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Old 16th May 2012, 12:39   #316
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Re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

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Originally Posted by vb-san View Post
The other end of the spectrum is the Vento fire incident. It has been months since a life is lost; it looks to go down as another forgotten case.
Of course its a shame. I would also bring in another incident from Pune; when a maniac ST bus driver who ran over people & vehicles and snuffed out 9 lives. Whats the update on that? zilch.

the wheels of justice move so slowly (if at all) that there is no deterrent for anyone. Everyone is innocent till proven guilty and the time consumed is such a nightmare that everyone forgets about it and looks at the next 'breaking news'. It would have been ideal if VW were asked to shut shop till proven innocent. Then they would have come up with the reason within days.
No one takes any ownership, so everyone can run amok.
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Old 16th May 2012, 13:09   #317
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Re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

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There were a couple of cases reported here in Singapore about Hyundai Sonata taxis catching fire. No one was hurt in both incidents. But in this case, the official distributor of Hyundai is fully involved in the investigation, and they are getting an engineer from Hyundai’s headquarters (Seoul) to assist the investigation team.
That is possibly because of strict laws in Singapore. Here in India, thanks to our loophole filled laws, Hyundai's attitude towards serious complaints is just as bad as VW or Skoda's . Until I made the video of the steering issues in my car, they(HMIL) were not willing to accept that my i20 had steering issues. This inspite of the EPS having failed in middle of traffic and i barely avoiding an accident. Inspite of the serious nature of the problem, they were not willing to help.

Unfortunately in our country, with the right palms greased, truth and justice can be suffocated to death and only in our country can fatal design flaws in a car be hidden.

Last edited by skanchan95 : 16th May 2012 at 13:22.
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Old 16th May 2012, 13:41   #318
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Re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

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Originally Posted by skanchan95 View Post
Here in India, thanks to our loophole filled laws, Hyundai's attitude towards serious complaints is just as bad as VW or Skoda's . Until I made the video of the steering issues in my car, they(HMIL) were not willing to accept that my i20 had steering issues. This inspite of the EPS having failed in middle of traffic and i barely avoiding an accident. Inspite of the serious nature of the problem, they were not willing to help.

Unfortunately in our country, with the right palms greased, truth and justice can be suffocated to death and only in our country can fatal design flaws in a car be hidden.
My post was not to imply that Hyundai did a great job (an incident like this will be dealt in the same way here, whether it is of Hyundai, VW or Mercedes). It was more to say that how a serious incident is viewed differently in different places.
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Old 6th June 2012, 20:23   #319
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Re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Well as someone who works on Crash Safety with Restraint systems like Seat Belt being an integral part I am quite confused as to how two incidents of Seat Belt jamming could happen.
The cars must have been relatively new. Seat Belts are purposely built with fairly simple mechanism even if integrated with a load limiter and a pre-tensioner. True the belt get twisted but that doesns't really explain the re-occurrence.
The Buckle is easy to get off!
Anyways this should stand as cautionary event for all of us.
Kindly attend to seat belts on a periodic basis. They are indispensable during a crash.
How to Reset a Stuck Seatbelt | eHow.com

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Old 21st June 2012, 14:00   #320
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Re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Does anyone have an update on this incident? I do not have access to all local vernacular media, just want to confirm if VW have done something at all to look into this?
In any case, they dont even have that much to do in their factory now that prodcution is put on hold. I do know they are not the same people, but just saying they dont have any excuses to hide behind now (that they didnt have a reasonable one earlier either is another story)
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Old 24th June 2012, 15:17   #321
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

guys, I am a bit out of touch with the vento and rapid threads. has VW done anything yet after the few fire incidents? have they rectified the problem or is the cause now known and then care of or could be taken care of?
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Old 24th June 2012, 21:11   #322
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

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guys, I am a bit out of touch with the vento and rapid threads. has VW done anything yet after the few fire incidents? have they rectified the problem or is the cause now known and then care of or could be taken care of?
None that anybody knows of. Don't think there is even any official communication as to the cause of those different fires . Though it seems these incidents have not happened again. Its still a mystery to everybody and who knows maybe even to VW themselves . However the cause could have been aftermarket mods not executed cleanly though this is just speculation on my part. Otherwise we should have seen a lot more of the issues happening. Guess if you are planning aftermarket mods just make sure it is done professionally with no exposed loose electrical connections, etc.

Last edited by noopster : 25th June 2012 at 10:30. Reason: Only relevant part of your post copied to this thread
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Old 25th June 2012, 01:47   #323
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Test Drive & Review

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None that anybody knows of. Don't think there is even any official communication as to the cause of those different fires . Though it seems these incidents have not happened again. Its still a mystery to everybody and who knows maybe even to VW themselves . However the cause could have been aftermarket mods not executed cleanly though this is just speculation on my part. Otherwise we should have seen a lot more of the issues happening. Guess if you are planning aftermarket mods just make sure it is done professionally with no exposed loose electrical connections, etc.
This is really sad. VW lost many potential customers because of that and also many current users must be scared after the incident. its sad that such a big and responsible automobile company hasn't done anything about it yet which some how reassures the faith in its clients. instead its just letting time pass by so slowly people would forget all about it until god forbid another such incident happens.
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Old 9th July 2012, 18:54   #324
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Re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Everytime I do Pune-Bombay, I see the same burnt car on the side of hte road. I think it's a Vento - its parked on the side immediately after you enter New Bombay. It's been a while though, it hasnt been removed. The shape of the tail looks like a vento - but its been burnt out enough such that no trims etc are visible. Anyone else notice this car? Is this one of the burnt Ventos, do you think?
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Old 9th November 2012, 14:56   #325
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Re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Yesterday I was speaking with cab driver while coming back from Mumbai. We were generally chatting about accidents and he happened to mention about Vento fire on FC road. As per him, he reached the spot half minute after the car started burning. He made some points which are highly debatable. But in any case there are conflicting points like Door was open or glass was broken etc. This person might be passing some of his guesses as facts. Anyway, here are his point-

