Owner-reported complaints naming the visibility system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming windshields, glass, wipers, defrosters and mirrors. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1993 Volkswagen Corrado submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 20 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
WHILE DRIVING VEH AT ON HIGHWAY APPROX 5 MINUTES, HEATER IN DASH STARTED PUTTING HOT STEAM INTO CABIN AND OVER WINDSHIELD. VEHICLE BECAME UNDRIVABLE. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER SAFELY, BUT VISION THROUGH WINDSHIELD WAS AFFECTED AND STEAM CONTACTED MY WIFE AND MY LEGS-NO INJURY DUE TO QUICKLY SHUTTING OFF ENGINE AND PULLING OVER. *AK
CONSUMER CALLED COMPLAINING ABOUT HEATHER CORE FALILURE. MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED AT THE TIME OF THIS CALL.*AK
WHILE DRIVING, CONSUMER HEARD A LOUD "POP" NOISE AND VEHICLE FILLED UP WITH STEAM ELIMINATING CONSUMER'S VISIBILITY. PULLED OVER TO SIDE OF ROAD, NARROWLY AVOIDING A COLLISION. TS
WHILE DRIVING I SUDDENLY FELT A BURNING SENSATION ON MY RIGHT FOOT THAT COINCIDED WITH THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT FILLING UP WITH WHAT APPEARED TO BE STEAM. I HAD TO TAKE IMMEDIATE EVASIVE ACTION TO PULL OFF ONTO THE STEEP SHOULDER OF A TWO LANE HIGHWAY. APPARENTLY THE HEATER CORE FAILED, AND WHAT I FELT ON MY FOOT WAS ANTI-FREEZE. FORTUNATELY I HAD SHOES ON SO I WAS NOT INJURED. DEALING WITH THE INTERIOR FACING A RAPID "FOG UP" CONDITION WAS POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS. I DIDN'T KNOW SOMETHING LIKE THIS COULD HAPPEN!*AK
AS MY 11 YEAR OLD SON AND I WERE DRIVING SLOWLY, DURING INTERMITTENT COMMUTE TRAFFIC, IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, MY 1993 VOLKSWAGEN CORRADO BLEW HOT STEAM AND MOISTURE OUT OF THE VENTING SYSTEM INSIDE THE VEHICLE. WINDOWS SUDDENLY FOGGED UP AND I COULD NOT SEE OUT OF THE WINDOWS UNTIL I WIPED THEM DOWN. AFTER WIPING THE WINDOWS DOWN (WHILE STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY!) AND VENTING THE STEAM OUT OF THE VENTING SYSTEM AND CHECKING COOLANT SYSTEM, I MOVED OVER TO THE FREEWAY SHOULDER. ANY TIME I USE THE HEATER OR VENT FAN, THE VEHICLES WINDOWS FOG UP IMMEDIATELY. THIS LEAD ME TO BELIEVE THAT THERE MIGHT BE A RECALL IN PLACE OR THAT A RECALL COULD BE MADE BY STATING THIS INFORMATION. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS WITH ANY OTHER VEHICLE THAT I HAVE DRIVEN. MY VW CORRADO IS IN GREAT OVERALL CONDITION. IT IS TAKEN CARE OF QUITE WELL. IT DRIVES FINE, BUT I CAN NO LONGER USE THE HEATER OR VENT SYSTEM. I HAVE HEARD, THROUGH VW CLUBS, ETC. THAT RECALLS WERE INITIATED FOR THIS VEHICLE.*AK
WHITE THICK GAS WAS COMING FROM VENTS OF VEHICLE. THERE WAS A LITTLE ODOR. ALSO, THICK WHITE GAS MADE VISIBILITY POOR. CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER INDICATED PROBLEM WAS HEATER CORE. *AK
COOLANT LEAKAGE FROM DUCTS ONTO FLOOR AND STEAM RELEASED THROUGH FRONT WINDOW VENTS, CAUSING LOSS OF VISIBILITY. *AK
HEATER CORE FAILED SOON AFTER I STARTED ENGINE. THE ENGINE WAS COLD. FUMES/VAPOR STARTED COMING FROM THE VENTILATION SYSTEM INTO THE CAR. APPARENTLY THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH 1990 CORRADOS (NHTSA 96V115000 CORRADO RECALL) BUT THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL FOR LATER MODELS, DESPITE SIMILAR FAILURES REPORTED BY OTHER CORRADO OWNERS (AFTER 1990). *AK
THE HEATER CORE FAILED, ALLOWING FLUIDS AND STEAM TO RELEASE INTO THE INSDE OF THE VEHICLE FROM THE VENTS . VEHICLE NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL 98V295000. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
HEATING CORE IS NOT WORKING, AND FOR THAT REASON THE HEATER DOESN'T WORK. CONSUMER HADN'T REPLACED IT YET. *AK
HEATER CORE EXPLODED IN STEAM, COMPONENT RECALLED BUT CONSUMER NOT NOTIFIED.
