DSG/Mechatronic Failure Update

[VWRedux]

bcze1 says: "I'll go over it again"

No thanks... I'm done with this tiny dispute.......


Modified by VWRedux at 11:57 PM 7-21-2009

[piston]

Quote, originally posted by badbadtdi2009 »

50,000 units..not widespread...what a joke.

And it really doesn't have to be 1% or widespread if the issue is real.
VW just needs to investigate the issue scientifically by reviewing DSG repair logs from all dealers.

fyi-
Less than 1% of people who own iPods have reported that their iPod devices(just seen this on the news) have caught on fire or exploded for no reason. Apple has no comment. If news like this gets traction, it could give Apple iPods a bad name and kill sales.

The same can happen if VW doesn't do some investigation now before the reporters catch wind of this and put their spin on things like VW has been notified of the issue and severity but since the percentage is low, they have no comment.

I've personally only had a few small issues.
1. Going reverse on a hill, I get the bucking bronco issue.
2. Sometimes when I floor it from a dead stop, it shifts(slams) roughly through the gears.
3. Once when I tried to merge into traffic from a stop, the car did not move for about 1-2 seconds when I gave it gas then suddenly took off and I almost didn't make into traffic safetly & could have caused an accident.

It's time VW at least do some scientific research and investigation into the DSG issues before a death or serious accident occurs.

[T1noandaudi]

possible fix if this has not been posted here

http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/...94482

[VWRedux]

Yes the link was previously posted... but it's a new bit of information, isn't it? Very interesting that VW sent a tech to rip apart his unit, discover the true cause, "a float" of some kind inside the Mecha.U. where either the Teflon coating wore off, or wasn't ever present, causing the float to stick in its bore as the DSG heated up, and then did nothing about it!

[VWRedux]

Piston said: "VW just needs to investigate the issue scientifically by reviewing DSG repair logs from all dealers."

VW already has this information because they have had to pay the bill. Otherwise you're right piston, but it won't be VW looking into their own DSG/Mech.U. warranty service records... It's routine during a Federal investigation of this nature that all records VW has on file pertaining to the malfunctioning DSG transmissions to be turned over to Federal investigators. This record will eventually be made public since it serves the public interest. Then we shall see the true scope of the problem.

[T1noandaudi]

can some one actually explain or know the name of that teflon plate called so i can bring it up to the dealer.
cause my dealership is rather incompetent.

im tired of "THATS NORMAL" response from them.

[VWRedux]

Quote, originally posted by T1noandaudi »

can some one actually explain or know the name of that teflon plate called so i can bring it up to the dealer. cause my dealership is rather incompetent. im tired of "THATS NORMAL" response from them.

Still looking for the name myself... however, why not go back to that R32 thread above, print it out and hand a copy to your service rep for starters?

[LWNY]

Quote, originally posted by VWRedux »

Piston said: "VW just needs to investigate the issue scientifically by reviewing DSG repair logs from all dealers." VW already has this information because they have had to pay the bill. Otherwise you're right piston, but it won't be VW looking into their own DSG/Mech.U. warranty service records... It's routine during a Federal investigation of this nature that all records VW has on file pertaining to the malfunctioning DSG transmissions to be turned over to Federal investigators. This record will eventually be made public since it serves the public interest. Then we shall see the true scope of the problem.

Then how come GM did not disclose the reason for their own version of automobile WMD?

http://www.motorauthority.com/....html

Now who is going to start their own investigation? This could be a bigger coverup than the JFK assasination

[piston]

Quote, originally posted by LWNY »

Then how come GM did not disclose the reason for their own version of automobile WMD? http://www.motorauthority.com/....html Now who is going to start their own investigation? This could be a bigger coverup than the JFK assasination

But at least they admit to the issue and are going to solve it whereas VW appears to not accept the issue(yet) until the sabar rattling from consumers get louder.

"Now a General Motors spokesman says the problem has been identified, and therefore can be solved,"

[SKUDRIVER]

08 Jetta Wolfsburg. Had "lost power" like it went in to nuetral twice while trying to turn left thru traffic almost getting smoked...wife & kids in the car. Have an appointment for this & the recall on the driveshaft bolts next week. I love this car but it will be gone fast. No way in hell I could ever trust having my family in it again...gee maybe it will engage before that semi smoke us all. This was my first import after putting up with the big 3's **** all these years. I never experienced a life threatening issue with the crap coming out of Detroit. Sure it falls apart & the fit & finish sucks...but this is BS. I came accross this site today trying to research this issue. Glad I did. C-ya VW.

[09vdubgti]

Quote, originally posted by thomas17 »

I'm going on my 3rd DSG/Mechatronics Unit. I have a 08 wolfsburg with 31,000 miles. The very first day I had the car in broke down with 101 miles on it. Flashing PRNDS and it would not shift into any other gears or reverse. Had it towed to dealer and waited 3 weeks for new Mechatronics Unit. For a few days it was fine then it started with jerking,hard down shifts from 3 to 1 in drive. Backing up was scarry at times. Brought it back to the same dealer 4 different times and they said this was normal for DSG. Got tired of hearing the same story from them and took it to another dealership and they said it was mechatronics unit and its on order for last 3 1/2 weeks. I love the car but with all these problems coming up with DSG I'm thinking of trading it in when I get it back. I've had many VW's in my time and never had problems like this.

dont trade it in, its the third time get ur money back lemon law!

[badbadtdi2009]

Bonnie Gelfusa
Mediation/Arbitration VW
Phone: 248-754-3591
Fax: 248-754-6504
Bonnie.gelfusa@vw.com

Fax all the repair documentation to this number. Send an email with your contact info.
Tell them you will sue if nothing is done.

[SKUDRIVER]

I'm not a sue type person. I'll let the dealership address it, then sell it. The seed has been planted & I just don't feel safe not knowing when/if it will happen again. Too bad cuz I really like this car: value, fit/finish, fun factor. Bottom line tho all the import hype that they are over & above American cars is not there. They just have their own set of problems & cost twice as much to fix. I can buy a Ford with a 100K mile warranty, have it paid off & into something else before it expires. At 38, we will be buying a lot more vehicles...not VW tho. All the things I've been PO'ed about over the years with my domestics don't add up to this. None of them were safety related.

[VWRedux]

I feel your pain... But I would sell it now SKUDRIVER before it's resale value takes a nose dive. (When and if this DSG thing ever hits the media.)

[VWRedux]

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Thanks to you all, DSG failures are finally under the spot light it deserves. Many are asking me for numbers. So far the NHTSA has only received complaints on 2008-'09 VW DSG vehicles... such as R-32's, GTI's, Eos, and Jetta's. They claim that approx. 50,000 DSG units (cars) were produced during this period. The agency's investigation, (which only started on the 17th) will provide the true number of cars VW has already serviced with malfunctioning DSG's, how many 'call backs' or repeated repairs they have performed, how many DSG repairs are still pending, (estimated to be high hundreds) and the potential safety risks that may exist to the rest of them with functioning DSG cars.

Then depending on the action VW decides to voluntarily take, (Yes, I said voluntarily take, the NHTSA has NO power to force VW to do anything) it will determine how many cars (if any) will be recalled by VWoA. Sad but that's how it's set up!

If 2006 and 2007 DSG owners wish to be part of this investigation, they better file a report with the NHTSA as soon as possible! I don't mean to raise expectations here, but it's rumored that complete new transmissions may be in the works for the worst affected cars. (According to my source, Mech.U. replacements appear to be causing more problems than they're actually solving in most cases.)

Stay tuned....


Modified by VWRedux at 1:14 PM 7-23-2009

[badbadtdi2009]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...lated

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S7WEAMbM4Q&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...lated

[LWNY]

Looks like it is making the news:

http://jalopnik.com/5321361/nh...sions

60 minutes, here it comes.

Forget the Bush/Cheney Secret spying/wiretapping/assassin team/illegal war / Gulf of Tonkin/Kennedy assassination, this is the real deal.

