10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
64,432 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2011 Volkswagen Routan electrical problems

electrical problem

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2011 Volkswagen Routan Owner Comments (Page 3 of 6)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #70

Nov 242017

Routan

  • 89,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Tipm module. My 2011 VW Routan was built by Chrysler with the same parts as any other Chrysler car at that time. Chrysler issued a recall for all vehicles made with this particular part as it is a life threatening issue. Most importantly the car will stop in the middle of driving! imagine going down the freeway doing 70mph with your kids in the car and the car shuts off. Fortunately we were only driving in a parking lot. Because the car is branded as a VW, chrysyler refuses to replace the recalled part which I was quoted at $1300 from the dealership and VW says it is a Chrysler part and issue. This thin gray line is costing people thousands of dollars and possibly even lives.

- Girard, OH, USA

problem #69

Nov 272017

Routan

  • miles
Recently the van has given me trouble upon startup. The problem is intermittent. Sometimes, it would start fine. Other times, it would take multiple attempts to start the vehicle. Other times, the vehicle would start, then immediately turn itself off. Sometimes, it would be like there wasn't enough charge to turn the starter, and other times, when it would start then die, it felt like it was running out of gas, my van only has 42,000 miles on it. After much research, I discovered that the totally integrated power module is the culprit of these issues. Specifically, it is the fuel pump relay that can intermittently not turn on, or turn off randomly. It is a well-known issue with these vans and its Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler town N country, upon which the VW Routan is based. Fca has stepped up to the plate, and issued a recall on many of its vehicles for faulty tipm's. VW has issued a service bulletin identifying the problem but has yet to recall or fix the cars, instead the consumer has to shell out $300 to $1500 for the repair of a known faulty equipment. Why were these parts used knowing the history? there is another website with thousand of similar complaints:

- Newtown, PA, USA

problem #68

Sep 202017

Routan

  • 85,000 miles
I have 2011 VW van which first the van start giving hard time to start. Now I have new battery and the battery still got drained and I have to give it a jump every day just to start. When I turn the van off I keep hearing the fuel pump running and that what drain my battery

- Woodridge, IL, USA

problem #67

Nov 012017

Routan

  • 103,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My children and I were stationary at a light when the van started sputtering. When the light turned green I accelerated. Within 5 minutes the van cut off. I have a full tank of gas. This now happens often and I never know where or when it will cut off. Most days it will not start. I have had a VW mechanic take a look and they advised its the fuel pump relay same that was recalled on the Dodge and Jeep vehicles. Because this is the same one but in VW body

- Clover, SC, USA

problem #66

Oct 092017

Routan

  • 100,000 miles
Van occasionally does not start. Have to let it sit and attempt over and over. Seems to be getting worse, but all major components that help the vehicle start are fine, I believe has something to do with the electrical system. Worried it's going to leave my wife and kids stranded somewhere. Feeling upsafe. Heard there has been some recalls for the Chrysler version of this van, why not VW?

- Lewis Center, OH, USA

problem #65

Sep 282017

Routan

  • 114,000 miles
While driving approximately 35 to 40mph on a busy road en route to get on the highway, my Routan shut off. The engine shut off, the steering wheel locked up, and the car came to a stop. Luckily I was able to pull off the road. I turned the key to the off position after putting the car in park and the car cranked back up shortly after. I drove it slowly home approximately 10 miles. Both of my young children (10 months and 5years) were in the vehicle. After getting home I began to research and found that this problem lead to a recall of win modules for 2009 and 2010 Routans. My vehicle is not covered under the current recall despite having the same issue. I have found that numerous other Routan drivers have had this same issue in their 2011 vehicles. We cannot afford to have this repaired and I fear for the safety of my children and our family should we drive this car.

- Lexington, NC, USA

problem #64

Sep 112017

Routan

  • 59,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

No acceleration up hills. Car cranked but didn't turn over engine, randomly. Almost stalled out on the highway during storm by using headlights, wipers, A/C all at once. I had to turn off headlights, wipers and A/C (that kept windshield from fogging) in order to keep from stalling out on the highway with three kids in the car. While driving in neighborhoods (5 mph-25 mph) the car would sputter and jerk forward. I was told the cars trouble could be just water in the gas and so we poured a solution that would clean the gas tank of impurities, if only it was that simple. While driving on the highway using cruise control, the cruise suddenly stopped working, cruise light stayed on but the car just physically slowed down. Our family is scared to get into our vehicle for safety reasons and right now it's our only means of transportation. The tire sensor also has been on constantly and fixed 3 times only to light up 20 minutes later after leaving the VW service department. The sliding passenger door window is having electrical problems and we only used it 5 times from 2011-2017. We paid to have the fuel pump and the tipm sensor replaced last week which cost us approx. $1800 and replaced front brake pads and rotors because our rotors had gouges in them. We replaced a car battery in 2016, while we were on vacation, the car would start and it locked the key in the ignition and wouldn't give it back.

