Vehicle experiences somewhat frequent rough or hard shifts between gears, and reverse gear has suddenly stopped working most of the time - will not engage reverse, but instead acts as if car is in neutral (makes a slight electronic sound when shifted). Renders car highly unsafe to drive without the ability to drive in reverse. Car has only 83,000 miles, and this is considered a "sealed" transmission by Volkswagen; only maintenance required to this point is checking for leaks (per multiple dealers and owner's manual). Very similar to problems experienced in many other automatics w/ the tiptronic feature in Volkswagen (see new beetles of similar model years, where VW issued an extended warranty for the valve body). Have been told by numerous VW-competent techs that the most likely culprit is the transmission valve body, and that VW automatics are widely known for having these problems.

- Easton, PA, USA