I was accelerating from a red light when the hose from the cooling system exploded. My van lurched forward and died. I had purchased an extended warranty but was told they would not cover it. I had to pay over $600 to get the hose fixed. This is just the beginning of many problems.

- Victoeville, CA, USA

During the first month of purchase of my 2009 VW Routan I experienced problems with the rear sliding doors. At first it was getting them to open an close an went to the point of the door trying to open while car was in motion. I have had the car in for multiple problems like I have gone through 26qrts of oil in the last 9 months an they have supposedly fixed it 4 times now. The rear sliding doors are a whole other issue, I have had the car in for this issue atleast 12-15 times an 5-6 of those times was during the first year of ownership. My most recent time of having it in the VW service dept was about 6 wks ago an nothing was resolved after it being there for a week. I did not know of the lemon law or I would have talked to a lawyer then. There has to be something that someone can do to help consumers with this vehicle. I cant keep worrying about the door opening while my children are in the car an I am driving the dealership an VW customer care have been made well aware of the issues an have done nothing but tell me to bring it to the service dept where nothing is done.

- Alsip, IL, USA

Engine shutdown-resulting in loss of steering. During normal driving speed between 15-25 mph, engine shuts down (quits running) during turns (either direction). Male driver of vehicle is retired law enforcement, trained in emergency procedures, during failure it takes extreme effort to maintain physical control of vehicle to bring to a stop. Vehicle will not restart when shifting to neutral while moving, ignition is on when failure occurs. Vehicle can be restarted after stopping and placing in park. Can reoccur without warning. Vehicle has been at Volkswagen dealership for a total of three weeks as of this report. First diagnosis is vehicle ESC system (trouble code for faulty switch). No result. Failed again. Second trouble code indicates problem in dash assembly - waiting for parts expect another 6-10 days for repairs to start. Additional. Writers spouse lost control on 2/24 - into ditch lost a tire. Further incidents of engine shutdown over a period of two weeks during which vehicle has been in dealership for analysis until this last 3 week period. Again - during turns. The engine will shut off - no power with lost of steering control- in turns - living in West Virginia - it is a serious safety problem.

- West Union, WV, USA

2009 Volkswagen Routan. 1) normal vehicle, 22000 miles, put away in attached garage at night. Bedrooms above garage. 2) before going to bed I checked to be sure garage door was closed. I found vehicle in garage running. 3) vehicle has remote start key. Key should only activate pushing first door lock button and then remote start button twice. Checking system I found only pushing remote start button will start the vehicle unlocked. This is a possible deadly incident as carbon monoxide would undoubtedly have killed my whole family as we slept had I not been thorough in checking the garage door. A child could push the bottom or it can be pushed inadvertently in a pocket or if something were set on it. I know this now we are safe but other people are bound to encounter this incident.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA