Just when you thought you’d heard the last word on Toyota’s acceleration problems, the company is fighting back.  Today the company stated that it had comprehensively tested claims made by ABC News and Professor David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University and found those claims not only wrong, but “artificially manipulated” and “unrealistic”.

According to Toyota, “A comprehensive analysis conducted by a world renowned engineering group, as well as testing by Toyota, has concluded the following about Professor Gilbert’s demonstration:

* The vehicle’s electronics were rewired and reengineered in multiple ways, in a specific sequence, and under conditions that are virtually impossible to occur in real-world conditions without visible evidence.
* Toyota vehicle electronic systems were actively manipulated to mimic a valid full-throttle condition.
* Substantially similar results were successfully created in vehicles made by other manufacturers.”

Here’s a breakdown on what Toyota claims ABC News and Professor Gilbert did to fake the results and get a juicy news story…

Professor Gilbert’s reengineering and rewiring of the vehicle’s electrical system involves the following manipulations in a specific sequence. First, the protective insulation on two separate wires that carry the accelerator pedal position signals to the Engine Control Module must be individually cut or breached. Next, these wires are connected to each other through a 200 Ohm resistor.

This contrivance, by itself, did not cause an increase in engine speed. To cause an increase in engine speed, it is necessary to cut the insulation on a third wire, the 5-volt power supply to the accelerator pedal, and force a low resistance connection between the power supply and the secondary signal wire.

The resulting increase in engine speed is a result of the subsequent artificial and sudden application of the 5-volt power supply to this signal line with the rewired circuit. When subjected to similar unrealistic reengineering and rewiring, the competitive vehicles evaluated by Exponent and Toyota achieved substantially similar results with varying levels of resistances.

Here’s the full Toyota statement

COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT GILBERT CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY, ABC NEWS SEGMENT

Sequence and Nature of Artificially Manipulated Faults Unrealistic, Televised “Unintended Acceleration” Staged With Virtual Remote Throttle Control

TORRANCE, Calif., March 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Today, during a live webcast, Toyota raised serious concerns about the validity, methodology and credibility of a demonstration of alleged “unintended acceleration” in a Toyota Avalon by Professor David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University and depicted in ABC News broadcasts and on-line segments.

A comprehensive analysis conducted by a world renowned engineering group, as well as testing by Toyota, has concluded the following about Professor Gilbert’s demonstration:

* The vehicle’s electronics were rewired and reengineered in multiple ways, in a specific sequence, and under conditions that are virtually impossible to occur in real-world conditions without visible evidence.

* Toyota vehicle electronic systems were actively manipulated to mimic a valid full-throttle condition.

* Substantially similar results were successfully created in vehicles made by other manufacturers.

In the demonstration dramatized by ABC on February 22, Professor Gilbert, assisted by segment reporter Brian Ross, asserted that he had detected a “dangerous” flaw in the Toyota electronic control system that he alleged could lead to unintended acceleration. The following day, Professor Gilbert offered a preliminary report of his findings in testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Engineers at Exponent, one of the country’s leading engineering and scientific consulting firms, as well as Toyota engineers, have reviewed and recreated Gilbert’s demonstration with substantially similar results in representative vehicles of other makes.

Separately, at Toyota’s request, Dr. J. Christian Gerdes, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University and the director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS), conducted an independent review of Professor Gilbert’s testimony and the preliminary report presented to Congress.

Their findings were demonstrated today at a news conference during which the accelerator circuitry of a Toyota Avalon, as well as a sampling of well-regarded and popular competitive makes, was rewired and manipulated as Gilbert did in his demonstration.

Kristen Tabar, general manager of electronics systems, Toyota Technical Center, summarizes three of the major concerns with the artificial nature of Professor Gilbert’s demonstration.

“First, an electrical circuit that has been reengineered and rewired will not behave as it was originally designed and engineered,” said Tabar.

“Second, no automaker can or should be expected to design detection strategies for artificially created events in the absence of any evidence that such an event can occur in the real world.

“Third, if the artificial condition created by Professor Gilbert had occurred in the real world, it would have left readily detectable fingerprints.”