THERE HAVE BEEN A SEVERAL SMALL DEFECTS, BUT THE LAST TWO WERE MAJOR. THEY WERE THE FAILURE OF THE IGNITION CONTROL MODULE IN OCT 1998 ($1,440), AND THE HEATER CORE RUPTURED IN JAN 1999 ($440). THE COOLING SYSTEM STILL SEEMS NOT TO BE OPERATING CORRECTLY BECAUSE IT OPERATES BETWEEN 215 AND 230 DEG F IN 25 TO 35 DEG F AMBIENT TEMPERATURES. ALSO, THERE IS STILL A SMALL LEAK IN THE COOLING SYSTEM NEAR THE TOP DRIVERS SIDE OF THE RADIATOR WHICH HAS NOT BEEN LOCATED PRECISELY YET. IN SPITE OF THESE NIGGLING PROBLEMS, I STILL GREATLY ENJOY DRIVING MY CORRADO AND WOULD LIKE TO KEEP IT FOR ANOTHER 5 YEARS. *AK
THIS SERVES AS NOTIFICATION OF AN INCIDENT WHICH I WAS URGED TO REPORT TO THE NHTSA VIA THE CORRADO CLUB OF AMERICA. THE OFFICIAL NHTSA INVESTIGATION NUMBER IS EA98-012. THE INCIDENT WAS NOT REPORTED TO VW OF AMERICA BY MYSELF, BUT PERHAPS BY THE DEALER WHO PERFORMED THE REPAIRS; VW OF SANTA MONICA WHOSE SERVICE WAS EXCELLENT. I WAS NOT CHARGED FOR MAIN PARTS OR LABOR, ONLY MINOR ITEMS SUCH AS GASKETS AND COOLANT. I ONLY HOPE THAT THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN AGAIN AND THAT THE REPLACEMENT PART WAS BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL AS THIS OCCURED AT A MOST INCONVENIENT TIME.
HEATER CORE FAILED, CAUSING HOT COOLANT TO POUR ONTO FLOOR, WINDOWS BECAME STEAMED UP, AND DRIVER COULDN'T SEE OUT OF WINDOW.
HOSE TO HEATER CORE BURSTED, RELEASING STEAM INTO VEHICLE CABIN, FILLING CABIN WITH STEAM AND FOGGING UP WINDOWS, SERIOUSLY COMPROMISING VISIBILITY, COMPROMISING VISIBILITY.
VW STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT COVERED UNDER A HEATER CORE RECALL, ALTHOUGH THE HEATER CORE RUPTURED, DUMPED ANTI-FREEZE IN THE INTERIOR FOOTWELLS.
HEATER CORE MALFUNCTIONED.
WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE THE HEATER CORE BLEW UP, WHICH CAUSED WINDOWS TO STEAM UP AND SPRAYED HOT ENGINE COOLANT OVER THE FLOOR AND DRIVER'S FEET. DRIVER WAS ABLE TO AVOID A CRASH. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO OWNER'S HOME. *AK
HEATER CORE FAILED CAUSING COOLANT TO LEAK ONTO CONSUMER, CAUSING LOSS OF VISIBILITY/LOSS OF CONTROL/ACCIDENT.
HEATER CORE LEAKED ANTI-FREEZE COOLANT AND STEAM THROUGHT VEHICLE'S DUCTWORK. IN ADDITION, PLASTIC HOUSING TO WHICH THE THERMOSTAT ATTACHES WARPED AND WAS LEAKING, AND RADIATOR FAN MOTOR WAS REPLACED WHEN IT STARTED SQUEALING AND SEIZED. *AK
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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