2009 Volkswagen Rabbit

I RECEIVED NOTICE FEB. 2017, FOR RECALL DUE TO "SAFETY RECALL 45F2-ABS CONTROL MODULE SOFTWARE". UPON TAKING TO DEALERSHIP PER LETTER INSTRUCTIONS, INFORMED THAT "SOFTWARE FIX" WOULD BE ATTEMPTED. IF NOT SUFFICIENT HARDWARE PART WOULD NEED TO BE ORDERED. CAR RETURNED WITH "BRAKE LIGHT FLASHING AND ABS/SKID LIGHTS ON". PART WAS ORDERED BUT NO ETA DATE IS AVAILABLE. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A WEEK NOW. CALLS TO VW CORPORATE HAS BEEN TO NO SATISFACTION. THERE SIMPLY IS A "BACK ORDER" ON THE PART. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE TO PUT OUT A RECALL AND NOT HAVE THE NEEDED PART! MEANTIME DRIVING CAR WITH FLASHING WARNING LIGHTS! WHILE A COURTESY CAR HAS BEEN OFFERED, WHY WOULD I GIVE THEM MY VEHICLE FOR AN UNKNOWN AMOUNT OF TIME! IS THIS GOING TO GO ON FOR 3 WEEKS? 3 MONTHS? A YEAR? NO ONE CAN GIVE ME AN ANSWER. I FEEL THE CAR SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN TAMPERED WITH IF THE NEEDED PART WAS NOT IN STOCK! SHAME ON VW FOR ISSUING A RECALL AND NOT HAVING THE PARTS READY TO SHIP. DIDN'T THEY LEARN ANYTHING FROM ALL THESE OTHER RECALLS THAT HAVE HAPPENED!?! HOW MANY CARS ARE NOW ON THE ROAD WITH NO ABS SYSTEM IN PLACE????? VW NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS POOR EXECUTION OF A RECALL AND SERVICING ITS CUSTOMERS IN A TIMELY FASHION. WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

2009 VW 2L RABBIT: DRIVING HOME IN THE RAIN, MY CAR HAS UNDER 80K. THE SPEED LIMIT IS 45, BUT IN THE RAIN, I WAS DOING CLOSER TO 40. THE STREET IS A FAIRLY TRAFFICKED ROAD, DOUBLE YELLOW EACH DIRECTION SINGLE LANE EXPANDING TO DOUBLE LANE, CONCRETE ISLANDS, AND STOPLIGHTS. TOTAL DRIVE BEFORE FIRST SHIMMY WAS PROBABLY ABOUT THE 4MILE MARK. THE ABS LIGHT COMES ON, THE ESP/ASR COMES ON, AND THE "BRAKE" TO THE RIGHT OF THAT STARTS FLASHING IN RED. THE CAR SHIMMIED WHEN THIS STARTED, AND THEN THE BRAKES WORKED BUT WERE SQUISHY/SLOPPY GETTING TO A PLACE TO STOP. I WAS INFORMED TO GET THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE DASH LIGHTS START TO FLICKER. AT THE DEALERSHIP THEY SAY IT IS THE WHOLE ABS MODULE, AND REPLACING IT WILL COST ABOUT AS MUCH AS THE CAR. THEY SAY IT IS SAFE TO DRIVE: I DRIVE HOME, BECAUSE THEY SAY THE ABS IS NOT CONNECTED TO VITAL FUNCTIONS, AND ELECTRONICS. THE DASH LIGHT CLEARS. ... DRIVE HOME. LIGHT COMES BACK ON , CAR WIGGLES AND FISHTAILS, AND BRAKES ARE SQUISHY AND NOT AS RESPONSIVE. DASH IS FLICKERING. I WENT ONLINE AND FOUND THIS IS A 2009 KNOWN PROBLEM. I CALL THE DEALERSHIP BACK: BECAUSE THEY ARE IN PROCESS OF A RECALL (I FOUND OUT ON THIS WEBSITE). I AM TOLD I AM SOL BECAUSE IT IS NOT COMPLETED YET, SO I CAN PAY FOR THEIR ARM AND LEG, AND PERHAPS, IF THE GODS ARE KIND, I WILL GET SOME RE-IMBURSMENT AT A LATER DATE. (BUT DON'T COUNT ON IT) ALL OF THE FISHTAILING, AND ELECTRICAL FLASHING, ARE DONE AT SPEEDS OF UNDER 45MPH. THE FACT THAT THIS IS INTERMITTENT (BUT PROBABLY ABOUT TO BECOME PERMANENT) IS SCARY! IF I HAD BEEN DRIVING DURING HIGH TRAFFIC TIMES TODAY, IT COULD HAVE BEEN A VERY UGLY ACCIDENT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 VOLKSWAGEN RABBIT. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, BUT FAILED TO ENGAGE WHILE MAKING RIGHT OR LEFT TURNS AND TRAVELING DOWNHILL. THE ABS WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V913000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC, ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL). THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. UPDATED 02/22/2017*CT *AS

MY 2009 VW RABBIT HAS HAD INTERMITTENT ABS ISSUES FOR A FEW MONTHS NOW. THE CAR HAS 67K MILES. OCCASIONALLY, WHEN THE ABS ACTIVATES THE THE DASH WILL LIGHT UP WITH THE ABS, BRAKE, AND ESP LIGHT. THE CAR WILL ALSO BEEPS A FEW TIMES. AFTER THIS HAPPENS, THE CAR WILL HAVE NO ABS OR STABILITY CONTROL. RESTARTING THE CAR WILL MAKE THE LIGHTS TURN OFF, BUT THE ISSUE WILL HAPPEN AGAIN WHEN THE ABS IS ACTIVATED.