Exponent and Toyota engineers have found no evidence to suggest that any of the steps of Professor Gilbert’s demonstration exists in the real world. Thus, the fact that the Toyota Avalon used by Professor Gilbert did not show a Diagnostic Trouble Code after his demonstration does not indicate an undetectable safety defect. The same is true of the representative vehicles of other manufacturers tested by Exponent and Toyota.

Professor Gilbert’s reengineering and rewiring of the vehicle’s electrical system involves the following manipulations in a specific sequence. First, the protective insulation on two separate wires that carry the accelerator pedal position signals to the Engine Control Module must be individually cut or breached. Next, these wires are connected to each other through a 200 Ohm resistor.

This contrivance, by itself, did not cause an increase in engine speed. To cause an increase in engine speed, it is necessary to cut the insulation on a third wire, the 5-volt power supply to the accelerator pedal, and force a low resistance connection between the power supply and the secondary signal wire.

The resulting increase in engine speed is a result of the subsequent artificial and sudden application of the 5-volt power supply to this signal line with the rewired circuit. When subjected to similar unrealistic reengineering and rewiring, the competitive vehicles evaluated by Exponent and Toyota achieved substantially similar results with varying levels of resistances.

This manipulation of electrical components and a power source created artificial voltages that the engine control module, or ECM, would interpret as valid accelerator pedal signals. In essence, this test created a virtual, remote control accelerator pedal that replicated the vehicle’s own normally functioning accelerator pedal.

Also contrary to statements made in the ABC News story, had short circuits of the kind artificially created by Professor Gilbert occurred in real-world driving conditions, they would have left visible evidence such as damage or deterioration of the wiring and components.

As revealed in their testimony before Congress, Professor Gilbert’s Preliminary Report was commissioned by Sean Kane, a paid advocate for trial lawyers involved in litigation against Toyota and other automakers. Mr. Kane also appeared on the ABC News broadcast in support of the claim that Professor Gilbert’s demonstration revealed a flaw in the electronic throttle control system that could lead to “runaway” Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The relationship between Mr. Kane, Professor Gilbert and the trial lawyers who support Mr. Kane’s advocacy was not revealed by ABC News during the newscast, nor was Toyota offered an opportunity to view the demonstration or given time to respond.

Toyota believes that the public and Congressional committees have been misled by Professor Gilbert’s demonstration and the dramatization of it by ABC News. This has cast unwarranted doubt on the safety of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Toyota remains confident in the integrity of the electronic throttle control system in its vehicles and there has been no reliable evidence of any kind to the contrary presented to the media or to Congress. Toyota’s electronic systems have multiple fail-safe mechanisms to shut off or reduce engine power in the event of a system failure. Extensive testing of this system by Toyota has not found any sign of a malfunction that could lead to unintended acceleration.

Toyota has commissioned Exponent to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the electronic throttle control systems in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. No limitations of any kind were imposed on Exponent by Toyota. This evaluation is ongoing. An interim report of Exponent’s findings has been provided to Congress and establishes the functionality of the electronic throttle control fail-safe systems. The final results of Exponent’s exhaustive analysis will be made public when completed. As with all such reliable engineering analyses, Exponent’s final results will provide the data and information necessary for others to validate Exponent’s conclusions.

Late Friday night we broke the news that Volkswagen of America was offering up another 53,000+ vehicles as part of a second recall concerning its DSG transmission. Our readers knew something bigger than a simple temperature sensor acting up was afoot and let us know. Here’s a few more of the emails that we’ve received.

The press release late Friday was incredibility slick- sounding like a simple extension of the first recall. Upon a closer look, burred near the end was the tell tale: “This new customer service program is unrelated to a voluntary safety recall that VWGoA announced August 20.”

Dennis Capolongo, who you’ll remember from the ABC News story on the first recall, wrote us just before news of the second recall hit.

“As I stated to ABC/GMA News, VW is not telling ALL it knows.  Faulted temperature sensors arn’t half the story.  In fact, DSG meltdowns have been going on since 2007 all over the world.  This limited recall is nothing more than a PR stunt orchestrated by VWoA is lessen the blow of the ABC story. VW knows very well that checking the sensor in our car, or even replacing it would NOT have prevented what happened to my son and I.  The service report clearly indicates that our DSG malfunction was NOT caused by a faulty temp. sensor but a complete mechanical failure with the clutch fork actuator and Mechatronic Units.”

