1990 Volkswagen Corrado Visibility Problems

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1990 VOLKSWAGEN CORRADO. THE HEATER CORE FAILED WHILE DRIVING. HE NOTICED STEAM EMITTING FROM THE VENTS AS WELL AS COOLANT ON THE WINDSHIELD. HE REFERENCED RECALL 96V115000 AND WAS TOLD THAT HIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL BUT THE DEALER REPAIRED THE VEHICLE FREE OF CHARGE IN 1998. HOWEVER, IN 2009, THE PART FAILED AGAIN. HE CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY WOULD NOT REPAIR THE VEHICLE FREE OF CHARGE THIS TIME AND REFERRED HIM TO THE MANUFACTURER. WHEN HE CALLED THE MANUFACTURER, HE WAS TOLD THAT SINCE THE WARRANTY EXPIRED, NO ASSISTANCE WOULD BE PROVIDED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 217,762. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 217,758.

NHTSA ID

10296053

Incident

Dec 14, 2009

Mileage

217,758 mi

DRIVING ALONG AN INTERSTATE AT APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE HEATER CORE IN MY 1990 VW CORRADO DEVELOPED A MAJOR LEAK ALL OF A SUDDEN, CAUSING VERY HOT COOLANT TO POUR ON MY RIGHT LEG AND FOOT, AND SUBSEQUENTLY CAUSING THE WINDSHIELD TO STEAM UP INSTANTLY, CAUSING LOSS OF OUTWARD VISION AND LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE CAR. I WAS ABLE TO FIND THE SIDE OF THE ROAD USING THE "RUMBLE STRIPS", AND CALLED A TOW TRUCK. I AM AWARE OF A RECALL ON SOME 1990 VW CORRADOS, BUT ACCORDING TO MY DEALER MY VEHICLE IS NOT WITHIN THE VIN RANGE FOR THIS RECALL, REGARDLESS OF THE FACT MY VEHICLE USES THE SAME FAULTY HEATER CORE AS THE ONES THAT ARE COVERED BY THE RECALL. THE DEALER WILL NOT AGREE TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM. *NM

NHTSA ID

10141520

Incident

Oct 20, 2005

Mileage

124,300 mi

HEATER CORE FAILURE WHICH RESULTED IN STEAM INSIDE THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT AND ON THE INSIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD, BLOCKING VISIBILITY. CONTACTED LOCAL VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THERE IS NO RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM. WAS QUOTED $680.00 TO REPAIR.*AK

NHTSA ID

745471

Incident

Jan 17, 2001

HEATER CORE FAILURE CAUSED WINDSHIELD TO FOG UP WHILE DRIVING. EVEN WITH VENTS CLOSED IT STILL CAUSED POOR VISIBILITY. DEALER NOTIFIED, AND INFORMED CONSUMER THAT VEHICLE WAS NOT COVERED UNDER A RECALL DUE TO VIN. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS ON THIS MATTER. *AK

NHTSA ID

879510

Incident

Jan 20, 2001

WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 45 MPH, ALL OF SUDDEN THERE WAS SMOKE IN VEHICLE. VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP, WHERE THE HEATER CORE WAS CHANGED. VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN 96V115000 VW/ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

NHTSA ID

866946

Incident

Jul 26, 2000

I PURCHASED THIS CAR 3 YEARS AGO AT A MILEAGE OF 109,000. ALL IN ALL I HAVE NOT DRIVEN THE CAR FOR MORE THAN 2 AND A HALF WEEKS SINCE I'VE HAD IT AND I HAVE ALREADY SPENT OVER $4000 DOLLARS ON IT. IS THAT FAIR FOR A CAR WITH A PRICE TAG OF 6,000 DOLLARS USED. I'VE SPENT THE REST OF THE 3 YEARS RAISING MONEY TRYING TO FIX ONE PROBLEM AFTER ANOTHER. I AM A STUDENT WITH A LEMON AND 2 PART-TIME JOBS TRYING TO FIX IT. THESE 2 RECALLS WERE DONE ON CORRADOS WITH VIN NUMBERS WITHIN THE FOLLOWING RANGES: WVW_ _ _50_KK000001 - WVW_ _ _50_LK012692 . MY CORRADO HAS THE SAME PROBLEMS AND NEED THE SAME PARTS REPLACES AND DESPITE THIS VW DOES NOT WANT TO INVESTIGATE THIS MATTER FURTHER. PLEASE HELP ME, CAUSE I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO. *AK

NHTSA ID

726376

Incident

Mar 1, 2000

HEATER CORE BLEW OUT, CAUSING ANTI-FREEZE TO LEAK INTO PASSENGER'S COMPARTMENT. A RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED ON VEHICLE'S MAKE/MODEL; HOWEVER, THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED DUE TO VIN. *AK

NHTSA ID

863973

Incident

Jun 7, 2000

THE DRIVER'S WIPER DOESN'T WIPE 2/3RDS OF WINDSHIELD . NOTICED MANY OTHER CORRADO'S HAVING SAME PROBLEM IN CLUBS ON INTERNET. I'VE TRIED NEW BLADES AND BENDING THE ARM(WHERE THE PROBLEM IS), DOESN'T HELP ANY. THE ONLY THING LEFT IS TO GRIND ON THE BASE OF THE ARM TO MAKE THE ARM GO LOW ENOUGH TO MAKE FULL CONTACT WITH WINDSHIELD DURING IT'S FULL SWEEP. I DON'T FEEL LIKE I SHOULD HAVE TO TAMPER WITH A SAFETY ITEM. IT SHOULD WORK CORRECTLY NO MATTER WHAT.

NHTSA ID

712438

Incident

Aug 17, 1998

HEATER CORE FAILED.

NHTSA ID

539597

Incident

May 16, 1998

FACTORY INSTALLED SUN ROOF WOULD NOT RETRACT. *AK

NHTSA ID

523902