy against fixing even safety defects out of warrenty unless customer pays. Car has 36.000 miles on it. Never in an accident. Dealer warned it must be fixed or airbag will not deploy.
Took car to dealer because airbag light indicator on dashboard was lit- was told by technician the airbag ignitor would need to be replaced for $300. Despite the expiration of the warranty, this cost of the repair should be covered by manufacturer/dealer since this is a manufacturer defect.
1. passenger front window drops down in door. Has happened twice. There were four other people at the dealer for the same problem at the same time I was there. I was told it was an "Arizona" problem and that the part that holds the window up melts and breaks. I was driving down the highway when my window fell down causing me to become distracted by the incident and nearly causing an accident. 2. air bag light went on for no reason. Cost tom me was $618 to replace a faulty airbag and wiring harness. I believe that should be covered even out of warranty since there is nothing I could have possibly done to cause the airbag to become defective. 3. cruise control disengages when the right turn signal is applied. This happened for months unti the cruise control went out completely. I have heard this failure is due to a ribbon cable which gets broken in the steering column. My first one broke just before the 24K warranty expired. The second one broke on schedule at about 50K. This is very dangerous since if you pas someone with the cruise control on and then use your turn signal to get back over the cruise is deactivated causing the car to abruptly slow down in front of the car you were trying to pass.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Somerville, MA, USA