2009 VOLKSWAGEN GTI Complaints

I PURCHASED MY 2009 VW GTI IN AUGUST OF 2008 AND HAVE BEEN USING IT AS MY DAILY DRIVER SINCE ITS PURCHASE. NOT KNOWING THE TECHNICALITIES AND SPECIFICATIONS OF THE DSG TRANSMISSION I DROVE THE CAR AS USUAL UNTIL AFTER HAVING THE CAR FOR 2 OR 3 MONTHS WHEN I WENT TO START THE CAR THE PRNDS WAS FLASHING IN THE DASH AND THE KEY WOULD NOT TURN TO UNLOCK (I COULD ATTEMPT TO START IT THOUGH) NOR WOULD IT REMOVE FROM THE IGNITION. AFTER 3 FAILED ATTEMPTS TO START IT I GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND RETURNED AN HOUR LATER TO START IT AND IT WORKED WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT WITH MY DEALER AND THEY "FIXED THE ISSUE" MY REPLACING A MAGNETIC SENSOR IN THE TRIPTRONIC UNIT. I DROVE THE CAR AS USUAL FOR A FEW MONTHS AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE (OR SO I THOUGHT). I HAD A FRIEND RIDE WITH ME WHO OWNS ANOTHER VW WITH A DSG TRANSMISSION AND HE COMMENTED ON HOW BAD THE SHIFTS WERE AND HOW IT RODE BAD, SO I BEGAN TO INVESTIGATE THE ISSUES (THIS BEING THE ONLY DSG CAR I HAVE DRIVEN I DID NOT KNOW MY CAR WAS DRIVING BAD). TURNS OUT THE CAR HAD A FAULTY MECHATRONIC UNIT THAT WAS CAUSING MY CAR TO HAVE ROUGH SHIFTS, "LURCHING" MOTIONS WHILE IN 1ST GEAR AND REVERSE, AND THEN WOULD FEEL AS THOUGH THE CAR WAS GOING TO STALL AND CUT OUT. I HAD BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO DRIVING THE CAR AS SUCH AND HAD TO TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS WHEN PARALLEL PARKING SO MY CAR WOULDN'T "LURCH" AND HIT THE CAR ON EITHER SIDE WHILE PARALLEL PARKING. YOU CAN READ ABOUT MULTIPLE OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM WITH A LATE MODEL VW GTI (PARTICULARLY 2008 AND 2009) ON A VW ENTHUSIAST FORUM: HTTP://FORUMS.VWVORTEX.COM/ZEROFORUM?ID=988. *TR

THIS PROBLEM RELATES TO THE VOLKSWAGEN 2009 DSG TRANSMISSION AVAILABLE ON SEVERAL 2009 MODELS. MINE IS A 2009 GTI. IT HAS OCCURRED SEVERAL TIME SINCE PURCHASE 3 WEEKS AGO. FROM TIME TO TIME THE TRANSMISSION WILL UNEXPECTEDLY SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL. THE GEAR SHIFT LIGHTS ON THE DASH FLASH. THIS CAN HAPPEN WHILE STANDING AT A STOP LIGHT OR WHILE AT SPEED. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE LARGELY UNKNOWN BY DEALERS, BUT IS NOW WELL DOCUMENTED BY OWNERS. SOME OWNERS HAVE NOW HAD THE PROBLEM RESOLVED. A DISCUSSION OF THE PROBLEM CAN BE FOUND AT: HTTP://FORUMS.TDICLUB.COM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=235168&PAGE=9 LIKE MANY OWNERS, I HAVE HAD THE CAR IN FOR DIAGNOSTICS. NO PROBLEM WAS FOUND. DON HOWSON GRAPEVINE, TX *TR

I OWN A NEW 2009 VW GTI, DSG, 2-DOOR. I HAD IT JUST OVER A MONTH AND HAS ABOUT 1100 MILES ON IT. ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO, I PARKED IN MY CONDO AND WAS IN "PARK" AND NOTICED THE GEAR SHIFT LIGHTS ON THE DISPLAY (P-R-N-D-S) WERE FLASHING/BLINKING. I TURNED OFF KEY AND NEXT DAY EVERYTHING WAS FINE. ABOUT 3-4 DAYS LATER THE SAME THING HAPPENED WHILE IN "PARK" AT MY HOUSE. AGAIN, NEXT DAY EVERYTHING WAS FINE. TODAY, I WAS AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT IN "DRIVE" WITH THE FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND NOTICED THE GEAR SHIFT LIGHTS ON THE DISPLAY WERE BLINKING AGAIN. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN, I STEPPED ON THE ACCELERATOR BUT NOTHING HAPPENED. THE CAR WAS RUNNING, ALL POWER (RADIO, LIGHTS, ETC) WERE OPERATING FINE, BUT IT WAS LIKE THE CAR WAS IN NEUTRAL. I SHIFTED INTO PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, THEN DRIVE, AND IT DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM. I THEN TURNED THE CAR OFF FOR 5 SECONDS THEN BACK ON AND IT WORKED FINE. I DID RESEARCH ONLINE AND ON MULTIPLE CAR FORUMS, MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM RECENTLY AS WELL. MOST HAVE HAD THEIR MECHATRONIC MODULE REPLACED, SOME HAVE HAD THEIR SHIFTER ASSEMBLY SENSOR REPLACED AND SOME HAVE HAD THE TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE SENSOR REPLACED. THIS COULD POSE A SERIOUS THREAT OF INJURY OR DEATH IF THIS HAPPENS WHILE SOMEONE, INCLUDING MYSELF, ARE TURNING INTO OR FROM AN INTERSECTION AND THE CAR GOES INTO THIS "FALSE NEUTRAL" STAGE WITH NO ACCELERATOR TO GET OUT OF THE WAY OF ANY TRAFFIC. PLEASE FILE THIS COMPLAINT AND HOPEFULLY VW MIGHT ISSUE A RECALL WHICH IS SERIOUSLY NEEDED FOR THIS PROBLEM. THANK YOU! *TR

I HAVE A 2009 VW GTI THAT IS ONLY 3 MONTHS OLD. THE REAR BRAKELIGHT IN THE SPOILER IS FILLED WITH MOISTURE AND DOES NOT GO AWAY. I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE THIS BULB OUT EASILY WHEN IT FAILS BECAUSE IT WILL IF MOISTURE REMAINS TRAPPED. HOWEVER THE FACTORY MANUAL WARNS THAT THIS IS A MULTI-DAY JOB AND MAY RESULT IN A BROKEN SPOILER AND POSSIBLE BODY DAMAGE. THIS APPEARS TO BE A VIOLATION OF FMVSS 108 WHICH REQUIRES THAT REPLACING THE BULBS BE SIMPLE AND REQUIRE ONLY COMMON TOOLS. THIS IS AN ISSUE ON ALL 2006 - 2009 VW GTI AND R32 CARS. *TR