Volkswagen Electrical System: Control Module

Volkswagen is recalling about 679,027 vehicles over a problem with the electrical system. Removing the key while the shift lever is in a position other than "Park" increases the risk of an unintended vehicle rollaway that may result in personal injury or a crash.

Campaign
19V615000
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Reported
22 August 2019
Vehicles
679,027
Built between
Mar 2010 – Jun 2019
Models
6
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
19 November 2019
Repaired
47%
Unrepaired
307,085

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between March 2010 and June 2019. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2012-2019 Volkswagen BeetleBuilt June 2011 to June 2019
  • 2012-2019 Volkswagen Beetle ConvertibleBuilt February 2012 to June 2019
  • 2015-2016, 2018-2019 Volkswagen GolfBuilt March 2014 to May 2019
  • 2017-2019 Volkswagen Golf SportwagenBuilt June 2016 to May 2019
  • 2015-2019 Volkswagen GTIBuilt February 2014 to May 2019
  • 2011-2018 Volkswagen JettaBuilt March 2010 to December 2017

Repair progress

307,085 of 679,027 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2021.

47% repaired — 320,781 of 679,027 reported

Owners not reachable
25,805
Scrapped or exported
25,356

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 Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2019 GTI, 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 Golf, 2012-2019 Beetle and Beetle Convertible, 2017-2019 Golf SportWagen and 2011-2018 Jetta vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission, manual handbrake and keyless entry. A build-up of silicate on the shift lever micro switch contacts may enable the key to be removed from the ignition when the transmission shift lever is not in "Park."

What could happen

Removing the key while the shift lever is in a position other than "Park" increases the risk of an unintended vehicle rollaway that may result in personal injury or a crash.

What gets fixed

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional switch and circuit board, free of charge. The recall began November 19, 2019.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMarch 2010 to June 2019
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA22 August 2019
  3. Owners notified19 November 2019
  4. Latest repair reportQ1 2021 — 47% 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 22 August 2019.

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 customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 37M2.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
37M2
Recalling manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Safety standard
FMVSS 114
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