This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Turning left from turn lane with green light. Oncoming traffic with ample space to make the left turn. Started to accelerate into intersection and auto transmission (dsg) shifted to a lower gear causing sluggish acceleration. I pushed the accelerator to the floor to get more power and to avoid the approaching traffic. By that time, it was too late and a collision occurred, totaling both vehicles.
I was driving home in rush hour after work on a four-lane road, in a heavy rain storm. At mile 1,565, my car lost power, the P R N D S transmission options were blinking, the foot break icon came on, and when I pushed on the gas, my rmps increased, but no power. I was able to safely maneuver the car out of rush hour traffic, pull over on the shoulder, and sat there wondering what just happened. Being that the car was new, I did not know what had happened, there was no service engine soon light come on. I put the car into park, sat there for a bit, and then put it back into drive. About 3 miles later, the transmission options blinked again. Once I arrived home, I called the VW dealers service dept. Where I bought the car and talked with the service manager. He never saw anything like this, told me not to drive it to the dealer (I am 100+ miles from the dealer), to have it towed to them. I am very unsatisfied with VW, Jetta, and my car. I do not feel like my car is safe, reliable, or trustworthy. Now, because of the instances that occurred, I will always be paranoid with my car, worrying if I will be able to safely get to and fro the places I need to be. I recently was on the interstate with an inconsiderate tractor trailer behind me not giving me a reasonable distance between me and his oversized vehicle. I was not able to change lanes for other cars were in the adjacent lane. Fear came over me as I know I would be in a severe accident if the transmission decided to fail again resulting in a loss of power. There would have been no way for the oversized tractor trailer behind me to stop in time without causing an accident because the car I was driving lost power.
Purchased a 2009 VW Jetta sportswagon tdi on 5/31/09. On August 4th, the car was taken in for a 90-inspection. Prior to this, I experienced the panel lights flashing and when attempting to accelerate, the car did nothing and appeared to be in neutral. I stated this to the VW service representative. We were given the car back on August 6th, stating that there was a faulty harness connector and a wire repair was performed. Between August 6th and August 13th, I experienced the same problem with the acceleration approximately 5 times in the space of three days. On August 14th I had the car towed to the same VW dealer that performed the 1st repair. When telling the service representative what occurred, the repair shop could not find any problem with the transmission and inferred that perhaps my driving was at fault. On 8/20, the VW dealer called and said that they had spoken to a VW factory rep and that there was a faulty temperature control problem. On Tuesday, 8/25, the VW dealer called and told us the car was ready to be picked up. I picked the car up that evening (8/25) and the repair notice stated that the sensor was replaced. When driving to work on Wednesday, 8/26, I experienced lurching, seizing and non-acceleration of the transmission approximately 4 times. VW of America has been included "in the loop" from the beginning (case # 90204213). On Thursday, 8/27, the car was towed to a different VW dealer, however, with the same business name (david maus). This is the third time within a space of 3 weeks that the car has been into the dealership for the same circumstances (e.g., transmission failure). I am fearful of driving the vehicle because of the lurching, non-acceleration and seizing of the transmission. The vehicle has been towed to the VW dealer because of the unsafe driving conditions I have experienced.
The contact own a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta. He stated that he experienced transmission failure while driving 70 mph on the highway. The vehicle went shifted into neutral gear while driving and he was forced to drive to the emergency lane. Warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel; however, after an hour, the vehicle reset itself. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who refused to diagnose the transmission or repair the failure. The manufacturer advised the dealer not to make any repairs unless they could duplicate the failure. Recall#09V333000, component: Power train:automatic transmission is related to the failure; however, the VIN is not a part of the recall. The failure mileage was 11,000 and the current mileage was 15,500.
Our 2009 Volkswagen Jetta tdi stopped and would not move. Fortunately we were not in an intersection the first time. The second time there were no other cars around when the car stopped. All of the gears were lighting up. There was no warning. The dealership replaced the input speed sensor and the fluid temperature sensor and we fortunately have not experienced the problem since that time.
