NHTSA Complaint #10492197 — 2009 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

MY 2009 JETTA SPORTWAGEN TDI HAS EXPERIENCED A DISTURBING NO-START CONDITION SEVERAL TIMES. CRANKING THE ENGINE DID NOT RESULT IN A START. ONLY AFTER REPEATED CRANKING (5-10 TIMES) DID THE CAR ACTUALLY START. FIRST IT WOULD NOT START SEVERAL TIMES, THEN START AND DIE IMMEDIATELY, AND FINALLY START, RUN VERY ROUGH,AND THEN SMOOTH OUT ITS IDLE. THIS ENTIRE SEQUENCE (WHICH HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 4 TIMES IN THE LAST MONTH, TO VARYING DEGREES) OCCURRED IN THE DECEMBER-JANUARY TIME FRAME, WITH THE FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRING WHEN TEMPS WERE RIGHT AROUND FREEZING, WITH PRECIPITATION (RAIN-SNOW MIX) AND HIGH HUMIDITY. AT LEAST 2 TIMES, THE VEHICLE SIMPLY DIED SUDDENLY WHILE DRIVING, WHEN I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE THROTTLE AND REVS DROPPED DOWN TO IDLE. IN ADDITION, THE CAR HAS DISPLAYED A SOLID CHECK ENGINE AND FLASHING GLOW PLUG LIGHT, WHICH HAVE COME AND GONE SEVERAL TIMES (INTERMITTENTLY: ONE DAY THEY WILL BE ON, THE NEXT DAY NOT). THE LAST SYMPTOM TO REPORT IS A P0638 OBDII CODE (THROTTLE BODY OUT OF RANGE). THIS CODE, HOWEVER, COULD BE A FALSE INDICATION THAT IS RELATED TO THE NUMBER OF FAILED ENGINE START ATTEMPTS? I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER, AND THEY COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. I HAVE A STRONG INDICATION TO SUSPECT, AFTER RESEARCHING OTHERS' EXPERIENCES ON SEVERAL ONLINE FORUMS, THAT THIS MAY BE RELATED TO THE ACCUMULATION OF WATER AND/OR ICE IN THE INTERCOOLER, WHICH THEN EITHER BLOCKS THE AIRFLOW OR BECOMES INGESTED INTO THE INTAKE. MY SYMPTOMS ARE CONSISTENT WITH THOSE REPORTED IN THE VOLKSWAGEN TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB) # 21 11 06 / 2025464 - FROZEN AIR CHARGE COOLER. HOWEVER, WHEN I PRESENTED THIS TSB DATA, ALONG WITH REPORT OF MY SYMPTOMS TO THE DEALER (AFTER THEY INSPECTED THE CAR AND COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING) THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY COULD NOT HELP ME, SINCE THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF ITS WARRANTY PERIOD. *TR