Total Complaints
14 filings
VOLKSWAGEN VANAGON · model year
14 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1987VOLKSWAGENVANAGON carries 14 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 2 fires, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1987 VANAGON is power train with 1 filings, followed by fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly:filler pipe and cap (1) and fuel system, gasoline:fuel injection system:injectors (1). 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 1987 VANAGON, 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
14 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY:FILLER PIPE AND CAP | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM:INJECTORS | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | 1 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY | 1 |
| SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER | 1 |
| EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 |
| TIRES | 1 |
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1987 VOLKSWAGEN VANAGON, EQUIPPED WITH MASTER CRAFT GLACIER GRIP TIRES SIZE: 185/70/ R14. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 55 MPH WHEN THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AND REAR DRIVER SIDE WHEELS BEGAN SHAKING ABNORMALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THE CHORDS WERE DETACHED FROM THE TIRES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE TIRES WERE NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGES WERE UNKNOWN.
I BELIEVE AN AGENT OF VOLKSWAGEN FALSIFIED DOCUMENTS PERTAINING TO THE RECALL CLOSING AND REPAIR OF MY FATHER'S VW VAN VIN [XXX] . RECALL CAMPAIGN NHTSA #88V-038 AND POSSIBLY 87V-052. THESE ARE PRESENTLY BEING FIXED BY SOUTHTOWNE VW IN SOUTH JORDAN UTAH TO THE TUNE OF ALMOST 3000.00 AT OUR EXPENSE. VOLKSWAGON NEVER SENT MY FATHER, THE ONLY OWNER OF THE VEHICLE ANY RECALL LETTERS, AND IT IS OBVIOUS TO ME THEY ARE NOW FIXING THE RECALLS BUT CHARGING US. THEY SAY THE RECALLS ARE CLOSED AND CANNOT PROVE TO ME THEY WERE FIXED (BECAUSE THEY NEVER WERE) I AND MY FATHER WERE LIED TO ABOUT THIS RIGHT ABOUT THE TIME OF THE RECALLS, BY VOLKSWAGEN INTERMOUNTAIN, THE DEALER HE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE FROM. WE WERE TOLD NOT TO WORRY ABOUT THE LEAKING GAS, THAT IT WASN'T DANGEROUS, WHEN WE ASKED THEM ABOUT LEAKING GAS. THEY ALSO TOLD MY FATHER NOT TO GO ABOVE 30 RPM'S WHICH IS VERY STRANGE. I WANT AN INVESTIGATION DONE. I WANT EITHER PROOF OF THE VEHICLE BEING REPAIRED (WHICH I KNOW IT WASN'T) FOR FRE
Mileage: 40,000
FUEL TANK LEAKS OUT OF THE FILLER NECK. *AK WHEN THE ENGINE WAS UNDER HIGH LOAD AND HOT, IT STALLED. (FUEL STARVATION DUE TO RESTRICTION) THE FUEL KEPT DROPPING UNTIL THE 3/6 LEVEL RUBBER GROMMETS WERE CHANGED. THE WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS RUNNING UNDER A HEAVY LOAD AND CLIMBING ON A HOT DAY, IT STARVED FOR FUEL AND LOST POWER. *SCC THE CONSUMER STATED WHEN THE TANK WAS FILLED, THERE WAS SEEPAGE FROM THE FILLER PIPE. *JB
Mileage: 96,000
RECALL 93 V 175 000/AIR CONDITION:HOSE:DUCT:AIR: DEALER;EGC VOLKSWAGEN; NEW HYDE PARK,NY, PHONE# 516/488-2420REFUSED TO HONOR RECALL. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
WHILE DRIVING CONSUMER WAS THROWN OUT OF DRIVER'S SEAT, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS THROWN BACKWARDS CAUSING MINOR INJURIES, CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO HOLD ON TO THE STEERING WHEEL AND MANAGED TO GET VEHICLE BACK UNDER CONTROL, THIS HAS ALSO HAPPENED WITH PASSENGER SEAT AS WELL. *JB
PUMP CORROSION DUE TO STEEL/ALUMINUM INTERATION. STEEL BRACKET CLAMPING ALUMINUM FUEL PUMP CAUSED PUMP CORROSION TO THE EXTENT THAT FUEL LEAKED FROM PUMP CASE
FOR NO APPARENT REASON WHILE DRIVING, CONSUMER NOTICED A CHANGE IN THE VEHICLE AFTER PULLING OVER ON THE SHOULDER. VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. FIRE WAS PUT OUT BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. VEHICLE TOTALLED. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK *YC
FIRE OCCURED AS A RESULT FROM A GASOLINE LEAK IN THE FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEM.
OWNER STATES THAT THE THROTTLE STICKS,AND THAT WHEN THIS HAPPENS THE VEHICLE ACCELERATES. DRIVER MUST USE CLUTCH TO SLOW VEHICLE DOWN. THIS IS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. *AK
DUE TO THE DESIGN OF THE HEAD GASKET , THE GASKET IS LEAKING, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO OVERHEAT. THE CONSUMER ALSO NEEDS TO REPLACE THE WATER PUMP, CONSUMER CONTINUED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO DEALER AND PROBLEM STILL OCCURRED. *AK
DUE TO THE DESIGN OF THE HEAD GASKET , THE GASKET IS LEAKING, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO OVERHEAT. THE CONSUMER ALSO NEEDS TO REPLACE THE WATER PUMP, CONSUMER CONTINUED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO DEALER AND PROBLEM STILL OCCURRED. *AK
DEFECTIVE FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM, CAUSING LOSS OF POWER AT HIGHWAY SPEED.
FUEL FILLER TUBE FAILED. *SD
ALTERED ODOMETER. *SKD
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.