Got this van in August of 2017. I really love this van. The power, handling and the leather interior are the best for any minivan, but soon after I got it I started having an intermittent "glitches" 1. An intermittent cam shaft sensor circuit error that would come and go, with the check engine light going on and off. The sensor was replaced twice by the dealer and the wiring to the sensor checked, but it continues. 2. At random on start up the wipers sometimes cycle without being turned on. 3. By far the most annoying, it started to click but not turn over when I tried to start it, even though the battery is new and all accessories work. This is intermittent too, but there seems to be no pattern to it other than it seems to be getting worse. Today for the first time it did it twice, and the second time it took maybe 30 tries over 10 minutes before it started. I have read about many issues on the Chrysler site. Many seem to attribute it to the TIPM. It has never failed to star eventually, but I am getting nervous that it will not restart someday, and I cant afford to spend $1200 on a new TIPM!

My 2011 Volkswagen Routan should be included in this list, because it was made by Chrysler. It has had starting issues intermittently over the past two years. Eventually, the vehicle would start. A few days ago its went dead and would not even jump.I went to dealership they replaced spark plugs , scanned vehicle for DTC's and advised to monitor concern.The problem persists. This time I took a car to another place - my friend's mechanic and he discovered that the problem was TIPM. I really hope this class action goes thru and a recall occurs!

I wanted a Volkswagen for as long as I can remember. As a tween, I used to marvel at the power and speed of the Scirocco whenever my friend’s college age brother offered us a lift. I learned to drive on a first generation (American) Golf, drove cross country in a ’68 VW Bus and suffered disappointed glances from other young men as they pulled up next to me in my sister’s cute (but powerful) white Cabriolet convertible. As I grew older and considered purchasing my own vehicle, I longed for the freedom of the open road and the and the bohemian promise of a Vanagon. Sad to see the old bus style give way to the Eurovan, I still always thought that someday I might have a VW van of my own. Every Volkswagen I ever drove or rode in was an amazing compliment of simplicity, design and functionality. They were simple cars and reliable. Most people could fix them on their own - especially the old vans I was so fond of. The company name meant something. Reliability, functionality, dependability and durability. No other car company had such a loyal following or history of consistent success. I finally bought my first new car in 2011 for my young family of four. It was a Routan. With two young boys and a big dog, I thought it was the perfect vehicle for our young family. It was fine for a while, until I was at a wedding in New York City in 2014 and the car failed to start, but then it did start … but then it failed the next time. It was a strange issue. It got towed to a shop I’d never been to (57th Street Motors) and they replaced the battery. Everything seemed fine, and the garage seemed like a fine place. I figured at the time it was just a bad battery - ok, that happens. Less than a year later, we had more issues starting the van. This time I was sure it was NOT the battery. The key would turn and nothing would happen. Maybe something was loose? Was the battery actually dead again? AAA seemed to get it started by juggling the key a bit … everything seemed fine for a while. A few months later - more issues starting. Took it to a shop that seems to be good with foreign cars. They seemed to think there was no problem. Weird. It happened again and again, but it was totally sporadic - it would start 9 times out of 10 … then fail. First I thought it was the heat that was causing it in the summer, then the cold as winter came around again and the problem persisted - somehow we could never replicate the issue when a mechanic was around … This car was the opposite of reliability. On one notable occasion I got a panicked call from my wife who had a piping hot bucket of hot chocolate (for our kids 1st grade holiday party) sitting in a snowbank as she tried to start the car almost 40 times! It finally turned over, but this was the last straw. We should not be dealing with such an issue for a relatively young Volkswagen … remember I had travelled across the entire country in a 30 year old van - so I had pretty high expectations. We had not even paid this vehicle off yet and it only had 68k miles on it! We took it back to a dealership - trusting that a VW Certified Technician would be the best way to nip the problem in the bud and happily continue driving for another 200k miles … They called me the next day and said they could not replicate the problem. I was astonished. Every time I started the car for the previous month it was a total crap shoot - usually it took at least 5 times to start the car, never, not once in two months prior did it start on the first try. We picked up the van and went home. Of course, the next morning, it failed to start. Our kids were late to school again. I took the van back in and they let it sit over the weekend (it was Christmas) then were successfully able to recreate the problem the following Tuesday. Unfortunately, they had no “results” on the diagnostics … After several weeks of back and forth like this with our local Volkswagen technicians at Gennsinger Volkswagen (Clifton, NJ), I decided I ought to do a little research of my own. After a simple google search, I learned that many 2011 Routans had this very same issue and it sounded like a bad TIPM module, which is clearly a KNOWN issue with these vehicles. Here is an example of another in a series of complaints that highlights the fact that Volkswagen is aware of the issue and has decided NOT to issue a recall despite the same part being recalled by Chrysler - - Obviously it was not a known issue for Gennsinger, and they failed to look it up anywhere as I had, but tehre ought to be some measure for Volkswagen as a company for sharing this kind of information. At about the same time, they finally diagnosed the issue as the TIPM. Gensinger then told me that the part costs over $800 and labor is another $400 ... I had already paid $500 to replace a fuel pump that was not the issue, and have had other electrical issues dealt with over the past year - including a replaced starter and an emergency battery replacement while traveling to the wedding in NYC the previous December. Including rental cars and other expenses, this ordeal is going to cost us around 5k and that is just not acceptable on a vehicle that has been well maintained and has only 68k miles on it. When we purchased a new Volkswagen, we did so because the brand meant something to me - dependability and reliability - simplicity of design and function. My experience has been the exact opposite and I am very disappointed. My experience has been the exact opposite. My requests to Volkswagen and to the dealership to refund the money we have spent, or to buy back the vehicle have been denied, and I am more than frustrated. I have zero confidence in this vehicle now, and am not comfortable selling it to a third party after my experience. I still feel like Volkswagen should take the car off my hands. Please let me know if anyone has any advice.

Update from Apr 1, 2017: Looks like the replaced TIPM Module strikes again ... recently the right rear blinker has been failing intermittently and NOW as i was driving in a serious rainstorm my windshield wipers stopped working and froze in place.

THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED A FATAL INJURY.

I would like Volkswagen USA to review this complaint and recall the defective part before someone is seriously injured.

This is a continuance of another complaint published about my solenoid which was replaced by VW in Orlando, FL on Orange Blossom Trail. Initially in July 2016, I had the vehicle diagnosed at AutoZone and an independent mechanic as the solenoid having to be replaced and VW said that the starter needed to be fixed in which it had a hole the size of a penny penetrated on the side of it (wish I had pictures to show). Nevertheless, after getting the starter fixed 24 hours later, the car wouldn't start and at that point after diagnosed VW said the solenoid needed replacement just as Auto Zone and the mechanic said previously.