2009 Volkswagen GTI: complaints, problems and recalls

I HAVE A 2009 VW GTI THAT IS ONLY 3 MONTHS OLD. THE REAR BRAKELIGHT IN THE SPOILER IS FILLED WITH MOISTURE AND DOES NOT GO AWAY. I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE THIS BULB OUT EASILY WHEN IT FAILS BECAUSE IT WILL IF MOISTURE REMAINS TRAPPED. HOWEVER THE FACTORY MANUAL WARNS THAT THIS IS A MULTI-DAY JOB AND MAY RESULT IN A BROKEN SPOILER AND POSSIBLE BODY DAMAGE. THIS APPEARS TO BE A VIOLATION OF FMVSS 108 WHICH REQUIRES THAT REPLACING THE BULBS BE SIMPLE AND REQUIRE ONLY COMMON TOOLS. THIS IS AN ISSUE ON ALL 2006 - 2009 VW GTI AND R32 C…

Owner-reported narrative. 1,100 miles reported. Look up ODI 10248211 at NHTSA ↗

I OWN A NEW 2009 VW GTI, DSG, 2-DOOR. I HAD IT JUST OVER A MONTH AND HAS ABOUT 1100 MILES ON IT. ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO, I PARKED IN MY CONDO AND WAS IN "PARK" AND NOTICED THE GEAR SHIFT LIGHTS ON THE DISPLAY (P-R-N-D-S) WERE FLASHING/BLINKING. I TURNED OFF KEY AND NEXT DAY EVERYTHING WAS FINE. ABOUT 3-4 DAYS LATER THE SAME THING HAPPENED WHILE IN "PARK" AT MY HOUSE. AGAIN, NEXT DAY EVERYTHING WAS FINE. TODAY, I WAS AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT IN "DRIVE" WITH THE FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND NOTICED THE GEAR SHIFT LIGHTS ON THE DISPLAY WERE BLINKING AGAIN. WHEN THE…

Owner-reported narrative. 1,100 miles reported. Look up ODI 10272718 at NHTSA ↗

THIS PROBLEM RELATES TO THE VOLKSWAGEN 2009 DSG TRANSMISSION AVAILABLE ON SEVERAL 2009 MODELS. MINE IS A 2009 GTI. IT HAS OCCURRED SEVERAL TIME SINCE PURCHASE 3 WEEKS AGO. FROM TIME TO TIME THE TRANSMISSION WILL UNEXPECTEDLY SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL. THE GEAR SHIFT LIGHTS ON THE DASH FLASH. THIS CAN HAPPEN WHILE STANDING AT A STOP LIGHT OR WHILE AT SPEED. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE LARGELY UNKNOWN BY DEALERS, BUT IS NOW WELL DOCUMENTED BY OWNERS. SOME OWNERS HAVE NOW HAD THE PROBLEM RESOLVED. A DISCUSSION OF THE PROBLEM CAN BE FOUND AT…

Owner-reported narrative. 5,100 miles reported. Look up ODI 10273490 at NHTSA ↗

I GOT INTO A HEAD ON COLLISION AND MY AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 8,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10275084 at NHTSA ↗

I PURCHASED MY 2009 VW GTI IN AUGUST OF 2008 AND HAVE BEEN USING IT AS MY DAILY DRIVER SINCE ITS PURCHASE. NOT KNOWING THE TECHNICALITIES AND SPECIFICATIONS OF THE DSG TRANSMISSION I DROVE THE CAR AS USUAL UNTIL AFTER HAVING THE CAR FOR 2 OR 3 MONTHS WHEN I WENT TO START THE CAR THE PRNDS WAS FLASHING IN THE DASH AND THE KEY WOULD NOT TURN TO UNLOCK (I COULD ATTEMPT TO START IT THOUGH) NOR WOULD IT REMOVE FROM THE IGNITION. AFTER 3 FAILED ATTEMPTS TO START IT I GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND RETURNED AN HOUR LATER TO START IT AND IT WORKED WITHOUT AN…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10275961 at NHTSA ↗

