Steering Problems of Volkswagen Routan - part 1

The brakes randomly stop working. At random times you go to brake and have to push the pedal all the way to the floor to start stopping. 2nd issue. The car dies and looses all power at intermittent times while driving. The car has to be restarted while driving. Could be driving 70 on a hwy or 30 on a residential street. Either coast to the side of the road to restart. . . Or quickly put the car in neutral and restart it while driving. Both of these have almost caused wrecks several times. Unknown own causes to both as they happen at random and different times.

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Loss of steering while driving, fluid loss multiple times since late September 2024(all while driving and no lights or warnings came on), 2 snapped serpentine belts, key ignition sticking(would not turn), dashboard not lighting up, rpm no longer rests below 1. 5 - 2, car struggles to accelerate(especially uphill), car turns over and struggles to start, even though has newer battery. 1/9/25 driving to an appointment, upon reaching destination, a pop sound. No smell, no warnings came up on dashboard. Upon leaving, saw fluid leak, headed straight to dealership, at which a massive amount of fluid began pouring out of vehicle. . In exact same area as original issue from 8/31/24.

While driving on a highway at 65 mph, vehicle shut down, lost brakes, steering, and all power, had to coast to a stop, narrowly avoiding a collision. Upon exhaustive review, tipm was faulty, causing starting issues, intermittent power loss, and fuel pump issues. As this van is manufactured by Chrysler (for vw) and their (identical) model has the same issue, it was known and recalled, it is appalling that no recall exists for this vw model. These vans are being financed and bought by families, and like us driven daily with children in them. The issue is widespread, very well known, but as in our case, not disclosed by dealerships as no official action has ever been taken, and no official record exists. We have learned all about it through trial and error, and are having to pay for possibly fatal errors committed on the part of the manufacturer - who, to state again, has in fact already recalled the vehicles due to it being such a wide spread and dangerous issue with a primarily family vehicle. Again, for clarity, the vw Routan is no longer in production, but when it was it was manufactured by Chrysler for vw, and is part for part a Dodge grand caravan/Chrysler town and country. Why is this critical recall in existence for only a portion of the vehicles? this has become a major issue as we have to continue reducing this van until we can sell or trade it.

The vehicle turned off in the drive gear. I lost steering,breaking and control of vehicle.

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Referenced to recall nhsta id no:11v-151 same issue happens on newer models, the car key ignition switch does not secure the key and that causes the car shut-down in tje middle of highway or road intermittently! ?t does not give any dashboard warning and no codes! all the lights are being gone and even ac shuts off! when ? push the key the lights come back on and the car can be turned on again. Similiar problems are poster on youtube: https://youtu. Be/zesy-mnvpzs.

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My 2011 vw Routan completely lost power on the freeway while driving in heavy traffic. The steering completely locked up (not lost power steering), locked up and all components died while moving. It took two people to break the steering wheel loose so that the van could be pushed out of the road by tdot. We had the van towed and once removed from the truck it started and ran like normal. Our 3 kids were also in the van which makes the situation extremely hazardous. Previous to this, we paid $1,500 to the vw dealer to replace the tipm unit because the van wouldn’t start on many occasions. The dealer stated that he knew Chrysler had issued a recall on their vehicles with these same issues but vw hadn’t taken any action. Other info… no dash lights are/were on. Dealer can’t seem to reproduce the issue. Tdot officer said he’d never seen a vehicle that locked the steering while the car was in motion. This was worse than it loosing all power.

Van has stalled while driving on multiple occasions. Power steering is lost. Vehicle will then start right back up. This is extremely dangerous for a minivan used to transport multiple children. No codes or faults are recorded.

See all problems of the 2009 Volkswagen Routan 🔎.

Five times in the past 6 months the power in the van basically turns off. The steering becomes next to impossible and the brakes become extremely tight to the point you can't even use them. It is terrifying to have zero control over your car considering I have 4 children. It has happened while I was going only 30mph and also when I was going 45 mph. It happens when I'm going straight and has also happened while turning. Since the latest issue I refuse to drive anywhere that I can't take back roads to.

