NHTSA Complaint #10371185 — 2010 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

1) OVER THE PAST THREE WEEKS, THIS VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED SYMPTOMS OF DRAWING WATER THROUGH THE INTAKE AND CYLINDERS ON STARTUP ON 5-6 SEPARATE OCCASIONS. SYMPTOMS INCLUDE: ROUGH IDLE (AS THOUGH MISFIRING ON ONE OR MORE CYLINDERS), WHITE SMOKE, DIFFICULTY GAINING ENGINE RPM, AND STUMBLING FOR FIRST 30-60 SECONDS OF OPERATION UNTIL "CLEARED OUT". ON ONE OCCASION, THE STARTER MOTOR WOULD NOT TURN OVER THE ENGINE DUE TO "HYDROLOCKING" PHENOMENON. WHEN THE STARTER WAS RELEASED AND CRANKED AGAIN, THE CAR CRANKED VERY SLOWLY, CAUGHT, AND STARTED EXTREMELY ROUGHLY, AND NEEDED SIGNIFICANT NURSING OF THROTTLE TO "CLEAR OUT". I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER ON DECEMBER 8TH FOR THE ABOVE BEHAVIOR. THEY COULD OFFER NO EXPLANATION, NO FAULT CODES STORED ON COMPUTER. 2) ON DECEMBER 14TH, DRIVING HOME IN A RAIN AND SNOWSTORM, MY CAR WENT INTO ELECTRONIC LIMP MODE ON THE HIGHWAY AT 70MPH. THE DASH FLASHED "SERVICE ENGINE NOW", THE GLOW PLUG LIGHT FLASHED, AND POWER WAS CUT. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER THE NEXT DAY - THEY FOUND THE INTERCOOLER AND PRESSURIZED INTAKE LINES FULL OF 1-1.5 CUPS OF ICE AND WATER. THIS FAILURE OCCURS OFTEN, EACH TIME THE CAR IS RUN FOR AN HOUR AT HUMID BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES. WHEN THE CAR IS SHUTOFF AND ALLOWED TO WARM TO ABOVE FREEZING, LIQUID WATER IS DRAWING DIRECTLY INTO THE CYLINDERS. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS CAN INCLUDE: LIMP MODE, ROUGH STARTING, AND COMPLETED ENGINE DESTRUCTION BY HYDROLOCKING AND BENT OR BROKEN CONNECTING RODS. I STRONGLY SUSPECT MY ENGINE IS PERMANENTLY DAMAGED. 3) THE DEALER DRAINED OUT THE WATER AND REASSEMBLED - SAID THEY CONSIDER THE CAR FIXED. THEY HAVE NOT ADDRESSED THE ROOT CAUSE OF WHY THE POOLS OF WATER ARE PRESENT IN THE INTAKE DURING STARTUP AFTER RUNNING IN HUMID FREEZING CONDITIONS. THE CAUSE IS ICING OF THE INTERCOOLER DURING NORMAL OPERATION, WHICH IS A DESIGN FLAW UNCONTROLLED BY THE USER. WHEN ACCUMULATED ICE MELTS DURING A WARM DAY, THE WATER POOLS AND HAS GRAVE POTENTIAL TO DESTROY THE ENGINE. *TR