[VWRedux]

Thanks LWNY... boy, did you read some of the replies to the story? Some people are just so stupid.....

[pokipoki]

Quote, originally posted by pokipoki »

Note: I know very little about cars, I have no idea what a Mechatronic unit is but here is my issue. - Had an oil leak 6 months back, Audi said they fixed it. - Had occasional leaks after. - Occasionally going around corners at 15-20 mph would get a "jerk" in power coming out of the corner when putting on the gas. - Last week had the blinking PRDNS while going 70+. - Had flashing engine icon the next morning. - Took into the dealer - told me it's leaking not oil but transmission fluid. - Audi road tested my car for another day, determined that the whole transmission needs to be replaced (under warranty). - Now waiting for the transmission to arrive and be installed. - Good news, gave me a S4 loaner, bad news it smells like an ashtray inside. At only 37,000 miles I will be putting my complaint in too with the NHTSA. I'll post any more info when I get my full paperwork from the dealer.

Picked up my car today.

This what my paperwork said:
########
Cause : Defective transmission
Correction:TAC#481224. Road test to verify concern. Ran GFF(P1707). Found trans pan bolts loose causing fluid loss. Recovered only about 1 qt. fluid. Inspected and found small metal particles in pan. Reinstall pan and refilled fluid. Road test. Found hard shift in reverse and 1st. Rescan car (P1815).
Replace trans. Flush and clean cooler lines. Road test.
#########

In the parts list it has Gear Oil and Gearbox (REMFG)
I assume REMFG means remanufactured, gee thanks AUDI!
It was all under warranty but FYI it would have cost $4803.74

[VWRedux]

PokiPoki said: "In the parts list it has Gear Oil and Gearbox (REMFG)
I assume REMFG means remanufactured, gee thanks AUDI!
It was all under warranty but FYI it would have cost $4803.74"
__________________________________________________ ___

That's funny, just yesterday I was told that there are no remanufactured DSG's to be had, not only that but that they DON'T EVEN EXIST!!

That only new DSG units were available...

Thanks for the update.... How does it drive?

[pokipoki]

Quote, originally posted by VWRedux »

Thanks for the update.... How does it drive?

So far so good. Sent in my report to the NHTSA too.

[thomas17]

Submitted my complaint to NHTSA and also Florida Lemon law. Dealer took my Jetta in on June 12, 2009 and today is July 25, 2009 and still waiting.

[randy]

Well, I had a DSG TDI on my list of cars to buy, not anymore!

[GTI_Fahrenheit]

Too bad I'm not in the U.S.

I have a 2007 GTI with DSG and experienced the failure on the weekend while turning at an intersection... that could have been ugly... after waiting over night the check engine light is no longer on and everything seems fine. Was going to take the car in right away, may wait till the next regular service now.

While I can't submit to the NHTSA I have submitted a note to the Canadian equivalent.

[VWRedux]

Hey GTI_Fahrenheit don't despair... both of our countries have reciprocity... you can report it to the NHTSA as well.

[Audi'sRevenge]

Quote, originally posted by T1noandaudi »

can some one actually explain or know the name of that teflon plate called so i can bring it up to the dealer. cause my dealership is rather incompetent. im tired of "THATS NORMAL" response from them.

x1000

I don't get why there is all this arguing going on in this thread anyway? Like the guys that want to deny that this is a real problem, WTF is wrong with you guys? Seriously. You're just as bad as the dealer that gives the "that's normal" or "I never heard of that" bullcrap lines.

If you don't have the problem, then that's fine for you, I get that. Why come on a thread and antagonise people that do have issues?

Excuse me but you guys don't have to drive around a jerky car that has a sticker of $40k that's only a year old, while looking like a either you have a POS for a car or you're moron that can't drive a manual with the noises the thing makes and the jerky movements. If you did I can guarantee you would be wanting to find out how your problem can be solved too, not get your car back from the dealer telling you there is nothing wrong and wasting your day; and then getting comments from the peanut gallery online as well. Then going back into your car everyday for hard [auto] downshifts, jerky starts, near stalls, lurching forward, and (in some cases) worse.

