2023 Volkswagen Taos

Vehicle will take off like a rocket when accelerating from a stop. I had to restart the vehicle because it had no acceleration before issue started. Took to the dealer was told that this is normal. I was then advised to put the vehicle in sport mode and it should stop. Vehicle has only 3300 miles on it and this is a new issue that just started. Took it to a local shop and it showed a p2422 so we took it to the dealer and that’s when they stated no codes found and no issues found. We have multiple videos of the rocket take off.

The component that appears to have malfunctioned is the vehicle's turbocharger or acceleration system. This issue is reproducible upon request for inspection. The malfunction poses a significant safety risk as it creates a delay in the vehicle's response when turning, leaving the vehicle momentarily stranded in the middle of the opposite lane. This puts the driver and other road users at risk of collision. The problem has been confirmed by my dealership. They attributed it to turbo lag and advised against using Sam's Club gas. Despite following their advice, the issue has persisted. The vehicle has yet to inspected by my dealership. There have been no inspections by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives as of now. There have been no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the failure. The acceleration lag was initially subtle but has progressively become more severe over time. Whenever I attempt to make a normal right or left turn, my car hesitates for approximately three seconds before abruptly accelerating into the intended lane. This delay leaves me temporarily stuck in the middle of the opposite lane, creating a hazardous situation. The dealership diagnosed it as turbo lag and recommended against using Sam's Club gas, but the issue persists and has worsened. Now, the car exhibits significant acceleration lag after stopping for more than three seconds, followed by a sudden surge of speed. This behavior is particularly dangerous at intersections and during turns.

Purchased 12/1/202312/2/2023- Tire flat next day (paid 200.00) 12/7/2023-  2/1/2024-EPC 2/2/2024- EPC again 4/9/2024- 1-squeak breaks - no resolve 2-Red circle warning in the middle of the cluster-no resolve3-wireless phone and gps turns off -no resolve 6/1/2041-Brakes squeak (2x)- 2 new brake pads 2-Radio (2x) screen will turn off and reset-maps- software was updated 3- wipers sporadically stop and turn on no reason-  nothing found 4-Electrical- Yellow warning lights with forward and/or side collision came on and shut off. - no resolve.  

I bought this vehicle in April of 2023, brand new with 300 miles on it. The dealership then sold to a different dealership in June of 2023. In November/December of 2023, a light on my dash came on saying that my antifreeze was low. I opened up the hood and there was absolutely NO antifreeze in it. I called my dealership, they couldn't get me in until January 2024. So I filled it up with antifreeze and made it to my appointment in early January. The dealership told me that my previous dealership hadn't filled up my antifreeze all the way and that I had just burned that much since April. They topped it off and "checked all the lines". Then in April of 2024, the antifreeze light came on AGAIN. Not even 4 months later. I go check and AGAIN my antifreeze is completely EMPTY. NOT EVEN 4 MONTHS LATER! So I call the dealership and tell them what's going on. They get me in and then call me to tell me my head-gasket is blown. On my brand new car?!?!? So the dealership has now had my dealership since May 5th, 2024. It is now June 5th, 2024 and they are still waiting on parts. The car as of May 5th, 2024 had 12,000 miles on it. There were no signs of my antifreeze leaking, I park it in the garage everyday, nothing on the floor of the garage. The only thing that made me aware was the light coming on and screaming at me that I had no antifreeze.

When I was driving on I-66 West yesterday on the Toll lanes with my family I had my cruise control on at 65 mph. Then suddenly the vehicle braked on it own without any warning messages. The braking was sudden and fortunately before coming to a complete stop in the middle of the interstate, I manually applied the brakes, briefly, to turn off the cruise control and then accelerate which seemed to resolve the issue. Hardly 2 minutes later, when I was not on cruise control and driving at around 65mph (the cruise button was on but not set at this time), the vehicle issued an Emergency Braking warning and started to brake very rapidly. This was very scary because braking or accelerating did not resolve the issue and vehicles behind me had to avoid hitting me from the rear. The only thing that worked was turning the cruise control off completely. Rest of the journey I decided to not activate cruise control button and the problem was not noticed. This is the first such incident (and hopefully the last) experienced on my barely a year old leased vehicle. Also as an FYI: (a) I have driven hundreds of times before using its cruise control without an issue. (b) I was West facing around 6:00 pm against the setting sun and I was about to go under a bridge when both the braking issues occurred.

I purchased this car new less than 18 months ago and have been problems with it ever since. Brakes wear down prematurely and cause metal contact to rotors that causes bad screeching, stutters and affects my braking distance. I work for drive-share platforms as well as work as a personal driver for children in Ventura County and become more and more worried about the safety of my passengers as well as myself. I've taken my vehicle to the dealership multiple times and they keep repeating that everything is normal over and over again or that they fix whatever issue that they find but my car is still not fixed. This has been going on for over a year, they don't offer any help and they seem to ignore my concerns and I am very unsatisfied with Ventura Volkswagon and their customer service. I'm tired of having to pay to replace my rear brakes every 1-2 months, I want VW to find a better solution for me since this malfunction isn't only related to my vehicle. I see tons of other VW Taos owners complain online about the same issue and how VW just tells everyone that they need new brakes! Find a permanent fix, or give me my money back... They tell me to keep driving it as it is but I can't work with my vehicle in this condition knowing that the occupants' safety is compromised.

The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen Taos equipped with Kumho Tires, Tire Line: Crugen HP71, Tire Size: 215/55/R18, DOT Number: [XXX]. The contact stated that the TPMS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer and the warning light was reset. The contact stated that the failure had reoccurred. The contact stated that the tires were defective; however, the dealer refused to replace the tires. The tire manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The tire failure mileage was unknown. The vehicle failure mileage was approximately 130,000. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)