2002 Volkswagen Eurovan problems
Owners have filed 45 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Volkswagen Eurovan. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 24% of complaints. Next are cooling system (18%) and seats (16%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 45 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 64,000 miles 31 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 4 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 31 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 64,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a fire; 3 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 4 model years of the Volkswagen Eurovan with enough data (22 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen eurovan. The contact stated that the front passenger seat caught on fire. The contact stated that the seat warmer malfunctioned and caused the seat to catch on fire. The contact stated that the front passenger seat, her son's winter coat, his shirt, and his back were burned by the malfunctioning seat warmer. The contact's son, who was autistic and non-verbal, was unable to communicate to her that there was an issue. Medical attention was not sought.
I was driving my 2002 VW eurovan over a causeway going approximately 55 MPH. A warning light flashed several times then went off. I believe it was a coolant light. Then a strange thump, thump, thump noise came from under the hood followed by smoke. Smelled like burning rubber and sounded like a belt breaking. I pulled off as soon as possible (another minute or 2) and car died as I coasted off the ramp. I opened the hood, but couldn't see past the black plastic engine cover and didn't know how to remove it.
I was driving my daughter to school today and we had put the heated seats on in my 2002 VW eurovan. As we approached the school my daughter yelled ouch and grabbed her back. We discovered a hole in the seat that had burned through the seat fabric and burned a hole in her north face jacket. It had started to heat up her shirt but luckily she felt it before it got even hotter. This could have caused a severe burn to her back. She had a large red patch on her lower back but nothing more.
For the second time the cooling fan assembly on my volkswagen vanagon (winnebago rialta conversion) has failed catastrophically. The fan blade shattered both times leaving me stranded on the side of the road when the van began shaking violently. Volkswagen refused to offer any assistance whatsoever. I notice that you have an open investigation on this issue. I would like to join that investigation as a co-complainant. In both cases this happened on one of the hottest days of the year.
The front passenger seat heater burned through the seat fabric. The burn-through location is on the vertical surface of the seat, mid-line, at about the lumbar height. Please refer to the attached photograph. A passenger was seated in the aforementioned seat when the burn-through occurred. The vehicle was in motion at highway speed at the time of the burn-through, but the passenger was not injured.