NHTSA Complaint #10731609 — 2006 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

TRANSMISSION SHIFTING PROBLEM. THE TRANSMISSION WAS NOT CONTROLLING AT ANY NOMINAL CRUISING SPEED, OR WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP. SAFETY CONCERN. CAR WAS SHIFTING WHEN IT DIDN'T NEED TO SHIFT, I.E. OUT OF 6TH AT HIGH SPEEDS WHEN THE TERRAIN AND SPEED HADN'T CHANGED. IT WOULD SHIFT OUT OF GEAR THE WAY YOU DO IN A MANUAL TRANSMISSION, BUT INSTEAD OF SHIFTING BACK IN IMMEDIATELY, IT WOULD HESITATE (RPMS DROP SIGNIFICANTLY) SO THAT THE CAR WAS ESSENTIALLY IDLING BETWEEN GEARS. THEN IT WOULD SHIFT BACK IN TO A GEAR FOR A FEW SECONDS, AND THEN SHIFT AGAIN INAPPROPRIATELY WITH THE SAME HESITATION. WHEN IT WOULD SHIFT BACK IN SOMETIMES IT WOULD DO THE HARD SHIFT. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AT TIMES BUT NOT ALWAYS. THE CAR COULDN'T SEEM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT GEAR IT NEEDED TO BE IN, AND IT KEPT SHIFTING IN AND OUT OF THE HIGHER GEARS EVEN THOUGH THE DRIVER HADN'T CHANGED THE SPEED AND THE TERRAIN WAS THE SAME. IT WAS MUCH WORSE DURING THE HEAT OF THE DAY. WHEREAS THE PROBLEM IS HARDLY PERCEPTIBLE AT NIGHT. STILL IT SEEMED TO BE SHIFTING BETWEEN 6TH DOWN TO 5TH WHEN IT DIDN'T NEED TO. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO REPEAT OVER AND OVER. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AT SOME POINT, BUT WAS NOT ON THIS MORNING.