2008 Volkswagen Touareg

WHEN TAKING FOOT OFF OF BRAKE PEDAL, BRAKES HANG UP AND MAKE A SQUEALING SOUND, INDICATING THE BRAKES ARE NOT RELEASING AS THEY SHOULD. V.W. TOLD US TO REPLACE BRAKES TO SOLVE PROBLEM, DID SO AND DID NOT SOLVE PROBLEM, WROTE V.W. A LETTER AND ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSE OR CONCERN FROM V.W. CONCERNED COULD HAVE BRAKE FAILURE IN EMERGENCY. *TR

I HAVE A 2008 VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG 2 WHICH WAS PURCHASED NEW WITH PIRELLI TIRES. AT APPROXIMATELY 12,000 MILES, I NOTICED A VIBRATION IN THE STEERING AND TOOK MY CAR IN TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER FOUND NOTHING WRONG AT THAT TIME. THE CAR STARTED TO PULL TO THE RIGHT AT ABOUT 20,000 MILES AND AGAIN I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER WOULD NOT ALIGN THE TIRES BECAUSE THEY SAID THAT THERE WERE TOO MANY HIGHS AND LOWS IN THE TIRES ALTHOUGH I HAD DONE EVERYTHING REQUIRED BY THE DEALER. I CALLED PIRELLI WHO SAID THAT THE TIRES SHOULD BE ROTATED EVERY THREE TO FOUR THOUSAND MILES BUT VW SAYS THAT THEY ONLY ROTATE AT 10,000. AFTER FILING A COMPLAINT WITH VW THE DEALER OFFERED TWO NEW TIRES BUT I HAD TO PAY FOR THE OTHER TWO. NOT A SATISFACTORY SOLUTION AS THE DEALER WOULD NOT GIVE ME THE TWO TIRES WITHOUT MY PERSONAL PURCHASE OF TWO MORE. THE DEALER CLAIMED THEY DIDN'T KNOW THAT THE PIRELLI SUGGESTED ROTATING AT 3,000 MILES. *TR

I PURCHASED AN '08 VW TOUAREG 2 V8 WITH THE MUCH LAUDED BI-XENON AFS II HEADLIGHTS. I FULLY UNDERSTAND BI-XENON BRAND HEADLIGHTS AND HIDS IN GENERAL ARE IN DESIGN TRANSITION AND ARE SUPPOSED TO OFFER MORE ILLUMINATION, AND THUS BETTER SAFETY, THAN PRIOR HALOGEN HEADLIGHT DESIGNS. HOWEVER, MY REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE WITH BI-XENON HEADLIGHTS STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT NHTSA OVERLOOKED SOMETHING THAT HAS PLACED MANY MOTORISTS, MYSELF INCLUDED, AT RISK. BECAUSE OF THE "VERTICAL CUTOFF" PRESENT IN THE LIGHT PATTERN OF LOW BEAM BI-XENONS, THE UPHILL SIDE OF ROADWAY DIPS AND VALLEYS ARE NOT ILLUMINATED. THIS IS AN EVER-PRESENT DANGER FOR THOSE OF US WHO TRAVEL RURAL, COUNTRY ROADS, AT NIGHT, WITH ABUNDANT WILDLIFE PRESENT (OR PETS, CHILDREN OR JOGGERS). OF COURSE, UTILIZING THE HIGH BEAMS CAN COMPENSATE FOR THE BLIND SPOTS CREATED BY THE VERTICAL CUTOFF. HOWEVER, WHEN ON UNFAMILIAR COUNTRY ROADS, TRAVELING THE SPEED LIMIT, I FIND THAT I AM CAUGHT OVERDRIVING THE HEADLIGHT ILLUMINATION WHEN ENCOUNTERING DIPS AND VALLEYS, AND CANNOT REACT QUICKLY ENOUGH WITH HIGH BEAM RESPONSE TO MAKE ME FEEL SECURE. THERE IS ALSO THE ISSUE OF BLINDING ONCOMING MOTORISTS WITH MY HIGH BEAMS OR EVEN THOSE I'M APPROACHING FROM BEHIND. I BELIEVE THE NHTSA APPROVAL OF BI-XENONS HEADLIGHTS ON THE VW TOUAREG WAS A MISTAKE. THE VEHICLES NEED TO BE RECALLED. THE ALLEGED ADDED ADVANTAGE OF BI-XENONS ON LEVEL OR ASCENDING ROADWAYS IS NEGATED BY THE BLIND SPOTS CREATED IN DIPS AND VALLEYS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS DESCENDING. I WOULD GLADLY RETURN TO HALOGEN TYPE HEADLIGHTS FOR RURAL SETTINGS. *TR

