The defect
VOLKSWAGEN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009 AND 2010 PASSENGER CARS MANUFACTURED BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 2008 AND AUGUST 2009. THE WIRING HARNESS OF A TEMPERATURE SENSOR IN THE DIRECT SHIFT GEARBOX (DSG) MAY HAVE CONNECTOR WIRES THAT WERE INSUFFICIENTLY CRIMPED. WITH INSUFFICIENTLY CRIMPED CONNECTOR WIRES, A TEMPERATURE SENSOR HAS THE POTENTIAL TO FALSELY DETECT A HIGH GEARBOX OIL TEMPERATURE, CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO ABRUPTLY SHIFT TO NEUTRAL. IF THIS HAPPENS, THE SELECTOR LEVER POSITION INDICATOR WITHIN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WILL FLASH. IN ADDITION, THE "DEPRESS BRAKE PEDAL" INDICATOR LIGHT WILL BE ILLUMINATED, ALERTING THE DRIVER TO APPLY THE BRAKES.
The risk
THE ABRUPT SHIFT TO NEUTRAL COULD LEAD TO A CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
The remedy
VOLKSWAGEN WILL REPROGRAM THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE WITH UPDATED SOFTWARE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 20, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VOLKSWAGEN AT 1-800-822-8987.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Audi A3 | 2009, 2010 |
| Audi TT | 2009 |
| Volkswagen Eos | 2009 |
| Volkswagen GTI | 2009, 2010 |
| Volkswagen Jetta | 2009, 2010 |
Components: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audi A3 | 2009 | 47 | 5 |
| Audi A3 | 2010 | 50 | 5 |
| Audi TT | 2009 | 12 | 2 |
| Volkswagen Eos | 2009 | 84 | 2 |
| Volkswagen GTI | 2009 | 167 | 2 |
| Volkswagen GTI | 2010 | 53 | 1 |
| Volkswagen Jetta | 2009 | 889 | 6 |
| Volkswagen Jetta | 2010 | 852 | 4 |
Other power train recalls in 2009
20 of the 491 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2009 concerned the power train; VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC filed 63 campaigns in all.
| 09V430000 27 Nov 2009 | DUTCHMEN MANUFACTURING, INC. |
| 09V436000 5 Nov 2009 | CHRYSLER LLC |
| 09V415000 21 Oct 2009 | PACCAR INCORPORATED |
| 09V240000 30 Jun 2009 | MACK TRUCKS, INC |
| 09V235000 25 Jun 2009 | CLASSIC MOTORWORKS LIMITED, USA |
| 09V229000 18 Jun 2009 | PACCAR INCORPORATED |
| 09V228000 18 Jun 2009 | KEYSTONE RV COMPANY |
| 09V164000 19 May 2009 | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2009