1.Both door and seatbelt were locked
2. Glass was broken (Forgot to ask him which glass)
---This contradicts with earlier eye witness accounts
3. Seatbelt was cut using knife supplied by hotel
---Earlier reports say holder was broken, belt was not cut
4. Driver was badly burnt, but was speaking with police
---This tallies with earlier reports
5. Car was Petrol
---This also contradicts with earlier post, but DNA article earlier posted by me specifically says that car was Petrol
6. Now this is a big point - He said the car was fitted with LPG
---None of the earlier reports suggest this. I quizzed him on why he thought car has LPG fitting. He said he heard driver telling this to Police. He also said he could see some 'regulator' when bonnet was opened later on.

Somehow, it is difficult to believe such a new car was fitted with LPG. Also, both RTO and VW would have immediately blamed it on LPG.

Last edited by radek : 9th November 2012 at 14:57.
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Old 9th November 2012, 17:03   #326
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Re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

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6. Now this is a big point - He said the car was fitted with LPG
---None of the earlier reports suggest this. I quizzed him on why he thought car has LPG fitting. He said he heard driver telling this to Police. He also said he could see some 'regulator' when bonnet was opened later on.

Somehow, it is difficult to believe such a new car was fitted with LPG. Also, both RTO and VW would have immediately blamed it on LPG.
The fire originated from the front of the car.
The guy who died in this fire was known (perhaps related, I do not remember) to one of our fellow Pune bhpians. As far as I know there was no LPG fitting. But our bhpian friend should be able to confirm this.

No response yet from VW, so it seems that the matter has been hushed down.
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Old 25th December 2012, 13:55   #327
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Re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

Was Just watching CNBC Awaz,

A VW polo catches fire in a running car in thane. The owner somehow comes out of the car. VW picks his car and takes to the VASS.

Now the classic VW game begins. They give a estimate of 19 lacs to repair the car.

The insurance company freaks out. Ofcourse VW people should be sent to some mental Asylum for their entire life for giving an estimate of 19 lacs to repair a 6 lac rs car.

Now Customer is in a fix. Insurance company denies the claim due to exhorbitant estimate and VW says we cant help , please patofy the insurance company.

When CNBC experts call VW to ask why the car burnt, VW gives all time antique answer - Local Accessories.
When they ask how can they give an estimate of 19 lacs - We dont know we will relook into the estimate.

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Old 25th December 2012, 14:06   #328
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Originally Posted by amit_mechengg View Post
Was Just watching CNBC Awaz,

A VW polo catches fire in a running car in thane. The owner somehow comes out of the car. VW picks his car and takes to the VASS.

Now the classic VW game begins. They give a estimate of 19 lacs to repair the car.

The insurance company freaks out. Ofcourse VW people should be sent to some mental Asylum for their entire life for giving an estimate of 19 lacs to repair a 6 lac rs car.

Now Customer is in a fix. Insurance company denies the claim due to exhorbitant estimate and VW says we cant help , please patofy the insurance company.

When CNBC experts call VW to ask why the car burnt, VW gives all time antique answer - Local Accessories.
When they ask how can they give an estimate of 19 lacs - We dont know we will relook into the estimate.

Someone should tell vw, it's the veyron that's sold at less than it's made for, not their entire range.
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Old 25th December 2012, 15:36   #329
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Re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

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Now the classic VW game begins. They give a estimate of 19 lacs to repair the car.

When they ask how can they give an estimate of 19 lacs - We dont know we will relook into the estimate.

It seems they are yet to learn fractions and decimals. I am sure there is something between 1 and 9 which they forgot to put before sending it to the insurance company . Now that they have screwed up they are sticking by claiming that they do not understand the concept of decimals. I hope Saturday Night Live picks this up soon.
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Old 25th December 2012, 16:05   #330
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Re: Volkswagen Vento catches fire. Owner dies from burn injuries

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It seems they are yet to learn fractions and decimals. I am sure there is something between 1 and 9 which they forgot to put before sending it to the insurance company . Now that they have screwed up they are sticking by claiming that they do not understand the concept of decimals. I hope Saturday Night Live picks this up soon.
Similar thing had happened when my collegue in office had head on collision in his brand new polo with a hyundai accent on Solapur highway. It was a brand new 800kms done polo, on a curve the accent dint take a turn at all and direcly banged this poor chap head on.

The VW people gave an estimate of 7.9 lacs. He freaked out and asked how can the repair cost be higher than new car cost. They said including labors etc it comes to that figure.

Seems they want to convey that VW has zero labor cost in producing the original car so they sell it cheap.

Hell !! This happens only in INDIA.
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