2009 VOLKSWAGEN GTI Complaints

I PURCHASED MY 2009 GTI FEB 2015 AND THE CARFAX WAS GREAT; HOWEVER, THE ABS CONTROL MODULE RANDOMLY FAILED ABOUT TWO MONTHS LATER CAUSING LOSE OF STEERING AND CONTROL, THIS OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC AND IT WAS VERY SCARY. LOUD WARNING BEEPS WENT OFF AND WARNING LIGHTS STARTED FLASHING. THE WARNING LIGHTS CONTINUED FLASHING UNTIL I TURNED IT OFF. WHEN I RESTARTED THE ENGINE, THE WARNING LIGHTS WERE NO LONGER LIT AND DROVE IT HOME. I TESTED MY CAR AGAIN MINUTES AFTER ARRIVING HOME. IT SEEMED FINE, BUT THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN AFTER JUST A MINUTE OF DRIVING IT. I TOOK IT TO THE VW DEALER SERVICE CENTER. THEY DIAGNOSED THE ISSUE TO BE THE ABS MODULE. IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AND THE COST IS $2,260. I CALLED VW AND THEY DO NOT COVER THE REPAIR COSTS. THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY CONSIDERING THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS AND THE DANGER THIS MALFUNCTION IMPOSES. *TR

DRIVING AT SPEED, THE ABS CONTROL MODULE RANDOMLY FAILS, CAUSING ABS BRAKES TO SKID UNDER HARD BRAKING. LOSE OF STEERING AND CONTROL IS THE RESULT. IN ADDITION THE PARTIAL STEERING IS AFFECTED. THIS IS A LAWSUIT WAITING TO HAPPEN, I CAN NOT UNDERSTAND WHY VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICAN DOES NOT REPLACE FAULTY UNITS AS THIS CAN CAUSE FATALITIES AND INJURIES. MANY PEOPLE ARE REPLACING THESE UNITS THROUGH NON-CERTIFIED TECHNICIANS, OR DIY. THIS SHOULD BE INSTALLED BY A VW CERTIFIED TECH. NHTSA SHOULD MANDATE A RECALL OR SOMEONE COULD GET SERIOUSLY INJURED OR DIE. THERE ARE SO MANY CASES OF THIS FLOATING AROUND THE INTERNET FORUMS AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA. DOES SOMEONE HAVE TO DIE FOR PEOPLE TO FINALLY LISTEN????? *TR

I WAS DRIVING UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS ON DRY CITY STREET AT APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, WHEN SUDDENLY A LOUD WARNING TONE WENT OFF AND 3 WARNING LIGHTS (ABS, TRACTION CONTROL, AND BRAKE) STARTED FLASHING. THIS WAS IN HEAVY TWO-WAY TRAFFIC AND IT WAS TERRIFYING TO THINK THESE SYSTEMS HAD FAILED. FORTUNATELY I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND STOP SAFELY. THE WARNING LIGHTS CONTINUED FLASHING UNTIL I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE. WHEN I RESTARTED THE ENGINE, THE WARNING LIGHTS WERE NO LONGER LIT, SO I THOUGHT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN SOME TYPE OF FLUKE. BUT TO BE SAFE I BROUGHT IT TO MY VW DEALER SERVICE CENTER. INITIALLY THEY DIAGNOSED THE ISSUE AS THE DSG MECHATRONIC UNIT, WHICH THEY REPLACED. HOWEVER SHORTLY AFTER GETTING THE CAR BACK, THE SAME SYMPTOMS OCCURRED AGAIN UNDER NORMAL DRIVING. THIS TIME WHEN I BROUGHT IT TO VW THEY INDICATED THAT THE ABS MODULE AND PUMP NEED TO BE REPLACED, AT THE COST OF $3,600. VW REFUSES TO COVER THE COST OF REPAIR. DUE TO THE HIGH COST INITIALLY I POSTPONED THE REPAIR, BUT SINCE THEN THE SAME SEQUENCE OF EVENTS HAS OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY 6 MORE TIMES AND I HAVE READ ABOUT NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES RELATED TO THE SAME ISSUE, SO I AM GETTING THE WORK DONE. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE CAR. WHEN THIS PROBLEM STARTED IT HAD ONLY 29,000 MILES AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN SERVICED BY THE DEALER AND DRIVEN RESPONSIBLY. EVERY TIME THIS HAS OCCURRED DURING MILD DRIVING CONDITIONS AND I WAS NOT APPLYING THE BRAKES. IT JUST FAILS AT RANDOM. USUALLY BUT NOT ALWAYS THIS OCCURS WHILE TURNING. *TR

THE VW DEALER HAS DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A FAILURE OF THE ABS CONTROL MODULE. WHILE DRIVING A CAR WITH A FAILED CONTROL MODULE, THERE A NO SYMPTOMS, BUT IF YOU HIT THE BRAKES HARD ENOUGH TO TRIGGER THE ABS SYSTEM, THE ABS SYSTEM DOESN'T WORK. THE TIRES LOCK, AND THE CAR SLIDES. THEREAFTER, SEVERAL WARNING LIGHTS COME ON, BUT POWER CYCLING THE CAR TURNS THE LIGHTS OFF, GIVING THE IMPRESSION THAT THE PROBLEM HAS RESOLVED. I WASN'T INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT, BUT THE RISK OF SOMEONE BEING IS A SERIOUS ACCIDENT BECAUSE OF AN ABS FAILURE IS HIGH. YOU WOULD ONLY FIND OUT THE PART HAD FAILED AFTER YOU NEEDED IT. *TR

THE VEHICLE SEVERELY WONDERED UNDER HARD BRAKING WITHOUT ANY ALARM BEING TRIGGERED BEFORE THE INCIDENT. ONLY AFTER THE INCIDENT, ABS AND RED BRAKE LIGHT WENT ON. AS A RESULT OF THE INCIDENT, THE ABS CONTROL MODULE AND PUMP WERE REPLACED. THE ABS SYSTEM DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE DESIGNED AS A FAIL-SAFE SYSTEM WHICH DOES NOT SEEM GOOD ENGINEERING PRACTICE. *JS

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN I REACHED A SPEED OF 55 MPH WHEN MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC WHERE THE GUY TOLD ME THAT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD HAD GONE BAD. I'VE READ MULTIPLE THREADS ONLINE AND THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON FACTOR IN 2009 GTI'S IT ALSO SAYS THEY MAY HAVE EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR 10YR/120K MILES. *TR

WHILE TRAVELING AT 55 MPH IN SIXTH GEAR ON THE NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY, I SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND THE ENGINE ABRUPTLY TURNED OFF. I CONSEQUENTLY QUICKLY DECELERATED AND WAS ALMOST REARENDED BEFORE BEING ABLE TO TURN ONTO THE SHOULDER. I SMELLED A BURNING ODOR AND GOT OUT OF MY CAR. EVENTUALLY, THE VW DEALERSHIP ADVISED ME THAT THE #2 COIL HAD FAILED AND CAUGHT FIRE. CONSEQUENTLY, THE WIRING HARNESS FOR THE IGNITION COIL AND PLASTIC COVER SURROUNDING THE COIL HAD BEEN DESTROYED BY THE FIRE. THIS IS THE SECOND INCIDENT INVOLVING AN IGNITION COIL ON THIS VEHICLE. APPROXIMATELY 12 MONTHS AGO, THE #4 IGNITION COIL FAILED LEADING TO RAPID DECELERATION AS I WAS DRIVING. THIS APPEARS TO BE A CHRONIC PROBLEM WITH THE IGNITION COILS THAT MAY RESULT IN OTHERWISE AVOIDABLE ACCIDENTS. *TR

TURNING RIGHT FROM A STOP. CAR'S ABS FAILED AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH AND CONTINUED TO STAY OFF UNTIL THE ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. THE ABS LIGHT DISAPPEARED UNTIL NEXT TURN AT APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH WHEN ABS FAILED AGAIN. ISSUE HAS PERSISTED IN ANY TYPE OF INCLEMENT WEATHER OVER THE PAST 10 MONTHS. *TR

WHILE DRIVING NORTH ON I-895 AT 55 MPH, NEARLY ALL OF MY WARNING LIGHTS APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD, ALONG WITH "ENGINE FAULT WORKSHOP" ON THE MASS DISPLAY. THE VW DEALERSHIP INDICATED THAT IT WAS THE ABS CONTROL MODULE. UPON RESEARCH ONLINE, THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE WITH 2009 VW GTI'S. SOME HAVE REPORTED THAT THE THEIR BRAKES HAVE COMPLETELY LOCKED UP ON THEM. I CALLED VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, AND THEY DENY ANY ISSUES WITH THIS. *TR

WHEN BRAKING IN SLIPPERY CONDITIONS, THE ABS LIGHT, BRAKE LIGHT, AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS COME ON AND THE ABS CEASES TO FUNCTION, ALLOWING THE BRAKES TO LOCK UP AND THE CAR TO SLIDE. THE LIGHTS RESET WHEN THE CAR IS TURNED OFF AND ON BUT THE FAILURE HAPPENS EVERY TIME ABS SHOULD BE ENGAGED. EFFECTIVELY, THE ABS DOES NOT WORK. *TR