My 2006 Jetta tdi has 69K miles on it. I bring it to the dealer for service routinely and baby the car. It spends nearly no time in traffic and has run well until last week. Last week I heard a funny sound coming from the engine compartment. I brought it into the dealer. Long story short, the flywheel had cracked and it will be over $2K for the flywheel. VW knows about this being a faulty part and I've heard they've had a full recall in other countries. I called VW of America and they refuse to pay for it because the car is slightly out of warranty. It is being repaired in the shop because I cannot afford to be without a car. Luckily no one was hurt, because if I hadn't brought the car immediately in it could have stalled the car at high speeds (freeway) and ruined the entire drivetrain, causing an accident. Again, VW knew this part has been faulty. There is a technical service bulletin on it.

- Springfield, MA, USA

2006.5 Volkswagen Jetta tdi experiencing slow gear changes from park to reverse or park to first gear taking over 30 seconds to select gear electronically. Shifting from lower gear to higher gear results in engine revving high before shift is actually made resulting in jerking vehicle motion or a stalled motor condition. Slow speed maneuvering such as slow turns and partial stops results in the vehicle losing forward power for several seconds before the engine revs high again and shifts into gear. At 30 mph vehicle has dropped out of gear resulting in vehicle needing to be guided to the shoulder and powered off and back on before forward motion can be resumed. Vehicle also will display flashing prnds display on dashboard on resuming forward motion resulting in the transmission to disengage and requires the vehicle to be stopped, shut off, and then powered back on. Vehicle is exhibiting no mechanical noise, smell, or error codes in the computer. Dealer has confirmed there is a malfunctioning mechatronic unit and vwoa has confirmed they will not cover under their recall campaign despite these symptoms leading to the campaign in question. Volkswagen customer service has denied a further inquiry into the manufacturing dates of the mechatronics units and their technical revisions, only going off vehicle model years and build dates despite other 2006 owners reporting identical circumstances with their vehicles. Technicians advised against further driving of the vehicle as there was significant risk of failure that may leave the vehicle immobile in traffic. Technicians were also able to readily reconstruct the issue on their own proving this is not caused by driving style. Repair cost of over $4000 to replace faulty part will need to be covered by the owner in order to resume normal operation on this vehicle.

- Tipton, IA, USA

1st complaint ODI #10278262 filed on 7/24/09 for 2006 Jetta tdi: "prior to the event listed below, we noticed that the car was not performing as it normally would. We were stopped at a traffic signal in a construction zone, light turned green proceeded to accelerate, car moved 10 feet, RPM went high and it was as if the car was in neutral. Had enough momentum to reach the side of the road. Prnd was lit up and flashing and the power steering system symbol had erratic flashing. Tried park, neutral, reverse nothing happened. Put the car in park and shut off engine. Restarted engine and it allowed us to drive off. Went approximately 10 miles driving at about 55 mph, thought we seen an animal and let off the accelerator. Upon trying to accelerate, incident described above happened again, this time a check engine light appeared. Before calling the dealer we did a search and came across this site. Our vehicle had a dsg transmission service (for a cost of $286.75) at 43,703 miles and the car now has 71,491 miles. This vehicle also has a problem at times, that was reported to the dealer on June 5, 2007 and nothing was done about it, on cold start up, putting it in gear and having a very severe jerking, almost to the point that it might stall the engine." Update 10-3-09: For fear of having another occurrence, the car was towed (70+ miles) to dealer in late August, diagnosis was it needed a new mechatronics unit. Delivery time for part was over a month. Talked to mechanic at VW, he recommended to not drive the car for safety reasons. Late September was notified part was in, towed car a second time (70+ miles) to dealer where mechatron unit was replaced, at a cost to me of $1,826.10. Some repair cost was picked up by VW. So far 100+ miles since repair - seems to be fine. This has not been a very pleasant experience. It is a serious safety issue and we just hope this resolved the issue.

- Owosso, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen Jetta. While driving 75 mph the transmission slipped into neutral gear. A technician concluded that the transmission was performing normally. He then added that driving long distances in warmer weather conditions could cause the failure. The failure mileage was 42,000. The current mileage was 47,000. Updated 10/21/09. Updated 10/20/09

- Idaho Falls, ID, USA

Transmission lurch forward, sometimes skip the shifts, also shifts are delayed or eng rev, too high and downshifthing it kicks 2 to 1and there's a clunking noise.

- Denver, CO, USA

Car was on a terminal access ramp at an airport, at less than 20mph when it suddenly lost all motive power with the engine still running. The "P-R-N-D-1-2" on the instrument cluster was flashing on and off and the transmission seemed to be stuck in neutral regardless of where the automatic transmission selector was placed. Car had to be towed to a VW dealer and was diagnosed with a defective/ failed "mechatronic unit" car remained at dealership for six (6) weeks waiting for parts. Car was returned on 09-23-2009 and appears to operate normally.

