2008 Volkswagen Touareg

WHILE DRIVING, FIRST SIDE MARKER AND RIGHT SIDE TURN SIGNAL BEGAN TO FAIL, THEN WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT HEADLIGHT FAILED. UPON INSPECTION ATTEMPTING TO REPLACE FAILED COMPONENTS, INSULATION WAS CRUMBLING & NON- EXISTENT. IMMEDIATELY CHECKED THE LEFT SIDE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY. SAME CONDITION OF WIRE INSULATION FALLING OFF WIRES, CAUSING SHORTING OUT OF COMPONENTS. REPLACEMENT OF HEADLIGHT HOUSING ASSEMBLY, BULBS, BALLASTS AND CONTROLLERS WAS REQUIRED TO OPERATE VEHICLE CONDITION. WE CONTACTED THE LOCAL VW DEALERSHIP (PRESTON VW, BOARDMAN, OHIO), THEIR RESPONSE WAS THAT THEY WERE NOT AWARE OF ANY PROPLEMS WITH THE TOUAREG RELATED TO WIRING OR THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES. TOTAL COST TO REPLACE W OEM THROUGH ROCK AUTO AUTO PARTS (MOST COST EFFECTIVE) WAS TOTAL$1,314.82

THE HEADLIGHTS OF MY 2008 VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG HAVE BEEN BURNING THE BULBS AND GIVING ME MANY PROBLEMS TO CONDITION IN THE NIGHT YESTERDAY APRIL 26, 2019 THE HEADLIGHT BURNED LEFT I SAW SMOKE COMING OUT AND OPENED THE HOOD AND I FOUND THAT THERE WAS A SMALL FLAME OF FIRE AND I TURN IT OFF AND WENT TO MY HOUSE WITHOUT LIGHTS WHEN I REMOVE THE HEADLIGHT I FIND THAT ALL THE CABLES ARE WITHOUT THE COVER THIS IS NOT SAFE FOR NOT BOBY I WANT TO KNOW WHERE I CAN GO TO FIX THIS PROBLEM

WHEN CHANGING ANY OF THE THREE BULBS IN EACH HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY, WIRING TO THE BULB HOLDER(S) WILL BE MISSING INSULATION AND HAVING EXPOSED, OR BARE, COPPER WIRES. EVEN WHERE THE INSULATION IS STILL INTACT, THE INSULATION IS VERY LIKELY TO BE BRITTLE AND JUST THE MINIMAL MOVEMENT OF THE WIRES, NECESSARY TO REPLACE ANY OF THE BULBS, WILL CAUSE ADDITIONAL INSULATION TO BREAK AWAY FROM THE WIRING INSIDE THESE HOUSINGS. THERE IS NO WIRE WRAP, ELECTRICAL TAPE, NOR HEAT SHIELDING ON ANY OF THE WIRES WITHIN THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES, LIKE WHAT YOU FIND ELSEWHERE WITHIN THE VEHICLES' WIRING LOOM AND ESPECIALLY THROUGHOUT THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THESE WIRES WITHIN THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES ARE FULLY EXPOSED TO THE HEAT BUILD-UP WITHIN THE HOUSING WHILE ALSO BEING SUSCEPTIBLE TO ABRASION AGAINST ANY OF SEVERAL STAMPED METAL PIECES INTERNAL TO THE HOUSING. THE WIRE GAUGE USED SEEMS SUFFICIENT FOR THE CURRENT REQUIRED TO RUN THE 55-WATT HALOGEN BULBS USED FOR HIGH AND LOW BEAMS IN THIS PARTICULAR MODEL OF TOUAREG, ALTHOUGH THE LIGHTS ARE NOT FUSED INDIVIDUALLY, MEANING PER-SIDE, SO THE LARGER VALUE FUSE IN COMMON FOR BOTH HEADLIGHTS IS HIGHER THAN THE CURRENT-CARRYING CAPACITY WIRING WITHIN THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES. ANY SHORTING OF THESE WIRES, EITHER DIRECTLY AGAINST EACH OTHER OR THROUGH ANY METAL MAKING UP THE STRUCTURE OF THE REFLECTORS, WOULD HAVE TO PASS ENOUGH CURRENT TO BLOW THE COMMON FUSE. THIS WOULD CERTAINLY RESULT IN SMOKING THE REMAINING INSULATION WITHIN THE HOUSING AND POTENTIALLY FURTHER UP INTO THE ENGINE BAY HARNESS WHICH PLUGS INTO THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A FIRE BUT MINIMALLY CAUSING A LOSS OF HEADLIGHTS, IF NOT ALL LIGHTING AND OTHER ELECTRICAL LOADS. A QUICK GOOGLE OR YOUTUBE SEARCH REVEALS THIS PERSISTENT ISSUE OVER MANY MODELS AND YEARS OF VW, AUDI, AND OTHER MANUFACTURERS USING SIMILAR HELLA OR VALEO LIGHTING COMPONENTS.

I PURCHASED AN '08 VW TOUAREG 2 V8 WITH THE MUCH LAUDED BI-XENON AFS II HEADLIGHTS. I FULLY UNDERSTAND BI-XENON BRAND HEADLIGHTS AND HIDS IN GENERAL ARE IN DESIGN TRANSITION AND ARE SUPPOSED TO OFFER MORE ILLUMINATION, AND THUS BETTER SAFETY, THAN PRIOR HALOGEN HEADLIGHT DESIGNS. HOWEVER, MY REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE WITH BI-XENON HEADLIGHTS STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT NHTSA OVERLOOKED SOMETHING THAT HAS PLACED MANY MOTORISTS, MYSELF INCLUDED, AT RISK. BECAUSE OF THE "VERTICAL CUTOFF" PRESENT IN THE LIGHT PATTERN OF LOW BEAM BI-XENONS, THE UPHILL SIDE OF ROADWAY DIPS AND VALLEYS ARE NOT ILLUMINATED. THIS IS AN EVER-PRESENT DANGER FOR THOSE OF US WHO TRAVEL RURAL, COUNTRY ROADS, AT NIGHT, WITH ABUNDANT WILDLIFE PRESENT (OR PETS, CHILDREN OR JOGGERS). OF COURSE, UTILIZING THE HIGH BEAMS CAN COMPENSATE FOR THE BLIND SPOTS CREATED BY THE VERTICAL CUTOFF. HOWEVER, WHEN ON UNFAMILIAR COUNTRY ROADS, TRAVELING THE SPEED LIMIT, I FIND THAT I AM CAUGHT OVERDRIVING THE HEADLIGHT ILLUMINATION WHEN ENCOUNTERING DIPS AND VALLEYS, AND CANNOT REACT QUICKLY ENOUGH WITH HIGH BEAM RESPONSE TO MAKE ME FEEL SECURE. THERE IS ALSO THE ISSUE OF BLINDING ONCOMING MOTORISTS WITH MY HIGH BEAMS OR EVEN THOSE I'M APPROACHING FROM BEHIND. I BELIEVE THE NHTSA APPROVAL OF BI-XENONS HEADLIGHTS ON THE VW TOUAREG WAS A MISTAKE. THE VEHICLES NEED TO BE RECALLED. THE ALLEGED ADDED ADVANTAGE OF BI-XENONS ON LEVEL OR ASCENDING ROADWAYS IS NEGATED BY THE BLIND SPOTS CREATED IN DIPS AND VALLEYS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS DESCENDING. I WOULD GLADLY RETURN TO HALOGEN TYPE HEADLIGHTS FOR RURAL SETTINGS. *TR