THE DSG TRANSMISSION RANDOMLY GOES INTO NEUTRAL. HAPPENED TO ME ON THE HIGHWAY, HAD TO STOP THE CAR, AND TURN IT OFF TO PUT THE CAR BACK IN GEAR. LUCKILY I WAS NEXT TO THE SHOULDER ALREADY SINCE I WAS TAKING THE CAR IN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR THIS PROBLEM. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 1,500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10276587 at NHTSA ↗

I BOUGHT MY 2009 VW GTI IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR (6 MONTHS AGO). IT NOW HAS 5100 MILES. AT ABOUT 2500 MILES, THE DSG AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING OUT OF GEAR AT SEEMINGLY RANDOM TIMES. IT ONLY HAPPENED A COUPLE OF TIMES BEFORE MY 3000 MILE CHECKUP. AT THAT TIME, VW COULD NOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND TOLD ME THAT THE CAR WAS "OPERATING WITHIN SPECIFICATIONS." IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS THE PROBLEM HAS BECOME A LOT MORE FREQUENT -- HAPPENING SEVERAL TIMES PER DAY AT SEEMINGLY RANDOM TIMES (IN PARKING LOTS AND ON THE JERSEY TUR…

Owner-reported narrative. 5,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10277099 at NHTSA ↗

PURCHASED 2009 VW GTI WITH DSG TRANSMISSION IN OCTOBER 2008. TRANSMISSION SEEMED FINE UNTIL ABOUT 7000 MILES. DSG STARTED TO HAVE JERKY/HARD SHIFTS IN LOWER GEARS 1/2/3 AND BELOW 10MPH WOULD HAVE SURGING DURING LIGHT ACCELERATION OR COASTING TO STOP. FROM STOPPED POSITION WOULD ALSO JERK FORWARD WITH ONLY A SLIGHT THROTTLE INPUT. PROBLEMS SEEMS TO BE ONLY AFTER THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVEN15-20 MINUTES AND GETS HOT. WHEN THE CAR IS COLD IT DRIVES NORMAL. SYMPTOMS ALSO SEEM WORSE DURING BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC WHEN MORE DEMAND ON LOWER GEARS AND MOR…

Owner-reported narrative. 7,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10277171 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2009-08-20 (August 20, 2009)

VOLKSWAGEN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009 AND 2010 PASSENGER CARS MANUFACTURED BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 2008 AND AUGUST 2009. THE WIRING HARNESS OF A TEMPERATURE SENSOR IN THE DIRECT SHIFT GEARBOX (DSG) MAY HAVE CONNECTOR WIRES THAT WERE INSUFFICIENTLY CRIMPED. WITH INSUFFICIENTLY CRIMPED CONNECTOR WIRES, A TEMPERATURE SENSOR HAS THE POTENTIAL TO FALSELY DETECT A HIGH GEARBOX OIL TEMPERATURE, CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO ABRUPTLY SHIFT TO NEUTRAL. IF THIS HAPPENS, THE SELECTOR LEVER POSITION INDICATOR WITHIN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WILL FLASH. IN ADDITION, THE "DEPRESS BRAKE PEDAL" INDICATOR LIGHT WILL BE ILLUMINATED, ALERTING THE DRIVER TO APPLY THE BRAKES.

Consequence: THE ABRUPT SHIFT TO NEUTRAL COULD LEAD TO A CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.

Remedy: VOLKSWAGEN WILL REPROGRAM THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE WITH UPDATED SOFTWARE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 20, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VOLKSWAGEN AT 1-800-822-8987.

Reported: 2016-12-20 (December 20, 2016)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2009-2010 Volkswagen Jetta A5 Sedan, 2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, Eos, GTI, Rabbit and Audi A3 vehicles, and 2010 Volkswagen Golf A6 vehicles. The Antilock Brake System (ABS) control unit may fail during ABS or Electronic Stability Control (ESC) activation, possibly causing a loss of vehicle control.

Consequence: A loss of vehicle control can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will update the ABS control module software to improve the module's self-testing abilities. Any module that fails the new diagnostic test will be replaced. These repairs will be made free of charge. The recall began February 2017. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.