2008 Volkswagen R32: engine stalls while driving

Filed Jan 7, 2010 · Transmission · 24,500 miles · PA

After the car gets to it's warm temps (roughly 30 mins of driving), it starts to jerk through low gears, harsh downshifting when slowing down to stop. Taking my foot off the brake from a stop the car will lurch/sputter forward rather than slowly roll forward, at times (very inconsistent, roughly 2-3 in an hours drive) the car will surge then slam into gear before I'm able to press on the gas to drive, it feels almost as though it's about to stall.

Filed Sep 3, 2009 · Engine, Transmission · 9,200 miles · NY

I have had several issues with some corrected but the hesitation of power and shifting issues with dsg continue to persist. Several times I have tried to accelerate and the car does not respond immediately, this has happened on the expressway several times. There is also some jerking in the car as it tries to go through gears. It also feels like it is going to stall before it actually gets going. Finally, the car has rumble feel through the pedal and feels like it is fighting itself and when you turn the wheel to the left it starts an on and off rumble. Other problems that have occurred were a loud knocking which was eventually fixed by replacing the entire engine. They first replaced the flywheel thinking that was the issue.

Filed Jul 30, 2009 · Transmission · 11,000 miles · MI

Several symptoms related to dsg transmission switching gears: from a stop, car lunges and jerks into first gear. Rpm's sometimes dip and surge, and car sometimes feels like it is going to stall. When upshifting from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 3rd, gear sometimes engages with a thunk. When downshifting 3 to 2 or 2 to 1, car often surges and jerks. In reverse, car sometimes loses power for a second or two.

Filed Jul 23, 2009 · Transmission · 15,000 miles · WA

The car was purchased with ~2000 miles on it. When coming to a near stop, and then trying to accelerate hard around a corner, on 4 occasions there was a loud backfire, and the car would stall completely. The car had to be stopped and restarted each time. At ~25000 miles, a vw technician and friend performed a "basic settings" on my dsg transmission. Since then, I have had no further issues, other than a slight clunk when applying throttle before coming to a full stop.

Filed Jul 23, 2009 · Transmission · 12,000 miles · MD

Dsg malfunction during normal driving on vw r32 2008: my automobile has erratic movement from a standing stop and at low revolutions per minute (less than 1500 / minute) at low speeds. The motion is a jerking action. The vehicle also exhibits loss of power when gears are lowered and followed by a throttle input. This is seen for example when driving in 6th gear at 55 MPH, shifting into 5th and then accelerating to pass on the highway. The engine at that time does not respond with power and the car spends maybe 1 or 2 seconds sorting out how to apply the power. The driving conditions are then normal and operation continues without a problem. The general shifting of the car is not smooth under other operations although it does not stall or lose power. Yet the shifting feels unnatural and deteriorated from how it was when the auto was new. The vehicle has now 22000 miles.

Filed May 18, 2009 · Fuel system · 9,000 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 volkswagen r32. The contact stated that the vehicle was stalling and he smelled gasoline. He was able to restart the vehicle after allowing it to cool down for a couple of hours. The vehicle operates normally for a few weeks before the failure recurs. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but they could not remedy the failure. The vehicle stalled once again. The dealer stated that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number 09v093000 (fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly), although the failures were identical. The contact does not know if the vehicle will be repaired. The failure mileage was 9,000 and current mileage was 11,000.

Filed Mar 19, 2009 · Fuel system · 2,000 miles · CO

No event lead up to failure. The car sputters, hiccups, what ever you want to call it. It has stalled in traffic, and had to be pushed out of the intersection, it would not start back up and smelled of fuel. On numerous occasions it will not start. It cuts out around corners, and has done it with the vw service manager in the car.

