2008 VOLKSWAGEN R32 Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 VOLKSWAGEN R32. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD JERK AND THE GAS TANK VENTILATION VALVE ALLOWED GASOLINE TO ESCAPE FROM THE GAS TANK. THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WOULD ILLUMINATE AND FUEL WOULD LEAK FROM THE EVAPORATIVE SYSTEM. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 09V093000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY). THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,000.

NO EVENT LEAD UP TO FAILURE. THE CAR SPUTTERS, HICCUPS, WHAT EVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT. IT HAS STALLED IN TRAFFIC, AND HAD TO BE PUSHED OUT OF THE INTERSECTION, IT WOULD NOT START BACK UP AND SMELLED OF FUEL. ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS IT WILL NOT START. IT CUTS OUT AROUND CORNERS, AND HAS DONE IT WITH THE VW SERVICE MANAGER IN THE CAR. *TR

THIS "HICCUP" JUST STARTED HAPPENING TO ME. I TOOK THE R32 ON A ROAD TRIP FROM MIAMI UP TO NORTHERN FLORIDA (500 MILES NORTH OF MIAMI), AND 30 MILES INTO THE TRIP THIS HAPPENED. WE HAD JUST TOPPED OFF THE TANK WITH 93 (GIRLFRIEND ASSURED ME SHE DIDN'T FILL IT UP WITH 87) SO THIS COULDNT HAVE BEEN THE ISSUE. I WAS DRIVING AT ROUGHLY 3,000 RPM'S WHEN THE CAR WOULD HICCUP ALL ON ITS OWN... ? I DIDN'T EVEN NEED TO GIVE IT GAS FOR THIS TO HAPPEN. I HAVE 14,000 MILES ON THE CAR, AND IT GOT WORSE THROUGHOUT THE TRIP. THE CAR EVEN SHUT OFF ON ME 2 TIMES WHILE SITTING AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT. I'M SCARED THAT THE CAR WILL SHUT OFF ON ME WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY WHICH IS A BIG THREAT TO MY LIFE! HAS ANYONE NOTICED THIS GET WORSE WHEN YOUR TANK IS AT FULL? I HAVEN'T HAD THIS HAPPEN TO ME AGAIN THE 1 DAY I'VE BEEN BACK IN MIAMI. I READ SOME REPLY'S ON THIS TOPIC AND LOOKS LIKE VW HAS NO OFFICIAL FIX YET? WHAT'S THE DIAGNOSIS? BAD FUEL BUMP??? THE ORIGINAL POST CAN BE FOUND HERE: HTTP://FORUMS.VWVORTEX.COM/ZEROTHREAD?ID=3759501&PAGE=27. *TR

I BOUGHT A BRAND NEW VW R32 FROM ELINDSAY VW DEALER AT DULLES VA. AFTER BUYING THE CAR I HAD TO TAKE IT BACK FOR SOME MINOR PROBLEMS AND THEY WERE PARTIALLY RESOLVED TO MY SATISFACTION. AROUND 8000 MILES (COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO) CAR STARTED TO FEEL JERKY. TODAY THE CAR STALLED ON ME TWO TIMES AT THE LIGHT. I CALLED THE DEALER BACK REPORTING THE ISSUE AND THE CUSTOMER SERVICE.I CAN NOT TRUST IF THIS HAPPENS AND MY BRAKES OR ENGINE DOES NOT FUNCTION. I FEEL THAT THIS CAR IS PUTTING MY AND MY LOVED ONES' LIFE IN DANGER, AS WELL AS THE PEOPLE ON THE ROAD. PLEASE GUIDE ME HOW TO HANDLE THIS ISSUE. I WOULD LIKE THEM TO GET THE CAR BACK. VW CUSTOMER CARE REFERENCE #809100936 - TOOK THE CAR FOR SERVICE FEBRUARY 9TH AND RECEIVED IT BACK FEB 9TH WITH A SOFTWARE UPDATE - FEB 10TH DROVE THE CAR IN THE MORNING AND PROBLEM WAS STILL THERE - FEB 10TH CALLED THE DEALER TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. THEIR TOP TECH WAS GOING TO BE AT TRAINING SO THEY MADE THE APPOINTMENT FOR FEB 16TH. - FEBRUARY 16TH I TOOK THE CAR SECOND TIME FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. TECH WAS NOT AVAILABLE TO TEST DRIVE THE CAR SO THEY SENT ME AWAY. AFTER AN HOUR OR SO THEY CALLED ME STATING THAT THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR. I WENT DOWN BACK TO DEALER TO TEST DRIVE THE CAR. THEIR TOP TECH WAS NOT AVAILABLE SO I TEST DROVE WITH ANOTHER TECHNICIAN. I WAS ABLE TO REPLICATE THE ISSUE SEVERAL TIMES. HEAD TECH CAME AFTERWARDS AND TRIED TO ASSURE ME THAT EVERYTHING IS NORMAL. I LEFT THE CAR IN DEALER FOR NEXT MORNING TEST DRIVE. - FEBRUARY 17TH NOBODY CONTACTED ME FROM DEALER SO I CALLED THEM AROUND 1PM . THEY SAID THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. I LEFT THE DEALER WITH NO RESOLUTION. - FEBRUARY 20 CAR STARTED TO STALL WHEN MOVING THE FOOT FROM THE BREAK PEDAL. I TRIED TO CALL THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. REGARDS, *TR

