VW Jetta Has Hot Seats: NHTSA Looks Into Burns

DETROIT December 10, 2003; Sharon Silke Carty writing for Dow Jones reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary investigation into the Volkswagen Jetta after seven people reported they were burned by their seat warmers.

Three people reported to NHTSA's Office of Defect Investigation injuries due to the overheated seats, and in some cases the seat covers showed evidence of a burn.

NHTSA spokesman Tim Hurd said the agency in mid-November wrote to Volkswagen of America Inc., a subsidiary of German-based Volkswagen AG , notifying them of the investigation and requesting more data.

Volkswagen spokesman Tony Fouladpour said the company would cooperate with any investigation of this type, but could not confirm the details NHTSA had posted on its Web site.

The seat heater problems have occurred in the 2002 and 2003 models.

NHTSA also upgraded its investigation into dashboard fires in the 1999 and 2000 Audi A6. The government agency opened its initial investigation into the fires in July on the basis of three complaints, and after receiving information from Audi, the agency has decided to undertake an engineering investigation.

Audi AG , a publicly traded unit of Volkswagen AG, has reported back that it has heard of 19 similar complaints.

Audi spokeswoman Jennifer Cortez said the company is also cooperating with investigators and is "still gathering information." She said the company is not yet at the point where it will decide whether a recall is required to solve the matter.

No injuries have been associated with the fires.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokesman Tim Hurd said that about half of the preliminary investigations that are opened are closed without any action taken, and about one quarter of those that are upgraded to engineering studies are also closed with no action.

In recent years, Volkswagen's quality has been slipping. According to a dependability study performed by J.D. Power & Associates, Volkswagen of America reported 378 problems per 100 vehicles in 2003. That's above the industry average of 273 problems per 100.

Cars branded under the Volkswagen nameplate accounted for 391 per 100 of those problems, while Audi-branded cars had 318 problems per 100 vehicles.