2015 Volkswagen E-GOLF

MY VEHICLE IS PARKED PLUGGED INTO A 240 V CHARGING STATION IN MY GARAGE/DRIVEWAY. I CANNOT DISCONNECT THE CHARGER BECAUSE THE RED LIGHT ON MY CAR IS ON SOLID RED AND THE LOCK WILL NOT DISENGAGE. ACCORDING TO THE MANUAL, WHEN THE LIGHT COMES ON RED SOLID TO SEEK EXPERT ADVICE. HOWEVER, NO ONE AT THE VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIP KNOWS HOW TO FIX IT. NOW MY VEHICLE STUCK IN THE DRIVEWAY AND CAN'T EVEN BE TOWED BECAUSE IT IS ATTACHED TO MY HOUSE.

CHARGER THAT CAME WITH THE CAR WAS STUCK AND COULD NOT BE REMOVED FROM CHARGING PORT. NORMAL PROCEDURE IS TO UNLOCK THE CAR, WHICH UNLOCKS THE CHARGER PIN AND ALLOWS IT TO BE REMOVED. I REPEATED THE PROCESS MULTIPLE TIMES, UNPLUGGED THE CHARGER FROM THE WALL OUTLET, TURNED CAR OFF AND ON, ETC. EVENTUALLY I LEFT THE CAR ALONE FOR 20 MINUTES, WENT BACK AND CLICKED THE LOCK/UNLOCK FOB MULTIPLE TIMES, AND THE CHARGER RELEASED FROM THE CAR. LOOKING ONLINE, I SEE THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM AND THE LOCKING SYSTEM IS FAULTY. VW NEEDS TO UPDATE THE SOFTWARE OR REMOVE THE LOCKING FEATURE ALTOGETHER.

THERE ARE MULTIPLE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THE CAR'S CHARGING CONNECTOR ALLOWS REMOVAL OF THE PLUG FROM THE VEHICLE WHILE POWER IS ENGAGED. THIS HAS LEAD TO SPARKS BEING GENERATED ON REMOVAL. THE CONDITIONS INVOLVE THE FAILURE OF THE PHYSICAL LOCKING PIN ON THE CHARGE PORT, AND VW'S INCOMPLETE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE J1772 CHARGING STANDARD, SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE PROXIMITY CIRCUIT.

AT ABOUT 17500 MILE ON ODOMETER, I HAD JUST UNPLUGGED THIS ELECTRIC CAR FROM A PUBLIC LEVEL 2 CHARGING STATION AND SAW A WARNING "ERROR: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. STOP!". I ASSUMED IT WAS JUST A LIGHT WHEN FIRST TURNING THE CAR ON SO SHIFTED INTO REVERSE. ( I WAS PARKED IN A STANDARD PARKING LOT, RACKING THE CHARGER. THE CAR STARTED ROLLING OUT OF THE SPOT, BUT HAD NO POWER. I WAS ABLE TO APPLY THE BRAKES AND NOT ROLL INTO TRAFFIC. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO VW AND I AM TOLD THAT TWO SEPERATE SMALL BATTERIES HAD A PROBLEM AND NEEDE TO BE REPLACED. THIS HAS OCCURRED AND THE CAR SHOULD BE RETURNED IN A FEW DAYS. I'M WORRIED ABOUT ANOTHER FAILURE HAPPENING WHEN I AM DRIVING WITH KIDS IN CAR, AS HAS BEEN REPORTED ON YOUR SITE.

ON AUGUST 28 2016 PRIOR TO CHARGING E-GOLF, CHARGING SYSTEM FAILED CAUSING THE DAMAGE ON THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM AND BATTERY. THE CAR WAS PARKED ON THE UCSD THORNTON PARKING LOT. AT THAT TIME CAR ODOMETER SHOWS 8727 MILES. VOLKSWAGEN DIDN'T (FAILED TO) INFORM ME ABOUT THE RECALL FOR THE SOFTWARE THAT CONTROL CHARGING SYSTEM AND BATTERY CHARGING. NOT SURE IF THE SOFTWARE FOR THE BATTERY/CHARGING SYSTEM IS THE ONLY PROBLEM SINCE THE VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA STATE THAT BATTERY NEEDS TO BE INSPECTED, TESTED AND IF BROKEN FIXED OR REPLACED. SINCE THEN THE CAR HAS BEEN UNABLE TO START OR MOVE. VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA TAKE THE CAR TO OXNARD THE ONLY AVAILABLE SERVICE CENTER FOR E-GOLF IN CALIFORNIA. THE CAR HAS NOT BEEN FIXED YET SINCE THE AUGUST 29TH WHEN THE CAR HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH THE BATTERY AND ELECTRICAL ISSUES.

VEHICLE WAS TRAVELLING ~40 MPH ON PUBLIC ROAD. REACHED DOWN TO PRESS "MODE" BUTTON TO LEFT OF SHIFTER TWICE TO SWITCH TO ECO MODE. PRESSED "POWER" BUTTON BY MISTAKE. TWO PRESSES OF POWER BUTTON CAUSES VEHICLE TO SHUT OFF, EVEN WHILE MOVING. VEHICLE SUFFERED TOTAL LOSS OF POWER. WAS ABLE TO BRING VEHICLE TO A STOP THANKS TO LIMITED TRAFFIC, ENGAGED PARK, AND PRESSED POWER BUTTON TO RESTART VEHICLE. MODE AND POWER BUTTONS ARE RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER, BOTH REQUIRE TWO BUTTON PRESSES TO EITHER ENGAGE ECO MODE (MODE BUTTON), OR ACTIVATE EMERGENCY VEHICLE SHUTOFF (POWER BUTTON). NOT ENOUGH DIFFERENTIATION IN FEEL TO DETERMINE WHICH BUTTON IS BEING PRESSED WITHOUT TAKING EYES OFF ROAD AND LOOKING DOWN AT SHIFTER CONSOLE.