2006 Volkswagen Jetta

I PURCHASED A 2006 VW JETTA (DIESEL) THAT HAS A 3-5 MPH SPEEDOMETER ERROR IN THE DRIVER'S ANALOG DISPLAY. THE DISPLAYED SPEED IS LOWER THAN ACTUAL. THIS HAS CAUSED NUMEROUS CARS TO PASS ME. THIS IS A POTENTIAL SAFETY CONCERN. I WAS TOLD BY THE MANUFACTURER THAT THIS WORKING AS DESIGNED. I INSTALLED A SCAN TOOL ON THE CAR AND IT READS THE CORRECT SPEED, WHILE THE ANALOG DISPLAY IS READING 3-5 MPH SLOWER THAN ACTUAL. THE MANUFACTURER CLAIMS THAT THE ANALOG DISPLAY IS SET FOR DIFFERING TIRE SIZES. *JB

THE CLUTCH ON MY HUSBANDS 2006 JETTA TDI IS GOING OUT. IT ONLY HAS 44, 000 MILES ON IT. HE HAS OWNED SIX MANUAL TRANSMISSION CARS IN THE PAST, NEVER HAVING TO REPLACE A CLUTCH IN LESS THAN 110,000 AND EVEN THEN IT WAS NOT THE CLUTCH WORN OUT BUT THE THROW OUT BEARING FELL APART. WE HAVE DONE SEVERAL SEARCHES ON THE INTERNET ON VW TDI CLUTCHES. ONE THING WE FOUND OUT IS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 2005.5 AND EARLY 2006. VW OF EUROPE HAS ISSUED RECALLS ON THE 2006 PASSAT TDI ONLY SOLD OVERSEAS. I BELIEVE THAT THE SAME CLUTCH WAS USED IN THE EARLY 2006 JETTAS. AUDI HAS ISSUED A RECALL ON THERE A3 WITH THE TDI ENGINE THAT WAS PRODUCED FROM JUNE OF 2003 TILL THE END OF 2004. ON 6/24/2005 THE LOS ANGELES TIMES REPORTS THAT VW IS RECALLING 44,000 OF ITS TOURAN VANS WORLDWIDE TO FIX A CLUTCH PROBLEM. I HAVE FOUND SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ON WWW.UK-MKIV.NET WHERE THE GOLF AND JETTA ARE REFERRED TO AS MKV OR THE 5TH EDITION AND ON WWW.AUDI-SPORT.NET FOR THE AUDI A3 TDI AND ON WWW.TDICLUB.COM AND HTTP://FORUMS.VWVORTEX.COM. ALSO THERE IS A REUTERS NEWS REPORT DATED JUNE 29, 2006 THAT STATES THE PASSAT RECALL AND MAKES MENTION OF EARLIER RECALLS FOR THE GOLF, GOLF PLUS, JETTA AND TOURAN. VW SELLS FAR MORE TDI DIESEL CARS IN EUROPE SO IT WOULD BE ADVANTAGEOUS FOR THEN TO ISSUE A RECALL THERE. ALL OF THE CARS THAT HAVE PROBLEMS HAVE THE DUAL MASS FLYWHEEL AND MOST ARE TDI DIESEL CARS. VOLKSWAGEN IS BLAMING THE OWNERS BECAUSE IT DOES NOT HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF THE TDI VEHICLES IN THE USA AND HAS NO 2007 TDI DIESEL CARS DUE TO EMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS. WHEN MANY ARE EXPERIENCED MANUAL TRANSMISSION DRIVERS THAT HAVE NOT HAD CLUTCH PROBLEMS WITH OTHER VEHICLES. WHILE THE FOREIGN CARS ARE NOT EXACTLY THE SAME MOST SHARE MANY COMMON PARTS FROM THE SAME MANUFACTURERS. *JB

THE CLUTCH ON MY 2006 VW JETTA TDI HAS STARTED TO FAIL. THE CAR HAS 43,000 HIGHWAY MILES ON IT. I HAVE READ SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ON THE CLUTCH FAILING ON 2006'S DUE TO NOT BEING BUILT HEAVY ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND THE ADDITIONAL TORQUE OF THE NEW TDI ENGINE. LUJAK'S VW IN DAVENPORT, IA TOLD ME THE REPAIR WOULD COST $1300 TO $2500 AND THAT GENERALLY SPEAKING VW WILL NOT WARRANTY THIS PROBLEM AFTER 12,000 MILES. *JB

IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE NOTICED A CHEMICAL SMELL SIMILAR TO WET PAINT OCCASIONALLY EMITTING FROM THE A/C VENTS. IN THE LAST TWO DAYS, IT HAS BECOME CONSTANT AND I HAVE REFRAINED FROM USING THE A/C FOR FEAR THAT IT IS SOMETHING HARMFUL. WE HAVE LOOKED THE CAR OVER, RAN THE A/C AND BLOWER WHILE OUT OF THE CAR AND CHECKED EVERYTHING WE CAN THINK OF WITH NO SOLUTION. THE DEALERSHIP SUGGESTED WE SPRAY LYSOL IN THE AIR INTAKE AND SEE IF THAT HELPS, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO MASK THE ODOR ESPECIALLY IF IT SOMETHING WITH WHICH WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED. *NM

