Golf TSI DSG Gear Unit/Handbrake Failure Catastrophe

[bonezi89]

Hi all, long time no post!

I am in a very concerning situation at the moment and would really appreciate any and all input, advice and if possible similar experiences.

So the other night my car literally rolled away and found itself in the neighbour's front lawn opposite my house, luckily only taking the mailbox with it and only leaving a scratch down the drivers side similar to a keying. Prior to this there were no signs of anything foul or any warning signs, the car has only 40,000KMs on it and has been serviced to a tee, yes the car was in park . Our driveway has almost no gradient so there was little to no stress on the park system in any way, I'm guessing it basically began its roll at a snail's pace.

Upon retrieving the car, it was found in park. The following morning ignition sounded extremely rough and a low battery warning flashed upon the third try. Needless to say the car was not driven any further and was towed immediately to VW, by the time the tow truck arrived I didn't have a say in the matter as the car would not even turn on!

This is day 3 and to this point all interactions with VW have been greeted with skepticism, buck passing (we are up to contact #5) and an almost casual disregard to the serious issue that has been thrust upon us. That a letterbox was the most significant victim and not a child or a living room is the only positive to have come out of this so far. The service manager has advised that initially a fault was discovered in the handbrake switch and then a little while after another possible fault in the gear selector unit. The virtually dead battery has been disregarded by them as an unrelated issue (no sign prior to this incident of any dying battery). Other than this we have been kept in the dark, I suspect whilst they cover their bases and decide how best to proceed on their end.

I know that the DSG recall from 2011 is in relation to an entirely separate issue but is there much precedent for anything like the scenario that I have described? The fact that my car is only 40KMs in and was purchased brand new has made me the most concerned that I have ever been about any car I have ever owned. Even if the car was to be returned with all relevant parts replaced, is that really enough? The vehicle was only 27 days out of its warranty although whether the validity of the warranty is even relevant with regards to faults of this magnitude is arguable.

Liability wise on our end we have photos and witnesses, the neighbour whose yard it rolled into is a police officer and is happy to provide statements from his end.

Any guidance on how to proceed guys?

Thank you.

[The One]

Hi all, long time no post!

I am in a very concerning situation at the moment and would really appreciate any and all input, advice and if possible similar experiences.

So the other night my car literally rolled away and found itself in the neighbour's front lawn opposite my house, luckily only taking the mailbox with it and only leaving a scratch down the drivers side similar to a keying. Prior to this there were no signs of anything foul or any warning signs, the car has only 40,000KMs on it and has been serviced to a tee, yes the car was in park . Our driveway has almost no gradient so there was little to no stress on the park system in any way, I'm guessing it basically began its roll at a snail's pace.

Upon retrieving the car, it was found in park. The following morning ignition sounded extremely rough and a low battery warning flashed upon the third try. Needless to say the car was not driven any further and was towed immediately to VW, by the time the tow truck arrived I didn't have a say in the matter as the car would not even turn on!

This is day 3 and to this point all interactions with VW have been greeted with skepticism, buck passing (we are up to contact #5) and an almost casual disregard to the serious issue that has been thrust upon us. That a letterbox was the most significant victim and not a child or a living room is the only positive to have come out of this so far. The service manager has advised that initially a fault was discovered in the handbrake switch and then a little while after another possible fault in the gear selector unit. The virtually dead battery has been disregarded by them as an unrelated issue (no sign prior to this incident of any dying battery). Other than this we have been kept in the dark, I suspect whilst they cover their bases and decide how best to proceed on their end.

I know that the DSG recall from 2011 is in relation to an entirely separate issue but is there much precedent for anything like the scenario that I have described? The fact that my car is only 40KMs in and was purchased brand new has made me the most concerned that I have ever been about any car I have ever owned. Even if the car was to be returned with all relevant parts replaced, is that really enough? The vehicle was only 27 days out of its warranty although whether the validity of the warranty is even relevant with regards to faults of this magnitude is arguable.

Liability wise on our end we have photos and witnesses, the neighbour whose yard it rolled into is a police officer and is happy to provide statements from his end.

Any guidance on how to proceed guys?

Thank you.

If the gearbox is in park, and you try and roll the car, does it move foward or lock up? If it doesn't move than you must have not put it in park, or else that means your parking pawl is damaged - however you just tested this when you tried to move the car in P. It is impossible for a vehicle to roll with an intact parking pawl. The DSG recall has absoloutely nothing to do with this issue so it's best to not bring that up as it will get you nowhere, in regards to 'liability' and it obviously sounding like you want compensation, goodluck you won't get it, there will always be doubt R.E: judges and jury with regards to whether the vehicle was placed in park or not, you simply cannot prove it beyond a resonable doubt.

As for repairing the vehicle, I would allow the dealership to do whatever they think is necessary to fix this issue and than be done with it, you're just going to loose alot of money and time for a non - favorable outcome anyway. They are only obliged to fix it - also don't forget the vehicle is out of warranty so they are not obliged to pay for the work at all, regardless how little it is out of warranty or how many km's are on the vehicle, but VW are very good with goodwill and will help you out in this case, be greatful as they're not legally required to do so.

All the best.

[bonezi89]

The DSG recall has absoloutely nothing to do with this issue so it's best to not bring that up as it will get you nowhere, in regards to 'liability' and it obviously sounding like you want compensation, goodluck you won't get it, there will always be doubt R.E: judges and jury with regards to whether the vehicle was placed in park or not, you simply cannot prove it beyond a resonable doubt.

As for repairing the vehicle, I would allow the dealership to do whatever they think is necessary to fix this issue and than be done with it, you're just going to loose alot of money and time for a non - favorable outcome anyway. They are only obliged to fix it - also don't forget the vehicle is out of warranty so they are not obliged to pay for the work at all, regardless how little it is out of warranty or how many km's are on the vehicle, but VW are very good with goodwill and will help you out in this case, be greatful as they're not legally required to do so.

All the best.

The One, thank you for taking the time to get back to me, I think I may need to clarify some things here though.

I had no intention of bringing up the recall and I did say that I'm aware that it has nothing to do with this issue. I was simply asking if there is any precedent in relation to this or something similar.

As it is a DSG the keys cannot be removed UNLESS the car is in park, so driver culpability has probably been scrutinised by myself more than VW because they themselves are aware of this fact and quickly moved on to mechanical factors for investigation.

As such, liability is still very much in play here but I am absolutely not chasing compensation as an opportunist. Free money and an assurance that I have a vehicle in my life that is not a safety hazard are two entirely different things driven by two entirely different concerns. If that cannot be provided in anything but the form of a new vehicle/drivetrain/whichever else then so be it, goodwill and warranty are no longer on mind any more.

As an update their findings are still inconclusive which is extremely concerning as they basically cannot say why the car rolled away, the parking pawl had no discernible fault, at this stage VW Au is now involved so I will continue to keep anyone interested updated.

[The_Hawk]

That's an interesting read. Given you have manual handbrake there are two (and very separate) systems that had to fail at the same time. Will be interesting to see what the outcome is here.

[GeorgeMK1]

Please post your findings here, as I too am very interested in the outcome. I know my hand brake (mk6 gti) is pretty sturdy, once it's on, its on and have never had my car move.

One more reason why I love my manual, always leave it in gear

Good luck!