First my Routan has been in my posession for I believe about 5 years. I check the oil regulary and keep oil changes, tires, and inspections up to date are regular. Since owning it, I have had a huge antifreeze leak (while on vacation), which was an easy fix, but essentially the part melted and had to be replaced, which is absurd! I was having a lot of issues with it not starting. You would have to try to start it over and over, and just when you called a garage it would start (this issue seemed to be fixed when the dealer changed the ignition, per the recall) for the past several months, the govener kickis in, and the vehicle will only go 30mph. It happens infrequently, but seems to becoming more frequent. The solution is to pull over, turn it off, start it back up, and your good to go for days to weeks until it does it again. Typically it happens shortly after starting a trip, and while gaining speed, you suddenly cannot go the speed you would like. I do believe it continues to get more frequent in occurance *** the scary thing that gets me to file a complaint**** I have seen this listed many times already. My husband was again away on a trip this weekend. He had just done a lot of circle type steering at the gas station trying to park (I mention this because someone else complained of this issue after a round about). He parked. He started the car again, he backed up, and when he tried to turn to get out of the parking spot, there was no steering. He pulled forward. He put it in park, he turned it off. He started it, he drove 2. 5 hours home with my 3 kids under 9. He had no issues. What is wrong with the car, I am afraid to drive it. Thankfully he was going 2 mph, but I have seen cases of people on the interstate. What if I drive it, and we have an accident and my family dies? how can I drive a car that lost steering and feel safe!?.

The engine stalls as the vehicle is driven and it locks the steering wheel. This happened about 8 times within the past 24 months. We discovered that 12,000 and more Routan 2009 and 2010 have been recalled for the same problems with some fatalities reported due to this defect: ignition moduls and electronic moduls. Vw and gm-Chrysler are not supporting the vw. Dealer repair/replacement as my vw Routan seems not having been tracked down during initial recalls.

Reported issue to vw recall group via telephone 5/13/2019. This is very similar to a recall that took place for vw Routan 2009-2010 that were created between the dates of October 2019 to June 2010. Our vehicle was created in August of 2010, and I suspect the same parts were still used. Two issues have occurred with 2010 vw Routan sel minivan 4. 0l issues started occurring after replacing a lost key fob. Key fob was ordered through local vw dealer (bob king vw) and replaced. First issue: car would not start. Put key into ignition switch, turn key, the ignition switch clicks but the car would not start. In order to start car, wait and repeat steps until car actually starts. Second issue: (highly dangerous) intermittent shut off while driving causing power steering to turn off as well as brakes. Very dangerous combination due to the fact that turning becomes very difficult as well as braking. In order to brake you have to apply great force to break since there is no power to the car. This issue has been encountered over the past two months at least four (4) times while the primary driver has been driving the vehicle. The first three times the vehicle was in motion in a residential area. The last time this issue occurred 5/13/2019 the vehicle was in motion on a major road way near an intersection. Evasive maneuvers were taken to get vehicle off of road and into a nearby parking lot off the street.

I believe the ignition switch is faulty but my VIN does not come up under the ignition switch recalls (15v194000 or 11v151000). One time when accelerating up a bumpy hill going about 40 mph on a highway, the vehicle shut off and power steering was not available. I was able to maneuver to the side of the road and turn it off, put it in park, and turn it back on. Another time on a flat bumpy road, accelerating at about 35 mph, the vehicle shut off again with no power steering available. I again pulled over, put it in park, turned it off and then restarted it.

Driving at low speed van raced forward then stopped almost hit another vehicle. Now won't run and check engine light on. I was in a parking lot of a target when happened.

Van cuts off while driving. Inability to steer, limited braking. Car goes completely dead but still start back once I have completely stopped. This is very hazardous especially when your driving over 45 with a lot of traffic following behind you.

Car shut off numerous times while driving. There was no way to turn steering wheel it just stops nothing you can do to keep it running hopefully no one is tailing me because if not I will definitely crash. Mechanic can't seem to find problem. Maybe tipm or key fob? changed key fob no luck.

My 2012 vw Routan cuts off while in motion. It is very scary when you are driving down the highway and your car is no longer running. Also sometimes I have to turn the key multiple times before it cranks. Vw needs a fix for this!.

When driving down the road going about 30mph my car suddenly shut off. No indicator lights came on and my power steering was gone as well as my ability to brake well. Looking online their was a recall on my model year and make of van for the same problems with the ignition switch but my VIN number did not pull up a recall. I contacted vw and they also stated my car was not part of that recall. Thankfully I was able to pull to side of the road safely.