Jeff Hinton is still upset at Volkswagen for the way they’ve gone about both recalls. He’s had issues with his 2009 Jetta TDI almost since day one and questions whether or not VW knew about faulty DSG parts long before notifying customers.

“I purchased my jetta tdi from fairfax vw in early june 09. After purchase I drove the vehicle back down I-95 to NC where I live. On the trip back down my a/c started to act up…not coming on or cycling at all. It was 95 degrees outside. When I got home and pulled into the driveway I shut the car down and turned the key back to the on position..the engine temp shot to above redline. I called VW roadside to come and get the car..The raleigh vw dealer contacted my after several days saying that my cooling fans had locked up..I still don’t believe that. They fixed the so called problem and returned the vehicle to me.  After I got the car home and had several days to drive the car I noticed the transmission becoming hesitant..high tach revs etc..for no reason.  Then about 4 days after getting the car back from the dealership the trans statred shifting into neutral on the highway at about 75mph..not to regain gear until 35mph…this almost caused a serious accident. When I got back to the house I was furious…this car had put my passengers and I in extreme danger.  I called vw roadside to come and get the car. I also started calling vw demanding another vehicle. They offered me $250.00 initially..what a joke. I told them I would park the car at the german embassy in DC if they decided not to buy the car back.  I also told them I would have people blog about this car. VW replaced my vehicle with no apology about putting my life in danger. The unprofessional way in which my case was handled only shows VW’s lack of customer service. People might say..hey..you got a new car. The litany of shady individuals I had to go through to get this replacement moving forward was unthinkable. I called Herndon VA every morning for a week straight. I got internal email addy’s at vw and started an hourly email campaign until I got some type of response. I filed with the NHTSA and later with CARS. I told VW repeatedly in phone conversations and in email that this could be bigger than the audi 5000s scandal..that I have to admit was a chop job. The issue with the DSG and its components are serious and warrant further scrutiny by the media. If I had a dollar for everytime a vw employee lied to me…I would be…well you know. In a final note..to tell you how professional VW reps are..when I got to the dealership to pick up my new vw tdi they had not washed the car…it was completely filthy from transit. They had the car washed only after I told them to do so. I’m still considering litigation concerning the original fan issue I had with the car and its link to the trans temp sensor. VW put me back on the road knowing that I had a failing transmission temp sensor. Thanks for the good article.”

Mikey Carroll has some serious doubt that Volkswagen is telling consumers the whole story and recommends against buying a DSG equipped vehicle. He also had his brand new Jetta experience the flash of death and with only 500 miles on the odometer.

“We had our new (500 mi) Jetta fail with all the symptoms of flashing gear selector lights and loss of power twice in succession.  After having the car towed to the dealer, we were told there was nothing wrong, and that there were no fault codes stored.  When we spoke to the service department at the large VW dealership where we had originally purchased the car, they said, “Oh, we see that all the time, it’s one of the sensors, it’s an easy fix.  This was in late June.  They did fix it by replacing the sensor.  The point that seems to be unappreciated here is that the DSG is designed to shut off if the temperature goes above a certain point- even if the sensor is working properly,  if your transmission is overheating, it WILL shut off, regardless of where you are, without warning.  Regardless of the fact that scores of people have been having this problem, until recently, many have had the same experience we did: Their service department was at a loss. I think that is prima facie evidence that they were not told that this was occurring and what to look for.  We also still do not know why the sensors are failing, if some were made defectively, if they were installed wrong, or some are just randomly failing.  VW says the wires were insufficiently crimped, but how do they know which ones are failure-prone?  There is no transparency which is critical to know what kind of risk exists in these cars.  Till the situation is clarified, anyone who buys a VW DSG has no one but himself to blame.  VW owners are a group of people who appear to rely on each other to service their cars, stay away from the dealers as much as possible, and don’t count on much support from the parent company. This will only make it more so.”

Rod White is extremely happy Volkswagen has issued the second recall- after all he’s one of the VW owners who contacted the NHTSA regarding the issue.