- Flower Mound, TX, USA

2006 Jetta gli with dsg gearbox, repeated transmission clunking (in automatic mode) when downshifting from 2nd to 1st, and harsh thunking in first gear from a stop engine revs up but car will not move for 1 to two seconds then thunk and car surges forward. Also thunking when shifting gear selector into reverse. Has occurred intermittently and often since Oct 2007. Poses dangerous situation at intersections and in stop and go driving with potential intermittent loss of forward motion and sudden forward surging affecting the safe driveability of the vehicle couple of times narrowly missed running into the vehicle in front of me due to sudden lurching of the vehicle. Dealer replaced transmission temperature sensor in late 2008, but problem recurred and persisted afterwards. After few more incidents and visits to dealer through Jun 2009 was informed mechatronics unit was faulty and would be replaced. Waited 42 days with car left with dealer for new part to be delivered from factory " due to backlog', in meantime car was recalled for transmission bolt replacement/inspection. Finally received "fixed" car with new mechatronics unit and problem recurred the same day three miles away from the dealership in stop and go traffic. Was told that transmission 'needed to re-learn my driving pattern" and to drive it around for a while to see if the issue would go away. Issue subsequently recurred repeatedly over a one week period especially when moving from a stop, with engine revving up then a sudden thunk and forward surge of vehicle. Returned vehicle to dealer last week still waiting for resolution.

- Issaquah, WA, USA

My 2006 VW Jetta tdi has a dsg transmission. This transmission has slipped out of gear twice while traveling on the interstate at interstate speeds. This is an automatic type transmission and should not be slipping out of gear. This has not resulted in an accident but I was required to move across 3 lanes of traffic only under my current forward momentum. Luckily I was able to do so without incident.

- Murfreesboro, TN, USA

I have a 2006 Volkswagen Jetta tdi. Recently, I have been experiencing transmission issues. The vehicle losses power in the transmission in the upper gears. Consequently, I lose power while on the interstate at higher speeds. This has caused me to have to take evasive action to avoid causing crashes from cars behind me. I have taken the car to Volkswagen as it is under warranty. The warranty company has made unreasonable demands that the dealership has not been able to fulfill. After a week, I have now taken it to aamco to have the transmission serviced. I believe it is the same transmission that has been recalled on the 2009 and 2010.

- Tampa, FL, USA

Sudden transmission failure. While driving at various speeds, several times the transmission lost the gear and went to neutral. The car lost power and had to come to a complete stop. Two times this occurred at highway speed where I had to make aggressive maneuvers to avoid a collision.

- Cibolo, TX, USA

Mass flywheel and clutch assembly failure. Another Volkswagen clutch problem to add to the list. Why is the United States not doing anything about this like other countries have. Are we not the most caring country in the world, I mean look how much money this government dishes out to people who don't deserve it. (car manufacturers who cant even make good on manufacturer defects. Other countries issued VW to fix the problems. I even read a letter on this website that the problem did not find its way to the us because it was only in the passat. Well the Jetta's, beetle's, gli's and the golf's all have the same transmission that they are referring to in the letter. I mean the government in charge now wants us to be supported by the government so why does the government not do anything to protect us. They are to many cases like mine all over this site and the internet for ya'll not to do something. Took the car in for service then was dropped with the $3900 dollar repair bill for this.

- Lampasas, TX, USA

Hi I boughtmy 06 tdi Jetta 2 yrs ago it had 39,800 miles on it and now I see why it was traded in at 40,000 it needs a $560 service that I was not told about. My fault for not reading the whole manual. I was told by dealer that the dsg would need to be serviced at 100,000 miles and it would be good. I brought the car in for clattering noise several times and was told it was normal the car hesitated often and shifted poorly but since it was at the dealer I figured it was normal. The clatter got worse and by this time it was about due for its 100000 mile service but before I could get it in one day driving home from work it soulded like a bucket or bolts feel out from my car the clatter became severe and soon after the car left me sit on the side of the highway.I describe the problem and clatter noise to the dealer and all of a sudden they knew the problem exactly. They tell me its probably the clutches and it can't be rebuilt and then the service manager at young VW laughing a little tells me that I missed two services on the tranny when I bought the car with 39800 and then the car was brought in several times and no one ever told me their might be a problem until now the car sits and I need $5000 dollars to fix it. This transmission is a piece of '!@#$%'. I don't know how many times I almost got side swiped trying to pull out into traffic quickly from a dead stop.

