Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - MASTER CYLINDER | ||||||||||||||||
| 07E023000 | CARDONE INDUSTRIES, INC. | E (Equipment) | 13128 | 04/02/2007 | MFR | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC | 03/29/2007 | 03/29/2007 | ||||||||
| Defect Summary | Certain cardone master cylinders with date codes lower than dca7078 sold as replacement equipment for use on the vehicles listed above. the seal on master cylinder can fail and leak brake fluid. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | Loss of brake fluid can result in poor braking performance, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Cardone will notify owners and offer to repurchase any defective master cylinders. the recall began during april 2007. owners can contact cardone at 1-800-777-4780. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | This recall only pertains to aftermarket cardone master cylinders and has no relation to any original equipment installed on the vehicles listed above.customers may contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty: 1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov. | |||||||||||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 01/09/2011 | 110000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen jetta. the contact was involved in a crash. the vehilce was destroyed. while driving approximately 65 mph, the contact noticed that the vehilce was hesitating. when attempting to pull over, applying pressure to the brakes, the vehicle would not stop, causing the contact to hit a boulder then the vehilce flipped over. the contact sustained several bruises. a passenger sustained a fractured wrist and ankle, seat belt rash, and bruising. the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified. the current and failure mileages was approximately 110,000. a police report was available. bw | |||
| 09/26/2006 | 78000 | 1 | |
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen jetta. he applied pressure to the brake pedal at 30 mph , but the vehicle would not decelerate. as a consequence he rear-ended another vehicle. a police report was filed. he sustained minor injuries. the vehicle was towed to an auto body collision center; and completely destroyed. the failure and current mileages were 78,000. updated 12/10/09.*jb | |||
| 01/01/2003 | 5000 | 8 | 01/01/2003 |
| I have owned a volkswagen jetta (turbo - 2003) and have had one horrible problem after another. without fail, i have taken my vehicle in for random mechanical repairs every few months since purchasing the vehicle. i found out the car was manufactured in mexico and that vw was aware of how bad their car's manufactured in mexico were. if that is the case, how can so many car owners with so many mechanical issues continue to sell in this country? i would like to report vw for lackluster performance and for continuing manufacture in an area well known for its below average standards and for continuing to bleed the consumer when it is fully aware of the issue. *tr | |||
| 04/23/2004 | 1 | ||
| When the brake pedal was depressed to disengage the cruise control brakes failed. this resulted in a rear end collision. the insurance was not able to prove that the failure was due to a malfunction in the brake mechanism. *ak | |||
| 07/15/2003 | 10900 | ||
| I bought my car at the end of november. drove it off the lot with 9 miles on the vehicle. at the time of breakdown on july 25, 2003, the car had 10,900 miles on it. the current mileage on it now is 13,000 july 25th was a very hot day. i believe it was up to 110 degrees that day. i had noticed my car running at a substantial lower power than usual, but i assumed it was because of the heat and that i had my air conditioning on high. i had to do some errands in town then i headed home, which is about 30 minutes away from the tri-cities, at this time i did notice loss of power going up the on-ramp to the interstate, but still did not think too much of the fact. i was half way home when i noticed that my car was losing even more power, the cruise quit and my speedometer went from 75 to 50 mph and that is when i noticed that my heat gauge was extremely high. i also found it odd that the inside of my car had not cooled off, but was getting warmer. i headed towards the off-ramp and as i was down shifting and applying the breaks, my brake pedal made ;puffy-popping noise and then the brake pedal collapsed to the floor. i put the vehicle in neutral and pumped the brakes to get the vehicle to stop, when the vehicle stopped, i smelled heat, or like something burning. i thought it was a fire around town. pulling away from the off-ramp, i could not get any pickup speed with my car. the car felt like it was pushing to go forward and also pulling itself back at the same time, as the vehicle tried to pick up speed, it would pull back and forth. the gas pedal was all the way to the floor and i couldn't get any speed. i could only shift into second gear and the vehicle could only maintain 15 mph. as all of this was happening, i was turning off everything i thought took power, air conditioner was the first thing off when i started noticing the car overheating and losing power, then the radio, these did not help. | |||
| 11/10/2003 | 1 | ||