“I have a new 2009 GTI and had the same problem, multiple times with the flashing gear lights. First time I experienced this was when the car had 1100 miles on it. Brought it to dealer in Laurel, MD where I bought it from and they had it 2 days and could not find anything wrong nor duplicate the problem. Problem happened again while at an intersection, which could have been very dangerous. Brought it to a VW dealer in College Park, MD and within one hour they diagnosed the problem with the trans. temp sensor and replaced it the next day. During this time I was in contact with VW Customer Care and I emailed NHTSA and they asked me for documentation of my service invoices and I sent them those as well as 10-12 pages of VW Forum messages with multiple others who had similar problems. I like to think I had a tiny bit to do with the recall being issued since I officially notified NHTSA and send documentation about the problem! Thank God it’s been recognized officially now! “

Hopefully Volkswagen will begin to make things right with it’s customers now that there is a second recall on the books.  Offering an extended warranty, free rental cars, and reimbursement for prior expenses is a damn good start. How they will give those same customers peace of mind is another story.

Article image courtesy r3v || cls on flickr

Volkswagen Group of America has announced that it will ramp up an official customer service program to specifically address DSG related issues for Volkswagen and Audi models. At the same time, the company announced a new recall that includes over 50,000 vehicles.

The company states this new recall is unrelated to the previous recall involving DSG transmission sensors. This new recall is instead related to malfunctioning Mechatronic units.

We’ve been reporting customer stories surrounding DSG performance issues and the “flash of death” syndrome, which got its name from how the gear selector display found in the driver information center flashes after the transmission stops functioning. This new recall includes 43,000 Volkswagen and 10,300 Audi vehicles.

If you have not been following our coverage, check out these articles:

Flash of death? Volkswagen & Audi DSG recall issues caught on video
VW DSG reader stories round 2- Failures reported in non-recall models

The 2007, 2008, & 2009 models Volkswagen recognizes as having these new DSG transmission issues now includes:
Volkswagen R32, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, GTI, Eos along with Audi A3 and TT.

Volkswagen intends to not only provide alternative transportation for owners while their vehicle is in for service but to also reimburse owners who have had the issue previously fixed.

The company will also extend the transmission warranty of all vehicles involved to 10-years, 100,000 miles. The extended warranty will also be transferable.

If your vehicle has DSG issues the company says you can either contact your dealer, or that “Customers who have questions or concerns should call the Volkswagen Loyalty Center at 1-800-444-8982 or the Audi Customer Relations Campaign Help Line at 1-800-253-AUDI (2834).”

For all the details, check out the official release, which by the name alone you’d never guess was another recall announcement.

Volkswagen Group of America Announces Customer Service Program

HERNDON, Va., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/ — Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VWGoA) today announced it would initiate a new customer service program to address concerns raised by its customers with certain Direct Shift Gearboxes (DSG(®)) in Volkswagen and Audi models, and to affirm its confidence in the sophisticated technology represented by those components.

“Safety, customer satisfaction, quality and long-term reliability are top priorities at Volkswagen and Audi. We have been studying the symptoms customers have reported, and are working closely with the NHTSA,” said Stefan Jacoby, president and CEO, VWGoA. “We listened to our customers’ concerns, and are taking action to address them. We are focused on taking all the appropriate actions to ensure the complete satisfaction of our existing customers.”

This new comprehensive service program affects a limited number of model years 2007-2009 Volkswagens and Audis. Covered models are the Volkswagen R32, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, GTI, Eos, as well as Audi A3 and TT.

Some customers have reported transmission performance issues under certain driving conditions. This was due to a faulty component inside the Mechatronic unit within a limited production range. VWGoA will repair or replace the components in the transmissions of approximately 43,000 Volkswagens and 10,300 Audis at no charge to the vehicles’ owners. Additionally, VWGoA will reimburse customers who have had this repaired at their own expense.

The company has begun increasing the parts supply to expedite this customer service program. As the parts become available, owners of the affected vehicles will be contacted to schedule an appointment at their dealer. The company will make loaner vehicles available at no charge.

In the meantime, owners who may have experienced problems with their transmissions are requested to contact their dealers or the Audi/Volkswagen toll-free customer service numbers (see below).

