Problems with 2009 Volkswagen Jetta POWER TRAIN

I bought a new 2009 vw jetta tdi sportwagen with the dsg transmission and at 1000 miles exactly, the transmission went into neutral, all the lights blinked on the mfi, and the car coasted to a stop. i put it in park and turned the ignition off. i restarted the car and went on my way. at exactly 1724 miles, this happened again. i took the car into the dealer at 2361 miles and they are reporting that they can find nothing wrong with the transmission. *tr

While driving at highway speeds the automatic transmission in my 2009 volkswagen jetta tdi slips into neutral with no warning. the transmission remains in neutral until you lift your foot off the accelerator. only then will it go back into gear. the has occurred 5 times in the 2.5 months i've own the car. i took the vehicle to the local vw dealer to explain the problem. the vehicle is there now, hopefully being repaired. *tr

Was driving my 2009 jetta tdi wagon down the highway at approximately 90km/h. all power was lost, the car was in "neutral." rpms dropped to about 1000. the gear shift indicator was flashing "prnd." i had to push the car off the highway, i waited 10 minutes, re-started the car and drove it to the closest vw dealer. they said it was a faulty temperature sensor, and that none were available in north america. i was told to continue driving the vehicle and just to pull over every time the car behaved like this. *tr

Dsg transmission at slow speeds will suddenly downshift into 1st causing abrupt engine breaking in traffic without warning (<25mph). trying to accelerating from the slow speed or stop will causing a 1-2 second delay/jerk in traffic (narrowly avoiding being rear-ended in stop-go-traffic). *tr

Dsg transmission goes into neutral sporadically at speed, and loss of wheel power occurs for 5-10 seconds, then transmission reengages. prnds gear indicator on dash flashes during the episode. happens repeatedly but no engine check light triggered, and dealers cannot diagnose problem because no fault codes are generated. on two occasions the vehicle would not reengage and had to come to a complete stop and the engine had to be powered off on and back on to clear problem. this is a safety issue. *tr

Transmission down shifted approx 2 gears and was stuck in 2nd gear. the transmission selector would not respond to attempts to shift out of gear or to the automatic mode. the prnds lights on the central dash started flashing. i was able to drive to destination stuck in 2nd gear, which seems to be a default limp home mode. *tr

While driving my 2009 vw jetta sportwagen tdi with dsg transmission 65 mph on freeway, car had approximately 1175 miles on it, sudden loss of power, felt like the car was in neutral though was still in drive. the gear indicator lights flashed and no acceleration response when accelerator depressed. gear re-engaged approximately 5 seconds later and was able to regain speed with no incident. took into vw dealer, they were unable to reproduce, but called vw tech and were told to replace the input temperature sensor on the transmission. sensor was replaced and i got the vehicle back 5 days later. appears to be running fine, no repeat of "false neutral" in this case, there was no accident or injury, but sudden loss of power on the interstate in traffic could very easily lead to accidents and serious injury or death. *tr

Make: volkswagen model: jetta sportwagen year: 2009 drivetrain: tdi transmission: dsg issue: while decelerating, and under normal driving conditions, the dsg transmission downshifts into neutral. detail: the p-r-n-d-s letters on the multifunction display begin to flash. the transmission will not re-engage until the vehicle is brought to a complete stop, shut off, and then restarted while depressing the brake. this transmission failure has occurred on multiple occasions while downshifting from 6th to 5th and while coming to a complete stop. *tr

I had a complete loss of power and blinking prnd while traveling 65 mph, and scared me. first time it happened, i though i hit the shifter with my knee; second time got me concerned; third time i said i'm going to the dealer; 4th and 5th times it happened on the way to the dealer! while in the shop for 2 days, i sent a detailed account of what i experienced to the head mechanic, knowing he would not likely be able to recreate what i experienced on his own. he never got a fault code for this. after calling vw, he checked and found a faulty transmission temperature sensor, which showed failure 54 times! apparently, the tranny goes into protection mode (death mode on the highway if you ask me) with this fault condition. waiting now for a tranny temp sensor for about a week now. *tr