THE ABS MODULE IN MY VEHICLE FAILED AROUND 90,000 MILES, WHICH I'M NOW DISCOVERING IS A VERY COMMON FOR THIS PARTICULAR MODEL AND YEAR. THE ABS SYSTEM CEASED TO FUNCTION BUT OTHER SYSTEMS WERE AFFECTED AS WELL; MY SPEEDOMETER WOULD STOP WORKING FOR SEVERAL MINUTES AT A TIME, AS WELL AS MY FUEL GAUGE. POWER STEERING WOULD CUT OUT AND I WOULD EXPERIENCE A CONSIDERABLE LOSS OF POWER FROM THE ENGINE. I WAS NEARLY HIT WHILE CROSSING A BUSY INTERSECTION BECAUSE I COULDN'T GET ANY ACCELERATION FROM THE CAR. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS ALSO BEEN TRIGGERED INTERMITTENTLY BY THIS PROBLEM SO I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO PASS A SMOG CHECK, MAKING MY VEHICLE ILLEGAL TO DRIVE IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA WHERE I'M STATIONED WITH THE MARINES. VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIPS ARE CHARGING MORE THAN $1,500 TO FIX THE ISSUE AND THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL ISSUED FOR THE PROBLEM.

MY ABS BRAKE PUMP AND/OR CONTROL MODULE HAVE FAILED AT 75K MILES. I PURCHASED THIS CAR FOR MY CHILDREN AND USED THE IIHS SAFETY RATING WHEN SELECTING IT. THE REPAIR IS OVER $2000. I'VE READ COUNTLESS THREADS OF VW OWNERS WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS ON MULTIPLE MODELS. I'VE CONTACTED VW AND EVEN WROTE THEIR EXECUTIVE TEAM AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING THEY WOULD DO. WITH SO MANY SUCH ISSUES REPORTED, I BELIEVE IT'S TIME FOR NHTSA TO ACT ON BEHALF OF VW OWNERS WHOSE VEHICLES SHOULD BE REPAIRED AT VW'S EXPENSE.

TOOK MY VEHICLE IN AS THE ABS, BRAKE, ESP/ASR LIGHTS CAME ON AND WERE BEEPING. REPLACED THE ROTORS, BRAKE PADS, ETC. WHEN I CAME BACK TO PICK UP MY VEHICLE, THE VAG COM HAD MULTIPLE FAULTS STILL SHOWING, COME TO FIND OUT I NEED THE CONTROL PANEL REPLACED. VEHICLE HAS LESS THAN 59K MILES, DOZENS OF FOLKS HAVE REPORTED A SIMILAR SITUATION IN 2009 VW MODEL CARS, ABS SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONING W LESS THAN 60K MILES

ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN CONSTANT SINCE PURCHASING (I.E. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON FOR NO APPARENT REASON DURING LONG TRIPS, THE PRND LIGHTS LIGHTING ALL AT ONCE AT RANDOM). THESE ISSUES WERE NOT MUCH OF A PROBLEM UNTIL RECENTLY. I STARTED THE CAR AND IMMEDIATELY THE ABS, TRACTION CONTROL, AND BRAKE LIGHTS LIT UP AND THE CAR MADE 3 "BEEPS". I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND ON AGAIN, AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED AND CONTINUED. I THEN DROVE ON THE FREEWAY FOR ABOUT 10 MILES WHEN THE STEERING, AND EPC LIGHTS CAME ON. SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE SPEEDOMETER AND GAS GAUGES DROPPED TO ZERO AND THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THE STEERING BECAME SLOW TO RESPOND/DELAYED. LUCKILY THERE WERE NOT MANY CARS ON THE ROAD AND I SAFELY PULLED TO THE SHOULDER. I SAFELY DROVE THE CAR HOME THAT DAY, BUT MY HUSBAND EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUES WHEN HE TRIED TO DRIVE THE CAR THE DAY AFTER. AFTER RESEARCHING THESE SYMPTOMS ONLINE, I FOUND THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM FOR 2009 GTI AND RABBIT MODELS, AND THAT, WHILE THIS MALFUNCTION MAKES THE CAR UNSAFE TO DRIVE, VW WILL NOT HELP CONSUMERS WITH THE ESTIMATED $2K REPAIR COSTS.