| While driving in heavy ma traffic the front breaks of my 2003 jetta tdi locked up. i had to pull over and it took me 30 minutes to get the brakes to release. i took the car to the dealership and they refused to fix the problem because they could not duplicate it. they have had my car for 11 days and they still refuse to repair the car. vw customer support is also being unhelpful. *la | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK | |||
| 06/05/2007 | 3 | ||
| Starting car in the morning or at end of work day and brake warning lights came on. car cannot be moved - brakes have hissing or whisking sound when pressed. car cannot be driven, unless turning ignition to first on position putting car in neutral then starting the car. *ak 2. brakes do not work properly - car is unsafe to drive 3. dealer claims that there is some sort of brake switch that has a universal recall that is causing the problem. i did research before buying my '03 jetta and found that several complaints about brake failure and brake problems have been on-going. when i questioned the dealer they knew nothing of the sort and said if there had been problems in the past they have been fixed. apparently these problems have not - i continue to experience them as have other jetta owners with whom i have spoken. | |||
| 08/04/2006 | 60000 | 4 | 06/09/2002 |
| My wife's 2003 vw jetta tdi brakes will aggressively lock-up when lightly depressed for slowing down or coming to a slow stop. the problem is intermittent and will occur without warning. when the brakes lock up they can only be released after placing your foot under the pedal and forcing the pedal backwards. in the event another diver follows too close, the failure will result in a rear end collision potentially causing serious injuries to both parties. after experiencing the defect the car was immediately taken to the vw dealer for service and we received a no fault found report. now the problem has become severe and is a major safety concern for my wife and i. earlier this year, the alternator pulley bearings seized and the pulley was ejected from the alternator causing damage to other engine components in the serpentine system. *nm | |||
| 03/10/2004 | 3419 | 2 | 11/25/2003 |
| Whooping noise from brakes of new vw jettta with poor compression and braking. clunking form gear box. failure of brake may lead to avoidable accident in the future dealer changed brake booster but this did not help. dealer unable to fix after several attempts. *jb | |||
| 01/25/2004 | 1 | ||
| While driving 25 mph in inclement weather consumer applied the brake pedal and the brakes failed. this caused the vehicle to crash into a tree. upon impact, both frontal air bags failed to deploy. vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. *ak | |||
| 01/28/2004 | 17000 | 2 | |
| Vehicle was towed twice because the defect described in the abs ecu recall 02v03100 occurred while driving. this vehicle was not includedin the recall due to model year and vin. *ak | |||
| 05/20/2004 | 3034 | 1 | |
| While braking 55 mph vehicle jerked, causing extended stopping distance. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK - CONTROL UNIT/MODULE | |||
| 07/20/2006 | 65000 | 3 | 09/01/2003 |
| My situation is very similar to odi id number : 10136903. i have a 2003 jetta. i was driving about 65 mph, my abs warning light turned on, air bag warning light turned on, and my radio turned off. after stopping my car, it wouldn't start again. i had it towed to mechanic, who determined that my fuse panel (above the battery) had melted and he was very surprised that my car hadn't caught on fire. he replaced the fuse panel. a few days later, my car failed to start again. a jump start started it. next day, my car failed to start again. a jump start started it. i drove it straight to mechanic. my alternator, which was fine last week, is now fried (after two drives), most likely because the fuse panel burnt it out. the alternator in my 2003 jetta is a 90 amp alternator. vw stopped making these because they aren't powerful enough for the cars. i repeat, 90 amp alternators are no longer made for my car because it requires 120 amp alternator. hmm. *nm | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - ROTOR | |||
| 08/29/2003 | 1900 | 2 | 07/12/2003 |
| While proceeding to enter the highway, the driver heard a loud bang. the vehicle started to lose power. took vehicle to mechanic, and he said that the bolts sheared off the from driveshaft to the transmission. *ak the transmission, driveshaft, and the cv joints were replaced due to the incident. the vehicle started to have problems again with the front brakes, where the rotors were replaced again. (the problem returned again) *scc *jb | |||
| 06/01/2003 | 300 | 1 | 06/29/2003 |