While driving at approximately 65 mph on i-95, car disengaged from transmission. engine revved, but slowed down. at approximately 45 mph, transmission re-engaged. at same time, center display flickered and began indicating all drive modes. on july 10, 2009, while stopped at an intersection, the same thing happened. when i pressed the accelerator, the engine revved, but transmission didn't engage, and wouldn't engage, until i restarted the car. as the intersection was on a slight downgrade, this left me in the middle of the intersection, until i was able to restart the vehicle. *tr

On multiple occasions, in traffic and not in traffic, i have had my transmission go into a false neutral that would not recover until i re-started the car. traveling along at 65 mph, the engine suddenly approaches redline, with no warning. the transmission indicator, p r n d s starts to flash, indicating that the transmission is in neutral. trying to get to the shoulder is a white knuckle ride. i am reporting this here now, as i just found out about this site. *tr

While driving in the fast lane at approximately 75 mph the vehicle began to act as if it were in neutral failing to deliver any power to the wheels. i struggled to get over to the shoulder and was nearly in two accidents and i think i scrubbed one of my rims on the curb, but didn't notice at the time since i was freaked out. i then had to stop and restart the car to get it to drive again. this was the sixth time in about a week that we had the car act as if it were in neutral while driving along. this was the first time that power was not regained shortly after losing power. the frustrating thing is that i had brought the car to the dealer earlier in the week complaining that a similar incident had occurred the previous week where i had lost power to the wheels but that i had regained it after 5-10 seconds. they said they could not do anything because they couldn't reproduce the problem when they test drove the car and that no "errors" showed up in the computer history for the vehicle. they basically said that since there were no bulletins put out by vw they couldn't do anything until the error occurred again. thankfully i was carrying my video camera in the car and my girlfriend recorded much of the incident. i am emailing the dealer today and we'll see what they have to say now. *tr

I just got my brand new 09 vw tdi sportwagon with the dsg transmission and it only had 298 miles on it, i was on the throgs neck bridge with my 20 month old twin girls, sophia and jessica and the transmission was slipping and then no power at all . i was stuck on that bridge for over 3 hours with my twin girls ! the tow truck finally came and towed the car to bayside vw. *tr

Dsg transmission mechatronic unit failure (integrated cpu unit) resulting in severe to erratic behavior of the car. cars would suddenly stall... buck or lunge forward or backward depending on the shift mode. many people are complaining on the vwvortex website about this most recent and severe transmission malfunction. vw is taking up to several months to repair cars. it appears to be vw-audi cars '08 through present that are severely affected. *tr

Tl-the contact owns a 2009 volkswagen jetta. he states that dsg duel cluth automatic transmission that the temp sensor goes bad it sends false reading=s to the elctronic module and causes the tranmission to lock up. going at 70mph on the highway the vehicle shifted to neutrel. the vehicle stayed in neutrl until it hit 45 mph when got off the highway and at a stop sign on a off ramp and trying to pass the transmission continued to lock up and almost caused an accident. the vehicle was then turned off and then towed to an dealer and they took a look at the vehicle and they are investigating the problem with this vehicle. also volkswagen didnt take this situation serioulsy. the failure and current mileage was 868.

