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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg Volkswagen and Audi Issue Recall After 'GMA' Started Asking Questions (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=8378724)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2009_Jetta_TDI_SportWagen.jpgELISABETH LEAMY and VANESSA WEBER - GO (http://abcnews.go.com) - August 21, 2009

It's good to see Volkswagen to "step up to the plate" and acknowledge this issue. --Ed.

Volkswagen and Audi are recalling 16,000 vehicles because of transmission problems that make them lose power -- or completely stall -- out of the blue. What's most startling is that they're brand new vehicles .

Transmission problems in some Audis and Volkswagens cause cars to lose power.
The U.S. government has been investigating since July 17, but Volkswagen, which owns Audi, did not issue a recall until "Good Morning America" began asking questions.

The cars in question have a new type of ... http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=8378724

Looks like DSGs aren't worth the hassle or higher maintenance yet (for me anyway).

Volkswagen and Audi have always had amongst the worst reliability. BMW and Mercedes are almost just as bad. This issue is not surprising and frankly I wouldn't spend money on any new or used European branded car given their reliability record up to now. Great technology, great performance, beautiful aesthetics, great engineering....but what good is all that if the darned thing leaves you stranded, kills you, or costs a bundle to keep running?

I was thinking of buying the upcoming Rabbit/Golf TDI clean Diesel this fall. It will also have the DSG transmission. From my research VW's quality overall has been very poor. I just can't make myself consider buying one now considering everything I have read about them from pros and owners alike.
VW corporate recently came out with a plan to overtake Toyota as the number 1 automaker in the world. Not once did they mention the poor quality image that is centered on these vehicles. Huge mistake on their part; quality must always be addressed first. It is really too bad because I like the idea of a clean diesel with great MPG.
The savings in fuel will likely be offset by the high maintenance costs and once the auto is out of warranty the high repair costs. It seems like the vaunted German engineering has fallen quite a bit.

Hi dubois, they are working on the quality aspect as well. They still have some very bad cars, but the Jetta and the Rabbit are two of their better ones and better than the past models as well. The new Jetta is rated as average for reliability and the Rabbit is above average, on par with an average Toyota. If you look at something like the Touareg, you will see why the brand as a whole still doesn't have a good rating. The new Golf TDI is a redesigned model so I would give it a year to see how people are liking them before going for one.

If you do end up with the Golf TDI, try to check with other TDI owners which dealer in your area that they use. Some charge Audi prices and are incompetent to boot, but there are some good ones too. Using those good ones goes a long way to improving the ownership experience.

VW is a great car, and the Jetta TDI is a proven vehicle. The one drawback to VW is the consistent problem with getting a few things wrong on each car. I had a jetta TDI until just recently, and it was a great car. I had a tough decision to either sell my old Prius or Jetta when getting a new car. I finally decided to sell the Jetta because of all the looming documented problems with my year Jetta. My car did not have any problems after 50,000, but so many others did, it made me wonder if I was next. This is the reason why I decided to keep my old Prius.There were just so many reports and case after case of documented problems with my year Jetta that I was worried about these looming problems. Also VW seems to be very unwilling to help remidy the problems as the article stated. They only came forward after it hit the press in a big way. This seems to be par for the course also. The bottom line is that the VW is a great car and I had a good experience with mine, but when it came to confidence that the it would be trouble free in the future, I decided to go with another vehicle. As many have said, If you own a VW you better be a wrench turner as it will need tinkering.