NHTSA Complaint #10365704 — 2005 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

WE RECENTLY BOUGHT A 2005 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA (THE NEWER DESIGN ALSO COINCIDED 2005.5) FROM A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL IN MARCH 2010. WE NOTICED THERE WAS A SLIGHT PROBLEM WITH SHIFTING GEARS THAT CONTINUED TO GET WORSE. IN JUNE 2010 WE TOOK THE CAR TO A LOCAL VOLKSWAGEN DEALER AND DISCUSSED THE PROBLEM. THEY TOLD US IT SOUNDED LIKE THE DUAL MASS FLYWHEEL WAS THE PROBLEM. THAT THERE WAS 2 DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS THAT MAKE THE FLYWHEELS AND THEY NO LONGER USE ONE OF THE MANUFACTURERS DUE TO DEFECTS AND PROBLEMS WITH THE FLYWHEELS THEY MADE. THEY SAID IT WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM THAT THE FLYWHEELS WERE BAD AND WOULD NEED REPLACED WAY BEFORE THEY WERE SUPPOSE TO. EVEN THOUGH THE PROBLEM WAS KNOWN BY VOLKSWAGEN THEY REFUSED TO FIX REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE PART. THEY SAID WE COULD CONTINUE TO DRIVE IT AND BUT WOULD CONTINUE TO GET WORSE AND END UP TEARING UP ALOT OF OTHER STUFF IF IT DID. WE LOOKED ONLINE AND FOUND MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVING THIS SAME PROBLEM, THOUGH NO RECALL. WE ALSO READ WHERE IF THE FLYWHEEL LOCKED UP/CAME APART WHILE DRIVING IT COULD LOCKUP THE ENTIRE CAR. WE DID COME ACROSS WHERE THE FLYWHEEL HAD BEEN RECALLED IN EUROPE. THE CAR WAS DROVE TILL NOVEMBER 2010 WHEN IT HAD GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE IT WOULD DOWNSHIFT ON HILLS AND WHEN YOU WOULD TRY TO GET UP SPEED TO MERGE ONTO THE INTERSTATE IT WOULD NOT SHIFT TO THE NEXT GEAR( BUT THE RPMS WERE NORMAL) AND WAS FORCED TO MERGE ONTO THE INTERSTATE AT A VERY SLOW AND UNSAFE SPEED. THE ENGINE ALSO HAD A VERY LOUD CHATTER NOISE. WE DECIDED TO HAVE IT FIXED AND REPLACED THE FLYWHEEL ASSY & MOUNT BOLTS AND HAD TO HAVE THE TRANSMISSION FLUID FLUSHED AND REFILLED AND A NEW FILTER PUT IN. TOTALING $1423.00. THE NEW FLYWHEEL WAS NOT THE SAME AS THE ORIGINAL ONE. IT NOW RUNS GREAT. SHIFTS PERFECTLY AND SMOOTHLY. *TR