2009 jetta sportwagen with dsg transmission. car was brand new with 487 miles. the car completely and suddenly lost power in traffic although engine was still running and in drive. felt like it was in neutral. pndrs lights on dashboard began blinking. problem resolved spontaneously only to recur moments later. was told by vw to have car towed to dealer. this is a potentially life-threatening situation if it occurs in traffic or during a left hand turn. *tr

We recently purchased a brand new 2009 vw jetta 2.0tsi with a direct shift gearbox (dsg) transmission. this transmission is just like a standard clutch type stick shift but without a clutch pedal. on board computers depress the clutch for the driver instead. the driver has a choice of selecting the gears themselves (tip mode) or choosing a 'd' fully automatic mode. we prefer full auto mode. we loved the way our car drove until a few weeks ago when we felt the car surge, pause, and then surge again as we accelerated from a traffic light. the tachometer indicated that the transmission was shifting erratically without any rhyme or reason, as if it hadn't ever learned how to shift gears properly. but the erratic acceleration didn't repeat itself at the next light or the next one either. we dismissed it as a fluke. but over the next few weeks this condition repeated itself until it got so bad it would take a long pause between gears then surge ahead without control! we feared driving it so much that we stopped and contacted our dealer that monday. we also googled 'dsg problems' and were astonished at what we saw, and read! we weren't alone. some have had near collisions while others were left stranded. it appears the 'brains' of the dsg is at fault. it's called the mechatronics unit module and is on back order for up to 2 or more months. we've read that many who have had their mech.u. recently replaced are experiencing repeated meltdowns. our car had only around 570 miles on it when it happened. we're contemplating filing a lemon law claim with vw. we don't trust this car' we fear it! please help before someone gets seriously injured. *tr

09 vw tdi sportswagen dsg will randomly shift into neutral. this has occurred at various times varying from being stopped to cruising at highway speeds. the vehicle has been in the shop twice for this problem. during the first visit, the dealer was unable to replicate the problem. the second time, we took a video of the event and showed it to the lead mechanic. the shop has determined a temperature sensor in the transmission is overheating and causing the car to slip into neutral. the part is reportedly on back order and we do not have any estimate as to when the repairs will be completed. *tr

Driving at highway speeds in car, the transmission will go into neutral without warning and the transmission gear range display flashes. the care must be stopped and restarted to allow the transmission to reengage. diagnosed as a dsg transmission problem causing it to go into "safety mode" in response to a malfunctioning transmission fluid temperature sensor. dealer working to correct the problem. problem seems to happen infrequently and very unexpectedly. *tr

Dsg transmission goes into neutral sporadically at speed, and loss of wheel power occurs for 5-10 seconds, then transmission reengages. prnds gear indicator on dash flashes during the episode. happens repeatedly but no engine check light triggered, and dealers cannot diagnose problem because no fault codes are generated. *tr

This is a jetta sportwagen tdi with dsg automatic transmission. with dsg transmission in 'd" mode, coasting at moderate speed in traffic, transmission slipped out of gear into false neutral, transmission display flashing "prnds". stepping on accelerator caused engine to rev to redline, car did not speed up. this happened on two separate occasions, each time i tried repeatedly placing transmission into "tiptronic" mode and back into "d", problem resolved within 30 seconds and transmission then functioned normally. cel did not illuminate. as this happened in light traffic, the failure only delayed vehicles behind me temporarily. i have not taken it to vw dealer yet as they have no information about the problem. tdi club forum posts suggest problem is faulty transmission temp sensor, may be more common in vehicles sold in spring 2009. *tr

This is a problem with the 2009 volkswgen jetta tdi with dsg transmission. the auto so equipped cannot be driven safely as the car has serious acceleration lags before popping into gear and severe downshifts. there is no way to predict when the next incident will happen only that the acceleration lag has caused numerous near misses at intersections. to date only a scraped wheel while pulling away from a bank drive through. *tr

I just read that some vw's are being recalled for a dsg transmission defect; i have a 2009 jetta sportswagen that does not have the dsg automatic transmission, but i have experienced hesitation and a perception of stalling with the transmission in my car on several occasions. usually when i am taking off from a quick stop, the car will hesitate almost as if it were stalling; usually i lift up on the gas pedal and when i reapply it, then the car will move. i had the vw dealer look at this and they told me that it was due to the electronic controls of the transmission gearing and that sometimes the transmission doesn't "know" what gear to choose to move forward; they reset the transmission module so that it would "relearn" my driving style. this is a dangerous problem in that if you're pulling out into traffic, and the car hesitates or "stalls" this can be highly problematic. therefore, i ask that you look into a similar transmission issue with the non dsg auto transmissions on the jetta. by the way, the dealer said that i was not the first person to complain of this problem. i also test drove a tiguan recently which i was considering buying and on the way out of the dealership, the car literally started to slow down just as if it were stalling - so this problem doesn't seem to be restricted just to my car. *tr

