2014 Volkswagen GTI 4 DR FWD

2014 VOLKSWAGON GTI, ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON 57,000 TO 62,494. I READ UP ON THE ENGINE LIGHT REGARDING P2015 CODE, WHICH IS AN INTAKE MANIFOLD PROBLEM, THAT VOLKSWAGON RECOGNIZED AS A PROBLEM, BUT INSTEAD OF RECALLING, THEY DECIDED TO EXTEND WARRANTY TO 120,000 MIKES, BUT ONLY AS A LOTTERY PICKING OF VIN NUMBERS, SO IF YOUR VIN WASN'T ON LIST, AND YOU HAD THE SAME PROBLEM, YOU HAD TO PAY FOR THIS POOR QUALITY INTAKE MANIFOLD PROBLEM. THEY WOULD CLEAN IF ONLY CLEANING, $1200. IF IT INVOLVED THE WORSE CASE, IT TOOK CHANGING MANIFOLD, OF WHICH THAT WOULD BE, NEEDLESS TO SAY, MUCH MORE, MIND YOU AT 60,000 MILES THIS EXPENSIVE COST. SO YEAH, LOOK FORWARD TO THIS MUCH EXPENSES AT THIS EARLY IN THE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE. SO ONE THING IS KNOWING VOLKSWAGON RECOGNIZED THE PROBLEM, BUT TREATED FIX AS ONLY SOME WOULD QUALIFY FOR EXTENDED WARRANTY, AND IF YOU EXPERIENCE PROBLEM AND YOUR VIN WASN'T ON LIST YOU HAVE TO PAY. YOU CALL VOLKSWAGON HEADQUARTERS OR CUSTOMER CARE, BECAUSE IF THERE IS A PROBLEM, AND MANUFACTURER IS WILLING TO WORK WITH YOU AND UNDERSTAND EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES, EXPLAINING YOU HAD TWO OF THEIR PRODUCTS, AND THEY MAKE THINGS GOOD AND GO THE DISTANCE, THEN THAT'S GOOD, BECAUSE ALL YOU WANT IS A FIX/CORRECTIVE ACTION; HOWEVER, WHEN YOU SPEAK TO DEALERSHIP AND REPORT TO HEADQUARTERS, AND ALL THEY WANT TO QUOTE TO YOU IS THAT IT'S OUT OF THEIR HANDS, THAT YOUR CAR'S VIN # IS NOT LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE ON THE LIST (LOTTERY/POT LUCK), ... SO YOU'RE STUCK WITH A YOUNG CAR WITH ENORMOUS EXPENSES, AFTER THE EXPENSIVE PURCHASE WAS NOT LONG. 2014 VOLKSWAGON GTI. THE OTHER IS JUST EXTREME EXPENSE FOR CLEANING OR REPLACEMENT OF INTAKE MANIFOLD THAT COMPANY RECOGNIZES PROBLEMS, BUT HANDLES WHETHER WARRANTY IS EXTENDED OR NOT BASED ON WHETHER YOUR CAR'S VIN WAS INCLUDED, LIKE ON A LOTTERY.

FOR THE THIRD TIME SINCE OWNING MY CAR, I WAS DRIVING AND THE ENGINE FAILED. WITHOUT ANY OTHER PREVIOUS WARNING LIGHTS OR INDICATORS COMING ON, WHILE I WAS ON THE FREEWAY, MY CAR SLOWED, THE ENGINE LIGHT FLASHED, AND THEN THE CAR COMPLETELY DIED. I WAS ABLE TO RESTART AND PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE SHOULDER. BECAUSE THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, I SUSPECTED THE OIL WAS RUNNING LOW. WE REFILLED IT, AND THE CAR DID START, AND NOW DRIVES AGAIN WITHOUT ISSUE. I JUST HAD MY CAR SERVICED TWO MONTHS PRIOR, AND THEY TOLD ME TO FILL MY OIL AGAIN AT 39,000 MILES OR AT THE END OF JUNE, WHICHEVER CAME FIRST. I WAS ONLY AT 37K MILES AND IT IS JUNE 1. WHEN THIS FIRST HAPPENED, I WAS TOLD THE ENGINE HAD A "PROTECTIVE FEATURE" TO TURN OFF WHEN THE OIL WAS LOW TO MAKE SURE THE ENGINE WASN'T DAMAGED. WITHOUT AN OIL LIGHT INDICATING THAT IT IS LOW, HOW CAN DYING WITHOUT WARNING WHILE DRIVING BE A PROTECTIVE FEATURE? I'M LUCKY I DIDN'T GET HIT BY ANOTHER CAR ON THE FREEWAY, OR CAUSE A PILEUP.

AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY IN NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS THE ABS LIGHT, ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL LIGHT, STEERING WHEEL FAULT WARNING LIGHT AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT LIT UP WITHOUT ANY WARNING PROMPTING A FAULT DESCRIPTION ON MY CENTER DASH SAYING "FAULT: ABS/ELECTRONIC STABILIZATION CONTROL". FROM MY RESEARCH THIS FAULT WAS ALSO FOUND IN THE 2009 (MK5) GTI WHICH SHARES THE SAME ENGINE, ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS AND DRIVETRAIN AS THE 2010-2014 (MK6). ON THE DIFFERENT VOLKSWAGEN FORUMS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY IT IS STILL AN APPARENT FAULT WITH THE CAR WITH HUNDREDS OF INQUIRIES ABOUT HOW TO REPAIR AND FIX THIS PROBLEM ON OUR OWN.

VW HAD A RECALL IN EARLY OCTOBER ON THE COOLANT SYSTEM IN MY CAR. I HAVE HAD IT IN THE SHOP FOUR TIMES AND THE PROBLEM CONTINUES. I FILED A LEMON LAW COMPLAINT AND VW, ON THE TENTH DAY VW RESPONDED AND SENT ONE OF THEIR PEOPLE OUT TO LOOK AT MY CAR. I HAD BEEN KEEPING TRACK OF THE COOLANT LEVEL (I HAVE PICTURES) AND IT HAD GONE DOWN ABOUT AN INCH IN THREE WEEKS TIME. THEY FILLED IT BACK UP AND TOLD ME THAT MY CAR WAS FINE. THE SERVICE MANAGER HAD TOLD ME THAT THE COOLANT SYSTEM IS PLASTIC AND THE PART OF THE CAR IT RESTS ON IS WARPED SO IT IS LIKE TO CONTINUE TO HAPPEN. I AM NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR MORE THAN TEN MILES FROM MY HOME. IF THE COOLANT LIGHT GOES OFF YOU HAVE TO STOP AND CANNOT DRIVE ANY FURTHER. I AM ON VACATION NEXT WEEK AND WAS PLANNING ON DRIVE TO VISIT MY PARENTS IN NAPLES, FL AND NOW I CANNOT GO BECAUSE I AM AFRAID THE COOLANT WILL GO BAD AGAIN. MY CAR WAS IN THE SHOP FOR A GOOD 3-3 1/2 WEEKS AND I MADE MY PAYMENT ANYWAY EVEN THOUGH I DID NOT HAVE USE OF THE CAR DURING THAT TIME. VW IS REFUSING TO ASSIST ANY FURTHER IN THIS MATTER. AS I MENTIONED, I HAVE PICTURES BUT I AM AT WORK AND CANNOT UPLOAD THEM AT THIS TIME. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO PROVIDE THOSE PICTURES.

SUBMITTAL TO VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA 04/08/2014 4:03AM I WOULD LIKE THIS EMAIL TO BE THE BEGINNING OF DOCUMENTATION OF A SERIOUS ISSUE I'M EXPERIENCING WITH THE NEW VW GTI I PURCHASED ONLY TWO WEEKS AGO. SAID ISSUE INVOLVES OCCASIONAL ZERO THROTTLE RESPONSE, WHICH HAS HAPPENED ON FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS SINCE DELIVERY. FOR YOUR REFERENCE, THIS MODEL GTI IS EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. MY COMPLAINT: OCCASIONALLY AT VERY SLOW SPEEDS (APPROXIMATELY 10 TO 20MPH) WHEN DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL (EVEN TO THE FLOOR) THE VEHICLE WILL NOT RESPOND FOR THREE FULL SECONDS, IN OTHER WORDS, THE ENGINE SPEED INDICATOR (TACHOMETER) SHOWS THE ENGINE SITTING AT IDLE SPEED FOR THE ENTIRE THREE SECONDS. THIS UNWANTED CHARACTERISTIC HAS PUT ME IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION MORE THAN ONCE OUT OF FOUR EPISODES I'VE EXPERIENCED THUS FAR. I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT SOMETHING WHICH MAY INTEREST THE VOLKSWAGEN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TEAM, AND THAT IS, THIS EXACT ISSUE WAS EXPERIENCED, DOCUMENTED AND REPAIRED IN MY 2010 VOLVO C-30 R-DESIGN AUTOMOBILE WHICH I STILL OWN TODAY. I MENTION THIS BECAUSE I WONDER IF THERE'S SOME COMMON ELECTRONICS, SOFTWARE, OR OTHER ENGINE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES BEING USED IN THESE DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS DESIGNS. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, I AM RETIRED ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORIES DIRECTOR/SUPERVISOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN. I'VE HAD MANY YEARS EXPERIENCE BUILDING CUSTOM SHOW WINNING AUTOMOBILES AND NASCAR CLASS ENGINES AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO ASSIST VOLKSWAGEN IN ANY WAY TO HELP GET THIS ISSUE FULLY RESOLVED. LASTLY AND NEEDLESS TO SAY, THIS ISSUE IS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN WHICH NEITHER VW NOR I WOULD WANT TO SEE COMPLICATED IN A RESULTING AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT, INJURY, OR WORSE. SINCERELY, [XXX] 'PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).' *TT

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 VOLKSWAGEN GTI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH, WHITE SMOKE EMITTING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE EPC WARNING LAMP ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE MADE A LOUD SOUND BEFORE IT STALLED AND BECAME ENGULFED INTO FLAMES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CONTACTED AND NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 8,000.