Volkswagen issues DSG recall

ALMOST 26,000 Volkswagen owners will bring their cars back to dealerships after the car-maker late yesterday bowed to concerns over the safety of its vehicles.

The voluntary recall affecting vehicles fitted with the company’s seven-speed dual clutch transmission includes the Polo and Golf hatchbacks, Golf wagon, Jetta sedan, Passat sedan and wagon, and Caddy light commercial vehicle built between June 2008 and September 2012.

“In isolated cases, an electronic malfunction in the control unit inside the gearbox mechatronics may result in a power interruption,” the recall notice issued last night reads.

“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.”

Volkswagen said the recall did not affect cars currently on sale in showrooms.

“Volkswagen Group Australia will replace the gearbox mechatronic unit on all potentially affected vehicles at no cost to the customer,” the car-maker said.

“At the same time, we will also update customers’ vehicles with the latest software version.

“Owners can continue to drive their vehicles as usual before the replacement,” it said.

Volkswagen said it would start contacting owners from July.

The German premium brand’s cars have been under the spotlight since the revelation almost two weeks ago that the Victorian coroner was looking into the 2011 death of a Melbourne woman after a truck slammed into the rear of her Volkswagen Golf, which was stopped on a freeway.

The car-maker has pointed out that the car involved in the 2011 fatality had a manual gearbox. The coroner is yet to hand down a finding.

The Fairfax Media reports sparked a flurry of stories from other Volkswagen owners who reported that their vehicles had unexpectedly lost power while on the road.

The Department of Infrastructure and Transport last week revealed it was working with Volkswagen to “establish whether systemic safety issues are involved”.

Volkswagen issued a recall for more than 400,000 cars in China last year to fix faulty gearboxes. Similar recalls were later issued in Japan and Singapore.