Six problems related to defogger heater have been reported for the 1996 Volkswagen Passat. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Heatercore failed foged up all my windows,soaked carpet and filled cabin with toxic antifreeze vapor on my way home from my uncles funeral.
Heater core failure. Venting of noxious fumes into passanger compartment.
Heater core is leaking, and makes driving impossible due to decreased visibility, and the fumes coming off the heater core cause me to cough for a few days if I actually drive my car.
Owner of 1996 Volkswagen Passat glx. Driving low speed when I heard a pop & hiss sound. Tons of steam came through the air conditioning vents & under the dash. I pulled the car over and found leaking coolant under vehicle on passenger side. Heater core failed. I had to tow my vehicle back to my house and contacted Volkswagen of America to repair. No response from vwoa as of yet as I contacted them via email a couple days ago.
In January 2004 I drove back to school in virginia after spending christmas with my family. On the way back while I was on the pennsylvania turn pike my heater core burst, spraying boiling hot coolant (both liquid and steam) into the vehicles interior. The liquid for the most part caused damage to the carpet, and fortunately any that was sprayed on my side of the compartment was blocked by my pants. The steam however filled my compartment, making it impossible to see and causing a near collision with another vehicle before I was able to open my windows and clear it out. The injury listed as such is in regards to my breathing the coolant in, which is harmful to ones health. Maintennance had been performed previously on my vehicle just before that replacing the aux water pump, and I had the coolant system flushed and maintennance done on it at that time at an authorized vw dealership. There have been several problems with my cooling system, the aux water pump, the heater core, and the thermostat. Fortunately police were passing by at the time and gave assistance, as well as calling a tow truck.
No event leading to the failure. . . I was driving down the freeway at 65 mph when my heater core failed. . Causing solding hot coolant to rush onto my feet while driving. . I had to brake while coolant was all over my feet. . . Burning them. . . Nearly causing and accident!.