I Dec 19th 2011 I experienced what I believe was a hard start. Weather in the morning was in the teens, afternoon in the low 40S. Leave work, get in car, put key in ignition & turn to on position, put seat belt on, and start. Car starts right away but is idling rough, shaking violently like a washing machine off balance. I drop into neutral and rev it up to 2K, still idles rough for about a minute more but does not stall. I experienced something like this once when my Subaru legacy's #2 injector quit, a misfiring boxer engine does not idle smooth. The ride home was uneventful, stopped at the bank and restarted fine. Everything was normal this morning, temps in the low 40S. What I believe happened to my car was moisture accumulated in the inner cooler and was ingested into the intake tract causing a "hammering effect" as the engine tried to compress this moisture. VW has issued a tsb #21 11 06/2025464 but no recall as yet. When I brought my vehicle in for service they found no moisture so nothing was done. I believe this to be a safety issue because the vehicle could ingest this moisture at any time without warning causing the car to stop and strand in an unsafe location. A recall and fix should be issued.

- Dayville, CT, USA

In Oct. 2009, I purchased a 2010 Volkswagen Golf. Within four months, it began having problems. Every few months since, it has come to a halt while I am driving. The radio and dashboard lights all operate, but the car no longer moves. You must turn it off then back on at least once. I have narrowly avoided accidents with multiple cars and an 18-wheeler on I-95 and US1 in miami. The car has even come to a halt while driving at 55 mph. It has also stopped after trying to accelerate when a traffic light turned from red to green, and when switching lanes. I have brought the car to multiple VW dealerships, but they cannot replicate the problem, and it does not log on the car's computer. Some of the mechanics have noted that other cars have come in with similar issues, especially Golfs, and 2.5L jettas. The car has done this five times and has been in the shop for at least 30 cumulative days. I am working to try to get VW to refund me under the Florida lemon law. At one dealership, I was told the problem would have to get worse before they could do anything. The service manager at another dealership promised to contact VW corporate and suggested I call him to follow up; however, he did not return my call. After I contacted VW corporate, they sent someone to meet me at a local dealership, and he was 30 minutes late for our appointment. When I called the person who had arranged this meeting to determine if the representative was still coming, my call was not returned. I have missed work, spent hours researching this matter and following the protocol associated with the lemon law, and spent money on tolls on the way to the dealership and expenses related to alternative driving arrangements. I absolutely do not feel safe in this car, and avoid driving it whenever possible. Finally, I have read about your investigation into VW cars stalling and would like to point out that this problem is not limited to diesel cars, as my car runs on regular unleaded.

- Miami, FL, USA