NHTSA Complaint #10357411 — 2009 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

2009 VW JETTA TDI. ENGINE STALLS FREQUENTLY, WITH DELAYED RESTART. THE ECU WILL SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE IF THE RPM FALLS, EVEN MOMENTARILY, BELOW SOME PREDETERMINED LEVEL, I OBSERVE THIS THRESHOLD AT ABOUT 600 RPM. THE KEY MUST BE CYCLED TO THE OFF POSITION AND THEN BACK TO START TO RESTART THE VEHICLE, BUT ONCE SHUT DOWN, THERE IS A BRIEF DELAY BEFORE THE ECU WILL ENGAGE THE STARTER, LEAVING THE DRIVER OF A STALLED VEHICLE IN POSSIBLE HARMS WAY, WITH THE KEY IN THE START POSITION WAITING FOR THE ENGINE TO RESTART. DISCUSSION OF THIS PROBLEM IS OFTEN OBFUSCATED BY SHAME, DENIAL AND RECRIMINATIONS ABOUT DRIVERS ABILITY TO ADEQUATELY OPERATE A MANUAL TRANS AND CLUTCH. VERY SKILLED DRIVERS MAY NEVER SEE THE PROBLEM, BUT MAY ALSO DENY IT. MANY DRIVERS, NEW TO THE CAR, ARE OFTEN UNABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE AT ALL. I, AS A MODERATELY SKILLED DRIVER, AFTER OVER A YEAR DRIVING THE CAR EVERYDAY, STILL STALL THE VEHICLE PERIODICALLY. THE SOLUTION IS TO UPDATE THE FIRMWARE IN THE ECU SO THAT THE LOW RPM THRESHOLD IS LOWER (APPROX 400 RPM), AND/OR THAT A SHORT DELAY BE ADDED TO THE SHUT DOWN FEATURE SO THAT BRIEF TRANSIENT LOW RPM EVENTS DO NOT TRIGGER THE SHUT DOWN. *TR