- Issue, MD, USA
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I just read that some VW's are being recalled for a dsg transmission defect; I have a 2009 Jetta sportswagen that does not have the dsg automatic transmission, but I have experienced hesitation and a perception of stalling with the transmission in my car on several occasions. Usually when I am taking off from a quick stop, the car will hesitate almost as if it were stalling; usually I lift up on the gas pedal and when I reapply it, then the car will move. I had the VW dealer look at this and they told me that it was due to the electronic controls of the transmission gearing and that sometimes the transmission doesn't "know" what gear to choose to move forward; they reset the transmission module so that it would "relearn" my driving style. This is a dangerous problem in that if you're pulling out into traffic, and the car hesitates or "stalls" this can be highly problematic. Therefore, I ask that you look into a similar transmission issue with the non dsg auto transmissions on the Jetta. By the way, the dealer said that I was not the first person to complain of this problem. I also test drove a tiguan recently which I was considering buying and on the way out of the dealership, the car literally started to slow down just as if it were stalling - so this problem doesn't seem to be restricted just to my car.
Make: Volkswagen model: Jetta sportwagen year: 2009 drivetrain: Tdi transmission: Dsg issue: While decelerating, and under normal driving conditions, the dsg transmission downshifts into neutral. Detail: The P-R-N-D-S letters on the multifunction display begin to flash. The transmission will not re-engage until the vehicle is brought to a complete stop, shut off, and then restarted while depressing the brake. This transmission failure has occurred on multiple occasions while downshifting from 6th to 5th and while coming to a complete stop.
Jetta vehicle goes into neutral on it's own (while still in drive position) and then may go back into drive. Many occasion the vehicle has gone in to neutral and back. On one occasion at an intersection it would not return after shifting back and forth. I had to turn of the vehicle and restart it to have the ability to drive. The dealer found the mechatronics unit failed and spent 3+ weeks to repair. The same day I received the vehicle my wife and I experienced similar failures twice. Both these incidents were coming down hill to stop. Approaching the stop the car went into neutral, revved up the engine, and then went back to normal. All in a 3-4 second time frame. Incidents like this have a concern for me on these cars. For one, when stopping these cars downshift to aid in the braking. A sporadic shift into neutral could scare/alarm the driver and cause an accident. I think there is something seriously wrong with these vehicles that requires intervention.
There is a false neutral on the vehicle. The throttle is depressed and there is no response as far as power to the wheels. The engine responds by increasing rpms, but the power is not transferred to the wheels. This is unsafe and unsettling as you are placed in the position of not knowing when it will occur and whether one might be trying to merge or make a left turn and suddenly be without power and subject to being hit.
While driving, vehicle appeared to go into neutral with no transfer of power from the engine to the drivetrain. The prnds indicator began flashing though still indicating it was in drive. The vehicle rolled to a stop and was unable to move to get off the highway. Problem corrected itself briefly after turning the vehicle off then on again, but happened again shortly after resuming driving. Vehicle had to be towed to the nearest dealership. Dealer states it is a faulty transmission speed sensor and is awaiting a backordered part to repair it.
Commuting from work, on the highway driving at approximately 65 mph, I momentarily release the gas pedal on my 2009 VW Jetta tdi automatic (dsg). When I step on the gas once again to maintain speed, there is no power. Engine behaves as if it is in neutral, with rpms going up with no acceleration. Prnds indicator lights on dashboard blink. It takes a couple of tries of releasing then stepping on the gas pedal again for the gear to take. In the meantime, car has slowed down quite a bit in a busy highway during rush hour making for a safety hazard for me and other motorists. This has happened approximately 7-8 times since I purchased the car (1 month, 2200 miles).
This is for a 2009 VW Jetta tdi with a dsg transmission. The vehicle has a tremendous lag when pulling away from a stop, it also has a loud clunk and a hard jerk when coming to a stop. The vehicle has also seemed to be in neutral once and was still in drive, it would not move and the vehicle had to be restarted to move again. I have made a service appointment at my local VW dealer.
