Consumer Complaint Detail

VOLKSWAGEN / PASSAT / 2003

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
Yes Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 006086772 Incident Date: Nov, 24 2006
Consumer's City: OCONOMOWOC Consumer's State: WI
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Model Name: PASSAT Model Year: 2003
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: Yes Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: Date added to File: May, 23 2021
Date Complaint Received: Nov, 27 2006 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: -
Was Original Owner: Yes Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 4 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: My driver seat started on fire while driving. i was lucky to have had a can of soda on hand to pour on it because the flames were coming from deep inside the interior of the foam padding inside the seat. i was not injured, but based on the size of the flames, could have easily lost my entire car if i had not been on a slow road (able to stop quickly) and douse it with something wet. i noticed that the seat warmer was on so immediately shut it off. several days later i turned the warmer back on to see what would happen - within 60 seconds smoke and sparks were visible from the hole caused by the original fire. there were real flames and my car was full of smoke. had i not been able to put them out quickly and had my children strapped into their car seats at the time this complaint would probably be a death notice. *jb