Volkswagen AG's 2000 to 2003 Passat cars are being investigated by a U.S. safety agency after 19 reports of fires that may be caused by malfunctioning ignition coils.
The inquiry may affect about 346,000 gasoline-powered Passats with four- and six-cylinder engines, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said today on its Web site. The fires were in the engine compartment, the instrument-panel area and on the underside of the cars near the catalytic converter, the agency said. No injuries were reported.
NHTSA began a preliminary investigation, the first step in its safety-review process. About half of those initial inquiries result in a recall.
Volkswagen, Europe's largest automaker, sold 352,668 Passats during the four years covered by the investigation, according to Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based Autodata Corp. The Passat is second among the Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker's models in U.S. sales, behind the Jetta.
Clark Campbell, a spokesman for Volkswagen of America Inc., didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. The U.S. unit is based in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