I have the wolfsburg edition 2.0t automatic transmission. when the car is accelerating and shifting gears there is a loud rattling sound. i took it to the dealership service dept and they claimed that's a normal sound. i had a passat with the 2.0t prior to the wolfsburg and it never made this sound. we took another jetta wolfsburg edition for a drive that was on the sales lot. unfortunately, it made the same sound. it is absolutely ridiculous because it's a brand new car. it rattles every time the car accelerates and is switching gears. it sounds like something is loose in the engine. *tr

2009 vw jetta tdi. engine stalls frequently, with delayed restart. the ecu will shut down the engine if the rpm falls, even momentarily, below some predetermined level, i observe this threshold at about 600 rpm. the key must be cycled to the off position and then back to start to restart the vehicle, but once shut down, there is a brief delay before the ecu will engage the starter, leaving the driver of a stalled vehicle in possible harms way, with the key in the start position waiting for the engine to restart. discussion of this problem is often obfuscated by shame, denial and recriminations about drivers ability to adequately operate a manual trans and clutch. very skilled drivers may never see the problem, but may also deny it. many drivers, new to the car, are often unable to drive the vehicle at all. i, as a moderately skilled driver, after over a year driving the car everyday, still stall the vehicle periodically. the solution is to update the firmware in the ecu so that the low rpm threshold is lower (approx 400 rpm), and/or that a short delay be added to the shut down feature so that brief transient low rpm events do not trigger the shut down. *tr

Tl*the contact own a 2009 volkswagen jetta. he stated that he experienced transmission failure while driving 70 mph on the highway. the vehicle went shifted into neutral gear while driving and he was forced to drive to the emergency lane. warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel; however, after an hour, the vehicle reset itself. the vehicle was towed to a dealer who refused to diagnose the transmission or repair the failure. the manufacturer advised the dealer not to make any repairs unless they could duplicate the failure. recall#09v333000, component: power train:automatic transmission is related to the failure; however, the vin is not a part of the recall. the failure mileage was 11,000 and the current mileage was 15,500.

Dsg transmission disengaged while driving down brooklyn-queens expressway traveling 50mph, had to coast car from left lane to right side shoulder. incident happened about 3-4 times when care had less than 700 miles from new purchase. *tr

While driving, vehicle transmission disengaged resulting in no power to maintain speed. this occurred twice, once on a rural highway traveling approximately 60 mph and once on the interstate traveling approximately 70 mph. with the first occurrence the transmission re-engaged after a few seconds. with the second occurrence, the "prnds" shift indicator light began flashing and i had to merge over through traffic into the emergency lane to avoid high speed traffic, all the while having no power. i then had to shut the engine off and restart it to clear the malfunction. i scheduled an appointment at the dealer for repair and a sensor(s) were replaced on the transmission's computer. since the repair i've not had another malfunction. this malfunction poses a serious hazard as one loses the ability to maintain speed in traffic, resulting in a stalled vehicle situation. *tr

2009 jetta tdi sportwagon with only 90 total miles on the odo, 3 days off the showroom floor jumped our of gear into neutral on the freeway traveling at 65 mph. the car is in the show (dgs transmission). car had to be towed to the dealer for repair. waiting on parts. *tr

