NHTSA Complaint #10628734 — 2010 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

TRAVELING SOUTH ON HWY 101, 55 MILES NORTH OF SAN LOUIS OBISPO, CA AT AN APPROXIMATE SPEED OF 65 MPH,THE ENGINE LOST POWER, AND THE VEHICLE CAME TO A STOP. THE ENGINE COULD NOT BE RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO PERRY VOLKSWAGEN IN SAN LOUIS OBISPO, CA. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED AS A FAILURE OF THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP SENDING SLIVERS OF METAL THROUGHOUT THE FUEL SYSTEM. THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE STATED THAT THIS WAS NOT AN UNCOMMON ISSUE WITH THE TURBO DIESEL MODEL AND THAT THEY CURRENTLY HAVE TWO VEHICLES IN THEIR SHOP WITH THE SAME ISSUE. WE HAVE ALWAYS FUELED THE VEHICLE WITH LOWER SULFUR DIESEL FUEL IN CALIFORNIA AND HAVE NEVER FUELED THE VEHICLE WITH GASOLINE. VW PREVIOUSLY HAD A RECALL TO INSTALL A "DEVICE" TO PREVENT FUELING WITH GAS NOZZLES FROM THE SERVICE STATION PUMPS. THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE INDICATED THAT VW KNOWS OF THE PROBLEM AND WILL FIX THE VEHICLE AT NO CHARGE. WE ALSO HAVE A 2009 VW JETTA TDI THAT EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM IN JUNE 2014, WHICH WAS REPAIRED AT COMMONWEALTH VW IN SANTA ANA, CA. I AM REPORTING THAT INCIDENT IN A SEPARATE REPORT. IT IS MY POSITION THAT VW SHOULD BE RECALLING ALL OF THESE VEHICLES TO FIX THE PROBLEM BEFORE IT HAPPENS RATHER THAN FIXING ONE AT A TIME AFTER IT HAPPENS; EXPOSING CONSUMERS TO POTENTIAL FATAL ACCIDENTS ON HIGHWAYS. *TR