ON JANUARY 21, 2008 I PURCHASED A NEW 2008 VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER. THE TPMS CONTINUOUSLY WARNS OF A LOW TIRE (S). HOWEVER, NO SUCH LOW TIRE CONDITION EXISTS. AFTER COMPLAINING, I LEARNED THAT VOLKSWAGEN SETS THE 'LOW TIRE PRESSURE WARNING TELLTALE' WARNING TO ALERT AT A TIRE PRESSURE LOSS OF ABOUT 4 PSI, BASED ON A FACTORY FIXED INITIAL TIRE PRESSURE PRESET OF 46 PSI REAR, AND 39 PSI FRONT. THESE FIXED PRESET PRESSURES ARE BASED UPON A MAXIMUM VEHICLE LOAD. AT LESS THAN MAXIMUM VEHICLE LOAD, 46 PSI IN THE REAR TIRES IS EXCESSIVE, GREATLY REDUCING THE TIRE PATCH AREA THAT CONTACTS THE ROAD SURFACE. THIS CONDITION IS DANGEROUS, ESPECIALLY IN WET OR ICY CONDITIONS DUE TO DECREASED TRACTION. MOREOVER, TREAD LIFE WILL BE GREATLY REDUCED WITH THIS LIMITED TREAD CONTACT. TO REMEDY THIS CONDITION, THE VOLKSWAGEN OWNER'S MANUAL DESCRIBES A PROCEDURE TO CHANGE THE TIRE PRESSURE PRESET (S) BASED ON THE TYPE OF TIRE, AND/OR THE CONDITIONS EXPECTED. (3.1 CONTROLS AND EQUIPMENT) IN THIS SECTION, THERE IS ALSO A NOTATION; 'THE DRIVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CORRECT TIRE PRESSURES FOR ALL TIRES ON THE VEHICLE.' THIS FEATURE IS VISIBLE, BUT LOCKED BY THE MANUFACTURER SO THAT IT IS NOT ACCESSIBLE TO ANY OWNER, OR THE VOLKSWAGEN DEALER. MY EFFORTS TO HAVE ACCESS TO THE TPMS PRESET PRESSURES AS DESCRIBED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL (OR) TO AT LEAST HAVE THE TPMS MORE CLOSELY FOLLOW THE FEDERAL STANDARDS (49 CFR PARTS 571 AND 585) HAVE BEEN DENIED BY VOLKSWAGEN AND/OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES, WITH THE DECISION FINAL. WITH THE SYSTEM DESIGNED AS IT IS, THE TPMS TELLTALE LIGHT IS CONTINUOUSLY ILLUMINATED UNDER ALL DRIVING CONDITIONS, MAKING THIS MANDATED SAFETY DEVICE COMPLETELY INEFFECTIVE FOR ITS INTENDED PURPOSE. VOLKSWAGEN SAID THAT IF I DON'T LIKE THE SYSTEM, MY ONLY OPTION IS TO TURN IT OFF. THIS IS NOT A COMPLAINT ABOUT MY DEALER. THEY WOULD LIKE TO HELP ME AND OTHERS WITH THIS PROBLEM. *TR