Volkswagen Power Train: Cooling Unit and Lines

Volkswagen is recalling about 26,452 vehicles over a problem with the power train. The leaking transmission fluid could contact a hot surface and result in a vehicle fire.

Campaign
14V182000
Manufacturer
Volkswagen of America, Inc.
Reported
15 April 2014
Vehicles
26,452
Built between
Feb 2014 – Apr 2014
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
16 April 2014
Repaired
99%
Unrepaired
129

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between February 2014 and April 2014. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2014 Volkswagen BeetleBuilt February 2014 to April 2014
  • 2014 Volkswagen JettaBuilt February 2014 to April 2014
  • 2014 Volkswagen PassatBuilt February 2014 to April 2014

Repair progress

129 of 26,452 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q3 2015.

99% repaired — 26,315 of 26,452 reported

Owners not reachable
8

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

Volkswagen of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2014 Jetta, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, and Passat vehicles equipped with a 1.8T engine and torque converter automatic transmission. In the affected vehicles, the O-ring seals between the oil cooler and the transmission may leak fluid.

What could happen

The leaking transmission fluid could contact a hot surface and result in a vehicle fire.

What gets fixed

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the O-ring seals in the transmission oil cooler, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on April 16, 2014.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtFebruary 2014 to April 2014
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA15 April 2014
  3. Owners notified16 April 2014
  4. Latest repair reportQ3 2015 — 99% repaired

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 15 April 2014.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact Volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 38B9/9V.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
38B9/9V
Recalling manufacturer
Volkswagen of America, Inc.
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand