VW Jetta In The Hot Seat As NHTSA Looks Into Burns
By Sharon
Silke Carty, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
DETROIT (Dow
Jones)--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.
NHTSA's 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.
