NHTSA Complaint #10181488 — 2004 VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG

THE VEHICLE IS UNDRIVABLE / UNPREDICTABLE WHEN THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE IS BELOW ZERO (F). THIS PROBLEM WAS OBSERVED FOR 4 DAYS IN FEB. 2004. THE CAR WILL START, BUT SURGES AND BALKS SO BADLY YOU CAN'T DRIVE IT. THIS CONDITION WILL CONTINUE FOR OVER 20 MINUTES. IT WILL RE-OCCUR THE NEXT TIME YOU TRY AND USE THE VEHICLE SO LONG AS THE TEMPERATURE IS BELOW ZERO. THE SAFETY HAZARD IS THAT IT LEAVES YOU STRANDED WHEREVER THIS HAPPENS. THERE'S NOTHING THE OPERATOR CAN DO. VW HAS TRIED 3 REPAIRS: (1) CHANGE THE ENGINE OIL TO SYNTHETIC, (2) & (3) REPROGRAM THE ENGINE COMPUTER TWICE TO SUPPOSEDLY FIX THIS PROBLEM. IT'S NOW 2 YEARS LATER, AND WE ARE EXPERIENCING BELOW ZERO WEATHER AGAIN, AND THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM PERSISTS. MY DEALER IS NOT ABLE TO FIND ANY INFORMATION ON THIS PROBLEM, AND CAN'T GET ASSISTANCE FROM VW. I WILL CONTACT VWOA DIRECTLY AND INITIATE A CASE. FINALLY, IN RESEARCHING THIS PROBLEM, I HAVE FOUND MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THE V6 ENGINE WHO REPORT THIS PROBLEM AND SAY IT'S NEVER BEEN CORRECTED. *JB