This article is from the Watercooled VWs General FAQ, by Jan Vandenbrande with numerous contributions by others.
A: A smell of coolant coming from your vents when the heater is on, an unusual
amount of fogging of the windshield, and in some extreme cases, coolant
leaking into the inside of the car, burning the occupants.
There are many cases in which the front passenger or the driver
himself were hurt. First known cases in Japan, VW recalled the
questionable cars (only in Japan!). Later many cases in Germany,
too, but VW waited with a recall since Feb. (?) 1996.
 
Continue to: