NHTSA Complaint #10358790 — 2010 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

BRAND NEW VOLKSWAGEN JETTA SPORTWAGEN TDI HAS STALLED AT SPEEDS FROM 25-65 MPH WITH ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING (NO WARNING LIGHTS OR MESSAGES AND NO CHANGE IN DRIVING PERFORMANCE). THIS HAS OCCURRED 3 TIMES AT APPROXIMATELY 4K MILES. THE 3RD TIME THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED FROM A MAJOR EXPRESSWAY SINCE THE ENGINE WOULD NOT RESTART. THE VW DEALER FOUND FAULT CODE P2146. THEY DID NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR DURING TESTING AND SIMPLY CLEARED THE CODES WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF A VW OF AMERICA TECHNICIAN WORKING REMOTELY. THE VW OF AMERICA TECH ADVISED TEST DRIVING 20 MILES AND RETURNING THE CAR TO US. THE CAR WORKED WELL FOR THE NEXT 5K MILES BUT HAS NOW STALLED RANDOMLY AGAIN TWICE WHILE DRIVING. I WAS NEARLY HIT TODAY AS THE CAR STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION AS I WAS TURNING LEFT. PRIOR EVENTS HAVE LED TO NEARLY BEING REARENDED ON 4 LANE HIGHWAYS WITH 2 ADULTS AND A 3 AND 5 YEAR OLD IN THE BACK SEAT. THIS IS MY FIRST NEW CAR AND I HAVE NEVER FELT THIS UNSAFE IN CARS I HAVE OWNED THAT ARE OVER 10 YEARS OLD. VW SEEMS TO THINK IT IS OK TO RETURN THIS CAR TO CUSTOMERS AND WILL NOT PROVIDE ME ANY INFORMATION ON THE FREQUENCY OF THIS OCCURRENCE IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. I AM HAVING IT TOWED TO THE VW DEALER (SUTLIFF IN HARRISBURG PA) WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR. THEY INDICATED THEY WILL WORK ON THE CAR AGAIN. I'M AFRAID THIS WILL JUST MEAN CLEARING CODES AND TEST DRIVING. THE MECHANICS HAVE ALL AGREED THAT THEY WOULD NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING THEIR FAMILY IN MY CAR...MY NEW CAR. NOTE: RVUTB 2414/YL 2.0L TDI ECM SOFTWARD UPDATE WAS PERFORMED ON THIS CAR AS PART OF RECALL BETWEEN INCIDENTS. *TR