Radiator Problems of Volkswagen Routan

While driving the van it began to smell like radiator coolant. Checked temperature gauge and realized temperature fluctuation. No engine light or check engine light ever came on the dashboard. Opened hood and discovered coolant was sprayed all over the hood liner and engine due to the failure of this part. Took it to the vw garage and we were told it has been a common occurrence with the vw Routan leading one to think it is a design flaw of the hose assembly. The total damages due to this one hose assy failure known to date is the following: plastic heater core hose assembly; temperature sensor; thermostat; hood liner soaked and ruined; and replace coolant. Repair bill is near $1000. 00 for all these items. Furthermore, if this had gone unnoticed due to the lack of a check engine light, this could cause additional damage to the cylinder head and may lead to an accident.

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Driving on a neighborhood street when a sudden drop in the ac power followed by a quick rise in the engine temp to the top of the gauge. Within 2 minutes steam was observed coming out of the engine. Quickly pulled over to the side of the road. After cooling the engine and opening the hood it was observed that engine coolant was all over the engine parts and boiling off due to the heat. Water was poured in the radiator and a leak was observed from a plastic y joint in the water cooling pipe/assembly. Vw part number 7b0121086b. With the water filled to the max as soon as the engine was started a steady stream of water was observed coming out of the y joint. With over a gallon of water in the vehicle drove the car home and in less than 3 miles the water was completely drained from the system. Please cross reference this with any complaints related to the Chrysler town and country minivan and the Dodge grand caravan as they are all produced by Chrysler corp. The y connector failure was easily found online and appears to be a defective part / design flaw as the plastic piece was not able to withstand the pressure and heat and seemed to split at the seam to cause the leak.