This new customer service program is unrelated to a voluntary safety recall that VWGoA announced August 20. Under that recall, VWGoA is replacing a faulty temperature sensor in a separate and smaller group of vehicles. (The earlier action addresses a potential for a faulty temperature sensor to cause the transmission to shift into neutral while the vehicle is being driven.)

The company will extend its New Vehicle Limited Warranty to cover the DSG(® )transmissions affected by the customer service program and the voluntary safety recall. This extended warranty is for 10-years/100,000-miles, transferrable to subsequent owners.

VWGoA is confident these actions will address issues noted by owners of the affected Volkswagen and Audi models. The DSG(®) gearbox is an industry leading technology that combines the fuel economy of a manual gearshift with the automatic shifting capacity of an automatic transmission.

Customers who have questions or concerns should call the Volkswagen Loyalty Center at 1-800-444-8982 or the Audi Customer Relations Campaign Help Line at 1-800-253-AUDI (2834).

It’s time for round two of reader-submitted Volkswagen DSG failure stories. Today we have three stories, each bringing new light to how widespread the DSG failure issues may be while posing an entirely scary question- Is the current recall just the tip of the iceburg? You don’t want to miss this.

UPDATE: Volkswagen announces new recall of 53,000 vehicles and service program to address DSG issues

Read round one here- How long has Volkswagen/Audi known about DSG recall related failures?

Our first email comes from Dr. C. Kolodny, who owns a 2009 Jetta TDI and despite experiencing the “flash of death” , his dealer refuses to fix the transmission under the recent Volkswagen/Audi recall.

Dr K. writes:

Our 09 Jetta TDI transmission failed at 8000-mi. Went into and stuck in neutral at highway speed. The dealer said it was working fine when towed in and said VW of N America would not authorize any going into transmission. Now the big recall 3 mos. later. Guess what? My VIN is not being recalled. Again they will not do anything! My wife and kids are at their mercy again!

I asked Dr K. to elaborate:

Dear Zane, the car is DSG. At 8000 mi. it went into neutral at highway speed and the idiot lights on the instrument panel all flashed continuously. It would not go into gear for 75 min. until the tow truck came and towed it to Autobahn VW in Fort Worth. When the truck came, the trans. had started working again but we of course had it towed anyway. The dealer said that he had never heard of this problem before (if you can believe that now) and that VW would NOT authorize any going into the transmission. He said that they would Reset??? it. I seriously doubt that they did anything at all. I called VW of N. America and spoke with someone in customer care fairly high up in the chain and threatened legal action if they did nothing and put my wife and two young kids in this potential position again. He would not budge. Now they tell me that my VIN is NOT on the recall list and they will absolutely do nothing! I called today and argued rather vehemently with a customer care supervisor and threatened legal action which I may well pursue. The mishap occurred about 3 months ago. Has not repeated itself though I have NO doubt that it will. Now has 15000 on it. Feel free to publish any of the above. Respectfully, C. Kolodny

Also a TDI owner, Kurt K from Orlando, Florida writes:

We purchased a 2009 VW Sports wagon TDI several months ago from David Maus VW in Orlando Florida. This problem started soon after we purchased it. We took the vehicle in for the 90 day inspection and reported the problem. They returned the car stating it was a faulty connector. The flash of death continued while my wife was traveling on the interstate. She parked the car gave me the keys and said “I am not driving this vehicle until this is fixed” I had the vehicle towed to the dealer and they told me they could not find the problem or get the vehicle recreate the transmission failure. I spent hours on the phone with VW of America and they never told me of this DSG sensor issue. My friend sent me the article Saturday and now they are replacing the sensor. The sportswagon has been at the dealer since 8/14/09 for the second time and we have yet to get it back as of 8/25/09 0530. We may get it back today but we have lost faith in VW and fear we have a lemon on our hands with 3,300 miles on a vehicle that should go 300,000 miles.

Up early today had a nightmare of a head on collision and was unable to get back to sleep. Not sure if it was related to the “Flash of Death” but It will take a lone time before we are comfortable with this vehicle.

We’ve even received an email from China.

I am a VW owner in China. We have exactly same DSG problem in China. The only different is that VW China ignore us and won’t recall. I will show you a video first:

This video shows that the VW car lose power when people were driving on highway with a speed of 140 km/h. It’s horrible! There were at least 13 people had such problem in China, who had reported online. VW China just said “there is no such problem in China.” I hope you can report this issue.