I've been experiencing major safety problems with my 2012 vw Routan lately. On several occasions, while driving, my van has completely shut down. The dashboard, engine, power steering, everything completely turns off and I am unable to do anything until the vehicle comes to a complete stop and I start the engine again. The first time it shut down, I was driving in the city driving at 35 mph. Out of no where, the engine shut down, simultaneously the dashboard turned off and I lost all control of my vehicle until it came to a complete stop and I was able to turn it back on. But the last time this happened, I was on the freeway, driving in the rain, at 60 miles/hr. The scariest part is not having control of the wheel and have the ability to safely pull over to the shoulder before restarting the engine again. The mechanic I contacted was not been able to figure out what the problem is. The check engine light does not turn on, I don't get any type of warning and no "codes" come up. I am terrified of driving my van anymore. I have two small children and do not feel safe driving it. I did some research online and have found a recall for the exact problem, but for older models (up to 2011). I have reached out to the local vw dealer and have been told they cannot honor the recall for the 2012 models. I don't understand, why the dealer refuses to fix the problem under the 2011 vw Routan reacall if it is for the exact same safety defect. How many people have to get hurt or worse before the issue gets addressed?.

I was driving my 2009 Routan this morning (8/6/18) in a round-a-bout when out of blu my steering and brakes completely locked up and my abs light came on. I had traffic behind me. I almost went over the curb and caused an accident due to this happening. I praise god that I and everyone around was safe. My vehicle has already had the ignition ssswitch replaced twice. I had it checked for codes and nothing came up. I noticed a huge amount of complaints regarrding this. What is it going to take to get this fixed? there are lives on the line. When a vehicle shuts down on the highway that will cause a major accident. Is Volkswagen and NHTSA willing to live with that knowing that this has been a major issue with this vehicle for some time? how many injuries or deaths do you need to prove to you that this is a safety issue?.

2010 volkswagon Routan has stopped in mid traffic going 30-40 mph on a busy road. Lights and audio have flickered, then turn off. Car spontaneously starts and stops any given time in motion and standing still, and cannot be jumped to revive. Have been in the car with my children and have had it stop in the middle of the road. We have had it less than a year, completely unsafe. Told the exact recall doesn't apply to my VIN#.

The totally integrated power module (tipm) is defective causing the vehicle to stale while in-motion resulting in loss of power steering and braking and near misses. This has occurred while vehicle was in transit up to 45 miles per hour. The vehicle's dvd system stopped working. The vehicle has failed to start. Also, while making turns, from a stopped position, the vehicle has staled resulting in near misses with oncoming traffic. While starting the vehicle, the interior lights would flash while failing to crank start. The staling while in motion occurs multiple times daily. The vehicle has been to the mechanic at least 10 times since purchasing it in 2015. The vehicle has always had this problem since purchasing. The most recent visit to the mechanic concluded (2/2018) the tipm to be defective and that the Dodge/Chrysler products with the same tipm part is already recalled yet the vw sister-product is not recalled. The mechanic recommend replacing the tipm because it is a safety issue and will continue to cause staling at high rates of speed, near misses, if the part is not replaced. The cost to replace was approx. $1,500. 00. Nhtsa needs to issue a safety recall for the tipm in 2010 vw Routan.

We were driving the vehicle when all of the sudden it stalled! there is no check light on and when it does this we lost all power breaking and steering. This almost happened to us around an elevated corner luckily we had just past the curve when we lost all power. In reading this is a common problem on the town and country Routan grand caravan and all associated models. Something should be done due to the danger and potential risk to human life! we bought this van to keep our children safe not have to worry of it will loose power steering at 30 mph in a canyon corner!.

While taking my grandson to school this morning on a very curvy country road the engine died on my 2009 volkswagon routain. Having no brakes and no power steering made it very difficult to control vehicle. I turned on emergency flashers when car finally stoped turned to off position then restarted engine. This is not the first time this has happened to me and my wife. Problem cannot be diagnosed by dealer why can't Chrysler fix this serious problem before someone gets injured or killed. I know as well as NHTSA that this has happened to many people. Previous recall fix for ignition switch at wv dealer to solve this problem did not work . Its a shame that many people have to injured or killed by a serious known problem like this before companies are forced to fix them.

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.