DRIVER'S SEAT CLICKS/CLUNKS AND NOTICEABLE MOVEMENT CAN BE FELT IN THE SEAT AROUND WHERE THE SEAT BACK CONNECTS TO THE SEAT BOTTOM ON THE RIGHT SIDE. THIS OCCURS WHEN ACCELERATING, BRAKING, OR MAKING TURNS. THIS STARTED OCCURRING FOR NO APPARENT REASON. TOOK THE CAR TO DEALER - THEY COULD NOT REPRODUCE THE NOISE/MOVEMENT. WAITED A COUPLE WEEKS, THEN TOOK BACK TO DEALER. DEALER WAS ABLE TO VERIFY NOISE AND MOVEMENT - THEY SAID THAT THE SEAT FRAME BOLTS WERE NOT TORQUED TO SPEC AND TIGHTENED THE SEAT BOLTS. THE NEXT DAY THE NOISE AND MOVEMENT RETURNED. THIS CONCERNS ME FROM A SAFETY STANDPOINT - I DO NOT WANT THE SEAT TO COME APART IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. *NM

SEAT IMPROPERLY DESIGNED FOR A 2006 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA GLI SEVERE LEG DISCOMFORT. LEG BOLSTERS AND UNADJUSTABLE ANGLE OF SEAT MAKE THE DRIVER POSITION LEG AWKWARDLY CAUSING THE SEAT TO DIG INTO LEG. AFTER 6 MONTHS, LEG PAIN IS CONSTANT. CONTACTED VOLKSWAGEN AND WILL NOT FIX SEATS WITHOUT A RECALL. SHOULD BE FIXED AT DEALERS EXPENSE. NOT BUYER. *NM

WHILE DRIVING MY NEW 2006 JETTA TDI MOTOR VEHICLE WITH A TOTAL MILEAGE ON THE ODOMETER READING OF APPROXIMATELY 385 MILES, ON JUNE 12, 2006, ON I-84 IN WATERBURY, CT. THE MOTOR VEHICLE STALLED WHILE TRAVELING IN THE LEFT HAND LANE OF THE HIGHWAY. AT THE TIME OF THE STALL, THE VEHICLE TRANSMISSION WAS OPERATING IN THE DRIVE MODE, IN 5TH GEAR WITH RPMS AT APPROXIMATELY 1300 RPM. DURING THE STALL THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED INTERMITTENT POWER, WHILE THE INSTRUMENT PANEL EXHIBITING A FLASHING NUMERAL 3, ON THE GEAR INDICATOR. I MANEUVERED THE VEHICLE TO THE BREAKDOWN LANE WITH MUCH DIFFICULTY AS THE ENGINE STALLED OUT COMPLETELY. THIS MANEUVER CAUSED A MAJOR INTERRUPTION TO THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY AND A SERIOUS SAFETY RISK TO ME AND OTHER MOTORISTS ON THE HIGHWAY. AFTER PULLING OVER THE BREAKDOWN LANE, I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AND PROCEED TO MY DESTINATION, DURING WHICH TIME THE VEHICLE OPERATED NORMALLY. ON JUNE 15, 2006, DRIVING WITH APPROX. 484 MILES, WHILE ON RT. 8 SOUTHBOUND IN WATERBURY, CT. THE SUBJECT MOTOR VEHICLE STALLED ONCE AGAIN WHILE DRIVING IN THE LEFT HAND LANE. I ONCE AGAIN WAS FORCED TO MAKE ANOTHER EMERGENCY CROSSING OF A MAJOR CONNECTICUT HIGHWAY IN A STALLED VEHICLE. *NM

THE SPEEDOMETER INCORRECTLY REFLECTS THE RATE OF SPEED AT WHICH THE VEHICLE IS TRAVELING. THIS CAN BE VERIFIED BY USING A GPS UNIT WHICH WILL ACCURATELY REFLECT THE "TRUE" SPEED AT WHICH THE VEHICLE IS TRAVELING. IN GENERAL, THE VEHICLE'S SPEEDOMETER REFLECTS A SPEED THAT IS 5-7 MPH GREATER THAN THE VEHICLES ACTUAL SPEED. FOR EXAMPLE, WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, THE SPEEDOMETER DISPLAYS THE RATE OF SPEED AS 70 MPH, WHEN THE VEHICLE IS ACTUALLY TRAVELING ONLY 64 MPH. YOU CAN VISIT THE WEBSITE HTTP://WWW.TDICLUB.COM OR HTTP://WWW.VWVORTEX.COM AND VIEW THE FORUMS TO VERIFY THAT THIS IS AN ISSUE WITH ALL NEW VW JETTA VEHICLES AND POSSIBLY OTHER VW MODELS. I AS WELL AS OTHER JETTA OWNERS WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS ISSUE CORRECTED SO THAT OUR SPEEDOMETERS ACCURATELY REFLECT THE RATE OF SPEED AT WHICH WE ARE TRAVELING. *NM

UPON APPLICATION OF THE CAR'S BRAKE, THE UPPER REAR BRAKE LIGHT BLEEDS LIGHT INTO THE REAR WINDOW. THIS OBSCURES VISION THROUGH THE REAR WINDOW AT NIGHT, ESPECIALLY IN VERY LOW AMBIENT LIGHT CONDITIONS. I HAVE ASKED THE DEALER TO TAKE CARE OF THIS UNDER WARRANTY, AND THEIR POSITION IS THAT THIS IS NOT A SAFETY OR DESIGN ISSUE. I HAVE NOT BEEN INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT YET DUE TO THIS DESIGN FLAW, BUT I DO CONSIDER THIS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. *NM

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A NEW VW JETTA TDI. FROM DAY ONE, THE CAR'S FRONT SUSPENSION FELT AND SOUNDED "LOOSE." AT 700 MILES I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER, WHO INFORMED ME THAT THE BOLTS FOR THE CAR'S TIE RODS AND OTHER PARTS OF THE SUSPENSION WERE NOT TIGHTENED TO SPECIFICATION. IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THE CAR CAME FROM THE FACTORY LIKE THIS. THIS COULD HAVE LED TO A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. *NM