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So what’s the deal Volkswagen?  We find it hard to believe that while only certain models with the DSG transmission are being recalled, other vehicles with the same exact transmission are perfectly fine. We encourage not only Dr K. and Kurt K. to keep on pressuring VW to make things right, but anyone who thinks their vehicle may have an issue with its DSG transmission whether it’s on the recall list or not.

As always, we welcome you to share your DSG transmission stories with us.

After news of the Volkswagen & Audi recall broke last week we asked for your DSG failure experiences. One email in particular, from reader Adam M. brings up an interesting question regarding the so-called “flash of death”. How long has VW known about the potentially serious safety aspects of the failing transmission temperature sensors?

UPDATE: Volkswagen announces new recall of 53,000 vehicles and service program to address DSG issues

Adam writes:

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This started happening to me out of the blue with about 1900 miles om my car.

1st time was going up a steep hill pretty scary, chalked it up as a missed shift. Then happened several times on the freeway over the next few days, would lose power and get “the flash of death”, but the car would find a gear and get power back within a few seconds.

The last time it happened before it was serviced, I was at a red light waiting to merge onto HWY 1, with a large chemical or water tank truck behind me. After the green light and in the middle of the intersection, I lost all power with the flashing display, except this time the car did not regain power. Luckily I had enough momentum and there was a shoulder that I was able to coast of the road.

The memory of the car losing power and a rear view mirror full of truck with my 4 year old daughter in the car is vivid, and I think it about every time I buckle her into the car.

They replaced the temp sensor, and the dealership was aware that this was an issue at the time (April 09), the car never threw a code.

2009 Audi A3 Quattro S-Tronic, bought December 08.

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Considering we’re now well into August and when Adam had his car repaired in April the dealership “was aware that this was an issue”- how far prior to that did Volkswagen know that DSG temperature sensors could fail?  Why didn’t they think this was serious enough to warrant a recall sooner?

Thankfully Adam and his daughter are safe and sound.

Have you experienced the “flash of death” with your DSG equipped Volkswagen or Audi? Send us an email with your story.

Yesterday we reported that Volkswagen & Audi were recalling 13,500+ vehicles equipped with it’s DSG transmission. Today we’re finding out the recall may just be the tip of the iceburg.  After the jump we have videos of what happens when the transmission fails and more information on the recall.

Just this morning, Good Morning America had a piece on the recall, interviewing customers who had transmissions in their vehicles fail- sometimes with less than 100 miles on the odometer.  As reported in the GMA video, at least one owner had the transmission switch into neutral while accelerating onto a highway- causing a potentially serious safety issue.

From the GMA article:

It happened to Lisa Toler of California, just as she was merging onto the highway.

“You’re in motion, but all of a sudden you don’t have any acceleration,” she described. “The gas wouldn’t work.”

She says fast-moving traffic streamed around her as she struggled to get over to the side of the road. Dennis Capolongo and his son, Justin, had an eerily similar experience, just as they were merging onto a freeway in Maryland.

“There was no forward motion at all with the car. The engine was just racing and the transmission was just completely slipping,” Capolongo explained.

Capolongo said they very nearly had a collision before they managed to maneuver over to the shoulder of the freeway. His 2009 Jetta had 623 miles on it at the time. Toler’s Jetta was even newer, with just 81 miles. She had had it for just two days. Other VW drivers have posted videos of their close calls on YouTube. Many say the park, reverse, neutral and drive lights flash on and off like crazy when their transmission goes haywire.

They’ve even coined a name for it: “The flash of death.” “This is a classic safety hazard,” said Clarence Ditlow of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety. “It’s a brand new vehicle. Consumers are being stranded on freeways. It’s only a matter of time before we have consumers being killed.”

At least one owner has posted a video on YouTube of the “false neutral” that occurs when a faulty transmission sensor incorrectly tells the vehicle’s computer the transmission has overheated, when it has not.

Volkswagen released this statement regarding the recall and the safety issues surrounding it.

