Total Complaints
8 filings
VOLKSWAGEN ROUTAN · model year
8 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2013VOLKSWAGENROUTAN carries 8 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall Not Rated/5 rating, with Not Rated/5 front crash, Not Rated/5 side crash, and 4/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2013 ROUTAN is engine with 3 filings, followed by electrical system (2) and power train (2). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 37 investigation files overlapping the 2013 ROUTAN, and 2 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
8 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE | 3 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 2 |
| POWER TRAIN | 2 |
| SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:HEAD RESTRAINT | 1 |
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Routan. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would suddenly shut off. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated normally. During the failure, no warning lights were illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was contacted regarding the failure, but no assistance was offered. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 130,000.
Mileage: 130,000
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Routan. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would suddenly shut off. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated normally. During the failure, no warning lights were illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was contacted regarding the failure, but no assistance was offered. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 130,000.
Mileage: 130,000
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Routan. The contact stated while driving approximately 40-50 MPH, the passengerâs side front headrest prematurely deployed without impact. There were no warning lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified about the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
Mileage: 100,000
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Routan. The contact stated while driving 50 mph, he started to hear an abnormal sound. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving to his destination. The contact stated that he replaced the intake manifold and the check engine warning light disappeared. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact also called a second local dealer Volkswagen of St. Augustine (3235 US-1, St. Augustine, FL 32086:(904) 467-8880), and made them aware of the failure. The contact stated that currently the vehicle was shifting into gear incorrectly. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 128,000.
Mileage: 128,000
THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE CONSTANTLY MOVING TO 220 THERMOSTAT WATER PUMP AND SENSOR WAS CHANGED WITH NEW ANTIFREEZE. ITS STILL DOING YHE SAME THING. I NOTIVED SEVERAL PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I AM STATIONARY OR MOVING II WILL MOVE.
VEHICLE WOULD SHUDDER SOMETIMES HARSHLY UNDER LIGHT THROTTLE AT 45-60MPH AND SMALL HILL OR ACCELERATION. DEALER DIAGNOSED A LEFT CYLINDER HEAD FAILURE AND CYLINDER MISFIRES. VEHICLE HAS APPROXIMATELY 80,000 MILES. NOT INCLUDED BY VIN AND FALLS JUST OUTSIDE THE MANUFACTURING DATE, WHICH RESULTED IN A MANUFACTURERS EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR SIMILAR FAILURES. REQUESTED ASSISTANCE FROM VW DUE TO THE SIMILARITY OF FAILURE AND CLOSE MANUFACTURING DATE FOR THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. VW DID NOT OFFER ASSISTANCE. HARD TO BELIEVE A VEHICLE JUST PRODUCED OUTSIDE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY WINDOW WOULD HAVE A SIMILAR FAILURE AND NOT BE A PART OF THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. REVIEW THE DOCUMENTED COMPLAINTS... MANY 2013 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN, CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY AND VW ROUTAN VANS HAVE LEFT CYLINDER HEAD FAILURES THAT ARE DOCUMENTED YET ARE NOT INCLUDED BY THE MANUFACTURERS IN THEIR EXTENDED WARRANTY NOTICE.
Mileage: 80,000
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 VOLKSWAGEN ROUTAN. WHILE DRIVING UNKNOWN SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE SHOOK, JERKED, AND MISFIRED WHILE THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS APPLIED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL DEALER (HAWK VOLKSWAGEN LOCATED AT 2861 W JEFFERSON ST JOLIET, IL 60435 815-741-1100) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE CYLINDER HEAD NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE, BUT DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 74,000.
Mileage: 74,000
ENGINE WON'T START WHEN BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED WHILE VAN IS PARKED IN DRIVEWAY, GARAGE, AT GAS STATION, AT SORE PARKING LOT; ALARM HORN SOUNDS FOR NO REASON WHEN VAN IS PARKED; DOORS LOCK WHEN EXITING VEHICLE YET NO LOCK/FOB HAS BEEN PRESSED LOCKING BOTH ELDERLY PARENTS INSIDE VAN WHEN TEMPS. WERE -5 DEGREES OUTSIDE; ENGINE ONLY STARTS WHEN REMOTE START BUTTON ON KEY FOB IS USED, THEN THE ALARM HORN SOUNDS UNTIL VAN IS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. THE ISSUE IS CLEARLY THE T.I.P.M. MODULE WHICH HAS BEEN AN ISSUE ON SEVERAL CHRYSLER-BASED PRODUCTS (WHICH THIS ROUTAN IS.) VW HAS RUN DIAGNOSTIC CODES TWICE AND NOTHING TURNS UP BECAUSE THE VAN ISN'T RUNNING TO TRIGGER A CODE. ALTHOUGH I HAVE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY, THEY SAY THE T.I.P.M. IS NOT COVERED BECAUSE NO CODES ARE TRIGGERED. MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATION NO.: TB-15-11-04. NHTSA NUMBER: 10043276. THE DATE LISTED BELOW (01/06/2015) IS THE FIRST INSTANCE OF ENGINE FAILURE, IT HAS BEEN ONGOING AS OF LAST WEEK, 7/6/2016.
Mileage: 9,500
Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
Inadvertent Door Opening
Fuel Leak due to Suction Jet Pump Failure within Fuel Tank (Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 16V647)
Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
LGES High Voltage Battery Failures
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.