2008 VW R32, THE CAR WOULD THROW CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS ALL THE TIME, THE CHECK GAS CAP LIGHT CAME ON RANDOMLY DAYS AFTER LAST FILL UP, THE CAR WOULD RANDOMLY HAVE LOST OF POWER OR STALL, TAKES 20 SECONDS AFTER FILL UP TO START AND RUN PROPERLY, SOME TIMES NOT START AT ALL. THE CAR FIRST WENT IN TO A VW DEALER SEPTEMBER 3 2008 WITH 10599MILES , THE DEALER COULD NOT FIND A FAULT FOR THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT THEY GAVE ME THE CAR BACK AND THEY CONTACTED VW TECHNICAL SUPPORT . CONTACTED ME A FEW DAYS LATER AND SAID PARTS WERE ORDERED AND WILL BE IN SOON. SEPTEMBER 12 2008 CAR TAKEN BACK IN FOR PARTS TO BE PUT ON. THE CAR RUNS OK BUT IT THROWS A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND RANDOM CHECK GAS CAP LIGHTS AGAIN. THE CAR HAS A HARD TIME STARTING. JANUARY 6 2009 16,032 MILES CAR TAKEN BACK IN FOR STALLING, NOT STARTING, LOSS OF POWER. VW DEALER MASTER MECHANIC CANNOT FIND PROBLEM CAR IS GIVEN BACK TO ME WITH THE PROBLEMS, VW DEALER CONTACTS VW TECHNICAL SUPPORT. JANUARY 12 2009 16247MILES I HAVE HAD THE LAST STRAW, I HAD TO PUSH THE CAR OUT OF A FUEL PUMP CAUSE THE CAR WONT START!!! I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO VW DEALER AND IT HAS BEEN IN THERE SINCE JANUARY 12 2009 AND TODAY IS FEBRUARY 9 2009. *TR

MY VEHICLE HAS STALLED TWICE ON ME WHEN IT HAD 6647 MILES. IT OCCURRED TWICE IN A SPAN OF TWO HOURS. I WAS DRIVING AND THE CAR STARTED TO "HICCUP". IT JUMPS BETWEEN SHIFTS, THIS OCCURS MOSTLY WHEN IT IS HUMID OUTSIDE. THE VEHICLE ALSO EMITS A LOUD TICKING SOUND FROM THE GAS TANK, AND IN EXTREMELY COLD WEATHER THE GAS NEEDLE BOUNCES. TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP 4 TIMES AND THEY FOUND NO PROBLEMS, HOWEVER THEY DID TAKE A JOYRIDE TWO OF THOSE TIMES IN THE CAR. (FOUND THE RADIO STATION SET AND EQUALIZER TOYED WITH) IN ADDITION, THE CAR SOMETIMES SMELLS LIKE FUEL. *TR

1. CAR WAS RUNNING FINE TILL ABOUT LITTLE LESS THAN A MONTH. ON 10/13/08 PUT CAR IN REVERSE AND CAR WAS EXPERIENCING RAPID FLUCTUATIONS IN RPMS AND ENGINE WOULD DIE WHEN SHIFTING TO DRIVE. HAD DIFFICULTY IN RE-STARTING CAR. PUT CAR IN DRIVE AND FELT JERKY NON-RESPONSIVE ACCELERATION WITH TRANSMISSION BANGING AND ENGINE DIED AGAIN WHILE DRIVING. 2. CAR DIED 4 TIMES ENGINE WOULD STOP WHILE DRIVING TOTALLY LOSS OF POWER. CONSEQUENCES ARE MAJOR SAFETY CONCERNS AND POSSIBLE ACCIDENTS CAN OCCUR FROM THIS MALFUNCTION 3. BROUGHT INTO DEALER, THEY COULD NOT REPRODUCE PROBLEM & SAID THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING. GAVE CAR BACK & SAID THEY HOPED IT DIDN'T HAPPEN AGAIN. NO PARTS REPLACED. CAR RECENTLY EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM AGAIN 1/11/2009 & 1/12/2009. *TR