“”Working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) we have determined that a safety issue can be presented by a limited number of faulty temperature sensors and we have taken action through a voluntary recall. We have determined that 13,500 Volkswagen models and 2,500 Audi models are affected under this recall. We are confident that the temperature sensor is the cause of this safety issue.

There have been other reports related to the transmission’s Mechatronic control unit. As with all such reports we are cooperating closely with NHTSA to review these cases. At this time we have not determined that any safety defect exists.

Again, we are confident that the temperature sensor action will address the safety issue that we and the agency have identified.

We encourage customers that have questions or concerns to call the toll free Volkswagen Loyalty Center at 1-800-444-8982. Audi customers are encouraged to call the Audi Customer Relations Campaign Help Line at 1-800-253-2834.”

Calling Volkswagen & Audi DSG Owners

Has your DSG equipped Volkswagen or Audi experienced a transmission false neutral, failure, or worse? We want to hear your story. Leave a comment here or send us an email.

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UPDATE: We now have confirmation that the DSG transmission issues may be more serious than VW is letting on to. Check out this new post that includes a video of the DSG failure and stories from owners who have had their DSG transmission fail, causing potentially serious safety issues.

Just in off the wire- Volkswagen has announced a voluntary recall of approximately 13,500 vehicles equipped with its DSG transmission. The recall includes Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, GTI, and Eos models built between September 2008 and August 2009.

The recall mostly applies to 2009 models, however a small number of 2010 vehicles are also affected. Volkswagen says a faulty temperature sensor in its DSG transmission may fail, causing for false warning lamps on the dash. In rare situations the transmission may even shift into neutral.

Affected owners should expect to be contacted by VW in the near future so that their vehicle can be inspected and repaired.

Think your Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, GTI, or Eos has a faulty DSG transmission temperature sensor? Just give the Volkswagen Loyalty Center a ring at 1-800-444-8982

We at Autoinsane.com highly urge all ‘05 and ‘06 GSX-R1000 Motorcycle owners to contact your Suzuki Motorcycle dealership to get your cycle checked out for your own safety. Suzuki is promising if cracks are found during the inspection, the frame will be replaced with a new frame that has the reinforcement brace installed, providing a five year warranty on the frame and the frame reinforcement brace beginning on the date of installation by the dealer.

News of this recall via: clutchandchrome.com

A disagreement between enthusiast riders and a motorcycle manufacturer has leapt from the motorcycle forum boards and made its way to an official recall.

Suzuki Motor Corporation has issued a recall for some model year 2005 and 2006 GSX-R1000 motorcycles after ‘reports of cracking or breakage of the motorcycle frame in certain extreme situations where unusually high stress is placed on the frame, such as collisions involving the front wheel/fork assembly’.

Attributing the problem to riders who perform stunts and repeated hard landings such as those found from extended wheelies, the motorcycle manufacturer has sent out letters to owners of bikes that may be susceptible to cracking or breakage of the frame behind and below the steering neck.

Suzuki dealers will inspect the relevant area of the frame for cracks. If no cracks are found, a frame reinforcement brace will be attached to the frame using bolts and epoxy adhesive. Suzuki is promising if cracks are found during the inspection, the frame will be replaced with a new frame that has the reinforcement brace installed, providing a five year warranty on the frame and the frame reinforcement brace beginning on the date of installation by the dealer.

According to reports, possibly 26,000 motorcycles could be affected by the recall.

Information via Edmunds.com

WASHINGTON — Chrysler is recalling 32,865 of its 2008-’09 Dodge Ram 2500, 3500 and 3500 cab chassis pickups because of a steering problem that could result in a loss of steering control, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The federal watchdog says that the affected Ram trucks are equipped with Powers and Sons steering linkages.

“The steering linkage drag link inner tie rod to Pitman arm ball stud may fracture,” NHTSA said in its recalls summary of the problem. “Also, the steering linkage damper attaching the bracket may yield and shift on the linkage.

“This could result in a loss of steering control and the restricted ability to turn the vehicle in one direction, increasing the risk of a crash without warning.”

Dodge dealers will replace the steering linkage drag link inner tie rod end assembly and inspect the steering linkage damper bracket for free. The recall is expected to begin sometime this month.

Owners of the affected trucks may call Chrysler at (800) 853-1403.