| Okay, i have had my 03 jetta for one month and two days (i received it on june 29th). it has already been in for service for the following reasons: july 8th: -a/c vent made loud noise like something was stuck/flapping around in it - condensation in drivers side headlight -pulled to the right -made a moaning noise when i turned left, gradually worsened to make the same noise when i turned left. *vw had the car at that time for two days, then called me to tell me that they were stumped about the moaning noise and that they wanted their head tech to look at it. however, he happened to be on vacation so i would need to bring it back in. but they added that they did inspect the car as far as safety was concerned and i was good to go. july 24: -car brought in for the second time for moaning noise when turning *vw called me that afternoon stating that since the last time i had brought it in a service bulletin had been issued for my problem and all they had to do was drain and replace my transmission fluid and the noise would be gone. i picked up my car that evening and 1 1/2 hrs later i heard the noise again, not half as loud or as noticeable but it was still there and it again was pulling to the right. i immediately called and left as message with my service advisor that night and called my salesperson in the morning. i had to wait one more week until they could get it back in again. july 30-present ( they still have my car!) - returned car for the third time for moaning noise when turning -still pulling to the right -paint on hood had a noticeable 3d effect & hairline scratches that were not just caused by a bad detailing job -the night before this my brakes started pumping when i would slow down from 60 mph to get off onto the on ramp to get home, which i didn't think was normal. t *vw said my rotors were warped so they had to replace them. *ph | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - POWER ASSIST - HYDRAULIC - HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS | |||
| 08/25/2003 | 10900 | 4 | 11/16/2002 |
| I recently bought a brand new 2003 vw jetta tdi at the end of november. on the day of the incident my car first started losing power, i noticed the pick-up wasn't as good as normal, secondly i started noticing the heat gauge went up as my car started over heating, thirdly i was almost home going down the off-ramp and when i put my foot on the brake to stop, the brake made a popping noise and then the brake hit the floor. i pumped the brakes and put the car in nuetral and was able to stop, as i began driving the car would not pick up any power and it felt as if the car was pulling against itself, i could not even get my car to go above 15 miles an hour in second gear. i drove the rest of the way home in 2nd, and with no brakes. when i made it home i thought there was a fire under my car because of how hot it was, the smell of burning was awful and as i got out of my vehicle there were chunks of creamy grease dripping from my car. i called roadside asst. and had them come to my house and tow the vehicle to a local dealership (overturf volkswagen). after several days of trying to find what the problems was overturf decided they could not find a problem with my vehicle. my husband and i had to force them to look into the braking system. overturf explained to us that what happened to me out on the highway was typical and not to be concerned, i knew differently and enforced the fact that they needed to check the braking system. after several hours of debating over the fact that the breaks didn't need checked, they test drove the car again and the car reinacted the problem. in the end, my brake booster and master cylinder had to be replaced. luckily my car still is under warrenty, but the car only had 10,900 miles on it, something like the whole breaking system should not fail with as little as mileage as the car had. one week later the car gets picked up and the next day my cruise will not set. i now have another appointment to get my cruise control fixed.*ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - POWER ASSIST - VACUUM - HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS | |||
| 06/24/2003 | 10000 | 10 | 02/14/2003 |
| June 24th, while i was driving my four month old 2003 jetta tdi on the the highway at a 70mph, the cruise control failed to engage. after the car had stopped and began moving again the cruise functioned properly. two days later on june 26, 2003, while in lunch hour traffic-with a co-worker in the car the brakes automatically engaged by themselves at 40 mph. we stopped on a dime and were almost rear ended. this occured over 10 times before we got back to the office (we were less than two miles away). dealership is replacing brake booster and master cylinder and i have requested full warrenty on new brake system from volkswagen of america. this is a potentially serious flaw that could have eaisly caused bodily injury. i have yet to learn if there is a track record of the brakes failing on the 2003 designs but wanted to begin a documentation record. *ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - SWITCHES - BRAKE LIGHT | |||
| 01/18/2008 | 70000 | 1 | |
| Brake light switch failed causing brakes lights to stay illuminated even when the car is turned off and the key removed. *tr | |||
| 12/07/2006 | 130000 | 1 | 03/11/2003 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving 60 mph, the brake lights were non responsive. the vehicle was taken to a dealer, who determined the brake switch failed. there was a nhtsa recall #04v096000 regarding the exterior lighting:brake lights:switch. the vehicle was exhibiting the same characteristics as indicated in the recall however, it was not included in the recall due to the vin. | |||