NHTSA Complaint #11010197 — 2009 VOLKSWAGEN RABBIT

THE CURRENT RECALL (MANUFACTURER RECALL 45F2, NHTSA RECALL 16V913) FOR THE KNOWN ABS CONTROL MODULE FAULTY GROUNDING ISSUE IS WOEFULLY INADEQUATE, AS IT ALLOWS THOSE ALREADY SUFFERING FROM THE FAULTS THAT THE SOFTWARE UPDATE IS DESIGNED TO BE MORE SENSITIVE TO ARE UNABLE TO RECEIVE SATISFACTION. IF EITHER OR BOTH OF THE FAULTS THAT WOULD NECESSITATE A MODULE REPLACEMENT AFTER A SOFTWARE UPDATE ARE PRESENT PRIOR TO THE SOFTWARE UPDATE, THE SOFTWARE UPDATE CANNOT BE PERFORMED & VOLKSWAGEN WILL TAKE NO FURTHER ACTION. ESSENTIALLY, THOSE VEHICLES THAT HAVE A MODULE THAT HAS ALREADY FAILED ARE NOT BEING REPAIRED WHILE THOSE THAT HAVE NOT YET FAILED (BUT MAY BE SUSCEPTIBLE OR STARTING TO FAIL) ARE BEING REPAIRED. THESE SPECIFIC FAULTS (01130 - 125/4TH AND/OR 16352 - 96/4TH) ARE FOR DETECTING A BAD GROUND DUE TO AN IMPROPER SOLDER USED IN THE MODULES. IT SHOULD NOT MATTER IF THOSE FAULTS ARE PRESENT PRIOR TO A SOFTWARE UPDATE OR AFTER A SOFTWARE UPDATE THAT IS OSTENSIBLY DESIGNED SIMPLY TO BETTER DETECT THOSE EXACT FAULTS. THE FAULT BEGINS AS AN INTERMITTENT FAULT THAT IS CAUSED BY HARD BRAKING OR HITTING A BUMP BUT CAN BE CLEARED BY A VEHICLE RESTART. OVER TIME, IF THE MODULE IS NOT REPLACED, THE SOLDER ON THE GROUND DEGRADES FURTHER & THE FAULT BECOMES MORE SEMI-CONSTANT & CANNOT BE SIMPLY CLEARED. THE WAY THAT THE CURRENT RECALL IS WORDED ALLOWS VW TO DENY THE RECALL WORK SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE DEGREE OF DEGRADATION TO THE GROUNDS. OVER TIME, THIS FAULT CAN INTERFERE WITH THE SPEEDOMETER, TACHOMETER AND TRANSMISSION SHIFTING OF AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION VEHICLES. AND ON BOTH AUTOMATIC & MANUAL TRANSMISSION VEHICLES, CAUSES A VERY UNSAFE FAILURE OF THE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM WHEN CORNERING OR STOPPING IN NORMAL DAILY ROAD CONDITIONS (BRAKES LOCKING, REAR-END LOSING TRACTION, ETC)