Other powertrain problem on the 2009 Volkswagen GTI
When other powertrain problem gets reported
Owners of the 2009 Volkswagen GTI report other powertrain problem at a median of 15,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 1,400 miles and a quarter after 50,000 miles, from 19 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 4th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 700 miles at the tenth percentile to 105,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 102,080 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
63% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 720 miles | 1,400 miles | 13,055 miles | 51,787 miles | 102,800 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $400–$4,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 17 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2019, at a median of 500 miles, and latest on the 2013 at 55,000 miles.
By volume the 2019 carries the most reports, with 50; the 2009 has 21. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
This problem relates to the volkswagen 2009 dsg transmission available on several 2009 models. Mine is a 2009 gti. It has occurred several time since purchase 3 weeks ago. From time to time the transmission will unexpectedly shift into neutral. The gear shift lights on the dash flash. This can happen while standing at a stop light or while at speed. The problem seems to be largely unknown by dealers, but is now well documented by owners. Some owners have now had the problem resolved. A discussion of the problem can be found at: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=235168&page=9 like many owners, I have had the car in for diagnostics. No problem was found. Don howson grapevine, tx *tr
The dsg transmission randomly goes into neutral. Happened to me on the highway, had to stop the car, and turn it off to put the car back in gear. Luckily I was next to the shoulder already since I was taking the car in to the dealership for this problem. *tr
Purchased 2009 vw gti with dsg transmission in october 2008. Transmission seemed fine until about 7000 miles. Dsg started to have jerky/hard shifts in lower gears 1/2/3 and below 10mph would have surging during light acceleration or coasting to stop. From stopped position would also jerk forward with only a slight throttle input. Problems seems to be only after the car has been driven15-20 minutes and gets hot. When the car is cold it drives normal. Symptoms also seem worse during bumper to bumper traffic when more demand on lower gears and more heat. There is sometimes a noticeable clunking sound when dsg is down shifting from 2-1 and sometimes after the car has come to a stop and need to creep forward (still in 1st gear) will get the clunking sound and like the car almost stalls. All these symptoms happen in either d/s/m mode but reverse gear has no problems. Have asked the vw dealer where I bought the car about this problem and they say they can not reproduce the symptoms. *tr
Also reported on the 2009 Volkswagen GTI
ABS module or sensor failure
Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure
Fuel gauge or level sensor failure
Tail light, brake light or signal failure
Other driver assistance problem
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 21 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other powertrain problem happen on the 2009 Volkswagen GTI?
Across 19 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 15,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 1,400 miles and a quarter after 50,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other powertrain problem on the 2009 Volkswagen GTI?
21 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 2.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed