2008 VOLKSWAGEN GTI Complaints

I NOTICED MY "AUTOMATIC" DSG (DIRECT SHIFT GATE) TRANSMISSION TO BE ACTING UP. FROM A STOP UP TO 15 MPH IN 1ST GEAR AND REVERSE THE TRANSMISSION FELT VERY LURCHY AND HAD LOTS OF SURGING ASSOCIATED WITH ACCELERATION. IT COULD BE SIMULATED IN A "NORMAL" CAR BY TAPPING THE ACCELERATOR WHEN STARTING TO DRIVE INSTEAD OF SMOOTHLY PRESSING IT. IT WAS ESPECIALLY NOTICEABLE WHEN THE CAR'S OPERATING TEMPERATURE WAS HOT. IE: THE HOTTER IT WAS THE WORSE THE SYMPTOMS ARE. IT OCCURS EVERY TIME I DRIVE THE CAR LONG ENOUGH TO HEAT THE CAR UP. IT'S DANGEROUS IN BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC BECAUSE SOMETIMES THE CAR DOESN'T GO, THEN I GIVE IT MORE GAS AND IT GOES TOO MUCH. I AM AFRAID I WILL REAR-END ANOTHER CAR SOMEDAY. REVERSE GEAR IS EVEN WORSE. I HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN PARKING THAT I DO NOT SMASH INTO ANOTHER CAR. THESE PROBLEMS ARE ALSO FOR SOME REASON AMPLIFIED WHEN ON ANY INCLINE. THE SECOND ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION IS THAT MAINLY WHEN THE OPERATING TEMPERATURE IS COLD THE CAR EXPERIENCES TROUBLE WHEN SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR. NORMALLY UNDER HEAVY ACCELERATION, THE CAR CAN'T SEEM TO "FIND" 2ND GEAR. IT WILL SHIFT OUT OF 1ST GEAR AND "HANG" IN A NEUTRAL POSITION WHERE NO POWER IS AVAILABLE TO MOVE THE CAR FORWARD. APPROXIMATELY .5 - 1 SECONDS LATER, IT SHIFTS INTO SECOND GEAR. I WOULD HATE TO BE TRYING TO AVOID A COLLISION AND HAVE NO POWER AVAILABLE IF NEEDED TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY. VOLKSWAGEN HAS TOLD ME THESE ISSUES ARE "NORMAL" AND THAT IT IS WORKING AS DESIGNED. I FIND THIS HARD TO BELIEVE SINCE THESE SYMPTOMS WERE NOT EVIDENT WHATSOEVER WHEN I PURCHASED THE CAR NEW 11 MONTHS AND 13 DAYS AGO. AS VOLKSWAGEN REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE A PROBLEM, I HOPE THE NHTSA CAN GRASP THEIR ATTENTION. *TR

CAR SHIFTS VERY ROUGHLY 100 PERCENT OF THE TIME. WHEN I ACCELERATE FROM A DEAD STOP THE CAR HESITATES AND THEN JERKS INTO GEAR. SOMETIMES IT SLAMS INTO GEAR VERY HARSHLY WITH EVEN THE LIGHTEST PRESSURE ON THE PEDAL. THIS HAS TAKEN ME BY SURPRISE ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS ALMOST CAUSING ME TO REAREND THE PERSON IN FRONT OF ME. IT ALSO DOWNSHIFTS VERY STRANGELY...SOMETIMES SEARCHING FOR GEARS. *TR

I OWN A 2008 VW GTI EQUIPPED WITH THE DSG TRANSMISSION. RECENTLY, I HAVE NOTICED PROBLEMS WITH THIS TRANSMISSION AND ITS DELIVERY OF POWER FROM THE ENGINE TO THE WHEELS OF MY CAR. WHEN THE CAR IS WARMED UP, THE TRANSMISSION DOES NOT SMOOTHLY AND PREDICTABLY DELIVER POWER TO THE CAR'S WHEELS. WHEN IN REVERSE, THE PROBLEM IS VERY NOTICEABLE. IT SURGES AND STOPS CONSTANTLY WHILE BACKING UP, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO CONTROL THE SPEED AT WHICH YOU ARE BACKING UP. WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A COMPLETE STOP, THE CAR BUCKS AND SURGES FORWARD. THIS IS NOT AS DANGEROUS AS WHEN IN REVERSE, BUT IT IS STILL VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. THERE ARE SEVERAL INTERNET FORUMS THAT ARE SHARING INFORMATION AND EXPERIENCES ABOUT THIS TRANSMISSION AND ITS VARIOUS PROBLEMS. TO DATE, VW DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE IS A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM WITH THIS TRANSMISSION. I'M ADDING MY COMPLAINT TO THE OTHERS IN THE HOPES THAT SOMEONE WILL PUT PRESSURE ON VW TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THESE TRANSMISSIONS NEED TO BE SERIOUSLY LOOKED AT NATIONWIDE AND PERHAPS A RECALL STARTED IN ORDER TO FIX THE ISSUES WITH THESE TRANSMISSIONS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND UNDERSTANDING. *TR

APPROXIMATELY 20,000 MILES. HAVE MAJOR ISSUE WITH DSG AUTOMATIC TRANS OCCASIONALLY GOING INTO NEUTRAL WHILE TRYING TO ACCELERATE AND LOW SPEED JERKINESS (LIKE THE TRANS DOESN'T KNOW WHETHER IT SHOULD BE IN NEUTRAL OR 1ST/REVERSE) AFTER AT LEAST 15 MIN OF DRIVING. THE LOW SPEED JERKING ISSUE IS EASILY REPEATABLE BUT THE CAR NEEDS TO BE DRIVEN AT LEAST 15 MINUTES TO NOTICE IT. THE TRANS GOING INTO NEUTRAL ISSUE IS HARD TO REPRODUCE AS IT CAN HAPPEN RANDOMLY WITH UP TO 3-4 WEEKS IN BETWEEN OCCURRENCES, BUT HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 8 TIMES. WHEN IT HAPPENS THE CAR ROLLS TO A STOP, USUALLY LIFTING OFF OF THE GAS PEDAL, GIVING IT A FEW SECONDS BEFORE GIVING IT GAS AGAIN SEEMS TO BE ENOUGH FOR IT TO GO INTO GEAR. I'VE BEEN TO 2 DIFFERENT DEALERS. ALMOST GOT HIT BY A GARBAGE TRUCK ON THE WAY TO THE FIRST DEALER, WHEN THE TRANS WENT INTO NEUTRAL WHILE MERGING ONTO A BUSY STREET. LUCKILY IT WENT INTO GEAR JUST IN TIME. 1ST DEALER REPLACED A FUEL PRESSURE SENSOR WHICH FIXED A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, BUT HAS NOT FIXED ANY OF THE ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION. 2ND DEALER ADMITS IT'S THE TRANSMISSION, BUT SO FAR VW OF AMERICA HAS NOT APPROVED ANY PARTS REPLACEMENT. *TR

LURCHING AND JERKINESS FROM DEAD STOP IN BOTH FORWARD AND REVERSE WITH A 2008 VW GTI. THIS IS A CONTINUAL PROBLEM PARTICULARLY WHEN THE ENGINE IS WARM AND IN WARMER WEATHER. NO ACCIDENTS HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THE LURCHING, YET, BUT THE INABILITY TO PULL AWAY WHEN A LIGHT TURNS GREEN, AND THE INABILITY TO CONTROL THE ACCELERATION WHEN REVERSING IS LIKELY TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT SOON. THE GENERAL CONSENSUS ONLINE IS THAT THERE IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH SOME 2008 MECHATRONIC UNITS (ASSOCIATED WITH THIS CAR'S DSG TRANSMISSION), AND THAT REPLACEMENT SOLVES THE PROBLEM. BUT VW HAS, SO FAR, REFUSED TO REPLACE MY MECHATRONIC UNIT, ISSUE A RECALL, OR IN ANY WAY RECTIFY THE SITUATION. *TR

DAILY USAGE FOR APPROXIMATELY A YEAR CAUSED MY VEHICLE'S SEATBELT TO NO LONGER LOCK IN. *TR

I PURCHASED A NEW 08 VW GTI 10/13/07. AFTER A FEW MONTHS, THE MANUAL 6 SPEED CLUTCH MADE A LOUD GRINDING NOISE WHEN SHIFTING FROM 1ST INTO 2ND GEAR. INITIALLY I TOOK IT IN 3 TIMES, THE TECH SAID THE CONDITION COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. ON 7/5/08, AS I WAS ON MY WAY TO WORK, THE CLUTCH ACTION FELL LIMP AND SMOKE BELLOWED FROM THE ENGINE AREA. THE CAR WAS DOWN FOR A WEEK. THE CLUTCH DISC,PRESSURE PLATE,TRANS SEALS,BOLTS,FLYWHEEL AND RELEASE BEARING WERE REPLACED. HOWEVER, 2 MONTHS LATER THE ISSUE RETURNED BUT WAS WORSE. I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALER ANOTHER 10 TIMES. I EVENTUALLY HAD TO TRADE THE CAR @ A HUGE LOSS. THERE IS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT WITH THIS TRANSMISSION. I CONTACTED VW HEADQUARTERS 2 MONTHS BEFORE I HAD TO SELL THE CAR, THEY WERE OF NO ASSISTANCE. *TR

THE HEADLIGHTS FOR MY 2008 VOLKSWAGEN GTI MKV MUST HAVE SOME FORM OF A HOLE OR INSUFFICIENT SEALANT BECAUSE WHEN IT WAS COLD OUTSIDE ALLOT OF MOISTURE BUILT UP INSIDE THE HEADLIGHTS AND MADE MY VISIBILITY SO HARD TO SEE ON THE HIGHWAY I ALMOST RAN INTO 1 CAR AND WHILE I WAS EXITING AND GETTING ONTO THE SERVICE ROAD I WAS GOING TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN ONTO MY STREET WHEN I ALMOST HIT 2 PARKED CARS. MY FRIEND HAS ALSO BEEN HAVING THE SAME ISSUES WITH HIS CAR. *TR

CAR WAS INVOLVED IN FRONTAL CRASH, HITTING ANOTHER THAT WAS STOPPED IN THE ROAD. CAR WAS GOING BETWEEN 20 AND 30 MPH. AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY CAUSING DRIVER TO HIT NOSE ON STEERING WHEEL. NOT BROKEN BUT SEVERELY BRUISED. *TR

I AM UNABLE TO REPLACE MY THIRD BRAKE LIGHT WITHOUT TAKING IT TO THE DEALERSHIP. I DRIVE A 2008 VW GTI. *TR