Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Gearbox Glitch Forces 384,000-Volkswagen Recall in China

Volkswagen (NASDAQOTH: VLKAY  ) subsidiaries Volkswagen Group China, Volkswagen Group Import Co., FAW-Volkswagen, and Shanghai Volkswagen issued a recall of 384,181 vehicles equipped with the company's seven-speed double-clutch gearbox on Wednesday, warning that "in isolated cases, an electronic malfunction in the control unit or a lack of oil pressure inside the gearbox mechatronics may result in a power interruption."

Although the company rushes to clarify that "the most important vehicle systems, such as steering and braking, along with other relevant systems will not be affected" by such a malfunction, the car may lose power in traffic, and that's not a good thing.

According to Volkswagen, there are currently no new vehicles in dealer lots in China affected by the issue, so this recall should not hurt future sales.

Volkswagen is offering consumers a replacement of the affected parts with new gearbox mechatronics free of charge, and throwing in a software upgrade for free as well. Volkswagen plans to begin contacting owners to inform them of the recall on April 2.

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