Seats Related Problems of the 2011 Volkswagen Routan

Table 1 shows two common seats related problems of the 2011 Volkswagen Routan.

Table 1. Seats related problems of Volkswagen Routan

Problem Category Number of Problems
Mid/rear Seats Assembly problems
1
Front Seat Power Adjust problems
1

Mid/rear Seats Assembly problem #1

With the rear hatch open there is no cover or safety stop mechanism on the automatic folding rear seats. On several occasions I have accidentally depressed the button and have had the seat crush objects in its path. I am gravely concerned about what would happen if I had my baby seat strapped in while I accidentally depressed the button. Would my child be crushed or maimed? based on the items in my trunk, yes. There is absolutely no way to stop the mechanism once it has started and no way to prevent its accidental deployment. I contacted vw and was told that there is no plan to correct this problem.

Front Seat Power Adjust problem #2

I drive 90 miles before I parked the car in my garage. After a minute of turning off the car, I noticed bright sparks and dense smoke from under the driver's seat. I was able to put down the fire after dumping a lot of water under the seat. At that time the power seats were functional but heated seat was not. I tried to reproduce the issue by starting the car and turning it off multiple times but it did not happen again. I left the car outside the garage overnight and took it to the dealer the following morning, where the dealer found the electric wiring harness burnt out. 1. Issue happened after a minute of turning off the car. 2. Bright sparks and flames with very dense caustic smelling smoke.


Seats related problems in other Volkswagen Routan model year vehicles:



Safety Ratings of Routan Cars
Fuel Economy of Routan Vehicles
Routan Service Bulletins
Routan Safety Recalls