The 2012 Volkswagen Routan has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 15 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 115 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
SUSPENSION12V1470002012-04-0515 affected
Defect
VOLKSWAGEN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2012 ROUTAN VEHICLES, MANUFACTURED FROM NOVEMBER 15, 2011, THROUGH NOVEMBER 21, 2011. SOME VEHICLES MAY BE EQUIPPED WITH RIGHT REAR HUB AND BEARING ASSEMBLIES THAT WERE NOT FULLY MACHINED.
Consequence
THIS COULD RESULT IN A DECREASE IN DURABILITY, WHICH MAY LEAD TO WHEEL SEPARATION, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
VOLKSWAGEN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE RIGHT REAR HUB AND BEARING ASSEMBLY, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 20, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VOLKSWAGEN AT 1-800-822-8987.
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
39
ENGINE
21
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
8
STEERING
8
POWER TRAIN
7
SERVICE BRAKES
7
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
7
1crashes1injuries
AIR BAGS
6
1crashes2injuries
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
3
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
2
Total complaints115
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Driver steering wheel airbag deployed while parking van at work. Nothing was hit just went off causing burns and wrist pain and swelling. Wife stated that the front windshield wipers started turning on randomly while driving to work and then airbag blew while parking.”
“My vehicle is shutting off while driving. It randomly shuts off and I see there are other recalls associated with this issue for a different year but same vehicle/model. I am being quoted well over $2,000 in repairs. This vehicle only has 130,000 miles on it.”
“At first it starts off the vehicle will just shut off while you are driving which is very dangerous I have read many people complaining about this it needs to be recalled then the brakes go and then the transmission seal I have done all the maintenance up keep on my vehicle there is no reason for…”
“At first it starts off the vehicle will just shut off while you are driving which is very dangerous I have read many people complaining about this it needs to be recalled then the brakes go and then the transmission seal I have done all the maintenance up keep on my vehicle there is no reason for…”
“Nhtsa recall 14v396 is probably the best correction to this issue. My van has shut off mid-driving while my children are in the car with me. It is so dangerous in the road. I can't move the steering wheel. Mechanics can't seem to diagnose the problem because the van doesn't give any computer codes…”
“Nhtsa recall 14v396 is probably the best correction to this issue. My van has shut off mid-driving while my children are in the car with me. It is so dangerous in the road. I can't move the steering wheel. Mechanics can't seem to diagnose the problem because the van doesn't give any computer codes…”
“Nhtsa recall 14v396 is probably the best correction to this issue. My van has shut off mid-driving while my children are in the car with me. It is so dangerous in the road. I can't move the steering wheel. Mechanics can't seem to diagnose the problem because the van doesn't give any computer codes…”
“Several times in the last month the car has stopped running without warning. It just shuts off. This has happened in our subdivision travelling at 20mph and most recently on the highway travelling 65mph. The power steering, brakes, everything go dead when the car just turns off and this could…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2012 Volkswagen Routan as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.