NHTSA Complaint #10238509 — 2002 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

OUR 2002 JETTA SUDDENLY DEVELOPED TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS EVEN BEFORE COMPLETING 57,000 MILES. THE CAR JERKS WHILE CHANGING GEARS DURING ACCELERATION IN THE SPEED RANGE OF 15 ' 30 MILES. FROM THE INFORMATION FOUND ON THE INTERNET, AND FROM OPINIONS OBTAINED INFORMALLY FROM INDEPENDENT GARAGES, WE BELIEVE THAT THE 2002 JETTA HAS A HISTORY OF SIMILAR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS IN THE 55K ' 65K MILE RANGE. THE REPAIR ENTAILS REPLACING THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FOR A COST OF AROUND 6000 DOLLARS. THOUGH THE CAR HAS NOT EVEN RUN 57,000 MILES, VW HAS REFUSED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY OF FIXING IT FOR FREE BECAUSE THE 6-YEAR WARRANTY PERIOD HAS EXPIRED. VW REFUSED TO PROVIDE US WITH ANY INFORMATION OF THE NUMBER OF REPORTS THEY HAD ABOUT THIS ISSUE. VW OFFERED US 1000 DOLLARS TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF ANOTHER VW VEHICLE BUT REFUSED TO PAY US IF WE REPAIRED OUR CAR FOR A LOWER PRICE AT AN INDEPENDENT GARAGE. WE INTERPRETED THEIR OFFER AS A MARKETING STRATEGY TO MAKE US GIVE THEM MORE BUSINESS. THE CAR PROBLEMS HAVE DISRUPTED OUR LIVES BECAUSE WE DID NOT ANTICIPATE HAVING TO INVEST MORE MONEY AFTER MAKING A LARGE INVESTMENT OF 25,000 DOLLARS JUST A FEW YEARS AGO. 31 COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN ALREADY FILED WITH THE NHTSA ON TRANSMISSION ISSUES FOR THE 2002 JETTA, PRIOR TO THIS ONE. WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR THE NHTSA TO START AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE PROBLEM? IS THERE ANY WAY TO MAKE VW RELEASE DATA REGARDING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION, KNOWING THAT THE REPAIRS ARE SO EXPENSIVE? IT IS UNFAIR THAT VW DENIES RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT COULD BE A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THEIR CARS. WE OWNED THREE OTHER JAPANESE CARS PREVIOUSLY THAT WERE FAR CHEAPER THAN THE JETTA, AND GAVE US FAR SUPERIOR SERVICE. BUYING A JETTA WAS OBVIOUSLY A MISTAKE. *TR