While driving our minivan at approximately 80km/h and approaching an intersection with a stop sign, the engine completely shut down midway through the braking procedure requiring extra effort to steer and stop the vehicle so that it wouldn't enter the intersection.

The typical dash warning lights were not displayed and it appeared as though I had turned the engine off myself. When placing the transmission into neutral and attempting to start the engine, it had difficulty starting allowing the engine to turn over several seconds longer than usual before the engine started up.

The long crank / hard start continued throughout the day nearly each time we restarted the vehicle while completing our errands.

The problems with this minivan have been continuous over the last seven months, despite having communicated with Volkswagen Group Canada for the last two months, we are still having difficulties getting this safety issue resolved.

While we haven't been able to properly test, I believe the issue may lie with the ongoing Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM) and a faulty fuel pump relay switch that has plagued several Chrysler Group LLC vehicles.

If you are in Canada, please report the problem to Transport Canada as it is a safety issue.

If your minivan is within the last five model years and under 160,000km, you can register a complaint with the Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan (CAMVAP) who provides some support for problematic vehicles when the manufacturer refuses to support the product.