NHTSA Complaint #10609573 — 2009 VOLKSWAGEN RABBIT

THE ABS, BRAKE, AND STABILITY CONTROL WARNING LAMPS CAME ON DURING A SCARY EVENT ON THE EXPRESSWAY. I HIT THE BRAKE PEDAL HARD AND QUICKLY TURNED THE STEERING WHEEL IN ORDER TO AVOID HITTING A CAR THAT SWERVED ACROSS TWO LANES AND CUT IN FRONT OF ME. THE ABS AND STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEMS FAILED, BUT THE HYDRAULIC BRAKE SYSTEM WORKED LIKE A CAR WITHOUT ELECTRONIC CONTROLS, SO I WAS ABLE TO CONTROL THE CAR WHILE BRAKING AND STEERING NEAR THE TRACTION LIMIT. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE LAMPS STAYED ON UNTIL I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE. THERE WAS NO ABS OR STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM WHILE THE LIGHTS WERE ON. I CYCLED THE KEY TO TEST THE LAMPS. THE LAMPS FUNCTIONED CORRECTLY DURING THE BULB TEST AND TURNED OFF AFTER A FEW SECONDS. ON THE FIRST REPAIR ATTEMPT, THE WHEEL HUBS, BEARINGS, AND WHEEL SPEED SENSOR ROTORS/EXCITER RINGS/TONE RINGS WERE INSPECTED. ANY ROAD DEBRIS, DUST, DIRT, AND MAGNETIC PARTICLES WERE REMOVED. THERE WAS NO LOOSENESS, END PLAY, OR RUNOUT. THE WHEEL SPEED SENSORS WERE REMOVED, CLEANED, AND INSTALLED, BUT THE SYMPTOM RETURNED DURING ANOTHER SCARY EVENT. ON THE SECOND REPAIR ATTEMPT, THE ABS CONTROL MODULE (ELECTRONIC BLACK BOX COMPONENT, NOT HYDRAULIC CONTROL COMPONENT) HAD A SOFTWARE FAILURE PER VW TECH SUPPORT ANALYZING THE FAILURE CONDITIONS, VISUAL INDICATORS (WARNING LAMPS), AUDIO INDICATORS (WARNING TONES), AND SCAN TOOL CODES. THE ABS CONTROL MODULE WAS REPLACED. *TR