Since buying our 2009 Routan in the fall of 2016 we have sunk thousands into it trying to get it fixed because of the issues we have had shortly after buying it (ours did not come with a warranty from the vw dealer). At least twice a week, and sometimes more, it stalls while we are driving. . . Usually at low speeds like when we are slowing down to make a turn or slowing down for a stoplight. Usually, all of the dashboard lights and controls will blink and ding repeatedly before stalling. It also stalls when sitting still. It will blink all of the lights, the controls will go crazy and the windshield wipers will go back and forth one time as it stalls. On Dec 11 it stalled on a major road in charlotte, nc and I lost all power so I could not even put on my flashers. I have an autistic child who was freaking out because I was trying to get all of the kids to be quiet so I could call my husband as we were sitting in the middle of a busy road. We were in a middle lane and the windows were up so I had to open my door quickly and wave for people to go around us. I kept watching my rear view mirror and praying we wouldn't get hit as cars zipped around us honking. The key was stuck in the ignition since there was no power. My husband was headed towards us and I waved people around us for about 5 minutes while jingling the key and trying everything to get something to work. The power finally came back and the key came out and I was able to restart and get home but my kids are afraid to go anywhere in that van again. We have replaced the battery, the control module (one of the most expensive things we tried), the erg valve, the alternator, and some other parts our mechanic wanted to try. Super eagle auto care has been super helpful in trying to fix it but to no avail. We have learned since buying this vehicle that this is a common problem for vw Routan.

As we are driving the power steering completely cuts off and will not let you drive - the engine shuts off and your forced into turning the vehicle completely off them back on again. This happened while on the interstate in traffic which nearly caused a collision.

I have a Volkswagen Routan 2011 built by Chrysler in a canada factory. This vehicle is shutting off when drive on the freeway. The gears and sreering locks up while driving. The vehicle also has electrical issues the lights turn on and off even when the car is off. After purchasing a new battery and alternator the car in the morning will not start. The battery is dead and drained. With nothing on it intermittently has a dead battery and shuts of after starting the car. When I call the Volkswagen dealer in stockton CA to explain the service guy hung up on my husband and I and stated it's not a recall. We explain that thousands are having the same issue and it's recorded and all over you tube. We are having the same ignition switch issues or possible tipm issues.

Auto - p215/15r16.

The steering wheel makes a cranking sound when right turns and left turn is made. Apparent that an accident can easily occur if this persists. The dealership in greatneck NY was not able correct this problem despite numerous complaints. This problem happen when the vehicle is in motion and turns are made by the driver. This problem has persisted over the years - sometime in August 2012, I brought vehicle into the dealership to have it checked for a problem related to the steering wheel. I still have a related problem with the vehicle. This vehicle is unsafe to drive my 5 children. Becuase the dealer could not resolve this problem and it has now arose again. This complaint is now submitted. I do have an invoice which states my complaint back in 2012.

The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Routan. While driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled and the steering wheel seized without warning. The contact had to depress the brake pedal and turn the starter to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was unable to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.

My vehicle is experiencing the same problem as other vehicles of the same year that received a recall. The car just shuts off, loses power and all steering, braking and so on. It makes the vehicle very dangerous. The other vehicles in this year all had bad ignition switches but vw refuses to include my vehicle and others like it of the same model year that have the exact same problem. I believe that they need to expand this recall to include more vehicles of the 2010 model. The vehicle is not safe to drive and is scary when it just cuts out on you when you are driving 30-40 mph plus.

After my van has been sitting for a while and it been warmed up for 15 minutes. With in the first 2 to 5 miles of driving the traction control light will come on and the van will shut off and the steering wheel and break will fail. Then I have to turn the key to off and restart the van and it sometime repeat itself if I'm stuck in traffic.

The contact owns a 2010 Volkswagen Routan. While driving at various speeds, the steering wheel seized without warning and the electrical systems failed. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the ignition switch failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 15v194000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

My Mini-van shut off/ stalled while I was driving on the road. Every time it stalled I was driving slowly through construction zone or in front of a light where I had to pressed the brake to stop the car for over 30 seconds. I send it to vw service for repair but no problem was found. I am too scared to drive the car because I never know when its the next time it will stall again while I am driving on the road.

In April 2015 the check engine light came on in my 2010 vw Routan, maybe a week or so later it started to stall while I was driving it. I took it to an import dealer locally to have it looked at and was told that the egr valve was bad. They replaced it, which cost me $400, and put a new gas cap on it. In July the engine light came on again, had the codes run at a parts store and it was the egr valve again. Took it back to the shop that did the first repair because it still had a parts and labor warrantee with them. They replaced it again. Now, in September, my engine light is on again and again it says it's the egr valve. I have called the shop to get it in to be repaired again, waiting on a call back. This issue is quite scary because it has and probably will again stall out on the highway causing me to have to try to pull over and put it in neutral to restart it. I called vw customer care and was told that I would need to take it to a vw dealership at my own cost to have it diagnosed, and basically tell me what I already know, I am not spending another $400 to replace this valve when I have already done that once this year. Because I refuse to pay for repairs that are covered under the original shop warrantee vw refuses to do anything or even acknowledge that this is an issue.