- Fayetteville, NC, USA

problem #63

Sep 142017

Routan

  • 104,000 miles
The car will not start up the engine no matter how long I crank. Battery and starter seem ok. The problem has no warning on the dashboard whatsoever.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #62

Sep 012017

Routan

  • 101,000 miles
Car will not start, though the starter is engaged. Similar problem in neutral or park.

- Orem, UT, USA

problem #61

Aug 312017

Routan

  • 80,000 miles
Tipm needs a recall. Van is difficult to start and sometimes shuts off while you're driving. Dealership will tell you it's the fuel pump and change you $1100 to fix it only for the problem to persist even after the costly repair has been made. Chrysler has recalled the tipm (this is a Chrysler/mopar part) but because the tipm requires the VW firmware, Volkswagen is refusing to issue a recall. The first time this happened to me, Volkswagen tools me it was a software upgrade but now the issue is happening again. I've almost crashed on multiple occasions because the van has shut off while the van was in motion. It is not the fuel pump.

- Pooler, GA, USA

problem #60

Jul 012017

Routan

  • 77,700 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Routan. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would suddenly begin to jerk and decelerate before stalling. The failure had occurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to gene langan VW located in raspberry, Connecticut who diagnosed that the power control module was faulty and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 77,700.

- Manchester, CT, USA

problem #59

Aug 122017

Routan

  • 61,000 miles
Battery blew

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #58

Jul 072017

Routan

  • 79,000 miles
Car won't start. Low charge, lights not working, horn not working, over heating. First it happaned while parked and then while driving.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #57

Jun 262017

Routan 6-cyl

  • 65,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Routan. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start when the ignition was turned. The contact had to turn the ignition key several times in order for the vehicle to start. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer (ourisman Volkswagen Mazda in rockville, md), but the cause of the failure could not be diagnosed. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled without warning. The contact returned the vehicle to the dealer but the cause of the failure could not be identified. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened case number: 170810911. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000. Updated 08/22/17

- Gaithersburg, MD, USA

problem #56

May 222017

Routan

  • 59,000 miles
Engine hard started for a couple of weeks, then it died while my wife was driving in our neighborhood. Mechanic said it was an issue with the fuel pump relay and rigged a bypass in the fuse box. All seemed to be working ok, but then the car died again about months later. Next time we started it, the dash lit up with all kinds of warning lights, the radio power went out, and the A/C was not working. We'll see if it is the same issue or another. The fuel pump relay in the tipm, according to account on internet forums, is a faulty part and has been recalled in other Dodge/Chrysler vehicles, but not the VW Routan (which is a Caravan/Town & Country clone for the most part). There are many complaints of this part being defective and people losing power while driving and it is a huge safety concern.

- Oakley, CA, USA

problem #55

May 152017

Routan

  • 115,000 miles
The van was my mothers which she passed away about year ago. I inherited the van I drive it for couple months when I noticed that sometimes when I would try to start it that it wouldn't start. It would only make a clicking noise. I would turn key off & try it again it would start. Then in month or so I noticed that when I would be driving 55-70 mph that it would like stall. It wouldn't shift down or accelerate. I would have to pull over & restart it. It began doing that quite often until one night I was driving down the road & went to turn in somewhere when it died & wouldn't start back. My husband had to come pull me home. We have researched what it was doing & a lot of people has had this happen to them. They claim it's a $1200 tpim board. The VW Routan is Chrysler made under the hood. Chrysler is aware of this dangerous problem & has already issued a recall but VW said they wasn't going to recall it. They are aware of it too. I feel as if someone is going to get hurt if this isn't addressed because a lot of people have said that they would be driving down road at 70mph & it just dies which mean that they don't have any power steering. Please do something before someone gets hurt. I have kids & I would've hated for us to be on the interstate when that happened. Luckily I was in town & no kids was with me. Thank you!!

- Hopkinsville, KY, USA

problem #54

Apr 242017

Routan

  • 42,000 miles
The vehicle is difficult to start and stops running about 10 seconds. The vehicle was stationary. I have read on the internet that the same make/model vehicle quit running while driving. This is a severe safety issue.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #53

Mar 132017

Routan

  • 100,000 miles
I have a Volkswagen Routan 2011 built by Chrysler in a Canada factory. This vehicle is shutting off when drive on the freeway. The gears and sreering locks up while driving. The vehicle also has electrical issues the lights turn on and off even when the car is off. After purchasing a new battery and alternator the car in the morning will not start. The battery is dead and drained. With nothing on it intermittently has a dead battery and shuts of after starting the car. When I call the Volkswagen dealer in stockton ca to explain the service guy hung up on my husband and I and stated it's not a recall. We explain that thousands are having the same issue and it's recorded and all over you tube. We are having the same ignition switch issues or possible tipm issues.

- Stockton, CA, USA

problem #52

Mar 202017

Routan

  • 98,000 miles
Vehicle tipm is faulty, makes the car hard to turn on and in other cases stall when stopped at lights or stop signs

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #51

Dec 192016

Routan

  • 45,126 miles
Integrated body control/ECU:tipm module malfunction.

- Arlington, TX, USA

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