RoadVitals

1981 Volkswagen Vanagon Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
2
Latest Jul 30, 2002
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Aug 5, 1998

What this page shows

Our database holds 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1981 Volkswagen Vanagon. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–2 of 2

Fuel system
Filed Jul 30, 2002
Fire reported

CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE APPROACHING A STOP SIGN, A BIG CLOUD OF SMOKE WAS COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE, WHEN LIFTING THE COVER TO THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT, CONSUMER COULD SEE IT BURNING WITH A BRIGHT WHITE FLAME, CONSUMER STATES THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE WAS DUE TO A FAULTY FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM WHICH STARTS THE FIRE AND IGNITES THE COOLING FAN HOUSING WHICH IS OF MAGNESIUM ALLOY. *SLC

NHTSA ID
566958
Incident
Jun 29, 2002
Fuel system
Filed Aug 5, 1998

WHEN DRIVING OVER A PUDDLE OF WATER, WATER GETS TRAPPED ON TOP OF FUEL TANK, CAUSING TANK TO RUST, RESULTING IN A FUEL LEAKAGE. PLEASE PROVIDE DETAILS. *AK

NHTSA ID
826306

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.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .