There are 7 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2012 Volkswagen Routanin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Several times in the last month the car has stopped running without warning. It just shuts off. This has happened in our subdivision travelling at 20mph and most recently on the highway travelling 65mph. The power steering, brakes, everything go dead when the car just turns off and this could cause a serious accident.
On Thursday January 6, 2022, I took my car Volkswagen Routan 2012 to the service center because the check engine light went on and the engine revving. The service center took a week for diagnostic it, then they informed me on January 13, after charging me $180 that it needs a new transmission because it stuck in limp mode (see attached report). I asked the customer service to contact Volkswagen representative because this problem seems to be a manufacture problem, especially the car run less than 85000 miles and all maintenance service done on time with Volkswagen dealership. This mileages are considered very low to have a transmission problem with well maintained car. They took another three weeks to report me by phone that Volkswagen refused completely to take care or to share responsibility for this problem and they rejected my claim. Because the claim runs by the dealership “service center” on behalf of me, I asked their customer service representative to email me what is Volkswagen final decision and why? Three days later, the customer service told me by phone “it’s confidential” and they can not email me.
The transmission on our 2012 VW Routan has completely failed. The car will not go into gear and left my wife in a position where she was stranded in traffic. We are the original owners of this vehicle and have followed the recommended maintenance schedule. The engine in this vehicle is a Chrysler Pentastar V6. (The vehicle was built as a joint venture between VW and Chrysler) According to online research Chrysler has recognized a “fatal flaw” in this engine and has extended warranty to customers in order to cover repairs beyond 100,000 miles. We only have 72,000 on our vehicle. I have spoken with VW North America, they told me to plead my case with Chrysler. I spoke with Chrysler and they told me to plead my case with VW. Neither company is willing to recognize that a total transmission failure at 72k miles is [their] responsibility. I am asking for the drivetrain warranty on our vehicle to be extended, due to the “fatal flaw” which has already been identified by Chrysler on the Pentastar V6. VW service is asking me to pay more than $6,000 to repair the vehicle.
While driving along my vehicle will shut completely off. This happens especially on bumpy roads. Sometime the vehicle will shut off right after starting the engine. The only way I can duplicate the problem is to turn the key completely off and restart the vehicle. This problem is very similar to the recall with the 2010 Volkswagens.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 VOLKSWAGEN ROUTAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THERE WAS A TICKING SOUND COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO STREET VOLKSWAGEN LOCATED AT 8707 PILGRIM DR, AMARILLO, TX 79119, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE ENGINE FLY-WHEEL WAS DAMAGED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AFTER REPLACING THE FLY-WHEEL, THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE DEALER LATER REPLACED THE ENGINE HEAD AND FLY-WHEEL HOWEVER, THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE VEHICLE WAS LATER TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE ENGINE WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NO YET REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 VOLKSWAGEN ROUTAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS SHIFTED INTO REVERSE, IT JERKED AND REVERSED ROUGH WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING AS INTENDED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER ON TWO OCCASIONS WHERE THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 17,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
WE HAVE NOTICED THAT THE NEW CAR HAS BEING PROBLEM SHIFTING GEARS AND HAVE BEEN TAKING IT TO THE SHOP SEVERAL TIMES JUST TO BE TOLD THAT THEY DO NOT SEE ANY PROBLEMS. MAY 2013 WE HAVE RECEIVED A RECALL MENTIONING HARSH 1-3 UP SHIFTS AND ERROR IN THE TORQUE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE, WHICH WILL APPLY MORE PRESSURE TO THE CLUTCH. WE TOOK IT IN AND WERE TOLD THEY HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE RECALL LETTER YET. AT SOME POINT THEY AGREED TO UPDATE THE SOFTWARE, HOWEVER THAT MADE THE PROBLEM WORSE. THE CAR IS NOT MOVING AND WHEN WE GIVE MORE GAS IT WILL ACCELERATE LIKE CRAZY NOW AS ADDED BONUS REVERSE IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY.. MANUFACTURE DOES NOT SEEM TO TAKE US SERIOUSLY OR ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITIES. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026