Death prompts VW owners to speak out...

[SilvrFoxX]

http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/death-prompts-vw-owners-to-speak-out-20130530-2nexi.html

Getting serious now, interesting that the car in the article was a manual though

[OilBurna]

Death prompts VW owners to speak out...

I've had two instances of the Passat literally dying and stopping on the road lucky not on a freeway.

Death prompts VW owners to speak out

[pologti18t]

Death prompts VW owners to speak out

Getting serious now, interesting that the car in the article was a manual though

Yeah, i don't get that.... What I do think is happening is that these stories are feeding into each other. So a totally different fault is attributed to DSG.

[sVWatt]

I've had two instances of the Passat literally dying and stopping on the road lucky not on a freeway.

Death prompts VW owners to speak out

Just read that article. My polo did that too.

Gotta laugh if not cry at their spokesman's lies. - "Rapid deceleration is not an issue widely observed or reported with any Volkswagen vehicles ... However, should any of our customers have cause for concern with their Volkswagen vehicle, we urge them to contact our customer care team .. We are dedicated to rectify any lost confidence our customers may have in our products."

[walshydub]

They need to sort that out. Now.

[The_Hawk]

That is an odd article, it seems to mash together a bunch of different issues.

They say her car "dramatically decelerated", then move to other people with the same problem... which segways into the DSG issue before saying her car was manual... then segways into the diesel injector issue. Was her car even diesel?

While I don't suggest for a moment there isn't a number of issues that need to be fixed, it reads like she was driving a Diesel, DSG that locked up the wheels?

[kai_h]

Rapid deceleration wouldn't happen if the DSG shifted into neutral - the car would continue to coast.
Rapid deceleration wouldn't happen if the injectors failed and stopped injecting fuel - the car would coast, albeit with a degree of engine braking (on the freeway, in 6th or 7th gear, there's not much engine braking happening if you lift off the accelerator pedal)

Dramatic deceleration would have to be something else altogether, it is not just a lack of acceleration.

[richmurphy]

Yeah, i don't get that.... What I do think is happening is that these stories are feeding into each other. So a totally different fault is attributed to DSG.

Spot on although hopefully the bad press will prompt VWA to listen. I was fobbed off by the service manager when I went in to report the exhaust rattle on my GTI despite it being a well documented issue. Arrogance like that leads to many irate customers which leads to bad press such as this so I can only say they've got themselves to blame.

I'd be far more relaxed about the possibility of a mechanical fault if I knew VWA were easy to deal with.

[The_Hawk]

I was digging a little to see if I could find what model she was driving... and hit this link:

No Cookies | Herald Sun

(there is also another one here but it doesn't add anything).

At the time there was no mention of the vehicle she was driving, the focus was on the truck driver.

[geeza]

Spot on although hopefully the bad press will prompt VWA to listen. I was fobbed off by the service manager when I went in to report the exhaust rattle on my GTI despite it being a well documented issue. Arrogance like that leads to many irate customers which leads to bad press such as this so I can only say they've got themselves to blame.

I'd be far more relaxed about the possibility of a mechanical fault if I knew VWA were easy to deal with.

Yup, i've had VW's for a long time (an no issues with my DSG) but this attitude will drive me to another brand i think - you can't admit faults in other coutries and then ignore Australia.

[stickshift3000]

Rapid deceleration wouldn't happen if the injectors failed and stopped injecting fuel - the car would coast, albeit with a degree of engine braking (on the freeway, in 6th or 7th gear, there's not much engine braking happening if you lift off the accelerator pedal)

On a high compression diesel with greater engine breaking than a petrol engine, it would be enough to potentially get you in trouble with a car travelling a safe distance behind.

Most people (on this forum) that have experienced this with diesel engine shutdowns are usually thankful there wasn't someone following closely, let alone a truck that's harder to stop...

[mythik]

Permit me to play devils advocate here but I've witnessed on no less than 2 occasions this 'SUDDEN POWER LOSS' and it was caused by the idiot driver 'two pedal' driving. When pressing on the brake pedal the car won't allow you to accelerate for safety reasons.

Equally, in the event of a faulty brake sensor, I could envisage this might cause an issue too...

I've just simulated it in my MY13 Golf R. Sudden power loss... by touching the break pedal while attempting to accelerate. Causes the vehicle to slow down....

[dylan8]

Permit me to play devils advocate here but I've witnessed on no less than 2 occasions this 'SUDDEN POWER LOSS' and it was caused by the idiot driver 'two pedal' driving. When pressing on the brake pedal the car won't allow you to accelerate for safety reasons.

Equally, in the event of a faulty brake sensor, I could envisage this might cause an issue too...

I've just simulated it in my MY13 Golf R. Sudden power loss... by touching the break pedal while attempting to accelerate. Causes the vehicle to slow down....

was thinking the same thing.
sure there is not something else at play here also...?
amount of people lately driving autos with two feet is ridiculous.

[richmurphy]

On a high compression diesel with greater engine breaking than a petrol engine, it would be enough to potentially get you in trouble with a car travelling a safe distance behind.

Most people (on this forum) that have experienced this with diesel engine shutdowns are usually thankful there wasn't someone following closely, let alone a truck that's harder to stop...

Sorry but that's rubbish. I was traveling 2 seconds behind a Lotus Elise at 110kph when the driver absolutely anchored his brakes to avoid a kangaroo. I managed to stop easily. It's clearly not a safe distance if you cannot stop in time and there is no way that VW would've slowed quicker than the Lotus. Okay the lack of brake lights might be a factor and we're taking the truck drivers word for that as there seems to be no hard evidence to support his claims. IMO brake lights or not, he's at fault but luckily for him it's the coroner making the call and not me.

[stickshift3000]

Sorry but that's rubbish. I was traveling 2 seconds behind a Lotus Elise at 110kph when the driver absolutely anchored his brakes to avoid a kangaroo. I managed to stop easily. It's clearly not a safe distance if you cannot stop in time and there is no way that VW would've slowed quicker than the Lotus. Okay the lack of brake lights might be a factor and we're taking the truck drivers word for that as there seems to be no hard evidence to support his claims. IMO brake lights or not, he's at fault but luckily for him it's the coroner making the call and not me.

Well yeah, I can avoid most accidents also.

But you're assuming the truck driver was watching the car in front.