2008 Volkswagen R32: hesitation when accelerating

Filed Feb 7, 2011 · Transmission · 29 miles · MO

Hesitating and jerking from transmission when in reverse or drive when accelerating from a stop.

Filed Dec 30, 2009 · Fuel system, Transmission · 22,000 miles · IL

1) purchased the car and noticed the jumps twice on my way home. It has since continued to be an issue for the whole two weeks of my ownership. 2) accelerating from a full stop the car hesitates, hangs, and then jumps forward after a moment. This happens about half the time. I notice when I roll slowly ~5 MPH it does not hang or jump nearly as much or as often. 3) nothing has been done as of yet. I plan to take my 2008 vw r32 to the dealership to see what may be the cause.

Filed Nov 23, 2009 · Transmission · 80 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 volkswagen r32. When attempting to accelerate from a complete stop, the transmission hesitates and then shifts into gear. Also the transmission hesitates to shift from fifth to sixth gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but they could not identify the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was 80. The current mileage was 24,000.

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 Aug 23, 2009 · Transmission · 200 miles · MD

Random loss of power/torque coming out of dsg transmission when shifting into certain gears, jerky reverse, hesitation starting from stop, jerky downshift to first gear. Hesitation has randomly occured multiple times including at an intersection. Jerking (or pulsating power delivery) during reverse and when downshifting into first is always there. Hesitation when starting from stop is also always present. I believe this probably as something to do with the mechatronics unit of the dsg. I am worried about saftey due to the abnormal behavior of this transmission. Lossing power at an intersection or other critical locations can easily lead to an accident. Also I am afraid that this abnormal behavior is going to lead to transmission problems including but not limited to abnormal clutch pack wear which might need to be replaced later down the line after the 60,000 mile warranty is up.

Filed Aug 23, 2009 · Transmission · 11,650 miles · CA

When attempting to accelerate to execute a lane change, the car became non- responsive by hesitating (apx 2 sec) after shifting from "d" to "s" (sport mode). Also, the car hesitates and "jerks" often when shifting from p to r or n to d.

Filed Aug 14, 2009 · Transmission · 6,531 miles · TX

The dsg transmission in my 2008 vw r32 has been jerky its whole time I have owned it but it seems to be progressively getting worse. When accelerating from a dead stop to get up to driving speeds the dsg will react extremely jerky and hesitate from time to time, causing the engine to rev super high, then it will kick in to gear causing me and my passengers to go through a whiplash type state for a few seconds before the cycles starts over again when going into the next gear. Also when at highway cruising speeds when I try to occasionally pass another car and depress the gas pedal the engine will just rev really high for a few seconds before accelerating. During all of these instances that this has occurred I have been extremely lucky to be able to avoid all other vehicles around me and not get into any serious accidents. If this continues in the future I am unsure if I will be so lucky and I am cautiously awaiting the time when my transmission goes out completely and I am in a serious wreck. From the research I have conducted it would seem that there has been a rash of faulty mechatronics units and dsg's throughout the vw product line. The conversations I have had with other vw owners always leads to the same conclusion that either replacing the mechatronics unit, sometimes repeatedly, or an entire replacement transmission is the only cure. This needs to be fix permanantly by vw before something serious happens and someone winds up either in the hospital or dead.

Filed Jul 25, 2009 · Transmission · 17,000 miles · NV

On multiple occasions either when up shifting or downshifting, the dsg transmission in my 2008 volkswagen r32 have been very jerky, or come with a "clunky" feel and noise. Also have tried to downshift from 6th gear, down 2, as vw recommends when passing on a highway, and the car will either hesitate for a few seconds before it finally decides to shift, and then I still have no power for a few more seconds until the transmission decides it wants to send power to the wheels again. I have taken the vehicle in question in on numerous occasions for the problems, and all the dealer says, is either they cannot reproduce the effects, or the car has no fault codes, so therefore it must just be me.

Filed Jul 25, 2009 · Transmission · NJ

Difficult to accelerate from standing start with the dsg transmission hesitating then grabbing suddenly with mechanical sound. I consider the hesitation a serious problem since the delayed acceleration is difficult to anticipate. Turning from a stop has hesitation and then the car jumps forward sometime changing to a lower gear. This occurs in "d" automatic and manual modes. This is recurring problem since began leasing the r32 in april 2008.

Filed Jul 7, 2009 · Transmission · 1,000 miles · PA

When I first bought my 2008 vw r32 it was a decently smooth riding car. After a few months it got really rough. When I start moving from a complete stop the car jerks back and fourth 1 or 2 times roughly. This happens 100% of the time. Also, the car slams into first gear really hard when slowing down to a stop making all passenger's bodies shift forward from momentum. It feels like I slammed on the brake. Also sometimes from a stop when I put my foot on the gas, the car hesitates before slamming into gear after 2 or 3 seconds of not responding to my throttle input. This has scared me in a couple instances because I almost got into a rear end collision from someone behind me not paying attention and almost slamming into the back of my car. Luckily I knew that my car had this characteristic so I reacted quick enough to accelerate in time to get out of their way. From what I understand, this is a problem with the mechatronics unit. And many people have had success fixing the problem by getting a replacement mechatronics unit installed. Almost everyone I have met with the same car has the same problem I do. Something needs to be done to fix this or people are going to be going to the hospital for whiplash from rear end collisions or worse.

Filed Apr 15, 2009 · Fuel system · 8,000 miles · TX

The car loses power (I.e. Hiccups or hesitates) at highway speeds, most noticeable on even the slightest acceleration - even with cruise control on. At times it will idle in a similar staggered way. When city driving the same problem occurs on acceleration. It happens randomly but once it starts, it persists until the car has been shut off and cools down.

Filed Jan 5, 2009 · Fuel system · 21,100 miles · HI

On october 27, 2008 I was traveling on one of the local highways, when I began to experience a loss in power, rapid misfire and hesitation in my 2008 vw r32. Prior to said date, I experienced the same faults several times, which I mentioned to my local service advisor. My local service advisor informed me that volkswagen of america (vwoa) was aware of the wide-spread problem and was currently working on a solution. Currently, I have been working with my regional case manager from vwoa. However, the last time that I spoke with my regional case manager was on december 11, 2008. When I briefly spoke with my regional case manager from vwoa, he explained to me that the parts needed for repair of my r32 would soon be released. However, I received that same statement in october and november when I asked about the service status of my vehicle. On the 17th of dec 2008, vwoa received a letter from me stating that 'I no longer have faith in the reliability and safety of the r32 that I purchased, and that I wish to seek state-specific (lemon-law) warranty for my r32.' in addition, I express that prior to pursuing the lemon-law option; I am willing to resolve this issue amicably. However, as of 4 january 2009, I have not received any information from vwoa.