2008 VW Jetta wolfsburg with 2.0T & dsg transmission 21K miles. Transmission consistently lurches forward at a stop especially after driving at highway speeds. This is magnified when the A/C is on. RPM's will fluctuate +/- 200 as you feel the gear engage. Symptoms are worse when the car is in reverse. Has the same feeling as someone not knowing how to drive a manual transmission. The "jerkiness" continues from a stop until under acceleration into 3rd gear. The transmission also downshifts unusually hard into 2nd & especially 1st gear. All these symptoms have slowly become more pronounced over the last month. The worst & potentially hazardous problem was when I attempted to make a left turn onto a busy road with my entire family in the car. I was at a stop & shifted the car into "sport" mode which gives the car much quicker short term acceleration, which would help in the busy situation. As traffic cleared enough I pressed the gas & the car simply rolled without power into the oncoming traffic. I had to shift quickly into reverse to avoid being hit by oncoming traffic. I attempted this a 2nd time & the same thing happened...no power, just rolled like it was in neutral. I have not rusted this car in these situations since. I have an appointment with the dealer in 1 week to address this & a recall on the driveshaft bolts. I am filing this because as I researched this issue from credible sources, it is apparent this is a big issue for the dsg transmissions & the consumer is getting the run around. I could have been involved in a serious/fatal accident with my family & it would have been written up at the scene that I pulled out in front of oncoming traffic. When in reality this transmission failed to engage (twice) and jeopardized our lives. I would hope that this issue gains the attention it deserves and VW steps up and makes a permanent fix. The parts the are replacing (mechatronic) is failing again after time. I expect a dealer run-A-round. Please help.

- Howell, MI, USA

Transmission surges/bucks during low speed operation such as parking. Reverse is worse than forward. Reverse operation can be dangerous as extra throttle must be applied to get the car to move but then there is a rapid acceleration that is difficult to control. Transmission also down shifts very hard while slowing for a stop, 2nd to 1st downshift. Car is inop. Since 6/26/09 awaiting repair part. Part eta is late August 2009. Transmission is dsg model.

- Camden Point, MO, USA

My VW 2008 2.0T, shifts very hard when driving with the dsg transmission. It also lurches forward from a stop; at times it also loses power when the accelerator is stepped on. The vehicle jerks very hard and has also when reversing almost hit the garage. The car cannot be trusted to go from park to drive smoothly, at times violently jerking forward.

- Shoreview, MN, USA

When the vehicle was purchased new it drove perfectly no hesitation no problems what so ever. Over the past few months while backing out of a parking space I will put the car in reverse press the accelerator and the car will hesitate and then lurch backwards. This is a serious safety issue that occurs 1 out of every 25 times. Since it does not happen all of the time I really have know idea how my vehicle will react while backing. Also more recently occurring is while doing highway speeds and trying to pass a vehicle I will accelerate the vehicle and the transmission will slip into a neutral state. I will have to coast to the shoulder and re-start the vehicle. I have taken the vehicle to the dealer they had verified my complaints and ordered a new valve body (mechtronics unit) and advised me not to drive the car since it could be unsafe. Unfortunately, the part is on back order for 4-6 weeks and the only alternate transportation they could provide free of charge was a compact car. I decided to keep my vehicle until the part comes in hoping I will not have any serious problems. This is a major safety issue and a recall of this part is needed.

- Mattituck, NY, USA

I drive a 2008 VW Jetta wolfsburg edition equipped with the dsg (direct shift gearbox) transmission. After driving the car for about 1000 miles I started to noticed very harsh 2 to 1 downshifts and surging while in drive. By the harsh downshift I mean when slowing down coming to a stop when the gearbox would shift from 2nd gear down into 1st gear I would always experience a loud metallic "clunk" noise. In regards to the surging while in drive I mean when at a dead stop and you give even/slight pedal pressure on the accelerator the car would surge forward over and over again like you were stepping on the gas and then letting off. This characteristic was very prevalent on an incline. The VW dealership I work with diagnosed the problem as a faulty mechatronics unit which controls the functions of the complex dsg transmission. It was replaced at 5000 miles. After driving with the new mechatronics unit installed for roughly 6000 more miles I started to now experience the same surging issues but when the car was in reverse. I also noticed that the RPM's would always drop like the engine was going to stall everytime I would shift into drive from park. And lastly when starting from a stop, applying even accelerator pedal pressure, the car would always "jump" off the line. Brought it into the VW dealership again and they ended up replacing the whole transmission. After the new dsg transmission has been installed the car drives very smooth now with no surging and no harsh 2 to 1 downshifts. The new trans only has 300 miles on it currently but I hope the same issues do not occur again.

- Maple Grove, MN, USA

Excessive drive by wire throttle delay. Throttle response delayed aprox. 1-2 or more seconds after depressing throttle pedal. Throttle delay causing hazardous driving situations when pulling out into traffic etc. This "delay" is programmed into the car's software by design. Unsafe, caused near miss accident.

- Sanford, FL, USA