The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Routan. While driving approximately 35 mph, all the warning indicators illuminated and white smoke and flames emerged from the engine compartment. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and removed the three child passengers from the vehicle. The fire department was not present. No injuries were reported. The fire extinguished itself when the vehicle was turned off. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined that the battery and the alternator were burnt and needed replacement. The vehicle was repaired, but the repairs were insufficient. The vehicle was towed to the dealer (neftin westlake Volkswagen, 3550 auto mall drive, thousand oaks, California 91362) where it was diagnosed that the totally integrated program module and transmission control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

- Simi Valley, CA, USA

Veicle has stalled while driving on city streets at 40 miles per hour posing a danger to my self and children leaving me and my children panicking from such incident, was able to pull to the side by hanging to steering will, turned it off and on again when I turned it on veicle started accelerating by itself it was going crazy, turned it off again and veicle started as normal, took only 3 miles for same thing to happen again. Also battery gets drained if left off for more than 4 hours.

- Joliet, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Routan. While driving 40-50 mph, the engine stalled and the battery appeared to have failed. The engine stalled while driving on the highway. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road. The contact turned off, restarted the engine several times, and the vehicle was able to operate normally. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The contact also experienced the failure eight months ago. The vehicle was driven to the dealer (rusty wallis, 12635 lyndon B johnson fwy, garland tx 75041) where it was diagnosed that the torque converter was faulty. The dealer paid for another diagnostic test at hendricks Volkswagen (5010 state hwy 121, frisco, tx 75034) where it was diagnosed that the torque converter, totally integrated power module, two cam shaft sensors, and the torque converter solenoid were faulty. The manufacturer was contacted at 1-800-822-8987 and did not assist. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 80,000.

- Garland, TX, USA

The van has a Chrysler engine and the tipem part has been recalled under the Chrysler however VW has not recalled the part this is a 1300 fix

- Harrisburg, PA, USA

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

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

Our transmission issue started as we're going down I-75 at about 65-70. What sounded like something falling from under the hood and making a klanking sound at if it was falling from the engine. After a few months the transmission started making a high pitched noise. Our local auto repair store wouldn't touch it so we had to take it to the VW dealer. Turns out not only did we need a new transmission but we also needed a new tipm. Total cost including labor was over $7000. We had roughly 85,000 miles on it so it was no longer covered under warranty.

- Estero, FL, USA

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

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

I have replaced the brakes and routers 3 times since owning the van at over $1000 each time. The biggest issue I have is the fact that the car won't start. Very frequently, the van will not start leaving my kids and I stranded. It is a huge problem as I commute to work and we like to do things out of our area, not to mention just drive in general. This has been happening for a long time and has gotten worse over time.

- Valencia, CA, USA

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

2011 Routan would crank and not start. Power doors would open very slowly. Key fob would require multiple attempts to unlock doors. Seatbelt light would come on and alarm would sound, even though seatbelts were engaged. Routan would stall after start.

- Bel Air, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Routan. While driving approximately 70 mph, the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the totally integrated power module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 69,000.

- Leland, IL, USA

I have been struggling with starting my Volkswagen Routan on the initial engagement of the key, the problem started within the last two months. In the same time frame, the vehicle would suddenly turn off in the middle of driving. I have seen that in 2009 and 2010 model there was a recall of the ignition switch that showed similar issues. My car does have 10000 miles, so I am trying to determine if it was an initial faulty item or a part that needs to be replaced. The dealership replaced the tipm module, but it did not correct the issues. I want to see if other 2011 models are experiencing the same issues, and whether the 2011 models should be extended to the recall for the 2009/2010 models.

- Vail, AZ, USA

The van hesitates to start. It has turned off by itself while driving. The blinkers (right and left) sometimes work. The hazard lights sometimes work. The ac comes on and then comes off. We are the original owners and have kept up with maintenance on the van. We took the van into Volkswagen dealer service and were told that the 2011 model was plagued with electrical problems. We were told this time our tipm needs to be replaced. All of the problems we are experiencing are related to a problem Chrysler (who made the van) admitted to. Volkswagen will not replace the part. The tipm is known for not getting fuel to the engine which can stop the van. This has happened to us twice.

- Katy, TX, USA

Car wont start, only sometimes. Just turns over repeatedly, until you turn the key off. Sometimes nothing happens. Sometimes it starts normally. Once it stalled. Usually this happens on the first start, but sometimes it doesn't matter.

- Temecula, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Routan. The contact stated that the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but began stalling while driving approximately 55 mph. When the failure occurred, all the vehicle's warning indicators flashed. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the totally integrated power module was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

- Columbia, SC, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Routan. While driving at approximately 70 mph, the engine stalled without warning.the vehicle was able to restart. The failure recurred four times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the win module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was not provided. The approximate failure mileage was 29,139. Updated 1/12/16

- Shreveport, LA, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Volkswagen Routan. The contact stated that when the ignition was turned to the on position, the vehicle did not start. After several attempts, the vehicle restarted. Additionally, while driving various speeds, the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle did restart. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was an electrical failure with the ignition as a result the ignition and the sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 69,000.

- Elmwood Park, IL, USA

Our van has had on and off weird electrical things happening for a few months - wipers come on by themselves, air turns off by itself, lights, etc. Then the van started not always starting. Sometimes it would start, then shut off by itself shortly after starting. It got to the point where it was not easily starting 2-3 times a day. The weird electrical stuff would happen when stationary or in motion. The starting problem was while stationary. Sometimes it died when I put it in gear to move. Sometimes when driving, I felt like the car was giving itself more gas even though my foot had been taken off of the pedal. Took it to VW when it simply would not easily or reliably start anymore. They said the tipm module needed to be replaced. We just got it replaced. Cost us $924.77!

- Gulf Breeze, FL, USA