- Sciota, PA, USA

Prior to the event listed below, we noticed that the car was not performing as it normally would. We were stopped at a traffic signal, light turned green proceeded to accelerate, car moved 10 feet, RPM went high and it was as if the car was in neutral. Had enough momentum to reach the side of the road. Prnd was lit up and flashing and the power steering system symbol had erratic flashing. Tried park, neutral, reverse nothing happened. Put the car in park and shut off engine. Restarted engine and it allowed us to drive off. Went approximately 10 miles driving at about 55 mph, thought we seen an animal and let off the accelerator. Upon trying to accelerate, incident described above happened again, this time a check engine light appeared. Before calling the dealer we did a search and came across this site. Our vehicle had a dsg transmission service (for a cost of $286.75) at 43,703 miles and the car now has 71,491 miles. This vehicle also has a problem at times, that was reported to the dealer on June 5, 2007 and nothing was done about it, on cold start up, putting it in gear and having a very severe jerking, almost to the point that it might stall the engine. This is a 2006 VW Jetta tdi w/dsg transmission. The model selection on following page only listed a gli for selection.

- Owosso, MI, USA

When I bought my 2006 VW Jetta tdi the dsg transmission worked fine. At about 50,000 miles the transmission has progressively become rougher and rougher and is now bordering on unsafe. When I start moving from a complete stop the car jerks back and forth making it frightening to pull out into traffic. Also the car slams into the lower gears when downshifting. Sometimes when I press the gas pedal from a stop the car hesitates for a few seconds before slamming into gear. When backing up it is hard to control because of the surging. Unfortunately my car is out of warranty and I cannot afford to spend $3000 to pay for VW to fix this know defect in the dsg transmission.

- Aurora, CO, USA

2006 VW Jetta turbodiesel with dsg transmission at 27K miles shifting unpredictably at highway speed. Repaired by dealership, mechantronic failure. Failed again at highway speed one month later, causing potential injury do to failure. Six months later, flywheel explodes knocking hole in transmission and causing the vehicle lose all power and the engine to die.

- Fulton, MO, USA

While driving a 2006 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T with the dsg transmission the vehicle cut power (as if it was out of gas), only to regain power 2-5 seconds later. It was very hot, around 100 to 110 and I was driving on the freeway. It happened two or three more times but did not occur once the outside temp went below 90 deg.

- Idaho Falls, ID, USA

In March 2009 I took my 2006 VW Jetta tdi in for its normal service point at 90K. I was asked by the dealer if I could bring the car back in because of a noise that was heard coming from the transmission. The dealer reported that they found nothing wrong. On May 28, 2009 I had a catastrophic failure of the dual mass flywheel in the dsg transmission.

- Ephrata, PA, USA

Power train:clutch assembly: Took car in for 70K service and serp belt squealing. Got a call back from dealer saying that in addition to the serp belt needing replaced, they found the flywheel needed replaced and it would cost $2100. Never had any problems with this car, have got every service recommended in manual that came with car (which I bought brand new). Furious at the $2100 the dealerships wants to charge me, I did some research and found that there have been an alarming number of other people that have this same problem. Car is a automatic, not clutch, but has the slapstick option, I hate driving clutch, thus never switch over to clutch......so, how can the flywheel that has an internal clutch need replaced" manufacture default? I have not had work done yet, I am taking to 2 other places to get opinions and will take pictures of damage or documentation purposes. I do not drive the car in a "racing" style, I drive 60 miles round trip a day to work and home on county highways as I live in the country. So if I never use the clutch option and keep it in automatic mode at all times, how can the internal clutch have a problem" the dealer warned me that I cannot let the problem go on and must get fixed immediately or risk damage to the transmission and/or damage to myself & others driving on the road.

- Clinton, IL, USA

I own a 2006 Jetta tdi with 70,450 miles and just spent over $2,000 and four days of car rental replacing a dual mass flywheel. The vehicle began making noises and jerking at slow speeds when it turned 48,000 miles. I took it to the dealer where I bought it and they ran a "computer test" and found no problem. They test drove it found the same verdict and said "that's how Jetta diesels run." I asked them to check the transmission and they wouldn't because if they didn't find anything wrong, then they'd be out the money and I'd have to pay for it. They made some adjustments and returned the car. The noise gradually got louder, but after several regular maintenance visits, no a problems were noted. Finally the noise and jerking was too much and I sent it in. The service manager immediately said it was the flywheel and needs to be replaced. He said "we've done a lot of them". my flywheel was the defective sachs type as described in the tsb. Unfortunately, my power train warranty expired at 50,000 miles and the bill was mine. Grrrrr!!

- Katy, TX, USA

Power train, electrical and trim problems.

- Oakville, 00, USA