Volkswagen Recalls 16,000 Routans Due To Fire Hazzard

Apparently, it’s pretty difficult to build a minivan these days: after Chrysler issued a recall for 284,831 people movers due to an improperly routed wire harness which could cause a short circuit and eventually lead to a fire, Volkswagen’s U.S. arm is now announcing that it will recall 15,902 Routan minivans as a result of the same problem.

The campaign involves 2009 Model Year Routans which were built from June 2009 through July last year.

The vehicles could have been built with a incorrectly routed wire harness, a problem that could allow the lower sliding door bracket to make contact and wear through the wire insulation.

The situation might generate a high resistive short circuit within the latch mechanism located inside the sliding door. The worst case scenario is that the short circuit leads to a fire within the rear sliding door.

Volkswagen's American division announced that it will inspect the sliding door wire track assembly, as well as the sliding door power drive unit wire assembly for damage, tie strapping the two harnesses together and reroute them under the sliding door weather strip, also repairing or replacing the necessary components.

The recall is scheduled to debut this month, with VW dealers fixing the issue free of cost. Owners can contact VW at 1-800-822-8987. They may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153). Owners can also visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Safecar website by following this link.