We were heading up hill when suddenly traffic came to a crawl after a few minutes we started to smell something like burnt brake pads, we figured it was coming from the vehicles heading down hill braking friction, we did nothing of it until we pulled to the side of the road and lift open the hood then noticed that the smell was actually coming from our car engine compartment. the incident took place on a saturday, on the following monday i called vw customer support to report the incident. the representative told me to take the car to the nearest vw dealership to be inspected, the dealership mechanic made the recommendation to have the clutch replaced, vw agreed to have it replaced under warranty. however the new clutch is beginning to show the same sign of failure the car has only 6500 miles on it. i have heard from outside sources that main cause could be the dual mass flywheel it appears that this is happening to a lot of owners. *tr

2009 vw jetta tdi (turbo-diesel) equipped with dsg (direct shift gearbox) transmission. vehicle prematurely downshifts from 2nd into 1st gear at slow speeds. when driving in 'tiptronic' (manual) shift mode at slow speed conditions, such as right turns, parking lots/garages, yield conditions, etc., the vehicle will downshift unexpectedly from 2nd gear into 1st after reacceleration has already begun, resulting in the engine's rpms to "skyrocket". if this occurs within a turn in traffic, the vehicle's acceleration is stalled due to the lower gear. panicking, one shifts the vehicle into 2nd at the high rpms and the transmission jolts under the power and causes the vehicle to surge forward rapidly under power. this has contributed to near rear-end crash situations for both drivers following at the downshift/stall condition as well as vehicles in front at the upshift/acceleration condition. in parking lots while moderately traveling in 2nd gear looking for a parking stall, without warning, again the vehicle will sometimes downshift into first causing this braking "bucking' effect and the engine rpms skyrocket until one either lifts off the accelerator or shifts back into 2nd. this condition has been intermittent for over a year now an overall makes it very difficult and unnerving to drive in stop and go traffic, parking lots, areas with speed bumps, garages, or any other slow speed environments where one would prefer to operate the vehicle in 'manual' shift mode as provided by the dsg's design. it seems apparent to me that the software and/or sensor components related to the shifting characteristics of the dsg while in these modes, should not allow the vehicle to downshift into the 1st gear unless the vehicle comes to a stop, or at least at an almost non-detectable speed, thereby allowing the driver to reaccelerate in 2nd which, in combination with the high-torque nature of the diesel engine is more than sufficient for these scenarios. *tr

The dsg transmission jolts the car when shifting at lower speeds while the shift lever is in s mode. the "mechatronics" control unit has been changed, but the car still jolts. i'm afraid that these jolts put excessive strain on the rest of the drivetrain and can create an unsafe condition. *tr

2009 vw jetta tdi sportwagen: loss of drive at speed, on the highway. the car's dash board flashes the indicator lights for its automatic drive mode 'prnds' and produces no power to the wheels, despite the shifter remaining in 'd' for drive. vehicle power was restored only after coming to a full stop, shutting off the engine and restarting it. this happened only once, for us. vw checked the vehicle, found no computer generated "codes" and returned it to us with no change made. we believe it was unsafe to be without power on a four lane highway, with no shoulder and hope vw will identify the problem before it happens again. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 volkswagen jetta. the contact stated that the vehicle would stall whenever driving uphill. the contact was able to restart the vehicle after the failure. the vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. the failure mileage was unknown. *tr

I own a 2009 vokswagon tdi wagon. last week while on vacation with my family i experienced several "false neutrals". the vehicle while traveling at various speeds would shift into a neutral gear and the rpm would rev to 3000+ rpnds lights on the mfd would flash and acceleration would cease. this happened while driving on the highway as well as in the city... it also happened once while i was stopped at a traffic light. *tr

2009 vw jetta tdi with dsg transmission appears to shift to neutral under highway conditions resulting in loss of power/acceleration. requires shifting transmission to another mode, sometimes pulling off to the side. occurs typically once a day under prolonged driving conditions, but can be completely random. effect of sudden stop or deceleration in traffic, very unsafe. problem not corrected, dealer unable to reproduce or find fault. others with issue have had transmission temp/speed sensors replaced. *tr