Filed Feb 20, 2009 · Transmission · 8,100 miles · VA

I bought a brand new vw r32 from elindsay vw dealer at dulles va. After buying the car I had to take it back for some minor problems and they were partially resolved to my satisfaction. Around 8000 miles (couple of weeks ago) car started to feel jerky. Today the car stalled on me two times at the light. I called the dealer back reporting the issue and the customer service.I can not trust if this happens and my brakes or engine does not function. I feel that this car is putting my and my loved ones' life in danger, as well as the people on the road. Please guide me how to handle this issue. I would like them to get the car back. Vw customer care reference #809100936 - took the car for service february 9th and received it back feb 9th with a software update - feb 10th drove the car in the morning and problem was still there - feb 10th called the dealer to make an appointment. Their top tech was going to be at training so they made the appointment for feb 16th. - february 16th I took the car second time for the same problem. Tech was not available to test drive the car so they sent me away. After an hour or so they called me stating that they could not find any problems with the car. I went down back to dealer to test drive the car. Their top tech was not available so I test drove with another technician. I was able to replicate the issue several times. Head tech came afterwards and tried to assure me that everything is normal. I left the car in dealer for next morning test drive. - february 17th nobody contacted me from dealer so I called them around 1pm . They said there is nothing wrong with the car. I left the dealer with no resolution. - february 20 car started to stall when moving the foot from the break pedal. I tried to call the dealer several times to make an appointment. Regards,

Filed Feb 9, 2009 · Fuel system · 10,599 miles · UT

2008 vw r32, the car would throw check engine lights all the time, the check gas cap light came on randomly days after last fill up, the car would randomly have lost of power or stall, takes 20 seconds after fill up to start and run properly, some times not start at all. The car first went in to a vw dealer september 3 2008 with 10599miles , the dealer could not find a fault for the check engine light they gave me the car back and they contacted vw technical support . Contacted me a few days later and said parts were ordered and will be in soon. September 12 2008 car taken back in for parts to be put on. The car runs ok but it throws a check engine light and random check gas cap lights again. The car has a hard time starting. January 6 2009 16,032 miles car taken back in for stalling, not starting, loss of power. Vw dealer master mechanic cannot find problem car is given back to me with the problems, vw dealer contacts vw technical support. January 12 2009 16247miles I have had the last straw, I had to push the car out of a fuel pump cause the car wont start!!! I took the car back to vw dealer and it has been in there since january 12 2009 and today is february 9 2009.

Filed Jan 23, 2009 · Fuel system, Transmission · 6,647 miles · IL

My vehicle has stalled twice on me when it had 6647 miles. It occurred twice in a span of two hours. I was driving and the car started to "hiccup". It jumps between shifts, this occurs mostly when it is humid outside. The vehicle also emits a loud ticking sound from the gas tank, and in extremely cold weather the gas needle bounces. Took it to the dealership 4 times and they found no problems, however they did take a joyride two of those times in the car. (found the radio station set and equalizer toyed with) in addition, the car sometimes smells like fuel.

Filed Dec 31, 2008 · Fuel system · 3,100 miles · SC

My brand new r32 has been stalling/hiccuping since 3100 miles. It has a lose of power under acceleration, then idles rough and sometimes dies. The check engine light comes on and the gas cap light comes on but as soon as you turn the car off and back on it goes away. It has died twice while driving in traffic and wouldn't start back, I've had it towed to the dealer twice. The dealer has replaced my purge valve and evap cannister twice, it runs fine for about 2 weeks then starts all over again. The car only has 7550 miles on it now and it's back at the dealer once again.

Filed Nov 21, 2008 · Fuel system · 4,600 miles · TX

My 2008 volkswagen r32 exhibits intermittent fuel delivery issues. At times, usually following a refueling, the car seems to "hiccup" and briefly lose power, as if the fuel supply was cut off momentarily. This causes a severe jerking in the car, and can happen at low speeds after rounding a corner or at constant freeway speeds. Other symptoms include stumbling and stalling while at idle in traffic; with difficulty in restarting as if the vehicle is starved for fuel. The vehicle has also failed to start upon first use of the day, cranking over but not seeming to receive fuel, even though the tank may be full. Other issues include difficulty with refueling when tank is near empty. Often, the gas station fuel dispensers will shut off 10 or more times when beginning to fill up the tank, as if air were blocking the filler neck and causing the automatic pump shutoff to kick in. It can take many tries before one is finally able to completely fuel the vehicle, which only holds 14.5 gallons. On two occasions, the automatic fuel cutoff in the gas station dispenser did not detect a full tank and the fuel actually overflowed out of filler neck and onto the ground until I manually shut of the fuel dispensers. It seems the evaporative purge canister or lines are easily blocked in this design, and I question whether there are other vapor lock or vacuum issues with the fuel system design that are involved. I am taking my vehicle to the dealer for service on 11/26 for an attempt at diagnosis. Many other owners of this vehicle in the online forum "vwvortex.com" have also reported similar problems with this vehicle, and are having little success in repair through vwoa. I consider this to be a potentially dangerous situation.