Automatic Emergency Braking problems of the 2016 Volkswagen Touareg

Unknown- simply picking up my kids and various alerts came on the dashboard including the abs brakes error, parking brake error, and others that I am not sure of. I just bought this SUV on Friday from dch Acura of montclair, NJ/ lithia motors in verona, NJ [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The car will stop (while driving) for no apparent reason. “phantom braking”. This is without any known objects/people approaching our vehicle. It’s a part of the electronic automatic braking system but obviously it is not programmed correctly. It is dangerous. A brief review on internet shows these sudden stops have caused accidents (people rear ending vehicle after sudden stops). Cars have also had to move quickly off highway to avoid collision. Another issue: the panoramic sunroof has had frequent issues with water leaks. We’ve already had to pay for one such leak ($1000) and now face payment for a second serious leak which they can’t seem to fix. Internet searches show that vw corporation has known about this manufacturing defect since 2016 but has “hidden” these manufacturing defects from customers. These leaks have caused pools of water to form in the trunk (under spare tire). The pool of water inside vehicle can range up to 1. 5 feet and more! we’ve heard issues that if not caught sooner, these leaks case severe damage to electrical systems (battery, etc…) due to excess water in vehicle. It burns out electrical systems. To our knowledge, vw will take no responsibility. People who own these cars have to pay for the fixes. Very expensive fixes which are not working. We no longer feel safe driving this car. Vw will not offer us a solution.

The windshield camera that is responsible for the imaging used for many of the system on the 2016 Touareg is a high failure item and has been constituently backordered from vw. When this camera fails, the advanced systems that were part of this option fail to operate. This includes adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking and lane departure warning. The system does provide warning notifications, but they may occur at any time and there is no confidence the system is working. These notifications overtake other system displays making it difficult or even hazardous to navigate vehicle system menus at times. In addition, this vehicle does not offer standard cruise control, which can accelerate driver fatigue due to the loss of this basic and common feature. The original part on this vehicle is not available used in the USA, or from vw USA. There is a company in aus that repairs them, but in this particular instance, it appears the repaired unit has failed as well now. This system is very expensive to recalibrate, adding to the expense of the repair, especially without new parts available there is little route to be able to remedy this situation permanently for a safety device that is expected and was an added cost option on this model. Much of the diagnostic work has been performed by myself as I am a master automotive technician.