FUEL LEAK, IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, COULD LEAD TO A VEHICLE FIRE.
Remedy & full details
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FUEL TANK VENTILATION VALVE WITH AN IMPROVED VALVE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 2, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VOLKSWAGEN AT 1-800-822-8987.
VOLKSWAGEN IS RECALLING APPROXIMATELY 5,000 MY 2008 R32 (5TH GENERATION) VEHICLES. WHEN CERTAIN DRIVING CONDITIONS ARE ACCOMPANIED BY HIGH AMBIENT TEMPERATURES, THE FUEL TANK VENTILATION VALVE MAY NOT REMAIN FULLY CLOSED. IF THIS HAPPENS, LIQUID FUEL MAY ENTER THE FUEL TANK VENTING SYSTEM AND MIGRATE INTO THE EVAPORATIVE SYSTEM, SATURATING THE CARBON CANISTER. SHOULD THIS OCCUR WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE MAY EXPERIENCE PERFORMANCE ISSUES (I.E., VEHICLE JERKING) AND THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER COULD ILLUMINATE. FUEL COULD LEAK FROM THE EVAPORATIVE SYSTEM LEAK DETECTION PUMP FILTER.
Serious07V442000
Exterior Lighting:Headlights
NONCOMPLIANCE CAN INHIBIT PROPER HEADLAMP AIM ADJUSTMENT FOR ROADWAY ILLUMINATION, IMPROPERLY AIMED HEADLAMPS COULD CAUSE REDUCED ROAD VISIBILITY, raises the risk of A CRASH.
Remedy & full details
DEALERS WILL INSPECT FOR THE PRESENCE OF A CAP IN THE SOCKET OF THE LOW BEAM HORIZONTAL AIMING SCREW AND INSTALL ONE IF MISSING, AND INSPECT FOR THE PRESENCE OF A CAP IN THE SOCKET OF THE VERTICAL AIMING SCREW AND IF PRESENT, THE CAP WILL BE REMOVED. THE RECALL WILL BEGIN ON OCTOBER 31, 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VW AT 1-800-822-8987.
CERTAIN VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." SOME VEHICLES MAY NOT HAVE HAD A REQUIRED CAP INSTALLED WHICH DISABLES THE HEADLIGHT HORIZONTAL AIM AND SOME VEHICLES MAY CONTAIN A CAP THAT DISABLES THE VERTICAL AIMING SCREW.
Complaint volume
Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.
What owners reported happened
0Crashes
0Fires
0Injuries
0Deaths
Across 128 complaints. Severity Index 0.00.
Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.
What owners report most
Power Train:Automatic Transmission — 60 reports
Fuel System, Gasoline — 19 reports
Power Train — 17 reports
Electrical System — 6 reports
Exterior Lighting — 6 reports
Power Train:Manual Transmission — 6 reports
Fuel/Propulsion System — 4 reports
Engine And Engine Cooling — 2 reports
Unknown Or Other — 1 reports
Fuel System, Other — 1 reports
What to do
Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.
Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.
Questions
Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?
Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.
Do I pay for recall repairs?
No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.
Why are there complaints but no recalls?
Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.
From the same data desk
Independent sites, same maintainer, same open-data standards.