New 2009 Jetta tdi sedan with dsg engine. Two incidents...one on the 3rd and second on the 4th of August. On the 3rd was dropping off a grandson at his mothers office. Car was in park, engine idling, child exited car, I put food on brake, shifted into reverse, whereupon the car went into neutral mode, and the lit gears indicator light started blinking, while the green depress brake pedal light came on, engine raced and suddenly re-engaged reverse, lurched backward almost striking passing car. On the 4th was traveling North on a smooth highway, between 50-55 mph, when suddenly car slipped into a neutral mode while remaining in drive on the gear selector. As this happened the entire gears indicator light started blinking rapidly and the depress brake pedal before starting light came on too. Engine raced to redline and car slowly coasted to a stop. As an older driver, 68 years, these two incidents alarmed me. I love the car and its overall performance, but I fear lost confidence in the car. The VW service mgr. Dan is great and the dealership kempthorn moyors is high quality...I think Volkswagen should replace my car or modify the warranty on the transmission and dual clutch/flywheel on the car.
While driving at highway speeds the automatic transmission in my 2009 Volkswagen Jetta tdi slips into neutral with no warning. The transmission remains in neutral until you lift your foot off the accelerator. Only then will it go back into gear. The has occurred 5 times in the 2.5 months I've own the car. I took the vehicle to the local VW dealer to explain the problem. The vehicle is there now, hopefully being repaired.
I bought a new 2009 VW Jetta tdi sportwagen with the dsg transmission and at 1000 miles exactly, the transmission went into neutral, all the lights blinked on the mfi, and the car coasted to a stop. I put it in park and turned the ignition off. I restarted the car and went on my way. At exactly 1724 miles, this happened again. I took the car into the dealer at 2361 miles and they are reporting that they can find nothing wrong with the transmission.
We recently purchased a 2009 VW Jetta tdi sportwagen which recently left my wife stranded along the highway. The incident took place on Aug. 3, 2009 and the vehicle has just over 4,500 miles on it. My wife was driving at a speed of about 65 mph on I95 North when the car lost power, the engine was running and it seemed like the car just slipped into neutral. My wife put the flashers on and made it to the side of the road on a major interstate -- scary! she then put the car in park, lights were still flashing on the dash, so she then turned it off. She restarted the car and it seemed fine. She pulled back out onto the highway and about a half mile down the road it happened again, she again coasted to the side of the road and called VW. They came and towed the car to the dealership. The car is currently in the dealership waiting to get fixed.
Entering traffic in 2009 Volkswagen tdi sportwagon. As I applied the throttle, the car went into a false neutral, and lost power. The engine still revved, but nothing got through the transmission. All the gear indicator lights (P-N-R-D-S) on the dash flashed. I turned the car off, and restarted it, (in the intersection) and it worked fine. The happened three times while driving from seattle to san jose on 29 July.
1. driving at highway speeds in 6th gear, flat road, in cruise control. No erratic driving or fast acceleration. 2. the automatic transmission fails by falsely shifting into neutral when the transmission shifter is in drive. The prnds gear indicator on the dash began flashing when this happened. This has occurred 5 times since I bought the car on July 15, 2009. The car lost all power to the front (drive) wheels and had to be stopped on the side of the highway, then restarted for the car to return to normal operation. 3. the car has been submitted to the VW dealer's service dept. No parts have been replaced or repaired.
Was driving my 2009 Jetta tdi wagon down the highway at approximately 90km/H. all power was lost, the car was in "neutral." Rpms dropped to about 1000. The gear shift indicator was flashing "prnd." I had to push the car off the highway, I waited 10 minutes, re-started the car and drove it to the closest VW dealer. They said it was a faulty temperature sensor, and that none were available in North America. I was told to continue driving the vehicle and just to pull over every time the car behaved like this.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lantana, FL, USA