Volkswagen engineering analysis EA11002
Engine Compartment Fire. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the electrical system on 7 model years (2001–2007). Opened Jan 26, 2011, closed Feb 17, 2012 after 13 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn July 2010, the Agency opened PE10-027 to investigate allegations of coil on plug (COP) ignition coil fires in MY2002-2003 VW Passat vehicles. The investigation was upgraded in January 2011 to include all MY2001-2007 4-cylinder VW Passat, gasoline, turbo-charged vehicles. Based on the analysis of VW's response, and including ODI's consumer complaints, ODI has since identified 135 unique engine fire reports attributable to the COP coils. After further review of the details as contained in each report, ODI determined that 43 of the 135 fire reports were actual fire/flame incidents, 83 fire reports were thermal events (smoke, spark, heat or wire melt), and another 9 fire reports were undetermined in severity due to the lack of information. These COP coil fires were characterized as initiated from within the COP coil circuit located at the top of the engine block and below the plastic engine cover. The fires observed were contained in the engine compartment and did not reach into the passenger compartment in contrast to those caused by an overheated catalytic converter examined in ODI?s investigation in 2007 and 2008. There were no reports of crashes or personal injury in this examination. A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. The agency will monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstancesSee the Closing Report for additional details.
A Engineering Analysis is the deeper stage, usually upgraded from a Preliminary Evaluation: NHTSA tests, requests engineering documents and decides whether a safety defect exists. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2001 Volkswagen Passat; 2002 Volkswagen Passat; 2003 Volkswagen Passat; 2004 Volkswagen Passat; 2005 Volkswagen Passat; 2006 Volkswagen Passat; 2007 Volkswagen Passat.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs EA11002 a recall?
No. A engineering analysis is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is EA11002 still open?
No. It closed on Feb 17, 2012 without a recall.
Which vehicles does EA11002 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 7 model years: 2001 Volkswagen Passat, 2002 Volkswagen Passat, 2003 Volkswagen Passat, 2004 Volkswagen Passat, 2005 Volkswagen Passat, 2006 Volkswagen Passat and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.