VW Continues To Tackle DSG Woes
Published Aug 31, 2009
HERNDON, Virginia — Volkswagen is continuing to wrestle with problems related to its direct-shift gearboxes. On Friday, it announced that it will fix a "faulty component inside the Mechatronic unit" of about 43,000 Volkswagens and 10,300 Audis from the 2007-'09 model years. The so-called "customer service program" to address this new problem is on top of an August 20 recall of the DSG transmission in 2009-'10 Volkswagen and Audi vehicles to fix a component problem that could cause an abrupt shift to neutral while the vehicle is being driven.
The latest fix involves the 2007-'09 Volkswagen Eos, GTI, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen and R32, and the Audi A3 and TT. Volkswagen said it will repair or replace components for free and will reimburse customers who have had the problem repaired at their own expense.
The automaker said the latest initiative was prompted by "concerns raised by its customers with certain direct-shift gearboxes (DSG) in Volkswagen and Audi models, and to affirm its confidence in the sophisticated technology represented by those components." It added that "some customers have reported transmission performance issues under certain driving conditions." As of Monday morning, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had not listed this repair among its recalls.
VW said it will contact owners of the affected vehicles as parts become available. It also said it will extend its warranty to cover the DSG transmissions affected by the customer service program and the recall. "This extended warranty is for 10 years/100,000 miles, transferrable to subsequent owners," the automaker said in a statement.
The DSG gearbox has been touted as a step forward that combines the fuel economy of a manual with the automatic shifting capacity of an automatic transmission.
Customers who own the affected vehicles are told to contact VW at (800) 444-8982 or Audi at (800) 253-2834.
Inside Line says: If you own one of the aforementioned vehicles with a DSG transmission, contact the company for more information. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
