— Volkswagen Service Action 24FD helped to convince the government that a VW manual transmission defect petition should be denied as federal regulators decided alleged stalling problems don't warrant a formal federal investigation.
The consumer who filed the defect petition alleges 2019 Volkswagen GTI, Golf GTI and Jetta GLI vehicles have transmission problems that cause the vehicles to stall while driving.
The stalling incidents mentioned in the petition occurred without warning as the vehicles slowed to make stops or while preparing to make turns across traffic with the clutch pedals pressed in and the vehicles in NEUTRAL.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the vehicles can immediately be restarted and the stalling incidents occurred while slowing to stops or slowing down to make turns. Safety regulators say these "circumstances substantially reduce the risk of harm to the vehicle, its occupants and surrounding vehicles."
As of March 2 and out of 11,333 VW vehicles, NHTSA has identified 214 consumer complaints about stalled engines. When adding complaints sent directly to VW and counting warranty data, 413 vehicles allegedly suffered low-speed stalling events.
VW says the engine can stall when unwanted gases remain in the cylinder caused by the intake valve camshaft not being in the correct position at idle. The position results in too much overlap with the position of the exhaust valve camshaft, allowing both the intake and exhaust valves to be open at the same time.
The automaker says the position of the intake camshaft is a result of low oil pressure at idle and high oil temperatures.
VW also learned the problem occurred only with engines manufactured at the Silao Mexico plant.
In December of 2019, VW announced a "Service Action" (24FD) to fix the stalling problems and extend the warranties to December 31, 2025. Dealerships will update the engine control module software.
Letters were sent to affected owners informing them about 24FD and the extended warranties, actions that satisfied NHTSA enough to deny the petition to investigate the vehicles.
CarComplaints.com has owner-reported complaints about the Volkswagen vehicles.
