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Carsales Staff12 Jun 2013
NEWS

Volkswagen Australia recalls DSG cars

Almost 26,000 VW Golf, Jetta, Polo, Passat and Caddy vehicles recalled to fix faulty DSGs

It’s official: Volkswagen has issued a formal safety recall notice to repair thousands of dual-clutch automatic vehicles in Australia.

In all, 25,928 VWs are affected, including Golf, Jetta, Polo, Passat and Caddy models fitted with a dual-clutch DSG (DQ200) automatic transmission and produced between June 2008 and September 2011.

Volkswagen admits that in some cases engine power can be cut due to the gearbox fault, but maintains driver control is not compromised because steering and braking systems remain operational at all times.

“In isolated cases, an electronic malfunction in the control unit inside the gearbox mechatronics may result in a power interruption,” said VW.

“Other important vehicle systems, such as steering and braking, along with other relevant systems, will continue to be fully functional. If, in rare cases, the car loses power while driving, the driver can remain in control to safely manoeuvre the car to a stop.”

The German giant says it will replace and update the gearbox mechatronic unit with the latest software on all potentially affected vehicles at no cost to customers, starting from next month.

Volkswagen Group Australia will begin contacting the owners of affected vehicle from July, via letters inviting them to schedule appointments with dealers for inspection and replacement of affected parts.

However, it said the process would take place in batches determined by model, production date and parts supplies over an unspecified period.

Volkswagen says vehicles in question can be driven as normal prior to replacement, but invites any concerned owners to call its customer service centre on 1800 504 076.

It stresses its recall action is voluntary because, unlike other countries, Australia generally relies on an industry code of conduct. In this case the federal Transport Department has not issued a mandatory safety recall notice.

Volkswagen has a good recall history relative to other mainstream brands in Australia, given it has issued only two notices since 2007. The notices were for flat batteries in Transporters earlier this year and cracked diesel injector pipes in about 7000 VW and Skoda models in 2012, However, Europe’s biggest car-maker is likely to attract criticism for its delay in issuing the DSG recall in Australia, where it has undertaken a number of ‘service campaigns’ to fix a variety of issues.

Today’s recall notice follows a similar recall of almost 400,000 cars after a Chinese television program investigation and subsequent DSG-related recalls in Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan. At the time, VW said Australian models were fitted with different transmissions.

It also follows a concerted Fairfax media campaign that unearthed more than 300 disgruntled customers in the midst of an ongoing coronial inquest into a fatality on a Melbourne freeway two years ago. That fatality did not involve a DSG equipped vehicle.

In a statement issued on May 31, Volkswagen said it was investigating a number of customer complaints but denied there was any correlation between them and the events that led to the death of Melissa Ryan on the Monash Freeway in 2011.

Volkswagen has declined to comment on evidence given in the Victorian coroner's court to the effect that the 2008 Golf GTI driven by the deceased had decelerated suddenly and without warning in the moments immediately prior to being struck by a heavy commercial vehicle. It refutes assertions that ‘deceleration’ was a factor in the Monash fatality.

The European vehicle importer told motoring.com.au after its May 31statement that it was investigating a number of inconsistent reports concerning a variety of engines. However, today's official recall concerns only DSG-equipped vehicles and does not specify if it is to remedy sudden deceleration or shuddering, both of which have been reported as symptoms of the faulty DSGs.

Volkswagen announced a service campaign in the US to remedy DSG issues as early as 2009. Volkswagen Australia has since recalled some six-speed DSG models and announced a service campaign for some seven-speed models.

Today’s recall action is in addition to a service campaign announced last Thursday (June 6) to rectify the diesel injectors in about 4000 VWs. The move followed an official UK recall in 2011 for a similar problem involving almost 79,000 Golf, Passat and Touran vehicles built between 2006 and 2010.

As part of its statement today, VW stressed that no new models are affected and that “customer satisfaction is Volkswagen’s top priority”.

“Volkswagen vehicles currently being produced and sold are not affected by this issue. Australian customers can have trust, peace of mind and confidence when purchasing a new Volkswagen vehicle,” the company said.

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Written byCarsales Staff
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