VW Headlights May Burn Out

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Nov 9, 9:40AM EST

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VW has enough problems in the U.S. It can barely give it cars away with “0% down, 0%” at signing. Research from firms which include J.D. Power and Consumer Reports do not tend to favor its models. Now, VW apparently has one more problem. Headlights on some of its cars may be apt to burn out, potentially leaving drivers on long dark roads, without illumination.

The NHTSA “SafeCar.gov” site gives specifics of the problems that drivers of VW cars have reported:

ODI has received 26 complaints alleging a partial or complete loss of the vehicle’s exterior lights. The reports suggest the problem worsens over time with additional exterior lighting malfunctioning as the problem progresses. Most of the complaints report finding an overheated and melted fuse in the under-hood fuse box. The overheated 30-amp fuse (number F16 or SB16) protects, among other things, several exterior lighting circuits.

Even if the problems turns out to be limited, it is the kind of public relations nightmare VW cannot afford. There have been several other large recalls around the industry in the last week, and, of course, another Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) car fire. But, Tesla’s cult like following and effusive praise of its cars by reviewers will likely allow it to get beyond the problem–if it does not happen again.

Recalls are routine in the car industry. Honda (NYSE: HMC) recently recalled 344,ooo Odyssey minivans for brake problems recently. Toyota (NYSE: TM) recalled about 870,000 Camrys, Venzas, and Avalons for airbag defects just a few days ago.

But, even in an industry in which there seems to be a recall a week, headlight which burn out are likely to put off the public more than most. The dark is frightening enough for most people. Driving 40 miles per hour in the dark is unimaginable.

VW, which needs the U.S. market to help its global ambitions to sell as many cars as GM (NYSE: GM) and Toyota do, has had one more setback in America, and it is a big one.

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.