Drive my car everyday the way it is for a week or two, then you come back on here and start an argument about how there is nothing wrong if you really think there is nothing wrong.

If VAG doesn't want to do anything about the problem and the NHTSA can make them do something, why are people getting up in arms about us that do have problems making reports? (Though I personally can't as I'm not in the US.) In other words we should just keep driving around our messed up cars and keep quiet just so you guys with properly working cars, don't have to read about the complaints? I'm at a total loss here as to what the motivation is behind trying to argue this issue.

The facts are that it is a problem for a lot of people, VAG isn't really do much for a lot of people (some people are getting Mechatronics units replaced others are getting the run around), and we want our cars fixed properly. If VW starts doing that then that's great but if they don't and it takes the intervention of a government body to have this happen, then I'm all for it.

[caj1]

Now it's clear why VW was so apprehensive about releasing the DSG transmission in the US

[VWRedux]

[splintz]

have a 09 gti a month old 1300 miles with the dsg the shift indicator symbols started to flash and i had no power rpms went up and the vehicle decelerated. almost got hit on the highway. extremely pissed off right now. i haven't even made my first payment. thank god i let them talk me into the extended warranty. i filled out a complaint on the NHTSA website. when people state it takes weeks for the part, does the car sit at the dealer or is it driveable.

[csc129]

Would you want to drive it risking almost getting hit again if the DSG malfunctions? I would think the dealership will keep it to prevent liability but even if they tried to give it back to you, I'd tell them you were almost run over on the highway. Good luck.

[VWRedux]

Wow... it's not funny, but welcome to the club... Thanks for getting out your NHTSA report.

Mechatronic Units are taking 6 weeks on average... some dealers allow owners to take cars back home, others who may be up to their necks in faulty DSG cars have even offered to tow cars back to the homes of the owners because they lack the room... this tactic also helps disqualify the owner from filing a Lemon Law complaint.

Call JM&A and demand in writing that they clearly add the words "DSG", "Mechatronic" and "Clutch Packs" to your extended warranty contract. Don't accept their word over the phone either.

I don't know about you, but I'm trying to get VWoA to buy back the car.... I have read too many reports of repeated DSG failures after repairs to trust my son's life in a car like that, besides no matter what, the resale value of this year DSG Jetta just went down the toilet.... no thanks VW, we're done.

Please keep us posted.


Modified by VWRedux at 12:52 AM 8-3-2009

[badbadtdi2009]

Director, Press and Public Relations
Public Relations Department

Volkswagen of America, Inc.
2200 Ferdinand Porsche Drive
Herndon, VA 20171

Phone: 703 364 7650
Fax: 703 364 7071
Wireless: 703 939 1535
steve.keyes@vw.com

Since VW will not issue a recall...lets make them buy some of these vehicles back...

[badbadtdi2009]

Soooo...the good mech units start with trip 000's in the part #.

[GTInoob]

I took my '08 GTI in for service this past Friday for a scheduled LOF. While there I told the service manager about my surging in first and reverse. The SM immediately said that there have been problems with the mechatronic unit and that they will submit the work order for a new unit, which she said would take about a month. I got a receipt of the work order for the mechatronic unit and I have a copy saying that a test drive was performed by the mechanic and that he confirmed the surging in 1st and Reverse. I was so surprised that they acted so quickly and in my favor. We will see how the rest of it pans out. I will update when it's replaced.

[jried]

I'm having the same kinds of 3-2 and 2-1 downshift clunking issues, along with a single instance of disengagement at speed (happened last week). Just dropped my '06 A3 3.2 DSG off at Santa Monica Audi this morning to investigate.

Seems to be a real problem for Audi owners, which is a shame. I'm glad that it's becoming a known issue, though. Hopefully the dealer can identify the problem and fix it.

Edit: There are 41K miles on my car, btw.