THREE (3) DUNLOP SP SPORT 01 A/S 225/40R18 92H M+S TIRE FAILURES IN 4800 MILES. THESE ARE THE OE TIRES MY NEW CAR (2008 VW R32) CAME WITH. FIRST FAILURE OCCURRED AT 600 MILES (MARCH 2008)WHEN I HIT A POTHOLE AT A VERY LOW SPEED. RIM SLICED THE TIRE, THUS CAUSING LOSS OF AIR PRESSURE. REPLACED TIRE ON MY OWN. SECOND FAILURE OCCURRED AT ABOUT 4700 MILES (OCTOBER 2008). I HIT AN EDGE OF A POTHOLE, YET THE IMPACT WAS STRONG ENOUGH TO BULGE THE TIRE'S SIDEWALL. I, AGAIN, REPLACED THE SECOND TIRE. THIRD FAILURE OCCURRED AT 4800 MILES(DECEMBER 2008), AGAIN A SHALLOW POTHOLE, AND AGAIN A BUBBLED SIDEWALL. EACH TIME TIRE PRESSURE WAS CORRECT, AS MY CAR IS EQUIPPED WITH TIRE AIR PRESSURE SENSORS. I HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH VOLKSWAGEN (REFERENCE # 808107587) AND WITH DUNLOP (SONYA BELL, CUSTOMER RELATIONS), BUT NEITHER SIDE IS WILLING TO SHOW ANY INTEREST IN THIS PROBLEM. VOLKSWAGEN CLAIMS THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH TIRE ISSUES, AND DUNLOP DOES NOT SEE ANY PROBLEMS. I KNOW OF OTHER DRIVERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCES THE SAME PROBLEMS WITH THESE TIRES. *TR

ON OCTOBER 27, 2008 I WAS TRAVELING ON ONE OF THE LOCAL HIGHWAYS, WHEN I BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE A LOSS IN POWER, RAPID MISFIRE AND HESITATION IN MY 2008 VW R32. PRIOR TO SAID DATE, I EXPERIENCED THE SAME FAULTS SEVERAL TIMES, WHICH I MENTIONED TO MY LOCAL SERVICE ADVISOR. MY LOCAL SERVICE ADVISOR INFORMED ME THAT VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA (VWOA) WAS AWARE OF THE WIDE-SPREAD PROBLEM AND WAS CURRENTLY WORKING ON A SOLUTION. CURRENTLY, I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH MY REGIONAL CASE MANAGER FROM VWOA. HOWEVER, THE LAST TIME THAT I SPOKE WITH MY REGIONAL CASE MANAGER WAS ON DECEMBER 11, 2008. WHEN I BRIEFLY SPOKE WITH MY REGIONAL CASE MANAGER FROM VWOA, HE EXPLAINED TO ME THAT THE PARTS NEEDED FOR REPAIR OF MY R32 WOULD SOON BE RELEASED. HOWEVER, I RECEIVED THAT SAME STATEMENT IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER WHEN I ASKED ABOUT THE SERVICE STATUS OF MY VEHICLE. ON THE 17TH OF DEC 2008, VWOA RECEIVED A LETTER FROM ME STATING THAT 'I NO LONGER HAVE FAITH IN THE RELIABILITY AND SAFETY OF THE R32 THAT I PURCHASED, AND THAT I WISH TO SEEK STATE-SPECIFIC (LEMON-LAW) WARRANTY FOR MY R32.' IN ADDITION, I EXPRESS THAT PRIOR TO PURSUING THE LEMON-LAW OPTION; I AM WILLING TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE AMICABLY. HOWEVER, AS OF 4 JANUARY 2009, I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY INFORMATION FROM VWOA. *TR

MY BRAND NEW R32 HAS BEEN STALLING/HICCUPING SINCE 3100 MILES. IT HAS A LOSE OF POWER UNDER ACCELERATION, THEN IDLES ROUGH AND SOMETIMES DIES. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND THE GAS CAP LIGHT COMES ON BUT AS SOON AS YOU TURN THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON IT GOES AWAY. IT HAS DIED TWICE WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC AND WOULDN'T START BACK, I'VE HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALER TWICE. THE DEALER HAS REPLACED MY PURGE VALVE AND EVAP CANNISTER TWICE, IT RUNS FINE FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS THEN STARTS ALL OVER AGAIN. THE CAR ONLY HAS 7550 MILES ON IT NOW AND IT'S BACK AT THE DEALER ONCE AGAIN. *TR