Volkswagen Australia is addressing concerns of power loss and gearbox faults, which could affect UK-supplied cars
A spate of customer complaints has forced Volkswagen’s Australia operations to announce an active service campaign that could have implications for a number of Volkswagen models sold in the UK.
The customer complaints — many of which only came to light following the publishing of a coroner's report into the death of an Australian women, who died when her Volkswagen suffered an apparent sudden power loss and was rammed by a truck while traveling on a highway — involve both petrol and diesel models running either a standard manual or optional dual-clutch gearbox.
Among the service activities planned by Volkswagen Australia is the replacement of faulty diesel engine injectors as well as other fixes aimed at addressing concerns that include engines experiencing a sudden loss of power while driving at speed, DSG dual shift gearbox failures in stop/start driving conditions and various other faults that Volkswagen customers in Australia have identified.
Despite instigating the active service campaign, which comes after a widespread media report on an owner who abandoned her Volkswagen for fear of driving it, Volkswagen Australia confirms the action is not an official recall - something that would have much broader legal implications for the German car maker than a service activity.
Volkswagen has already announced a recall for its DQ200 dual shift gearbox in China, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia in a program involving over 500,000 cars. “We have identified problems in stop/start traffic conditions. It involves the mechatronics,” a Wolfsburg-based spokesman revealed to Autocar.
Up to now, Volkswagen models sold in the UK, Australia and New Zealand that the DQ200 dual shift gearbox, which is used in models with engines of less than 128lb ft of torque, have escaped the recall. It is thought the models affected include the Polo, Golf, Jetta, Passat and Passat CC.
Volkswagen has not commented.