Other Engine Info: 50-St. BIN 5/ULEV II emission. Emissions Certification Test Group: CADXJ02.03UA
Other Restraint System Info: Active Seat
Belt Advanced Front Air Bags.
Plant City: Wolfsburg
Plant Country: Germany
Seat Belts All: Manual
TPMS: Indirect
Transmission Style: Manual/Standard
Vehicle Type: PASSENGER CAR
Model year
COMPONENT
Complaint
2007
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) I WAS DRIVING EAST ON INTERSTATE 95 WHEN THE ENGINE IN MY CAR (2007 VW GTI VIN: [XXX]) SUDDENLY LOST ALL POWER. I WAS IN THE THIRD LANE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, TURNED THE AIR CONDITIONING ON AND A FEW SECONDS LATER, TURNED IT OFF. AT THAT INSTANT, THE CAR CEASED TO ACCELERATE. I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL, TURNED ON MY HAZARD LIGHTS AND MANAGED TO SAFELY GLIDE OVER TO THE WARNING LANE, JUST BEYOND EXIT 22 OR JUST BEYOND THE OFF RAMP TO EXIT 21. I TRIED TO RESTART THE ENGINE TO NO AVAIL. THIS WAS A HIGHLY ALARMING INCIDENT SINCE THE CAR WAS JUST OVER THREE YEARS OLD AND HAD ONLY 64000 MILES ON IT AND WAS PROPERLY MAINTAINED SINCE I PURCHASED IT NEW IN 2007. I HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS LAST YEAR BUT THE ACCELERATION OF THE CAR WOULD QUICKLY KICK BACK IN. THIS TIME HOWEVER, IT WENT COMPLETELY KAPUT. I REPORTED THE PREVIOUS INCIDENTS TO A VW DEALER AND THEY HAD A TERRIBLE TIME ASCERTAINING WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. ULTIMATELY, THEY DETERMINED IT WAS A FUEL SENSOR ISSUE AND REPLACED THE FUEL SENSOR. AFTER THE APRIL 3RD INCIDENT, MY CAR WAS TOWED TO A VW DEALER WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT MY TIMING BELT HAD BROKEN AND THAT AS A RESULT, THERE WAS DAMAGE DONE TO THE ENGINE TO THE TUNE OF APPROXIMATELY 6K. I WANT TO REPORT THIS SINCE THIS COULD EASILY HAVE OCCURRED IN THE HOLLAND TUNNEL FOR EXAMPLE OR ON A DARK ONE LANE ROAD. IT WAS A VERY SCARY EXPERIENCE AND I FEEL THAT THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PREEMPT THIS FROM EVER HAPPENING. *TR
2012
ENGINE
VEHICLE IS A MANUAL 6 SPEED. TWO INCIDENTS - FIRST, THE CAR WOULDN'T ENGAGE INTO REVERSE FROM A STOP UNTIL THE VEHICLE IGNITION WAS TURNED OFF AND ON SEVERAL TIMES. CAR OPERATED NORMALLY FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS. SECOND INCIDENT, CAR WOULDN'T ENGAGE INTO ANY GEAR WHILE MOVING 10-15 MPH UPHILL WHILE IN FIRST GEAR. DURING LOSS OF POWER TRAIN, THE ENGINE REVVED IN THE 4000-5000 RPM RANGE, SMOKE WAS VISIBLY COMING OUT OF THE ENGINE BAY AND THERE WAS COMPLETE LOSS OF BRAKES, INCLUDING THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. THE VEHICLE STARTED TO ROLL BACKWARD DOWNHILL AND WAS STOPPED BY TURNING THE VEHICLE INTO THE SIDEWALK. TOWED THE VEHICLE TO BOARDWALK VW IN REDWOOD CITY, CA AND THE SERVICE PERSONNEL AND TOW TRUCK DRIVER WITNESSED THAT THE VEHICLE'S REVERSE POWER TRAIN WAS NOT ENGAGING PROPERLY. AFTER 2 DAYS OF DIAGNOSTICS, THE TECHNICIANS WERE NOT ABLE TO REPLICATE THE ISSUE AND CONCLUDED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING WITHIN MANUFACTURER SPECIFICATIONS. NO REPAIR WAS FORMALLY PERFORMED. *TR