HERNDON, VA - Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VWGoA) announced it would initiate a new customer service program to address concerns raised by its customers with certain Direct Shift Gearboxes (DSG) in Volkswagen and Audi models, and to affirm its confidence in the sophisticated technology represented by those components.

This new comprehensive service program affects a limited number of 2007-2009 model-year Volkswagens and Audis. Covered models are the Volkswagen R32, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, GTI, Eos, and Audi A3 and TT.

Some customers have reported transmission performance issues under certain driving conditions. This was due to a faulty component inside the Mechatronic unit within a limited production range. VWGoA will repair or replace the components in the transmissions of approximately 43,000 Volkswagens and 10,300 Audis at no charge to the vehicles' owners. Additionally, VWGoA will reimburse customers who have had this repaired at their own expense.

The company has begun increasing the parts supply to expedite this customer service program. As the parts become available, owners of the affected vehicles will be contacted to schedule an appointment at their dealer. The company will make loaner vehicles available at no charge.

This new customer service program is unrelated to a voluntary safety recall that VWGoA announced August 20. Under that recall, VWGoA is replacing a faulty temperature sensor in a separate and smaller group of vehicles. See: http://www.automotive-fleet.com/News/Story/2009/08/Volkswagen-of-America-Announces-Voluntary-Recall.aspx.

VWGoA will extend its New Vehicle Limited Warranty to cover the DSG transmissions affected by the customer service program and the voluntary safety recall. This extended warranty is for 10-years/100,000-miles, transferrable to subsequent owners.

VWGoA is confident these actions will address issues noted by owners of the affected Volkswagen and Audi models. The DSG gearbox is an industry leading technology that combines the fuel economy of a manual gearshift with the automatic shifting capacity of an automatic transmission.

Customers who have questions or concerns should call the Volkswagen Loyalty Center at (800) 444-8982 or the Audi Customer Relations Campaign Help Line at (800) 253-AUDI (2834).